Four Years Later, Regret

I don't want to write another post about the ill-advised invasion, or the miserable state of the occupation. I did a little of that a few weeks back, on the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Today, on the anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, the day I literally felt my heart sink, I leave you with the reality of "liberation".

One way I have felt closer and more hurt by this war is because one of my closest friends is Iraqi. When her great aunt and uncle were brutally murdered in their home a few years back, I felt the reality of the numbers I heard everyday. When her recently wed cousin was also killed in Iraq, I did not know what to tell her. Today, she spoke to one of her cousins on the phone... a young girl who is too mature for her age, one of many that have become adults as a result of living through this war. Today, the 14-year old told my friend...

"I hated Saddam, I really did. He hurt Jido* a lot. But the day his statue came down in Baghdad 4 years ago, that's the day Iraq died. And thats the day we all died."

Another powerful account is that of a man who helped in the oft televised image of the Saddam statue being brought down by Iraqis and American soldiers. The Post profiles his story...

"We got rid of a tyrant and tyranny. But we were surprised that after one thief had left, another 40 replaced him," said Jubouri, who is a Shiite Muslim. "Now, we regret that Saddam Hussein is gone, no matter how much we hated him."

(*Jido: grandpa)

In the Richest Country in the World, Boy Dies of Toothache

An off and on homeless family, sick children, no medical insurance. Medicaid failed them. The dentists won't see the child because they don't accept Medicaid. Seeing the doctor in the beginning would've cost $80. Now, the boy is dead, and the bill is $250,000. Welcome to America.

Sick? Show me your insurance card. Don't have one? Go die.

For Want of a Dentist, by Mary Otto

Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday.
A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him.
If his mother had been insured.
If his family had not lost its Medicaid.
If Medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find.
If his mother hadn't been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth.
By the time Deamonte's own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George's County boy died.
Deamonte's death and the ultimate cost of his care, which could total more than $250,000, underscore an often-overlooked concern in the debate over universal health coverage: dental care.

Read the full article.

A Round Up of the Shameful Violence in Palestine

As if occupation, assassinations, home demolitions, and international siege were not enough to make the lives of Palestinians a living hell, now comes the threat of internal conflict between criminals affiliated with both Fatah and Hamas and opportunists who want to take advantage of the instability that is rampant in the Occupied Territories.

This began when the three children of the head of intelligence services Major Baha' Balousha were brutally murdered on their way to school. Balousha is a member of the Fatah party, and fingers were immediately pointed at the ruling party Hamas, without any evidence for such an implication.

"They drained my blood when they killed my three children, and wasted my lifetime's fruit in the blink of an eye. If they consider that an accomplishment, I congratulate them for it", the bereaved mother said.

According to fellow blogger Laila who heard the shots from her house, some sources indicate that it may have been Fatah members who had grudges against Balousha, which is not far fetched considering the fact that he is head of the sensitive intelligence department.

Apparently, Balousha had some sort of information on another high profile figure within Fateh that somebody thought should die with him. Except, of course, he missed his target.

Balousha had reportedly documented CIA money transfers to Abbas’s Fateh movement, and who was getting paid, as well as some other information about local drug dealers. I guess if you are an intelligence chief, there is a limitless number of reasons that people would want you dead.

Regardless of what the motive was, and who the intended target was, the fact of the matter is that taking the law into your own hands should not be an option. Sadly, children had to die to make it clear to their elders that their actions are brutal and uncalled for.

Unfortunately, the murders did not stop after this horrific incident. A Hamas affiliated judge was shot to death "gang style" by criminals allegedly from Fatah. He was the second judge to be killed in one week.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh cut his international begging trip short after the escalation of violence. He was attempting to reach out to neighboring countries that could help stem the growing despair in the Territories as the international community continues to impose sanctions on the democratically elected government. Israel prevented him from entering Gaza with the cash he received during his trip. The cash would have been used to pay the salaries of government employees who have not been paid for months.

On his way back into Gaza, the prime minister and his guards got into a scuffle with security forces affiliated with Fatah. The scuffle intensified and the PM's body guards was killed and twenty others were injured, including his son. The PM accused Fatah of attempting to assassinate him.

At the bodyguard's funeral, Khalil al-Hayeh, head of the Hamas bloc in parliament, told mourners that Dahlan was trying to instigate a coup against the government and appeared to call for his assassination.

Dahlan said the allegations were an attempt by Hamas leaders "to mask their sweeping failure to manage Palestinian political and social life."

Wait a minute, look who's talking! Dahlan?! One of the most vicious and corrupt members of Fatah?

At a Hamas led rally in Gaza the next day, Hamas officials said that President Abbas wants to start a war among Palestinians. Fatah affiliated security forces fired shots during the rally which caused clashes among protesters and armed forces.

