Four-year old Aysha Saleem lost all eight family members in Fallujah

[Minstrel Boy]

LITTLE Aysha Saleem plays with her dead mother's jewellery in a Manchester hospital - a world away from the violence in Iraq which claimed the lives of most of her family.

A necklace and ear-rings are her only reminder of her mum Atika, who was killed when their home was destroyed during an American bombing raid in Fallujah.

Four-year-old Aysha was amazingly pulled from the rubble but her parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties and younger brother all perished in the blast.

Mazin Younis, who has lived in Altrincham for 20 years, was visiting friends in the town when he heard of Aysha's plight.
http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/139/139044_saved_by_the_love_of_a_stranger.html


WYTHENSHAWE HOSPITAL in Manchester saw a moving scene last week when Rose Gentle met Iraqi orphan Aysha Saleem.

Rose’s son, British soldier Gordon Gentle, was killed in Iraq in June this year. Aysha was the only survivor of a US plane attack on her family’s home in Fallujah in October.

The US killed eight members of her family, including her pregnant mother and three year old brother. Aysha was dug out from the rubble and brought to Manchester for treatment by Mazin Younis, an Iraqi who lives in Britain.

Rose told Socialist Worker, “Aysha has a container in which she carried all her mum’s belongings. How can this war be a fight for peace when you see a little girl like that?”

Mazin said, “Rose’s visit was a great move. It was really touching, especially for Aysha. It was a far-reaching visit. Rose’s son and Aysha’s family were the victims of the same criminals—Bush and Blair.”
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php4?article_id=4921

“Aysha’s house was targeted by US planes on 4 October at 3am. There were two houses next to each other. All the members of Aysha’s family were killed in the attack. A 75 year old neighbour was killed as well.

“The only reason that Aysha survived was that her grandmother loved her so much that she slept with her every night. She shielded her from the explosion.

...

“The other members of Aysha’s family killed were her three year old brother, Omar, her father, her mother, Atika, who was 24 and six months pregnant—the baby was born and was alive for a couple of hours after the attack.

“Her auntie, who owned and run a pharmacy and who’d passed her masters degree two days beforehand, also died, along with another auntie, two uncles and Aysha’s cousin.
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php4?article_id=4942

[Meme]

1. helping the Iraqi people ha?

I hate that bastard more every single day. Look at her. Goddammit >_<

[Sabriel]

2. She's four going on forty

Look at her eyes.

[Pithlet]

34. I thought the same thing

Just horrible. :cry:

[Meme]

3. and here we go again

about the 1000th time the bastard starts me crying.

“The only reason that Aysha survived was that her grandmother loved her so much that she slept with her every night. She shielded her from the explosion."

[madrchsod]

4. we live in a world of the united states that

has never had to face on our soil the death and destruction that we have inflicted on the rest of the world for our vanity. someday the price for this will be paided back by our blood.

[Minstrel Boy]

5. A terrible truth.

This trade imbalance will one day self-correct.

[Javaman]

16. All empires eventually fall

[LiberalinNC]

6. Stories like this break your heart!

I would love to break the heart of that moron who did this to her! Hope you're sitting pretty in the white house jackass!

[ckramer]

7. BUSH = WAR = DEATH

[nostamj]

8. that face should haunt * for eternity....

From....

THE CHRONICLES OF BOSH:
A Fictitious History of the Occupancy of Prince George, Part the First.

Mister Bosh dreams about Iraq

Missus Bosh, wake up!
I've been dreaming about Iraq.

Daisies and gum drops, Missus Bosh!
Even the armless have armloads
And they dance a cakewalk
To a Scott Joplin tune
With white gloves and tap shoes.
The smiles are paint, Missus Bosh
But painted so prettily you believe them.

The children who held broken dolls
Are so much shattered meat now.

Hard work keeping you safe, Missus Bosh.

You're good with children, Missus Bosh,
Read them something comforting
And bring something to cleanse their blood
From my pajamas, from my pillow.


Nostamj_blog

[Bouncy Ball]

21. Her face won't haunt him.

He'll never see it. He doesn't care.

He doesn't give a shit.

[nostamj]

31. I know....

which I why I said *should* haunt, not WILL haunt.

[SammyWinstonJack]

9. bu$h* is a murderer!

:mad: What was the reason for murdering this family in their sleep? :cry:

[ThorsHammer]

10. I really wish our media would report things like this (nt)

[Minstrel Boy]

11. It probably did, like this:

"eight insurgents were reported killed in a precision strike on a reputed Zarqawi safe house."

[tsuki]

12. You forgot the whoopee. /sarcasm off

[ThorsHammer]

13. Ugh, that is probably the sad truth

Most moderates, and even some conservatives would be strongly against the war if they knew about cases like this. I supported the Afghan war, as that was a legitimate hunt for the Taliban and didn't involve mass bombings, but Iraq has been very bad to say the least.

