Bizarre Bazaar
Postcards from Around the World
ABC News' Terry McCarthy has been reporting on war, peace, and everything in between from all around the world for 20 years. He writes about daily life in the areas he is reporting from.
RECENT POSTS
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 |
« Previous | Main | Next »
HAIDER’S STORY
November 13, 2006 4:56 PM
Haider captured our hearts at the ABC Bahgdad bureau last week. We have been humbled to discover how many of our viewers have been similarly touched.
The 11 year-old Iraqi boy had found his father’s body, beheaded by insurgents, on the side of the road near where he lived earlier this year. Since then he has retreated into his own mind, staring into nothingness for hours on end, crying, not playing with the other kids, no longer going to school. We did a story on Haider – and others with mental damage from this war – last Friday night on World News. Since then we have received over 50 messages by phone and email from viewers offering to help Haider in whatever way they can.
This is deeply moving to us. Iraq is a country that many Americans probably feel they have heard way too much about recently, nearly all of it bad news. And yet the story of one vulnerable boy in need of help was able to transcend all that, and bring out a level of generosity and concern that is beyond anything we expected.
We have come across many moving stories in Iraq. War always produces an overflow of suffering and tragedy – the important thing for reporters is to stay alive to the human dimension, not to get lost in dehumanizing abstractions: body counts, territory won or lost… Haider captured the human dimension of this conflict for us, and also for many of you – and for that alone we are very grateful.
Iraq is not an easy country in which to dispense aid – pretty much all the charities and NGO’s who typically perform such tasks in other countries have been forced to leave Iraq, after a series of kidnappings and attacks against the UN and NGO’s back in 2003 and 2004 that left many good people dead. We are working on getting Haider some psychological counseling and making sure he and his family have the help they need to get over the tragedy they have endured. For those of you who want to contribute, we ask you to bear with us as we work out the best mechanism for getting assistance to Haider. And we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for showing us that you care for individuals in a country that is going through one of its darkest hours.
November 13, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (6)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Please, PLEASE, let us know as soon as there is a way to help, Haider, and all the others like him. Any way at all to send money to help him get the mental help he SO desperately needs! Thank God/Allah that Haider has family so he isn't all alone. My heart and prayers are with him, his family, and all the people of Iraq.
Posted by: John E. Zimmer | Nov 14, 2006 6:54:58 AM
dear Terry: Thank you for taking the risk to walk in Baghdad streets to bring us stories like Haider's, and the sad situation in Baghdad Hospitals, which once were thriving. These individual stories are more touching than telling the number or American/Iraqi soldiers, or insurgents killed. People in the world must understand that there are thousands of innocent people there, who have suffered way too much through the consecutive Iran War, Kuwait War, American invasion, and lately by the "foreign" evil forces that are trying to plant divisions among people, and take the country backwards 1000 years. I do not believe that Iraqi's are killing each other to that extent of revenge. I believe all this, is initiated by another foreign country, and Iraqi are paying the price...American's should have planned the invasion better than that, and studied the history of that region well, they could have made great friends out of the Iraqi's. I feel sorry for young American soldiers dying in vain, and for innocent Iraqi's who have no protection and no where to turn to. God have mercy on this suffering nation, and may God protect you Terry in every step.
Posted by: nadine | Nov 14, 2006 2:09:41 PM
Dear Terry,
Thank you much for your story on Haider. When I saw his face on television, I was moved beyond words. The suffering shown on his face pierced my heart and soul. I strongly feel the need to help him and his family in any way I can. Please help me help them. Please let me know if it is possible to be a host family for Haider. I want to help on a more personal level then just sending money.
Your report on this child has opened my eyes to the horrific suffering going on there. I thank you for your wonderful reporting and please keep us posted on Haider's progress and future.
Sincerely,
Sue S
Posted by: Sue S | Nov 18, 2006 8:10:45 PM
War. What is it good for?
Posted by: Cat | Nov 23, 2006 7:54:46 AM
I hate war
Posted by: rose | Nov 24, 2006 3:36:28 AM
Why do people tend focus only on one iraqi child? Tons of iraqi children go through this tragedy everyday yet sadly no one seems to know about it I see lots of iraqi children (on the iraqi news channel al-iraqia news channel) they feature the sad stories about the things that the poor iraqi children go through everyday from chidren who cannot recive medical care for there disabilties because there is no doctor in iraq that can help the child or boys that quit elemntary school so the can work (for money) and support their families or some children their parents both die and you see them wandering the streets either selling cigaretts or newspapers at traffic lights or begging for money. When I see these Children I feel as though a dagger has ripped into my heart because they are just innocent children we as adults are responsible for what is happening yet sadly few people seem to care. In my eyes they are children first- not a muslim, not a shiite or a sunni they are poor human beings, just children who are paying the price for the wrong decsions that we as adults are making......
Posted by: Anonymos | Nov 24, 2006 2:23:24 PM
Post a comment
