redman Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0218-05.htm Published on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 by CommonDreams.org Presque Isle, Maine Peace Rally Speech Before 150 Aroostook county residents from around the County February 15, 2003 - St. Mary’s Church by Charlotte Aldebron When people think about bombing Iraq, they see a picture in their heads of Saddam Hussein in a military uniform, or maybe soldiers with big black mustaches carrying guns, or the mosaic of George Bush Sr. on the lobby floor of the Al-Rashid Hotel with the word “criminal”. But guess what? More than half of Iraq’s 24 million people are children under the age of 15. That’s 12 million kids. Kids like me. Well, I’m almost 13, so some are a little older, and some a lot younger, some boys instead of girls, some with brown hair, not red. But kids who are pretty much like me just the same. So take a look at me—a good long look. Because I am what you should see in your head when you think about bombing Iraq. I am what you are going to destroy. If I am lucky, I will be killed instantly, like the three hundred children murdered by your “smart” bombs in a Baghdad bomb shelter on February 16, 1991. The blast caused a fire so intense that it flash-burned outlines of those children and their mothers on the walls; you can still peel strips of blackened skin—souvenirs of your victory—from the stones. But maybe I won’t be lucky and I’ll die slowly, like 14-year-old Ali Faisal, who right now is on the “death ward” of the Baghdad children’s hospital. He has malignant lymphoma—cancer—caused by the depleted uranium in your Gulf War missiles. Or maybe I will die painfully and needlessly like18-month-old Mustafa, whose vital organs are being devoured by sand fly parasites. I know it’s hard to believe, but Mustafa could be totally cured with just $25 worth of medicine, but there is none of this medicine because of your sanctions. Or maybe I won’t die at all but will live for years with the psychological damage that you can’t see from the outside, like Salman Mohammed, who even now can’t forget the terror he lived through with his little sisters when you bombed Iraq in 1991. Salman’s father made the whole family sleep in the same room so that they would all survive together, or die together. He still has nightmares about the air raid sirens. Or maybe I will be orphaned like Ali, who was three when you killed his father in the Gulf War. Ali scraped at the dirt covering his father’s grave every day for three years calling out to him, “It’s all right Daddy, you can come out now, the men who put you here have gone away.” Well, Ali, you’re wrong. It looks like those men are coming back. Or I maybe I will make it in one piece, like Luay Majed, who remembers that the Gulf War meant he didn’t have to go to school and could stay up as late as he wanted. But today, with no education, he tries to live by selling newspapers on the street. Imagine that these are your children—or nieces or nephews or neighbors. Imagine your son screaming from the agony of a severed limb, but you can’t do anything to ease the pain or comfort him. Imagine your daughter crying out from under the rubble of a collapsed building, but you can’t get to her. Imagine your children wandering the streets, hungry and alone, after having watched you die before their eyes. This is not an adventure movie or a fantasy or a video game. This is reality for children in Iraq. Recently, an international group of researchers went to Iraq to find out how children there are being affected by the possibility of war. Half the children they talked to said they saw no point in living any more. Even really young kids knew about war and worried about it. One 5-year-old, Assem, described it as “guns and bombs and the air will be cold and hot and we will burn very much.” Ten-year-old Aesar had a message for President Bush: he wanted him to know that “A lot of Iraqi children will die. You will see it on TV and then you will regret.” Back in elementary school I was taught to solve problems with other kids not by hitting or name-calling, but by talking and using “I” messages. The idea of an “I” message was to make the other person understand how bad his or her actions made you feel, so that the person would sympathize with you and stop it. Now I am going to give you an “I” message. Only it’s going to be a “We” message. “We” as in all the children in Iraq who are waiting helplessly for something bad to happen. “We” as in the children of the world who don’t make any of the decisions but have to suffer all the consequences. “We” as in those whose voices are too small and too far away to be heard. We feel scared when we don’t know if we’ll live another day. We feel angry when people want to kill us or injure us or steal our future. We feel sad because all we want is a mom and a dad who we know will be there the next day. And, finally, we feel confused … because we don’t even know what we did wrong. Charlotte Aldebron, 12, attends Cunningham Middle School in Presque Isle, Maine. Comments may be sent to her mom, Jillian Aldebron: aldebron@ainop.