2 February 2004
By Angela Garcia

On January 11, 2004 we launched Bowling for Basra and it was a blast! Bowling for Basra is a fundraising event where bowlers collect pledges and donate them to families in Iraq. Pledges ranged from a penny to a dollar for each point or a flat pledge overall or for each strike. Participants are encouraged to bowl along with the official bowlers for additional fun. The bowlers were activist and not pro-bowlers so the point spread was low and the fun factor was high.

2 Februrary 2004

Saying Goodbye to Umm Haider and Mostafa; Saying Hello to Our Work of Resistance Here
by John Farrell

The time that I was fortunate to share with Umm Haider and Mostafa here in Chicago will be influential in my life for years to come. It completely changed my world view because, for a brief time, I shared time each day with someone who was a direct victim of US military aggression. continue…

Angela’s Reflections: Hamburgers with “nothing, nothing, nothing on it”
by Angela Garcia

Winter is a mark for change. It was time for reconstruction and for Um Haider and Mostafa to go home. The last few months were heavy with emotion. Our farewell lasted a week. continue…

• Backgrounf reading about Umm Haider and Mostafa please read Doug Hostetter’s Catching up with Mustafa and Umm Heider Years after a missile gone astray, one young life remains in limbo

• Photos of Um Haider’s Family
• Christopher Allen-Docot’s A Hajj not to Mecca but to Home, a story of Umm Haider and Mostafa’s trip home

The US government has asked the federal court in Washington DC to skip a trial and go ahead and impose the $20,000 fine on Voices. No date has been set for a hearing yet, but we will be contacting Voices delegates and supporters to stand with us in Washington DC, where we will resist any penalty and continue our countersuit which declares that US sanctions on Iraq constituted crimes against humanity.

• Read the
  VITW Opposition to Government Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (pdf)

• View other documents for US v. Voices in the Wilderness
• Sign the petition to John Ashcroft and the Department of Justice
• Read More About the Summons Voices Received

Many thanks to the many people who wrote asking for an address for Kathy Kelly while she is in prison. The Bureau of Prisons hasn’t yet notified her about where and when she should “self-report.” We’ll post the information as soon as it’s received.

Childhood Voices is a non-governmental organization, created and staffed by Iraqis, that seeks to nurture self-confidence and strengthen loving relationships in disadvantaged Iraqi children by imparting some of the beauty and joy of life that is found in art. Childhood’s Voice works to develop children’s creative and social skills through team-based art education and art therapy projects. We hope to improve the critical sense and self-image of Iraqi children, so as to increase their ability to deal with problems, and raise them up from this bitter reality under the shade of the wars that have lasted for so long in our country.

Childhood Voices staff are united by the following principles and concerns:

1. We believe in the inherent creativity and loving potential of all children.
2. Spreading child’s rights among children and local society.
3. We believe in the inherent equality of all peoples, regardless of ethnicity, religion, class, or gender.
4. We are concerned that Iraqi children have been subject to great stresses and isolation in their lives, due to years of dictatorship, wars, embargo, and poverty.
5. We believe that art represents an easily accessible and beautiful avenue for tapping into the creative potential of children in both individual and communal settings.
6. We believe that through art education and art therapy, children can develop their self-confidence, learn the value of working with others, and find creative and beautiful ways of dealing with stressful situations.

Visit Childhood Voices Online