And in the clashes continued in the West Bank:

The fighting Friday in the normally peaceful city of Ramallah began when Hamas supporters tried to march toward the town center, where Fatah-allied police had deployed to prevent a planned Hamas celebration.

Police formed a cordon around a Hamas mosque to prevent those inside from marching, then beat them with clubs and fired their rifles in the air when the activists tried to leave. The marchers fought back, throwing stones and bottles at the police, some of whom fired into the crowd.

So who is to blame?

There is no doubt that many have taken advantage of the deteriorating situation in the OT's. Fatah, in a weakened position after Hamas took control of the government through democratic elections, has been almost revelling as it watches the government fail to maintain control of the streets, keep the government running, or provide basic services for Palestinians due to the international siege imposed on them.

The US should be proud as well, as the Bush administration led the international community in boycotting the Hamas-led government and punishing the Palestinians for taking part in a democratic election. I guess this was part of the democracy promotion plan. It's no wonder then our efforts in Iraq are failing miserably.

To those criminals who are the cause of the violence: please, stop competing with the IDF. Please don't let the world watch as Palestinians grab each others' throats. Stop these shameful and senseless acts and know that your real enemy is the occupation and the individuals who are imposing this illegal occupation on you.

stop

this

madness.

Photos courtesy of Reuters, AP, Getty Images. See NYTimes slideshow.

On World AIDS Day

Today, December 1st, is World AIDS Day, a day of action and raising awareness about this brutal epidemic. On this day, I pray that the leaders of the world unite their power and resources to find a cure. I pray that we unite to erase the ignorance that is so prevalent in this world regarding this disease. I pray that the leaders of the world stop funding wars, buying F-16's and building nuclear weapons, and instead address the problems that we humans around the world agree are more important than this sickening greed for money and power.

Let's wipe out this ignorance and wipe out this disease, one by one, let's educate ourselves.


[technorati tags: AIDS, HIV, war]

Random News Stories

Hunger has been eradicated in the US. Yes, you heard me right. We no longer have a problem called "hunger." It's now called "low food security". The people at USDA are geniuses, really. Now the homeless man in front of my office will be saying, "Hi, I'm hungry suffering from very low food security, can you spare a dollar?"

You know there is something either seriously wrong with CNN or seriously wrong with some of my fellow Americans when you see this headline on their website: Woman Microwaves Baby. It was on the homepage yesterday. Sad, sad world.

Does something happen to politicians after they leave office? Because it seems to me that they start making sense only when they're not in office. Powell now says Iraq is in a "civil war." Or maybe they just have more freedom to speak their mind when they leave.

And to stop North Korea from nuking the world, the Bush administration has thought of a genius plan: no more iPods for Kim Jung Il. Yeah, don't dream of them buddy. We're not going to sell them to you! Nana nana na naaaaa!

Did you know Matt Lauer is 48?! Am I the only one who thought he was 35 or something like that? His make up artist must be good.

And in the Occupied Palestinian Territories...

The Israeli Occupying Forces took the lives of eight Palestinians and wounded at least ten others Thursday morning. Three of the dead were Hamas activists while the rest were unarmed innocent bystanders. A teenage boy and his father were killed in the attack. Later in the evening, an Israeli missile killed an unidentified 13 year old girl and another man in the Shijaia neighborhood in Gaza City.
[Aljazeera, Maan News, Reuters]

Clearly, Dr. Rice's visit to Israel was a step in the right direction.

A wounded Palestinian woman reacts after her son was killed by an Israeli missile in the Shijaia neighbourhood in Gaza October 12, 2006. An Israeli missile fired from an unmanned drone killed two Palestinians including a young girl and wounded more than 10 others in the Shijaia neighbourhood in Gaza City on Thursday, local residents and hospital staff said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA)

A Palestinian woman carries a child wounded by an Israeli missile strike in the Shijaia neighbourhood in Gaza October 12, 2006. An Israeli missile fired from an unmanned drone killed two Palestinians including a young girl and wounded more than 10 others in the Shijaia neighbourhood in Gaza City on Thursday, local residents and hospital staff said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA)

Palestinians gather round the debris of destroyed houses targeted by an Israeli missile attack in the Jabalia refugee camp, north of Gaza City. Six Palestinians, including a teenage boy and three Hamas militants, have been killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip as troops mounted a fresh incursion as part of a four-month offensive.(AFP/Mohammed Abed)

Relatives of Palestinian boy Sohaeb Qdeh, 13, mourn near his body following an Israeli air strike in Abbassan, near Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip. Five Palestinians, including the 13-year-old boy, were killed in an air strike supporting an Israeli army incursion into the Gaza Strip(AFP/Said Khatib)

[technorati tags: Palestine, Gaza, Israel, IDF]

Remember the Victims, Help the Survivors

It got a little cold over the past few days in the DC metro area. People started pulling out their wool coats, leather gloves, and cozy scarves as they cranked up the heaters in their homes and offices to stay warm in the near 50 degree weather. (Yeah, it's lame, I know, we're like that over here; we freak out when we get an inch of snow.) As people here and in many places in the northern hemisphere bundle up for the beginning of chilly weather, hundreds of thousands of people in are still living in tents one year after the tragic earthquake that hit Pakistan and Kashmir.

