Blogging Cole Miller – Dave Ross Show

KIRO Radio, Seattle May 2006
So, at first I was going to give you some more inside scoop on what’s happening over here at KIRO, and how someone stole a bunch of my books from my desk (news scavengers)….but then we had an amazing guest on the show today, and I was touched so I have to tell you about that first…

Today we talked with Cole Miller on the Dave Ross Show today during our 11:00am hour. (You can hear that interview on our pod cast page). If you’ve read the other blogs I’ve posted you know that I am often humbled (and quite honestly jealous and guilt ridden) by the selfless acts of others (you can read a little about that on my Rachel Corrie blog).

Anyhow I was again humbled and inspired by Cole Miller. Cole started the organization No More Victims. The mission of No More Victims, a non-profit, non-sectarian, humanist organization, “is to restore health and well-being to victims of war and to advocate and educate for peace”. Basically what they do is bring children who have been wounded or maimed in Iraq, specifically those who were wounded by American soldiers (not by the insurgency) to the United States so they can get adequate medical attention.

One little boy they helped is Abdul Hakeem Hussein. Abdul Hakeem was asleep at home when mortar rounds fired by US forces hit his family’s home in Fallouja. His mother suffered abdominal and chest injuries and has undergone five major operations. His older brother and sister were also injured in the attack. US forces refused to permit ambulances to transport civilian casualties to the hospital (according to No Victims). A neighbor volunteered to take the family to the hospital, where doctors assessed Hakim’s chances of survival at five percent. They laid his body aside and treated other civilian casualties whose chances of survival appeared higher.

Hakeem miraculously survived. But after more than two years of US occupation, the medical and rehabilitative care he needed was not available to him in Iraq. He needed an ocular prosthesis (eyeball), skin grafting and/or expansion, and replacement of his left temporomandibular joint (TMJ). He needed a thorough examination by a regular pediatrician with concern for his nutritional status since he could not chew his food.

No More Victims brought Hakeem and his family to the united states where he has received a prosthetic eye and is currently recovering from several surgeries in a Pittsburg Hospital.

No matter your views on this or any other war we can all agree there are innocent victims and these children are examples of that tragedy. I admire the works of Cole Miller. If you do to, go see him this weekend at Greenlake, he’ll be there between 1 and 4pm – on a peace walk. If you are moved by these stories like I am – go to the website, tell your friends and make a difference.

Categorised in: Abdul Hakeem, Children

This post was written by Cole Miller