(7/11) Thank you to all of you who came to the airport yesterday, and for those of you who didn't, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers! I can't say enough about how wonderful this little girl is - she absolutely exudes pure joy and kindness. She's sweet and funny and always smiling! What a joy.

Just wanted to update you on her condition as she had her pre-admit tests today. The doctors decided today that she will need to have her foot amputated. They're going to try to amputate below the ankle but whether the ankle will be able to be saved will be determined on Thursday when she has her surgery. She reportedly smiled throughout all her tests today, and when I visited her tonight, she told me in Arabic that "her foot was going to be cut off", smiled and then said, "It's OK, Ann!" and patted my back. Then, proceeded to laugh and play. She has no fear, and Abu Ali is just looking forward to her being able to go to school again.

Please come out and meet her when you can! If you want to make sure that they're available when you'd like to come, please give me a call.

Also, Rusul is going to need a child-sized wheelchair with a leg lift (just the metal piece that pulls up to elevate the leg) after her surgery. Due to the surgery being on her foot, her foot will need to be raised for some time post-surgery. If anyone has a wheelchair that they could donate to her for a short period of time (probably just a couple of weeks as her leg heals), please let me know. Or, if you know of somewhere that I can rent a wheelchair inexpensively, I'd appreciate that, too.

Thank you so much for all you've done, and please put the word out about Tuesday night's concert at Furman!
in peace to all,
ann

Ann Oliver Cothran
No More Victims
Nat'l Community Coordinator
(864) 933-8104


(7/7) Hello everyone!

Rusul's arrival date has finally been confirmed! She and Abu Ali will be arriving at GSP on Thursday, the 10th, at 3:25 pm on US Airways flight 2463 out of Charlotte (connection from JFK). We'd love to have a nice welcoming party at the airport for them, so if you can be there, I know that they'd love to see you!

Also, please spread the word about our July 15th concert at Furman University featuring the world music sounds of Free Planet Radio. The concert starts at 7:30 in Furman University's McAlister Auditorium, and there's a suggested donation of $10 for adults, $5 for students and $20 for families. Please come and help support Rusul and her father during their stay here in South Carolina.

Thank you so much for all you do, as always!
ann

Ann Oliver Cothran
No More Victims
Nat'l Community Coordinator
(864) 933-8104


(5/7) Good afternoon, Greenville and Asheville Core people. I just wanted to let everyone know that Rusul's arrival has been delayed to mid to late June. This is disappointing (and means phone calls to Shriners and Ronald McDonald House), but it's not at all unusual. We weren't able to get them out in time to make their visa appointments in Amman, and the next nearest appointment date that Cole could set for Rusul (and Nora, who'll be coming to Maine at the same time) was June 9th. There have also been visa regulation changes that have been a bit of a roadblock in the process this time.

Just wanted to keep everyone informed; as I said, I know it's disappointing but it is only a delay. We've never had a situation where we were in the process of bringing a child and couldn't get the child here. So, that's not at all an issue; she WILL be here - but delays in getting children out of Iraq are inevitable.

Also, Cole has put together a video to help us raise the funds for Rusul (as well as for the other children, if enough money is raised). If you saw last year's "Mother's Day for Peace" video, this one is along the same lines (just fewer celebrities!) It should be on the NMV website later today, and I'll let you know as soon as it is so we can all pass it on to our e-mail lists.

I'll keep you posted; hope you all have a wonderful week!
ann

Ann Oliver Cothran
No More Victims
Nat'l Community Coordinator
(864) 933-8104


(4/20) Good evening, Friends of Salee and Rusul! Just wanted to give you a quick update! Rusul, Salee's little sister, should be in Greenville by the end of May. We were hoping for mid-May, but due to some visa regulation changes, it looks like her arrival date may be pushed back a couple of weeks. She has her first appointment at Shriners on May 30th, so I think we'll be able to make that!

If anyone has any fundraising ideas, or can volunteer with the project to bring Rusul here, please let me know. Also, if there are any Arabic-speaking folks on this list who can interpret for Rusul and Abu Ali while they're in our area, please contact me. We're making up the list of interpreters and can definitely use your help!