October 8th marks the 1st anniversary of the death of 75,000 human beings after a 7.6 magnitude quake struck the region. Millions of people were left homeless last winter, and this year again many thousands are still living in temporary shelters and tents.

The tremor occurred as the school day was beginning - 18,000 children died in schools alone, yet more were killed at home.

The BBC's Barbara Plett has visited the area and found that children are still being taught in tents and in the open air.

In one mountain village in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where 49 children died, students told our correspondent that they are no longer afraid to go back into school thanks to encouragement from their teachers - although a school has yet to be built. [BBC]

This comes at a time when many of us are reflecting upon the many bounties we have that we nonetheless take for granted everyday. Whether it's during Ramadan, Yom Kippur, or Thanksgiving and Christmas, many of us will remember those who are less fortunate and attempt to ease their suffering to the best of our abilities.

Not only in Pakistan and Kashmir are people in dire need of assistance, but also in Indonesia where people are still reeling from the tragedy of the tsunami, and in Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine where hunger, disease, and war plague the beleaguered peoples of those regions. Wherever you turn, there are people that need a helping hand, and with a simple click of a mouse, we can put food on their table, clothe their children, and help them find some peace of mind, however illusive that goal might seem.

Every little bit helps. And each of us surely has a "little bit".

Islamic Relief
UN World Food Programme
UNICEF
ICRCA survivor of the October 8, 2005 earthquake offers prayer at the grave of his father who died in the quake in Poonch, about 250 km (156 miles) northwest of the Indian city of Jammu October 7, 2006. REUTERS/Amit Gupta (INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR)

A survivor of the October 8, 2005 earthquake prepares food for the iftar during Ramadan at a refuge camp in the devastated city of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir October 6, 2006. Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf asked the international aid community on Thursday for an extra $800 million to cover reconstruction costs after a devastating earthquake a year ago. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood (PAKISTAN ADMINISTERED KASHMIR)


[technorati tags: south asia, earthquake, humanitarian, relief, Darfur, Palestine, tsunami, Iraq, Afghanistan]

On the Anniversary of the Worst Natural Disaster in the US...

I thought I would share the amazing story of one Muslim man living in New Orleans during the hurricane. It is a story of compassion, endurance, patience, and resolve. It also shows the major government failures in bringing help to the beleaguered Gulf region. Although it's a little long, it is definitely worth a read.

I heard a strange noise coming from outside when I woke up so, I went to see what it was. When I looked outside, I saw the water passing in the street . It was moving so very fast, just like a rapid river. It was moving all around my house, and it looked like it was steadily rising. My first thought was the levee had broken. All I could think of was what to do next.

And when you can't imagine that anything worse could happen...

When I entered the area where the phone was, I saw a strange man there. I asked my tenant who he was, and what he was doing here. My tenant said that he was with the search and rescue team, and he needed to use the phone. I told him, "Oh, ok." We heard people outside. My tenant went to talk to them. It was the military. They asked him if we needed water. We told him no thank you, we have some. Then they jumped out the boat, went inside the house with their machine guns, and they were yelling at us to get in the boat. One of the military persons searched the house, for what? Only God knows. They treated us like hard criminals. They asked to see our ID cards, we showed it to them, they didn't even look at it. They only returned it to us. I told them I own this house, and my tenant was trying to prove to them that he lived there. They didn't care. They forced us out by gunpoint.

Read Abdulrahman Zeitoun's full story here.

Another Quake...Another Devastation

Of course they are bound to occur. Natural disasters are usually unaviodable. Humans attempt to build structures to stem the effects of hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc. We try to take precautions and prepare people so that they can take specific steps that will help them save their lives and belongings during such disasters. But there is only so much individuals can do.

Governments of course have a role because we entrust them with providing us security and stability in our lives, including during natural disasters. But not all governments are equal. Not all states have similar resources.

So why not creat an international force that can leap into action at the first signs of an earthquake, tsunami, or hurricane?

This would be a neutral, strictly humanitarian coalition of professionals including doctors, nurses, paramedics, rescuers, engineers, etc who would be trained in dealing with disaster stricken areas of all kinds. At the first sign of such a disaster, the affected nation would immediately contact this UN sponsored committee and ask for assistance.

