In this video, Salee and her father pay a visit to Amy Goodman of Democracy Now. NMV video opens the segment, and then they fill out of the story of the attack and the grassroots efforts that brought her here for medical care at Shriner’s Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina.
A HELPING HAND: Teenagers brought together by pain of war
The two girls had never met before last weekend, but they already had a special connection.One is a 12-year-old Iraqi who lost her legs during an American airstrike. The other is a 15-year-old Carmel High School student. Three years ago, Salee Allawi was playing outside her home in Fallujah, Iraq, when a missile hit. The…
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Upstate friends help Iraqi girl return to Greenville
Bear hugs and welcoming smiles greeted Salee Allawe when she returned to Shriners Hospital for Children on Wednesday, two years after traveling to Greenville from Iraq to be fitted with prosthetic legs. The Iraqi girl lost both legs in a missile strike, according to No More Victims, the group that arranged her trip. She captivated…
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Help for the Victims: WNC Women Seek to Aid Iraqi children
ASHEVILLE – In September, Anne Craig went from despair to hope when she met Salee Allawe, a 9-year-old Iraqi girl who lost both legs in a U.S. bomb attack near her home. “I knew I could do something about the devastation that’s been caused in Iraq,” Craig said. “I decided then to start a chapter…
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Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman Interviews Salee and Her Father
Before returning to Iraq, Salee and her father joined Amy Goodman on Democracy Now to talk about the American air strike that took her legs, their lives in occupied Iraq and the medical treatment she received under the auspices of NMV.
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Salee Says Goodbye
GreenvilleOnline.com has a short clip of Salee's departure.
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Iraqi girl takes new legs for walk around town
There's an elevator at Falls Park but Salee Allawe is determined to take the stairs from Main Street down to the bridge over the Reedy River. "I want to do it," the plucky 10-year-old Iraqi girl announces. And so she does, carefully placing her right prosthetic leg on a step and then her left, using…
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People Magazine Coverage
People Magazine spent some time with Salee, NMV and local volunteers in Greenville, SC. They got some great photographs and put together a 4-page spread for their September 14 issue. Here are scans of their pages:
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Smiles, kind gestures help heal Iraqi girl’s wounds
Eight months after an American bomb blew off her legs, 9-year-old Salee Allawy came to Greenville, S.C., for surgery, therapy and prosthetic legs. She came with her father, Hussein Allawy, sponsored by the nonprofit, No More Victims, which works to obtain medical scholarships for war-injured Iraqi children, and to forge ties between American and Iraqi…
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All the Children of the World
Salee Allawe, a ten-year-old child, was critically injured on November 7, 2006 while playing with her brother, cousin and some friends outside her uncle’s home in Haswa, Iraq. Salee said they were playing hopscotch when US jets flew overhead and fired missiles. A US missile killed her 15 year-old brother and her cousin and blew…
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Iraqi girl takes first steps on new legs
The 9-year-old Iraqi girl who lost her legs in an airstrike walked on two prosthetic legs at Shriners Hospital for Children in Greenville for the first time today. "She was like, ‘Look, I got my second leg. I’m walking,’ " said interpreter Ghada Saif. "She was really excited." "It was one of those moments like…
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Girl crosses war-torn land to fufill dream of new legs
Salee Allawe dreams of running with her friends, of walking to her mother with a bouquet of flowers, of finally getting out of her wheelchair. And with the help of the Upstate, her dream is about to come true. The 9-year-old Iraqi girl lost both legs below the knee in an airstrike last fall. She…
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Salee starts road to new legs
The X-ray on the light box exposes the stark reality of Salee Allawe's injuries -- jagged bone below the left knee, a healed thigh fracture on what's left of her right leg, chunks of shrapnel in the flesh. "You have a very short segment like this," says Dr. David Westberry, pointing to the X-ray before…
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Injured Iraqi girl looking forward to walking again
Salee Allawe dreams of running with her friends, of walking to her mother with a bouquet of flowers, of finally getting out of her wheelchair. And with the help of the Upstate, her dream is about to come true. The 9-year-old Iraqi girl lost both legs below the knee in an air strike last fall.…
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Iraqi girl keeps her bounce after surgery
Swatting at a yellow balloon and giggling as it bounces off her interpreter’s nose, Salee Allawe hardly presents the picture of a 9-year-old who’s just had surgery after losing her legs in a U.S. air strike that killed her brother a few months ago in Iraq. “She’s happy and excited,” Lora Alakhwan, an 18-year-old Greenville…
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Iraqi girl at Shriners Hospital today
Salee Allawe smiled shyly Sunday as her father pushed her wheelchair into the baggage claim at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. The 9-year-old Iraqi girl had finally made it to Greenville to get the medical treatment she needs, about eight months after losing her legs in a U.S. airstrike, volunteers say. A crowd of about 25 greeted…
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Iraqi Girl to Get Prostheses in U.S.
A 9-year-old Iraqi girl injured during a U.S. air strike may walk again after she receives prosthetic legs at a hospital here. Salee Allawe arrived at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport on Sunday with her father, about eight months after a bomb hit her home in Hasswa, Iraq. She and her brother were playing with friends…
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Iraqi girl arrives in Greenville to receive prosthetic legs
Salee Allawe smiled shyly Sunday as her father pushed her wheelchair into the baggage claim at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. The 9-year-old Iraqi girl had finally made it to Greenville to get the medical treatment she needs, about nine months after losing her legs in a U.S. air strike, volunteers say. A crowd of about 25…
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Mother’s Day for Peace
This short film was produced by Brave New Films. In February 2006, we accompanied Omar and his father to the US after making arrangements for Omar’s treatment in Boston. Robert Greenwald had produced a new video about Mother’s Day that featured Gloria Steinem and a number of well-known actresses. Mother’s Day was originally intended as an urgent invitation for the women of the world to stand up against war and militarism. Elizabeth Ward Howe wrote the proclamation. The day has metastasized into a tacky merchandizing bonanza, and most people don’t know its origins. But they exist, and this video informed tens of thousands of viewers about the forgotten roots of Mother’s Day.
NNV was working on a project to bring Salee Alawee to the US for a new pair of legs. Hers had been blown off in the US missile strike that killed her brother and best friend and seriously injured her four-year-old cousin. Brave New Foundation used Mother’s Day for Peace to raise funds that helped us realize that project. Salee visited the states three times over the years for new prosthetic legs. We will always be grateful to Robert Greenwald and Brave New Foundation for their vital assistance with helping Salee and other war-injured children.
Brave New Films and Brave New Foundation have been tireless in efforts to inform the public about official crimes, especially war crimes. They are currently doing very important work on the infamous use of drones to terrorize entire civilian populations. We urge you to visit their websites here, here and here.
War crimes have fingerprints, and there is no statute of limitations.
Project helps Iraqi children hurt by war all year round
Is there something about this time of year that makes stories featuring children more poignant? Or is it just that as we get closer to the holidays, we naturally hear more about the plight of children who have to make do with less in a can't-get-enough world? I have to confess that this has been…
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