Laughter punctuated by heartbreak
As we were leaving the orphanage one of the girls was on the phone and crying because she just found out her mother had left the country. Just broke my heart.
We had gone back to the Alwiya Orphanage to do a follow up story because of the great response to our first story. Working in Iraq we don't get to see a lot of children, so when we do it's a treat. We have the wall of our dining room filled with pictures taken over the years and a lot of them are of kids. Everyone was happy to be going back.
The girls were just as happy to see us. I guess they don't get a lot of visitors.
Dunya, a cute 10 year old with long dark hair and a great smile, seemed to be the ringleader. She didn’t want to be in any of the pictures, but helped me gather the other girls for pictures. Then she organized a game that looked like "ring around the rosy." After a while she changed her mind and wanted to be in every shot. Then I gave her my camera and she took some nice pictures. She seemed so happy and carefree.
I was a great diversion for everyone; for us, a change from the war and bombings, for them a chance to break up the routine of living in an orphanage - a chance to get a little attention and affection.
Everything went well and we even managed to get some work done. We packed our gear and came back in to say goodbye. Dunya was on a cell phone, borrowed from one of our translators. She was surrounded by her friends. They were all crying. When you see the girls happy and having fun it's easy to forget where you are and the hard life these young girls have. But the realities of life in a war zone have a way of jumping up and hitting you in the face.
Dunya has been left at the orphanage by her mother. Her mother had said she’d be back. While we were there, Dunya called the number her mother had given her. The person who answered said her mother had moved to Syria. Dunya learned she was abandoned.
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My heart is breaking for the girls in Alwiya Orphange. These innocent children now must suffer because of the war entered into by an administration lacking in foreign diplomacy and intelligence experience. What a huge mistake.
A. McGill, Tampa, FL (Sent Jun 6, 2006 7:42:07 PM)
My heart is breaking for these young girls. I have been so blessed in my life and they have lost so very much. How may I help? Can the girls be adopted?
Jacqueline Lauer, 1762 Lincoln Ave.,San Jose, CA, 95125 (Sent Jun 6, 2006 8:58:35 PM)
That loud cracking noise you just heard was my heart breaking while I read the last paragraph of this blog ....
Cyrena, Vicksburg, Mississippi (Sent Jun 6, 2006 9:40:25 PM)
Of course I echo others in saying how I ache for the children--innocent hearts thrust into dispair. Instead of looking at the situation as her Mother abandoning her, is it not possible to take the view that her Mother is surviving for tomorrow? Surviving for the day she can return to reunite with her loving daughter? Hope can be a most powerful strength.
DJ LaValla (Sent Jun 8, 2006 7:43:38 AM)
Our hearts break and we seek to blame, justify, or rationalize our disgust or hate for those in lead. It starts in each one of us, Bin Laden, Hussein, Bush, me, and you. Quit bemoaning the admin here in the US. We are blessed to have leaders that have had to make some life altering dicisions. 911 did not change my world. I'm alive and still act out of hope. DJ said it right...it lies in hope.
Rclark (Sent Jun 8, 2006 10:15:46 AM)
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