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Friday, December 30, 2005
Baby Noor expected in Atlanta today
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Baghdad, Iraq — Noor al-Zahra, the baby born with a severe spinal cord defect who was discovered by soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard during a raid, left Baghdad on Friday afternoon for Atlanta, where she is to receive desperately needed medical care unavailable to her in Iraq.
Cradled in her father Haider’s arms, Noor took off into clear blue skies in a C-130 military transport plane from Baghdad’s airport after soldiers of Gainesville-based Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, bade her farewell at their headquarters at Camp Liberty.
“We are very excited about this trip,” said Soad, 45, Noor’s grandmother, who is also accompanying the baby to America. “We are thankful to the people of Georgia.”
However, once they reached Kuwait, they discovered that the KLM flight that was to take them to Amsterdam in the Netherlands was canceled. U.S. Embassy officials rerouted the family on a Lufthansa flight through Frankfurt but because they are Iraqi citizens, they needed transit visas for Germany.
Early this morning, U.S. officials were able to contact the German Embassy in Washington to issue clearance for the family to land in Frankfurt. Baby Noor is expected to arrive at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport this afternoon.
Born three months ago with spina bifida, Noor has a large growth on her back where her spinal cord did not properly close. She requires immediate surgery to correct the problem. Iraqi doctors told the family they could do nothing for the baby and that she did not have long to survive.
Charlie Company soldiers found the baby during a search of the family home in the slums of Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad. They were determined to help save the life of the frail child.
“Just knowing she’s going to get a chance in life she will never get here gives you a warm feeling,” said Staff Sgt. David Squires, who works for a hearing aid company in Gainesville. “The children of Iraq are the country’s future.”
The soldiers worked with charitable groups, hospitals, lawmakers, U.S. Embassy staff and military officials to shuttle the child out of Iraq — a feat that can be difficult given the current violence and the political climate in the country.
Soad and Haider hid their faces as they walked from Charlie Company headquarters to vehicles waiting to take them to Baghdad’s airport. The family is afraid of retribution if they are publicly associated with the U.S. military. Their full names are being withheld to protect their identities.
As they waited in a VIP tent on the military side of the airport, Soad and Haider caught footage of themselves on CNN. They watched keenly as Noor’s big brown eyes and wide smile lit up the screen. Soad picked up her mobile phone and called home one last time before leaving Iraq to speak to her daughter and Noor’s mother, Iman. The traditional Muslim family decided it would be improper for Iman, 18, to make the trip with her baby. Iman said she was happy to have seen her baby one more time, even though it was on television.
Air Force Capt. Robert Farkas carefully pared down a pair of neon green earplugs so that they would fit in Noor’s tiny ears. Military planes can be deafeningly loud for adults, let alone infants.
“There’s something unique going on here every day,” Farkas joked about his unusual assignment.
Curious soldiers came in and out of the tent to catch a glimpse of the baby who has captured a host of military hearts. Soad and Haider munched on seafood nuggets while cameras clicked constantly on Noor’s face.
Then at 3 in the afternoon, it was finally time to go.
After weeks of negotiations and diplomatic wrangling, Noor and her guardians boarded the Air Force plane waiting to fly them to Kuwait.
“This is a very special day,” Soad said. “We are very happy.”
Noor slept during the almost two-hour flight to Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base. Soad and Haider, who had never flown on a plane before, peered out the small windows to get an aerial view of their homeland.
Childspring International, an Atlanta-based charity that matches sick children from the developing world with U.S. hospitals, has made arrangements for Noor and her family to stay with an Arabic-speaking family in Atlanta.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has offered to perform the surgery to correct Noor’s spinal cord at no cost.
It’s unsure how normal a life Noor will be able to lead even if the surgery goes well. But the Georgia soldiers were determined to give the baby a chance.
“It’s nice to see something we started come to a final result,” said Pfc. Justin Donnelly, a 19-year-old Charlie Company medic from Owego, N.Y., who first took the photos of Noor three weeks ago that started the ball rolling.
“It’s a pretty good feeling for us today.”
Update: Baby Noor leaves Baghdad, arriving in Atlanta Saturday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Baghdad, Iraq — Noor al-Zahra, the baby born with a severe spinal cord defect who was discovered by soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard during a raid, left Baghdad Friday for Atlanta, where she is to receive desperately needed medical care unavailable to her in Iraq.
Cradled in her father Haider’s arms, Noor took off in a C-130 military transport plane from Baghdad’s airport after soldiers of Gainesville-based Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment bade her farewell at their headquarters at Camp Liberty.
“We are very excited about this trip,” said Soad, 45, Noor’s grandmother, who is accompanying the baby to America. “We are thankful to the people of Georgia.”
The C-130 arrived in Kuwait late Friday afternoon. Noor and her family are expected to arrive in Atlanta on a Delta flight about 3:15 p.m. Saturday.
On Thursday, Soad said she would name her granddaughter Georgia in honor of the people who tried to help Noor.
Born three months ago with spina bifida, Noor has a large growth on her back where her spinal cord did not properly close. She requires immediate surgery to correct the problem.
Iraqi doctors told the family they could do nothing for the baby and that she did not have long to survive. Charlie Company soldiers found the baby during a search of the family home in the slums of Abu Ghraib, just west of Baghdad.
They were determined to help save the life of the frail child.
“Just knowing she’s going to get a chance in life she will never get here gives you a warm feeling,” said Staff Sgt. David Squires, who works for a hearing aid company in Gainesville. “The children of Iraq are the country’s future.”
The soldiers worked with charitable groups, hospitals, lawmakers, U.S. Embassy staff and military officials to shuttle the child out of Iraq a feat that can be difficult given the current violence and political climate in Iraq.
Soad and Haider hid their faces as they walked from Charlie Company headquarters to vehicles waiting to take them to Baghdad’s airport. The family is afraid of retribution if they are publicly associated with the U.S. military. Their full names are being withheld to protect their identities.
As they waited in a VIP tent, they saw themselves on CNN. They watched keenly as Noor’s big brown eyes and wide smile lit up the screen.
Soad picked up her mobile phone and called home one last time to speak to Noor’s mother, Iman. The traditional Muslim family decided it would be improper for Iman, only 18, to make the trip with her baby.
Iman said she was happy to have seen her baby one more time, even though it was on television.
Air Force Capt. Robert Farkas carefully pared down a pair of neon green earplugs so that they would fit in Noor’s tiny ears.
“There’s something unique going on here every day,” Farkas joked about his unusual assignment.
Curious soldiers came in and out of the tent to catch a glimpse of the baby who has captured a host of military hearts. Soad and Haider munched on fried shrimp nuggets while cameras clicked constantly on Noor’s face.
Then at 3 in the afternoon, it was finally time to go.
After weeks of negotiations and diplomatic wrangling, Noor and her guardians boarded the Air Force plane waiting to fly them to Kuwait. From there, the family will be flown on commercial jets first to Amsterdam and then to Atlanta.
They are scheduled to arrive at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Saturday afternoon.
“This is a very special day,” Soad said. “We are very happy.”
Noor slept during the almost two-hour flight to Kuwait’s Ali Al-Salim Air Base. Soad and Haider, who had never flown on a plane before, peered out the small windows to get an aerial view of their homeland.
It’s unsure how normal a life Noor will be able to lead even if the surgery in Atlanta goes well. But the Georgia soldiers were determined to give the baby a chance.
“It’s nice to see something we started come to a final result,” said Pfc. Justin Donnelly, a 19-year-old Charlie Company medic from Owego, N.Y., who first took the photos of Noor three weeks ago that started the ball rolling. “It’s a pretty good feeling for us today.”
