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Lifeline to Iraq

By Janice S. Chambers
Courtesy The Rotarian Magazine

When Ali Ayad Karim, now 10, and Masuma Hmod, now 1, were born in Iraq, doctors discovered they had a severe congenital heart condition that's routinely corrected with surgery in wealthy countries. The young patients go on to lead normal, healthy lives. But in Iraq, where suicide bombers strike almost daily and the hospitals are filled with war casualties, such children die young. If they're fortunate, like Ali, they spend their days quietly at home, playing Nintendo or other games. Ali rarely left the single room he shared with his parents and two younger sisters. His condition, called tetralogy of Fallot, caused oxygen-poor blood to flow through his heart, so that a simple walk down the street was enough to turn his face blue.

In August, Ali and Masuma flew to Chicago to undergo open-heart surgery, arranged and funded through a partnership of Rotarians and Muslim community leaders. They are among more than 4,000 children in 60 developing countries who have received open-heart surgery through Gift of Life International, a non-profit founded and operated by Rotarians.

In the wake of 9/11 and the war with Iraq, relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States have deteriorated quickly. "We were kind of wary. This was new territory for us," admits Rotarian George Harris, who is chair of the District 6450 (Illinois) Gift of Life program and a paediatrician at Advocate Hope Children's Hospital, where the operation was performed. But any trepidation was quickly dispelled, he says, by the dedication of Rotarians and volunteers at the Mosque Foundation of Chicago, which handled translations, transportation, and housing. "This was long overdue," Harris adds. The Rotarians also partnered with the Iraqi American Association of Illinois and several Catholic groups. Local Rotarians donated the flights through United Mileage Plus partners. The team members are now planning more joint efforts.

"We are all travelling in the same direction," says Dr. Yacoub Al-Ubaid, originally from Baghdad. "Rotary doesn't discriminate, whether a child is from Russia or China or Iraq. That is my philosophy, too. I hope we can do more humanitarian service together."

Several days after the surgeries in early September, the children arrive at the hospital for a check-up. Ali plays the big brother, putting his arm protectively around Masuma, who watches his every move. He seems confident and mature for his age, but that's not
surprising, since he's spent most of his life with adults, unable to go to school. "I hope to become a principal," he tells a visitor.

While Ali's chest was being cut open by surgeons in Chicago, more than 40 people gathered at his home in Baghdad, his aunt says. "They prayed through the night," she says. "They kept calling the hospital. Finally, their phone rang. Ali was doing fine." Next, it was Masuma's turn, and her family also got good news. "She's drinking from the bottle now. She doesn't turn blue when she laughs," her mother reports happily.

In mid-November, after Ramadan and the children's return to Iraq, the Orland Park Rotarians honour the volunteers. The audience includes priests, reporters in jeans, Rotarians in business suits, and Muslim women in abayas. Kifah Mustapha, imam of the Mosque Foundation, tells them: "We share common interests, and we have common beliefs. The Koran tells us, whoever helps to save one life, indeed, it is as if he saved humanity itself."

This article originally appeared in the February 2006 issue of The Rotarian.

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