Without too much paperwork and bureaucratic strings attached, this international force would leap into action and be ready to go within hours of notification. They should arrive at the disaster zone no later than 24 hours from the time of contact and shall be equipped with all necessary equipment for them to do their work efficiently. Their work is saving lives. Period.

The amount of people who are afflicted with disease, hunger, malnutrition, etc in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster can be significantly diminished if such a force existed to help with food distribution, setting up temporary homes, and make-shift hospitals.
I realize that when such disasters occur, many governments around the world extend their hands in assistance with money, manpower, medicine, food, etc. However, this usually takes a few days before individuals are deployed to the disaster zone. An internationally sanctioned humanitarian force would be more efficient and more powerful in numbers and tools to do the work they need to do.

If such an entity already exists, then I am not aware of it as I did not see it put to work during the earthquake in Iran, the tsunami in East Asia, Hurricane Katrina, and many others.

The devastating earthquake in Indonesia is a sad reminder to us all. For the sake of thousands that have already died, and the many others that have been displaced and injured because of these disasters, will someone please do something?

UN Security Council jocks, are you listening to me?!

[photo of Indonesia earthquake aftermath, Reuters]
[technorati tags: international, disasters, natural, assistance, UN, Indonesia, earthquake]

"I Will Die": Gaza on the Verge of a Health Crisis

In between all the headlines about the "civilized" world stopping its aid to the new Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, and behind the rhetoric and the justifications for such immoral actions, average Palestinians are rotting away in their homes and in hospital beds as they await much needed medical supplies.

From cancer patients to those with a common stomach flu, the answer from the hospital is the same: go home, we can't help you, we don't have medicine.

Palestinian health minister Dr. Bassem Naeem made a plea on AlJazeera today to world leaders and Arab and international NGOs to assist the Palestinians in obtaining much needed medical supplies in light of the Israeli closures of major passageways to the Gaza Strip (yes, that piece of land that Israel recently unilaterally 'disengaged' from but which remains under a strong chokehold from the IDF) and a halt in international aid. He warned that the Palestinian territories would face an imminent health crisis if no assistance was provided in the coming days.

Gaza's main hospital did not have what she needed, the Palestinian mother of seven said. Ghaith, 60, had her left foot amputated recently after an illness. She also suffers from chronic blood pressure.

"I will die. Without medicine I will die," Ghaith said as her son Hani, a police officer whose salary is nearly a month overdue, pushed her along a hospital corridor.

A combination of Israel's frequent closures of border crossings into Gaza and reduced foreign aid flows in the wake of the election win of the militant group Hamas in January has worsened humanitarian conditions in the impoverished strip. [link]

Even those countries that have heeded the message from the health minister have faced serious roadblocks to providing much needed emergency aid to the sick in the Gaza Strip. A Jordanian shipment of medical supplies to al-Shifaa Hospital stopped short of being delivered to sick patients as it is being blocked by the Israeli forces from entering the Strip, according to statements made the health minister on AlJazeera this evening.

Al Araj [economy minister] asserted that Israel is using the closure of the crossings and Gaza's humanitarian crisis as leverage against the Palestinian side, adding that international trade agreements have forbidden the use of commercial crossings as negotiations card, but Israel insists on doing so and forcing the passage of certain goods through its Kerem Shalom crossing.

On the other hand, the Minister of Health Basem Naim revealed that his ministry is suffering from a severe shortage of medicines due to the continuous Israeli siege and closure of the Gaza Strip.

Naim asserted that the Ministry of Health needs at least $4 million for its monthly operating costs, adding that the constant closures have disrupted the work of hospitals and primary care centers, as well as hindering the arrival of medical assistance from several countries. [link]

The blockage of emergency medical assistance translates into the deterioration of the health of hundreds of patients in Gaza's hospitals, some of whom have even lost their lives.

Palestinian health officials said the ministry also had to scale back the number of patients it transferred abroad for treatment because of accumulating debts.

"That means I may lose my son," said Musa Bahloul, standing next to his 13-year-old boy, who needs a kidney transplant.

Most Gazans rely on government hospitals and clinics for cheap or free services. When more than half the population is living under the poverty line, not many can afford expensive health services. But even those who may have money to buy medicine, pharmacists say many types of medicine are just not available under the current seige. Health practitioners continue to make appeals to the rest of the world.

But Mazen al-Aloul, chief nurse at Shifa, said employees were depressed about not getting their salaries.

"We suffer serious shortages in everything, but most importantly ... dealing with difficult illnesses like cancer and kidney failure," he said.

"We know America stands with Israel but we urge Europe, the mother of democracy, to lift the siege on our people," he said.

I'm afriad, brother, that the EU has abandoned you, and so has most of the world for that matter. You chose to vote, this is your punishment.

[technorati tags: Gaza, Palestine, crisis, human rights, international, EU, failures]