[IMC Bombay] 12 year old Charlotte's plea to America
Astad Randeria
aranderia at yahoo.co.uk
Wed, 19 Mar 2003 11:56:30 +0000 (GMT)
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i usually don't pass thngs like this on.. and im not even encouraging u to sign, but, read.. and understand.. especially those of you who can make yourselves heard.. political scams, economic scams, racial bashing and bringing up communalist issues to win elections have come, and gone by most of you unnoticed..
the biggest murderer is not Saddam, as Bush would like us to believe..
the biggest murderer is not Bush as we would like to believe..
the biggest murderers aren't the powers that be..
the biggest murderers are us... yes, us..
We, who would rather watch the match and ridicule Mandira Bedi, and read Bombay Times and the sports section of newspapers and who treat Iraq as a project topic for one of our college assignments...
we, who instead of being ashamed at the fact that we don't know whats happening in our world, ridicule others for knowing..
we, who sit in the comfort of our middle-class homes..
lets.. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE.. and imagine having to smell the smoke from bombs and oil-fires, and considering yourself lucky to be able to smell those fumes at all..
lets wake up now atleast..
Maybe we can prevent the Third Gulf War.. we're too late to do anything about the second..
wake up and know that we already have the death of millions of children on our head..
lets help as much as we can.. or atleast a little bit..
lets wake up...
-Astad.
> -> Sending a moving speech by a 12-year old American
> > girl - but first this update re: moveon.org's
> > emergency petition to the U.N. Security: Less
> > than
> > two days after it was launched, over 550,000
> > people have signed, from over 200 countries.
> > Pass it on, and if you haven't signed, go to:
> >
> > http://www.moveon.org/emergency/
> >
> > Here's the transcript of 12-year old Charlotte
> > Aldebron speech at a Maine Peace Rally on
> > February 15, 2003, a day of global protests
> > against the War in Iraq, which drew millions on
> > to the streets.
> >
A 12 Year Old's Plea To America
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 like 18-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
Thank you for readin all the way through..
-Astad.
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<P>i usually don't pass thngs like this on.. and im not even encouraging u to sign, but, read.. and understand.. especially those of you who can make yourselves heard.. political scams, economic scams, racial bashing and bringing up communalist issues to win elections have come, and gone by most of you unnoticed..
<P>the biggest murderer is not Saddam, as Bush would like us to believe..
<P>the biggest murderer is not Bush as we would like to believe..
<P>the biggest murderers aren't the powers that be..
<P>the biggest murderers are us... yes, us..
<P>We, who would rather watch the match and ridicule Mandira Bedi, and read Bombay Times and the sports section of newspapers and who treat Iraq as a project topic for one of our college assignments...
<P>we, who instead of being ashamed at the fact that we don't know whats happening in our world, ridicule others for knowing..
<P>we, who sit in the comfort of our middle-class homes..
<P>lets.. <STRONG>WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE..</STRONG> and imagine having to smell the smoke from bombs and oil-fires, and considering yourself lucky to be able to smell those fumes at all..
<P>lets wake up now atleast..
<P>Maybe we can prevent the Third Gulf War.. we're too late to do anything about the second..</P>
<P>wake up and know that we already have the death of millions of children on our head..</P>
<P>lets help as much as we can.. or atleast a little bit..</P>
<P>lets wake up...</P>
<P>-Astad.</P>
<P> </P>
<P><BR>> -> Sending a moving speech by a 12-year old American<BR>> > girl - but first this update re: moveon.org's<BR>> > emergency petition to the U.N. Security: Less<BR>> > than<BR>> > two days after it was launched, over 550,000<BR>> > people have signed, from over 200 countries.<BR>> > Pass it on, and if you haven't signed, go to:<BR>> ><BR>> > http://www.moveon.org/emergency/<BR>> ><BR>> > Here's the transcript of 12-year old Charlotte<BR>> > Aldebron speech at a Maine Peace Rally on<BR>> > February 15, 2003, a day of global protests<BR>> > against the War in Iraq, which drew millions on<BR>> > to the streets.<BR>> ><BR></P>
<P> </P>
<P> <STRONG><U>A 12 Year Old's Plea To America<BR></U></STRONG><BR> by Charlotte Aldebron<BR><BR>> > When people think about bombing Iraq, they see a<BR>> > picture in their heads of Saddam Hussein in a<BR>> > military uniform, or maybe soldiers with big<BR>> > black<BR>> > mustaches carrying guns, or the mosaic of George<BR>> > Bush Sr. on the lobby floor of the Al-Rashid<BR>> > Hotel with the word "criminal". But guess what?<BR>> > More than half of Iraq's 24 million people are<BR>> > children under the age of 15. That's 12 million<BR>> > kids. Kids like me. Well, I'm almost 13, so some<BR>> > are a little older, and some a<BR>> > lot younger, some boys instead of girls, some<BR>> > with brown hair, not red. But<BR>> > kids who are pretty much like me just the same.<BR>> > So take a look at me-a good<BR>> > long look. Because I am what you should see in<BR>> > your head when you think about<BR>> > bombing Iraq. I am what you are going to<BR>> > destroy.