Houstonians care about Iraq's children 

Karim Alkadhi, in January of 1992, travelled to Baghdad and delivered $2 million in medicines to hospitals in Iraq. He was part of a delegation of people from Medicine for Peace and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. They were able to bring four injured and ill children to the US for free medical treatment.
Alkadhi explained in an article written by Barbara Karkabi (The Houston Chronicle, 2/23/1992) that the children "are the direct and indirect victims of war. The little boy who is a burn victim lost his whole family, except for his sister, when a bomb dropped on their home." The child, named Saif Fadhel Abbas, was six-years-old. His grandparents, who cared for the two injured children, "begged us to fix his face so he could go to school and children would not make fun of him," said Alkadhi. His face was "badly burned and contracted" with scarring, as were his fingers.
"The children with the heart defects all needed a fairly simple operation that was done before the war in Baghdad. Now, because of the shortages, only emergency operations are being performed. They could die because of lack of attention."
Alkadhi spoke of a moment during his visit to the Children's Hospital in Baghdad when he turned his face to the wall and wept. "The sight of the children of war was almost too much for him to bear," Karkabi wrote.
Today, many people in Houston find the suffering of the Iraqi children, and adults, very hard to contemplate.  The culprit now is the sanctions, which are in reality a continuation of the war. Houstonians have made efforts to end the sanctions which have reduced Iraq to a land of malnourished, sick citizens, with little hope for a return to the prosperity they knew before the sanctions began in August 1997. 
There have been Friday demonstrations at the Mickey Leland Federal Building, a Service of Remembrance at Rothko Chapel, and speaking tours by members of Voices in the Wilderness. These dedicated people travel to Iraq to deliver medicines and to break the embargo on that sad country. Then, using  slides and videos, they make presentations around the country. The UT School of Public Health, St. Thomas University, College of the Mainland, University of Houston and Rice University have all hosted a Voices program. 
Early on, these events were sponsored by Fellowship of Reconciliation ~ Houston (FOR) (713-524-2682) and Pax Christi (713-529-3826).
In January, 1998, the Houston Coalition to End the War Against Iraq was formed (281-456-7173). The Coalition has continued the vigils at the Federal Building, helped with speaking tours, shown videos on the topic, sponsored a panel on "The Iraqi People Under the Sanctions & Saddam," and held teach-ins at the University of Houston.
We demonstrated at the Westin Galleria when Hillary Clinton came to town — one sign said IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD, & THE US TO RAZE THE VILLAGE. Anytime a major policy maker of the administration comes to town, Houstonians will greet them to protest the killing sanctions. We also are sending a Coalition member to Iraq with the International Action Center in May, and are raising money for medicines to be taken on the trip.
For several years during the winter holiday season, FOR and the Community Involvement Committee of the First Unitarian Universalist Church have sponsored the Alternative Gift Project. Money was collected for teddy bears and milk for Iraqi children and warm sweat suits for children in Bosnia.
At Rice University, after hearing a presentation by Michael Bremer of Voices in the Wilderness, members of Amnesty International and other students wrote a petition against the sanctions and any war in Iraq. In three days they collected 600 names and $400 to place the petition in the student publication, The Rice Thresher! This, on a campus of 2,600 students.
At Baylor College of Medicine, Akil Merchant (713-526-8514)  of Physicians for Social Responsibility, is collecting money for medicines to be sent to hospitals in Iraq through the Red Crescent (Red Cross of the Middle East). 
This paper, Iraqi Notebook, is part of the Coalition  effort to educate US citizens on the reality of Iraq. We have been shown Saddam, a target for our hatred, but the faces and situation of the Iraqi people, which would move us to compassion, have been hidden from us.  In this war, as with Vietnam, people are willing to send their friends and relatives, and go themselves, to risk life and limb and to kill and injure other human beings without seriously studying the situation. This paper should broaden the scope of the debate and, hopefully, increase opposition to the inhumane policies of our government in Iraq.
We must remember, in our heart of hearts, as Alkadhi told Karkabi, "A child is a child, irrespective of color or creed. They are innocent and they have suffered — a human being's suffering should be felt all over the world."
Houstonians believe ending the sanctions is the beginning of ending the suffering and starting the long trek to health for the children of Iraq and their families.           ¨