Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying

Today, August 19th, 2006, a little girl named Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi would have become 15-years-old. Instead on March 12th of this year, her life and the lives of her baby sister and her parents were ended by monsters amongst men.

I hope today she is in a better place. Today we remember her. To us she will always remain forever young.

Below are the lyrics from Bob Dylan’s "Forever Young":

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

Here is a video of Bob Dylan performing "Forever Young" with Bruce Springsteen:

Here is a video of the ever young Joan Baez taking Dylan’s lyrics and making them soar with her angelic voice (click image below to play video):

Here is Rod Stewart’s version of Dylan’s classic:

John Donne said:

…any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.

When we are killing our children we are all culpable. A society and a world that fails to protect its children is doomed to extinction. Today we mourn the death of one child and remember her. With us mourn a thousand parents who lose their children to disease, starvation and the evil of war. We must forge a better tomorrow from the ashes of today. We owe it to the countless innocent lives that have passed from here so young and so needlessly.

Abeer, may you stay forever young.

 Vigils for Abeer on August 19, 2006:

• Washington Square Park, New York, NY 7:30 p.m.
• Macarthur Park, Los Angeles, CA 7:30 p.m.
• Willard Park, Berkeley, CA 7:30 p.m.

On March 12, 2006 a 14-year-old Iraqi girl named Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi was brutally gang raped and murdered in the village of Mahmoudiya. Members of her family, including her 5-year-old sister were also murdered. Five American soldiers stand accused of these heinous crimes. The preliminary hearing for four of the accused soldiers is currently taking place in Iraq.

CNN reported on the graphic testimony earlier today in an article on its website. However, something was curiously absent from the coverage. Below is a screen shot from CNN’s report:

Notice the caption under the picture: "Steven Green is alleged to have shot and killed the woman’s relatives, raped the victim, then fatally shot her." Since when have you heard of a 14-year-old being referred to as a "woman"? In fact, this article never once refers to Abeer as a "girl", instead referring to her as "an Iraqi" or a "woman". Only toward the end of the article do we learn that:

Identity cards and death certificates obtained by Reuters news agency suggest the rape-murder victim was 14 years old.

And further down still:

The identity cards and death certificates of the victims, obtained by Reuters, show that the alleged rape victim was Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi, with the birthdate August 19, 1991. The mayor of Mahmoudiya confirmed her identity and birthdate to CNN.

The U.S. military had previously referred to the alleged rape victim as a "young Iraqi woman." A Justice Department affidavit in the case against Green says investigators estimated her age at about 25, while the U.S. military said she was 20.

Thank you CNN for some excellent reporting!

CNN also filed a second story on the hearing this evening. This time someone at CNN figured out that a 14-year-old is not a woman. Here’s a screen shot from the second article from CNN:

This time Abeer is referred to as a "girl" all throughout the article. In fact the contrast between the first and the second articles could not be greater. (Someone still forgot to update the caption under the photo).

It appears that by the second story editors at CNN may have decided to give up trying to spin this story. This crime is so heinous that no amount of lipstick will pretty up the facts.

Try as it might, CNN failed to capture the ambience at the hearing. Reuters reports on the seriousness of the proceedings:

Defense Attorney Captain Jimmie Culp was blowing chewing gum bubbles while Yribe, sitting to his left, began sucking on a red lollipop during the testimony.

Apparently testimony about the brutal rape and murder of a child is best enjoyed with bubble gum and lollipops.

Hearts and minds. No doubt CNN was thinking about hearts and minds when it massaged the facts just a bit in the first story of the day. Considering the levity at the hearing and the willingness of the media to shape the story, I wonder if the Iraqis think that they will ever get any justice from the Americans.