Mustafa Abed Arrives in Portland for Emergency Medical Treatment

Mustafa Abed was grievously injured in an air strike on the Iraqi city of Fallujah. In this news report, he arrives in Portland for urgently needed medical treatment. After his first medical examination, we learned that the US missile strike that severed his leg and hip from his body had also caused massive internal injuries that were life-threatening and extremely painful. He had a bladder stone the size of a large egg. It was removed. So was one of his kidneys. Despite the expert medical treatment he received — treatment unavailable to the vast majority of children injured by US forces — he will be plagued by these injuries for the rest of his life.

A small group of committed Americans brought Mustafa for treatment — making all the arrangements and raising necessary funds themselves — because a quarter of his body had been blown off by a US missile, leaving him to suffer from excruciating internal injuries for four years.

The smiley face affixed to this tale of mindless violence and heartless neglect is instructive. States do not have minds or hearts. Neither do the corporations that own the media and profit from war.

People do.

Categorised in: Children, Mustafa Abed

This post was written by Cole Miller