Please spread the word on an upcoming fundraiser for Rusul! Rockin' for Rusul will be held this Saturday, the 26th, at the Handlebar from 2:00 to 5:00 pm with a $10 admission fee. Three great local bands will be playing and I think it will be a lot of fun for everyone, AND help us raise the funds needed to get Rusul and Abu Ali here and take care of them during their stay. Please help spread the word by passing out one of the attached flyers, or printing up the poster. We really want to make this a great event for Rusul.

Many thanks go to Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Simpsonville which is taking an active role as a partner with NMV-Greenville in bringing Rusul and Abu Ali to our area! I'll be sending information about their upcoming events soon. Also, thanks of course to NMV-Asheville who helped spread the word about Rusul's arrival with a benefit concert, meditation walk and several presentations last weekend.

And, thank you to each of you for caring about the war-injured civilians of Iraq! I hope that each of you can meet Rusul while she's here, and I'll keep everyone updated on her arrival.

in peace,
ann

Ann Oliver Cothran
No More Victims
Nat'l Community Coordinator
(864) 933-8104


(3/28) Good evening, Friends of Salee (and Rusul!) Well, a lot has been happening lately and it's time to catch up! Have spoken to Salee a couple of times in the last few weeks and she sounds her usual wondrously happy and joyous little self. She and Abu Ali miss everyone and send their love to you all! She's going to school, her walking is going well, and she exudes happiness, as always!

Salee's little sister, Rusul, will be coming soon! We're planning on her and Abu Ali leaving for Jordan the first or second week in April to start through the visa process. That way, when Cole gets to the ME, there shouldn't be as long a delay as there was with Salee (if you recall, she was out of Iraq for over 2 months before she got here). Our very tentative timeframe for Rusul's arrival is the second week in May. We're hoping that she'll get to New York by May 14th, at which time I'd fly to New York to meet them and fly back here with her and Abu Ali. Cole will also be picking up little Nora who'll be heading to Portland, Maine at the same time (see the website www.nomorevictims.org for Nora's story). Nora's a cutie, too, and the group in Portland is so excited that she's coming!

Anyway, we're just getting into fundraising for Rusul and have some great plans forming, but can use any help that anyone has to offer. If you'd like to take a more active role in the project and join our Core group, please drop me an e-mail and let me know. We have a Core group meeting coming up on April 2nd and would love to have you join us! We're very grateful for the help of NMV-Asheville, our partners in our project to bring Rusul here. They'll be having a fundraiser for Rusul on Saturday, April 12th (please see the website for more information), and they'd love anyone who can make it from our area to be there!

And, if you run into anybody from Shriners or Ronald McDonald House, please offer them our heartfelt gratitude for all they've done for Salee and their continuing care for her little sister! They've been absolutely wonderful!

Thank you to everyone, and let's keep praying for the safety of Salee and her family, and a safe and trouble-free trip for our little Rusul.

with peace to all,
ann


Ann Oliver Cothran
No More Victims
Nat'l Community Coordinator
(864) 933-8104


(3/25) Hello Rusul people! Just wanted to remind everyone that we have a meeting Wednesday, April 2nd, at 6:00 pm at Caesar's Restaurant in Greenville. Please bring fundraising ideas, confirmed plans, etc.

Also want to remind everyone that Asheville will be having Rusul fundraisers on April 12th and 13th. If anyone can attend, I know they'd appreciate our presence. April 12th will start with a meditation walk at the Bahai' Center at 9:00 am, but the main fundraiser that day will start at 6:00 pm at the Asheville Arts Center. There will be a light dinner, followed by Cole and my presentation, and a variety of musical and comedy entertainment. Sunday's events will be speaking engagements during a couple of area church services. So, if you can come out, Saturday night would be the time to be there. Please see the website (www.nomorevictims.org ) for more information.

Of course there are many imponderables to consider as far as the schedule for Rusul's arrival, but at this point, we're hoping that she'll be in our area around May 15th. We're planning on her and Abu Ali (as well as Nora and her father who are going to Portland, Maine) to be leaving Iraq early April and heading into Jordan to start the visa process. Cole will be returning to Jordan with Abdul Hakeem around the 25th of April and hopes to return to the States with Nora and Rusul the second week of May. I'll fly to New York to pick up Rusul and Abu Ali, and will need to return within a day or two of my arrival there. Cole needs to be in Boston BY May 23rd as Noam Chomsky will be speaking on behalf of NMV on that date, so we can be fairly sure they'll be here before the 23rd at the very latest, if all goes well. But, it should be at least a week earlier.