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Mike Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 I don't mean to sound cruel but a 12 year old cannot begin to understand what this is about. I wonder if somone has taken the time to explain to her the cruelties that Sadam inflicts upon his own people. The government sanctioned rapists that are used to force confessions. The torture chambers. Does she understand the lessons learned with Hitler? The failure of Neville Chamberlain? Pardon me if I am moved to change my mind. SADAM MUST GO. I sent this letter to her parents... To whom it may concern. Clearly you have a wonderful, talented and caring daughter. I feel for her concerns. However I have a few concerns of my own. Please excuse the frank nature of what I must say but I wonder if somone has taken the time to explain to her the cruelties that Sadam inflicts upon his own people. The fact that our sanctions do not prevent the children of Iraq from recieving medicine, Sadam does. The government sanctioned rapists that are used to force confessions; the torture chambers? Does she understand the lessons learned with Hitler? The failure of Neville Chamberlain? No, war is not good, but some things are worse. To live in fear or to watch your wife or daughter raped in order to force a confession or to punish you for instance. And what of America? After 9/11 the first question some asked was "what did Bush know and when did he know it?" It was a terible, unfair attack on a president who just took office. Well we do know now that there is a real danger of Iraq and Al Qaeda cooperating to attack us. They don't have to be best freands, they only have to agree to hate us. If it was your responsibility to protect America, could YOU live with yourself if we were attacked with chemical or biological weapons, leaving thousands or hundreds of thousands of Americans dead and you did nothing to prevent it knowing the danger existed? This is the choice Bush must make. For the record, I am neither a republican nor democrat. I am an independant thinker and I will be the first to agree that Bush is far from perfect. But I do believe he is doing what he thinks is right and I agree with him that the danger is too great to ignore. Thank you for your time. All the best to you and your family. May you be healthy, safe, and happy. Sincerely J. Michael Washé Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 If that girl is 12, then Saddam is a Saint. But for fun lets assume she is. Why doesnt she write a letter to her leader and ask him to abide by the cease fires, resolutions and mandates. Why? Because she'd be killed for speaking out. She should lay down and kiss the feet of our soldiers when we come to her rescue. Or perhaps one of Uday Husseins rape squads will get to her first. Effin amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins24 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 .....and if you send this to 5 friends all your dreams will come true in 6 months If you send this to 10 friends all your dreams will come true in 3 months.... :laugh: That letter is phony from the word go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdsknbill Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 This letter is incredibly deep for a twelve year old. The vets of the Persian Gulf war saw some of their brothers die in that conflict. The Bush Sr. administration did a wonderful job of diluting the number of allied losses during that conflict. There were much more than were ever talked about. The point is that this little girl was nothing but a gleam in her father's eye during the conflict in 91. Hussein is the problem. Finishing the job in 91 was the solution. Now W is trying to finish thejob, while facing great opposition in the UN. This is a terrile situation, but one that IMO must be put to rest. PERIOD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins24 Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 The Bush Sr. administration did a wonderful job of diluting the number of allied losses during that conflict. There were much more than were ever talked about. That's why the deficits were so high!! Because he was paying everyone to keep quiet! Seriously though, how exactly do you do that rdskinbill? And keep it a secret for over 10 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkyalligator Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 There is no way the person that wrote this letter is 12 years old. The ideas that are displayed within it are too complex for a 12 year old to discuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Originally posted by Kilmer17 Why doesnt she write a letter to her leader and ask him to abide by the cease fires, resolutions and mandates. Effin amazing. She is from Maine, Saddam is not her leader, she wrote the letter to ask people to try to view the conflict from the eyes of Iraqi children, who don't have anything to do with Saddam being in power. I am not for or against the letter, just pointing that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Murphaaay Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Originally posted by Kilmer17 If that girl is 12, then Saddam is a Saint. But for fun lets assume she is. Why doesnt she write a letter to her leader and ask him to abide by the cease fires, resolutions and mandates. Why? Because she'd be killed for speaking out. She should lay down and kiss the feet of our soldiers when we come to her rescue. Or perhaps one of Uday Husseins rape squads will get to her first. Effin amazing. Maybe because ethically every country should have the right to protect themselves. Why doesn't the US set an example for everyone and disarm their weaponry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 "Why doesn't the US set an example for everyone and disarm their weaponry?" You're not serious are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJWatson3 Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 while i like to consider myself an idealist, what would drive us to disarm? it's not like we are beloved around the world and have nothing to fear... security comes from bombs and weapons, but from such things also arises fear... that is how we stay #1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 I'm not saying I personally believe this but to play devil's advocate, those on the opposite side would say that the US wants to eliminate others from having the means to protect themselves while the US goes unregulated. Who is the judge as to who is allowed to have nukes and who is not, Bush or Clinton or whomever the US president is could be viewed as a nutjob by another country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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