[G_j]

14. I've seriously thought

that REAL American "Christians" should just altogether cancel Christmas until the murder, torture and destruction done in their names stops.

[Minstrel Boy]

15. "So this is Christmas, and what have you done"

Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very Merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight

A very Merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas
And what have we done
Another year over
A new one just begun
And so happy Christmas
We hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very Merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over, if you want it
War is over now

[antigone382]

19. "War is over, if you want it..."

Thanks for posting this, Minstrel Boy. I've been thinking about this song a lot lately.

Where are the John Lennons and the Woody Guthries when you need them?

I'd like to ask all those damned B*sh voters where that Aysha's unborn brother's right to life went.But it's pointless, because they're fighting for our freedoms. That baby and all of his family were just "collateral damage."

[manic expression]

17. I have no idea what to say

I'm so sad about this. Probably just one incident out of many like it.

[rbnyc]

18. We tried so hard to stop this.

And we're still trying. We're just left with this helpless, sick, mournful, anger and despair. We're all going to go crazy. This has to stop now. This has to stop now.

[Minstrel Boy]

20. "We're all going to go crazy."

Man, do I ever hear that.

The night I first saw the photo of armless and orphaned Ali Abbas I wished I could.

Then I read this, and thought we had already.


I Understand There's a Boy in a Baghdad Hospital
By LARRY KEARNEY
April 8, 2003

this morning I understand that there's
a twelve year old boy

in a hospital in Baghdad.

the word is that last night a missile
hit his flimsy house and killed

his mother, his father, his brothers,
his sisters,

and also blew
his arms off his body.

what color is his room
do you think? with the sun coming up

creeping, what is it shining on?
which bits of chrome, flesh,

fabric? colored water?
is it all right?

will things be all right?

the boy cries because his mother is dead.
and.

and because the nurse
looks at him.

he cries and cries and asks
can you bring back my arms?

I heard this on the radio.
you understand? that question?

can you bring back my arms?

it isn't even a question, is it?
we'd have to say well,

we knew they'd be gone.
some of them anyway.

we'll just have to live with it
won't we.

http://www.counterpunch.org/kearney04082003.html

Maintaining our sanity is becoming a revolutionary act.

[rbnyc]

24. what a devestating poem

i don't know what to do

[Bouncy Ball]

22. Oh gosh I'm so glad

our troops are over there killing families in their sleep and old grandmothers so that they won't come over here and attack us.

:eyes:

mother FUCKER bush

[Plaid Adder]

23. It's OK, I'm Sure Some Kind Soldier Will Give Her A Beanie Bear

and make it all OK:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2835585&mesg_id=2835585

I wouldn't advise _posting_ on that thread, because it's clearly a trap (either we look bad for refusing to believe in a heartwarming story about a child or we get taken for suckers by an unconvincing piece of sentimental propaganda) but this thread up here makes the point I wanted to make about that story: it really, really, really, really sucks to be a child in a war zone. Not only do you end up in the hospital with your entire family dead, but everyone wants to appropriate you. You get used by everyone because everyone wants a piece of your innocence, especially those who have completely forfeited their own.

Re rbnyc's post: yes, we are all going crazy. This country is insane; or, as I have started to think of it, possessed. By what, God knows. But as sure as God made little apples, the carnage we unleashed over there is coming back over here one way or another, and that scares the shit out of me.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[Minstrel Boy]

27. Your wise post reminds me

of a song by David Usher on the War Child Canada benefit cd.

The refrain: "If you tolerate this, your children will be next."

http://www.warchild.ca/music_peacesongs_listen.asp

[Tsiyu]

25. Repukes don't want to know this reality, remember?

They want somebody else's kid to do this "work" and they want to sit their pasty asses in church and scream about gay people.

This is too "deep" for their shallow, selfish, gluttonous, hate-filled little hearts.

That's what will ultimately separate the sheep from the goats.

[G_j]

26. if Aysha was a boy would she be a suspected terrorist now? n/t

[vixengrl]

28. That poor sweet baby--what the hell

business do we have destroying her whole world? How the hell was her pregnant mom or her loving grandmother a threat to our way of life? I could just be sick--especially knowing how many AMerican would just shrug and say, "That's war."

[Minstrel Boy]

29. a kick and a plea to stop this n/t

[NashVegas]

30. Makes Me Wonder

If we'll start seeing appeals and movements for US people to adopt Iraqi-war orphans, the way it was done for Vietnam.

And that makes me wonder if anyone has done any long-term research about those adoptees and found out their attitudes and opinions towards their home country and our foreign policy.

[Mari333]

32. send her a beanie baby

I doubt the US public cares...remember, Survivor is on TV.

[livinginphotographs]

33. I feel ill.

I was thinking of something thoughtful to post, but the picture says it all.

[Darranar]

35. "Liberation." "Democracy." "Freedom. "Human Rights." n/t