So, it shouldn't be long now, and we have a lot to do! But, great things are happening; there is a lot of interest in the community, and I'm so grateful for all of you and all you're doing!

Hope to see you all on the 2nd; please let me know if you have any questions, or ideas that you want to make sure that we talk about at the meeting.

in peace and prayer,
ann


(3/19) Good afternoon, Rusul people! I spoke to Cole this morning and it looks pretty definite that he'll be bringing Rusul in May! Abu Ali has all the necessary documentation he needs to bring her over, so we're set to go. We don't have the money in general funds to cover her travel expenses though, so any and all fundraising plans, however small, that can happen soon would be really helpful. And, just send the money in to IHC as soon as it's collected. As I said, we don't have to raise all of the funds before she comes (and we're still hoping to get some celebs to do another "Mothers Day for Peace" video to help us with fundraising), but we do at least need to get her visa and travel money coming in to get her here.

It looks like, instead of bringing the two Portland children in May, Cole will be bringing the child to Portland, Maine and Rusul. Portland, Oregon has actually raised the funds needed to bring a child there, but is having delays with the hospital. Their Shrine board there (they'll be using two separate hospitals for their child) doesn't meet til the end of the month, so it looks like the little boy going there will be delayed. Which gets Rusul here sooner!

Anyway, any and all fundraising ideas and plans will be helpful, and like I said, if you can send funds in to IHC as soon as they're collected, then Cole will be able to see that we do have Rusul funds coming in. I've attached the fundraising letter that includes the information on sending funds in again; I know that most of you already have this, but just wanted to make sure that we all do.

Just for a little more clarity, Abu Ali and Rusul will need to start traveling early April into Jordan to start through the visa process. Cole will leave the States for the ME mid to late April (after a couple of presentations that he has scheduled), and Rusul and Nora should be mostly through the visa process when he arrives, so he won't have to stay long and will be able to turn around and return with them to the states in a more expeditious manner than usual. If possible, he'll only be in the ME a week.

I'm so glad that we're all working together on this! Asheville group, would you like to make the airport banner? I think you saw the banner that we made for Salee in the video. If you guys could do one for Rusul, that would be great! (We did ours with a Welcome in Arabic for Abu Ali, and the English welcome would be for Rusul - but you can do it any way that you'd want to.) Also, I'll be receiving a case of DVDs in the mail later this week or early next week (these new DVD's will have all three videos on one disc); I'll send you guys out about 10 of them to use with your presentations/ fundraising. If you need more, please let me know.

Thanks so much everybody! I'm so excited that we'll be seeing our little girl VERY soon! Please stay in touch with any questions, OK?
in peace,
ann

I keep watching what I do to see what I actually believe.



(2/22) Good evening, Friends of Salee! Just got a call this morning from the Chief of Staff at Shriners Hospital that Rusul (Salee's little sister) has been accepted as a patient! This is AMAZING and wonderful news! Rusul, as you probably recall, was injured in the same air strike as Salee. Dr. Davids said that it's most likely that her leg will need to be amputated and fitted with a prothesis. We were hoping that her leg could be saved, but it didn't sound like it could. Her family is being notified today and we'll be arranging plans to evacuate her from Iraq. As soon as I know when that will be, I'll let you know, but it could be as early as late April.

We need to start planning fundraisers for little Rusul. Anyone with ideas, please contact me as soon as you can. Also, we're in need of more Core group members who can commit some time to helping with various areas of the project to bring Rusul here and to keep her and Abu Ali comfortable during their stay in our area. Please contact me if you're willing to be a part of that group, and we'll schedule a Core group meeting asap.

If anyone can secure donations for Rusul, please make checks out to IHC/No More Victims and send them to: The International Humanities Center, PO Box 923, Malibu, CA 90265 ..... please make sure that Greenville- Rusul (or at least "Greenville" is indicated in the subject line.)

We are very blessed to have a group in Asheville also advocating on Rusul's behalf! Thanks for all you all have done to make Salee's stay here a happy experience for a little girl who very much needed one in her life, and thank you in advance for doing the same for her little sister.

