www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/06/08/iraq.family.tragedy -> www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/06/08/iraq.family.tragedy/
LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) -- Even as Daham Kassim sits in his brother-in- law's comfortable suburban St. Louis home, his thoughts constantly turn back to his native Iraq and the tragic events that brought him to the Un ited States. On or about March 25, 2003, the beginning of the Iraq war, Daham, his wif e, Gufran, his brother, and their four young children piled into the fam ily's white Peugeot and headed north out of Nasiriya to escape the chaot ic US bombing and fighting. They had waited all morning for a violent sandstorm to subside, but fear of being caught in the crossfire prompted Daham to leave despite the bad weather. I see nothing because sandstor m So there is four or three tanks American tanks in the gate, Nasiriya gate," he says. Daham says he stopped his car and after about a minute the tanks opened f ire, instantly killing his 2-year-old and 9-year-old daughters. it is difficult to breathing," he s ays, describing his son's grave condition. "My daughter, the fourth one, my daughter, Zainab, is still OK as I see her." Daham was gravely injured, suffering gunshot and shrapnel wounds to his a rms, legs and face. Gufran was shot in the chest and the blast broke bot h of her arms. Daham, Gufran and Zainab were taken to a US field hospital a few miles away, but were moved to the Nasiriya Air Base hospital that evening when their beds were needed for wounded American troops. "It is very, very cold," he says, remembering that night.
Daham and Gufran were eventually moved to the USS Comfort, a Navy hospita l ship, where they stayed for approximately one month. There, Daham's right leg was amputated and according to hospital ship rec ords provided by Daham, his "poor" prognosis improved steadily. The Kassims eventually returned to Nasiriya and were admitted to Nasiriya General Hospital on May 3, 2003. The US military cannot confirm or accept responsibility for the inciden t involving the Kassim family. A spokesman for the US Marine Corps said the Marines found "an incident reported up the chain of command that appears similar to what Mr Kassi m tells CNN."
were implementing tactics such as using "civilian vehicles to drive clo se to and fire upon Marines." In response, "hasty checkpoints" were set up, and in the engagement most closely matching Daham's account, the Marine statement said the civilian vehicle "failed to stop and was engaged. Based upon all the facts, it was determined the shooting did not violate our rules or engagement n or the law of war." A Freedom of Information Act request yielded no written records about the incident. The lack of documentation can be blamed on the hectic pace of war and the tragic nature of conflict, Powell said. Daham has written records of his US military-supervised medical care. H e also was able to obtain the death certificate for his 5-year-old daugh ter, Zainab, from the Army at the Nasiriya Air Base hospital. Zainab's cause of death on March 27, 2003, is listed as "blast injury cau sing penetration of skull and exposure of brain." An Army spokeswoman verified the document and said the number "000-00-027 " listed in the "Social Security number" space on the form means that Za inab was the 27th Iraqi civilian to die at the base hospital. While Daham is grateful for what the United States has done for Iraq and empathizes with American parents who have lost their children, he says w hat he really wants is an apology from the US military. "The American government, I mean, an d the American Army, ... but in the other side there is many, many Ameri can people help me." Daham and Gufran were able to come to the United States because of Keith Lindsey, who runs Lindsey Manufacturing, a California-based company that specializes in emergency power restoration. Before the accident, Daham was the director of the electricity system in the southwestern region of Iraq. Lindsey arranged for a six-month visa f or the Kassims so Daham could acquire new skills and seek medical treatm ent. Since their arrival in January, Daham's brother-in-law, Ihsan-Al-Yasiry, has arranged for pro-bono prosthesis and rehab care for Daham and Englis h classes for Gufran. Daham is only one of an untold number of Iraqi civilians injured since th e start of the war. "There is many people, many families like my situation, really. And this need help and support and stand with them, not leave them with no asking , nothing. This is not, not, not a way to live, not a way to understand each other," he says. Daham and Gufran were scheduled to go back to Iraq the week of June 6 Th e couple has applied for an extension, because Gufran is now two months pregnant. "No one can feel or imagine what we suffer what we felt.
|
http://csua.com/feed/