Youssif and family arrive in U.S.: 'Am I in heaven?'

[proud2BlibKansan]

Youssif, now in an apartment in Los Angeles, will need months of treatment.

Editor's note: CNN agreed not to use the full names of the family members in this article due to concern for their safety.


LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Youssif, the 5-year-old Iraqi boy who was savagely burned by masked men, arrived in the United States late Tuesday with his family -- the first step toward his lengthy rehabilitation.

For a family whose lives were tortured by the random and brutal violence of Iraq, the sheer magnitude of stepping onto American soil was surreal. His parents were rendered speechless. Quite simply they grinned from ear to ear. They didn't need to speak. The joy on their faces was palpable.

They had traveled more than 7,500 miles to get help for their son, from war-torn central Baghdad to coastal Los Angeles. It marked the first time the family had ever left their homeland, let alone flown on a plane.

"Oh my God, it's so green. Am I in heaven?" Youssif's mother, Zainab, said after arriving in Chicago before the family flew on to Los Angeles where Youssif will be treated.

more . . . http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/12/youssif.arrives/index.html?eref=ib_us

[Kelly Rupert]

1. That's a touching story n/t

[OneBlueSky]

2. the number of photos of dead and maimed Iraqi children I've seen . . .

is enough to make one lose all hope for the human race . . . that we, as a civilization, cannot protect the weakest among us (add animals to the list) from these kinds of atrocities says all too much about humans and how we "value" life . . .

[opihimoimoi]

3. Humans should be schooled in civics and Human Behavior....