I'm attaching Rusul's photo again, though I've sent it out before; just wanted to make sure that everyone had seen her. Again, if you can help in any way, your help is much needed, so please contact me. Thank you.

with love and peace,
ann


(2/3) Good morning, everyone! I haven't sent a Salee update in a long while, and don't have much news to report. She and her family have moved to Hasswa (the city where she was injured) and cell phone reception there is much less "reliable" than it was in Fallujah (and it wasn't great in Fallujah). So, it's been very difficult to get through to them. The last time I talked to them though, Salee was still very happy about being in school again, and both Salee and Abu Ali said to tell everyone that they love and miss them "BIG"!

I'd like to start by offering many thanks to Ted Christian (shucks) for keeping the GAS website updated with Salee and Rusul information! Please put the Year 5 vigil at Bergamo Square on Sunday, March 16th on your calendars; I hope to see you there! Check out Ted's website (www.greenvilleantiwarsociety.com ) for ways you can help prepare for this event.

At this point, we need to start thinking about Salee's little sister, Rusul, whose leg was maimed in the same bombing as Salee lost hers. We have medical records for Rusul now and I'm just waiting for some minor details before I pass them on to Shriners, though I've already spoken to Admissions at Shriners a couple of times about her. Rusul is just seven, and I'm attaching a photo (I think you'll all agree that she looks like an absolute doll!) Maki says that he loves Rusul's quiet and kind personality.

Folks in Asheville, NC are helping us advocate on behalf of Rusul and have presentations and fundraisers lined up to raise money for her. They've got an event planned at the UU church in Asheville for March 14th, where we'll be showing the NMV films and I'll be giving a short talk, and then will have a weekend of large fundraisers in May. This weekend was originally scheduled for April 12 and 13, but they'd like Cole to be there with me, and it's very likely that he'll be in Jordan on those dates.

Cole will be traveling to Jordan in mid-March to bring two children back to the States. This will be the first time he's brought two at one time; he'll be bringing a precious 5 year old named Nora to Portland, Maine. Nora was shot in the skull when US forces fired on her family's car as they traveled to the home of relatives to celebrate Eid. He'll also be bringing a child to Portland, Oregon. This child will either be a little boy who lost a leg, or a 3 year old who lost his hearing from the noise of the bombings near his home. We also have a young woman named Noora for whom Chico, California is advocating. Noora was blinded when US forces began firing on her family's car, killing and maiming several relatives. Noora got to Amman last week and will start surgical and prosthetic care there this week. There are major fundraisers scheduled in Boston, Las Cruces, Nasheville, and Princeton, by people who just contacted NMV wanting to fundraise for the children. So, there is a lot happening!

It would be great if we could start planning some fundraising activities for Rusul, so if anyone has ideas, please contact me and we can get started! Rusul will be traveling here (if Shriners accepts her as a patient) with Abu Ali, so I know we'll all be happy to see him again!

Please check the website (www.nomorevictims.org ) to see all that's happening for the children! Thanks so much for everything each of you do every day to help those less fortunate, with peaceful and active prayer,
ann

---

(10/21/07) Good afternoon, Friends of Salee. I just wanted to update you on her progress. I recently got back from a week in Los Angeles with Salee, Cole and Abu Ali, their first leg of their trip back to Iraq. We had a week filled with presentations and schedules to meet, but Salee was her usual happy self. She and Abu Ali were especially sad to leave all of their friends in South Carolina. Abu Ali said repeatedly, "I love South Carolina. Tell everyone I love them." He was very emotional upon their leaving but Salee kept a brave face with "Salee come back again and again and again....."

They are now in Jordan, but will be leaving there in a day or two to head home to Fallujah. Salee's mom still hasn't had the baby, but I'll keep you posted if I hear anything, and whenever I hear anything from Iraq.

Thank you all for everything you did to make Salee and Abu Ali's visit here a comfortable and happy time for them. I know that they brought home many wonderful memories that will sustain them for the days ahead in a war-torn country.

I wrote a short blog from the airport - you can read it at
nomorevictims.org/communities (it's the one entitled "Our Little Girl has Gone"). The three of them were also on Democracy Now earlier this week; they all did an amazing job and you can watch it at democracynow.org

Thank you all again for pursuing this path toward peace and love.
with love,
ann

arrival video

Salee and her father Hussein