<BR>> ><BR>> > If I am lucky, I will be killed instantly, like<BR>> > the three hundred children murdered by your<BR>> > "smart" bombs in a Baghdad bomb shelter on<BR>> > February 16, 1991.<BR>> > The blast caused a fire so intense that it<BR>> > flash-burned outlines of those children and their<BR>> > mothers on the walls; you can still peel strips<BR>> > of blackened skin-souvenirs of your victory-from<BR>> > the stones.<BR>> ><BR>> > But maybe I won't be lucky and I'll die slowly,<BR>> > like 14-year-old Ali Faisal, who right now is on<BR>> > the "death ward" of the Baghdad children's<BR>> > hospital. He has malignant lymphoma-cancer-caused<BR>> > by the depleted uranium in your Gulf War<BR>> > missiles. Or maybe I will die painfully and<BR>> > needlessly like 18-month-old<BR>> > Mustafa, whose vital organs are being devoured by<BR>> > sand fly parasites. I know it's hard to believe,<BR>> > but Mustafa could be totally cured with just $25<BR>> > worth of medicine, but there is none of this<BR>> > medicine because of your sanctions.<BR>> ><BR>> > Or maybe I won't die at all but will live for<BR>> > years with the psychological damage that you<BR>> > can't see from the outside, like Salman Mohammed,<BR>> > who even now can't forget the terror he lived<BR>> > through with his little sisters when you<BR>> > bombed Iraq in 1991. Salman's father made the<BR>> > whole family sleep in the same room so that they<BR>> > would all survive together, or die together. He<BR>> > still has nightmares about the air raid sirens.<BR>> ><BR>> > Or maybe I will be orphaned like Ali, who was<BR>> > three when you killed his father in the Gulf War.<BR>> > Ali scraped at the dirt covering his father's<BR>> > grave every day for three years calling out to<BR>> > him, "It's all right Daddy, you can come out<BR>> > now, the men who put you here have gone away."<BR>> > Well, Ali, you're wrong. It looks like those men<BR>> > are coming back.<BR>> ><BR>> > Or I maybe I will make it in one piece, like Luay<BR>> > Majed, who remembers that the Gulf War meant he<BR>> > didn't have to go to school and could stay up as<BR>> > late as he wanted. But today, with no education,<BR>> > he tries to live by selling newspapers on<BR>> > the street.<BR>> ><BR>> > Imagine that these are your children-or nieces or<BR>> > nephews or neighbors.<BR>> > Imagine your son screaming from the agony of a<BR>> > severed limb, but you can't do anything to ease<BR>> > the pain or comfort him. Imagine your daughter<BR>> > crying out from under the rubble of a collapsed<BR>> > building, but you can't get to her.<BR>> > Imagine your children wandering the streets,<BR>> > hungry and alone, after having<BR>> > watched you die before their eyes.<BR>> ><BR>> > This is not an adventure movie or a fantasy or a<BR>> > video game. This is reality for children in Iraq.<BR>> > Recently, an international group of researchers<BR>> > went to Iraq to find out how children there are<BR>> > being affected by the possibility of<BR>> > war. Half the children they talked to said they<BR>> > saw no point in living any more. Even really<BR>> > young kids knew about war and worried about it.<BR>> > One 5-year-old, Assem, described it as "guns and<BR>> > bombs and the air will be cold and hot<BR>> > and we will burn very much." Ten-year-old Aesar<BR>> > had a message for President<BR>> > Bush: he wanted him to know that "A lot of Iraqi<BR>> > children will die. You will<BR>> > see it on TV and then you will regret."<BR>> ><BR>> > Back in elementary school I was taught to solve<BR>> > problems with other kids not by hitting or<BR>> > name-calling, but by talking and using "I"<BR>> > messages. The idea of an "I" message was to make<BR>> > the other person understand how bad his or her<BR>> > actions made you feel, so that the person would<BR>> > sympathize with you and stop<BR>> > it. Now I am going to give you an "I" message.<BR>> > Only it's going to be a "We" message. "We" as in<BR>> > all the children in Iraq who are waiting<BR>> > helplessly for something bad to happen. "We" as<BR>> > in the children of the world who don't make<BR>> > any of the decisions but have to suffer all the<BR>> > consequences. "We" as in those<BR>> > whose voices are too small and too far away to be<BR>> > heard.<BR>> ><BR>> ><BR>> > * We feel scared when we don't know if<BR>> > we'll live another day.<BR>> > * We feel angry when people want to kill<BR>> > us or injure us or steal our<BR>> > future.<BR>> > * We feel sad because all we want is a mom<BR>> > and a dad who we know will be<BR>> > there the next day. And, finally, we feel<BR>> > confused . because we don't even know<BR>> > what we did wrong.<BR>> ><BR>> ><BR>> > Charlotte Aldebron, 12, attends Cunningham Middle<BR>> > School in Presque Isle,<BR>> > Maine. Comments may be sent to her mom, Jillian<BR>> > Aldebron: <A href="mailto:aldebron@ainop.com">aldebron@ainop.com</A><BR></P>
<P>Thank you for readin all the way through.. </P>
<P>-Astad.</P><BR><BR><p><p><br><hr size=1><a href="http://uk.yahoo.com/mail/tagline_xtra/?http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/mail_storage.html"><b><font face="Arial" size="2">With Yahoo! Mail you can get a bigger mailbox -- choose a size that fits your needs</font></b></a><br>
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