In Iraq: The Undeclared War On Children
http://www.saneramblings.comThis is little Nuri. He's just 20 months old, two feet tall, weighs about 23 pounds and has innocent dark eyes and a soft smile. Soon he may die.
Because his tiny tummy hurts from hunger, he often cries himself to sleep. His parents desperately seek more milk and more food for him but it's in very short supply in war torn Iraq.
Nuri is not a real child, but he is based on tens of thousands of real Iraqi children suffering from malnutrition. They are largely invisible to the U.S. public because the U.S. media rarely tells their stories, so I created him to make a point.
The Iraqi government has a food rationing program but this summer will slash it so the number of babies suffering like little Nuri will grow sharply. Many like him will die of diseases they're too weak from hunger to fend off.
And their parents will ache inside, heartbroken from the loss of their children and their inability to save them. For the rest of their lives they'll hear their children's cries and bear their loss.
The United Nations says one in every four Iraqi children under 5-years-old is suffering from chronic malnourishment and that at least four million Iraqis need food assistance. The U.N. is appealing for $265-million in emergency aid to provide Iraqis with food, water and other vital support for the rest of the year.
As I thought of the tens of thousands of little children in desperate need, I realized the U.S. each day spends three times this $265-million to conduct the Iraq war. But apparently there's no money to feed the Iraqi children.
I contacted the U.N. and sent a donation. May I encourage you to do the same, even if it's just a few dollars. These Iraqi families desperately need our help. Perhaps you and I can make a crucial difference in the lives of some otherwise forlorn children.
Posted with permission from
http://www.saneramblings.com
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