14-year-old Nour Kharma in Gaza asks President Barack Obama for help


Pacifica's Sprouts for Wednesday February 12, 2009 A Gaza Teenager Calls on US President Barack Obama for Help Left KU Channel February 13, 2009 3PM EST Total time 29:06 minutes, music fades 18 sec Go to Weekly programs http://www.audioport.org and click on: "A Gaza Teenager Calls on US President Barack Obama for Help" Or search "Sprouts" This week's Sprouts edition is produced by Dori Smith at FM 91.7 WHUS Radio in Storrs, Connecticut, a Pacifica Affiliate. http://www.whus.org Today on Sprouts Nour, A Gaza teenager reaches out to President Barack Obama for help after Israeli bombs kill her young friend and destroy her school.In her interview with Dori Smith, she describes her life today in Gaza. Later in the show, people attending an event in Connecticut respond to Nour and the situation in Gaza. Finally, an activist in Madison Wisconsin describes efforts to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Madison is a sister city to the City of Rafah, near Gaza. 14-year-old Nour Kharma who has been living in Gaza City throughout many days of war,joined us by phone to talk about the story she wrote for the online magazine Counterpunch, called"Will I die too?" Her young friend, Christine, died while en route to the hospital. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, in most instances it takes hours before an ambulance reaches the wounded. Human rights groups report violations of the laws of war against indiscriminate attacks. In this Sprouts show we also hear from: -- Zahir Janmohamed, Advocacy Director for Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa sector, as he explains shocking news of what it is like on the ground in Gaza, including 1300 reported deaths with 5,000 wounded - largely civilian - and, since Israel keeps the border sealed, lack of food, water, or medicines. -- Peace activists at the Storrs chapter of the American Friends Service Committee, gathered for discussion with local residents, students, and professors after watching a film created by Palestinian director Mohammed Alatar and produced by The Iron Wall features interviews with prominent Israeli and Palestinian peace activists and political analysts, including Jeff Halper, Akiva Eldar, Hind Khoury, and others. Also included are eye-opening interviews with Israeli settlers and soldiers, and Palestinian farmers. -- Individuals who send a message via this radio show to Nour Kharma include: Rafat, from Bangladesh, Amina Jung who was born in Moroco and is now an American citizen who worries about her own children, and Connecticut peace activist Stanley Heller, founder of the Middle East Crisis Committee in New Haven, and producer of the cable TV show The Struggle. -- Elizabeth Aaronsohn, Associate Professor at Central Ct State University in New Britain, Connecticut, and one time civil rights worker in Mississippi. She is co-founder of the peace group, We Refuse to be Enemies, which consists of Jews, Muslims, and Christians. -- Professor Chengiah Ragaveni of CCSU, Central Connecticut State University, commenting on the US and war, -- CCSU student Amanda West on how her professor has influenced her in her understanding of the world and current events. Barbara Olson of the Madison-Rafah Sister City group in Madison, WI. and local activist working to build person to person relationships between the people of Wisconsin and America and Rafah, near Gaza. Her group coordinates their efforts with assistance from the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza City. http://www.madisonrafah.org/ They are a 501c3 non profit working in partnership with the El Mezan center for Human Rights in Gaza. The film The Iron Wall shows the Occupied Territories from the air, documenting the tiny area that is left to Palestinians from lands confiscated by Israel since the Oslo Peace Accords. Israel has moved steadily to construct housing for Israeli citizens on more and more Palestinian land, and candidates. Sprouts is a weekly program that features local radio production and stories from many radio stations and local media groups around the world. It is produced in collaboration with community radio stations and independent producers across the country. The program is coordinated and distributed by Pacifica Radio and offered free of charge to all radio stations. For information, or if you would like to feature your work on Sprouts, contact Ursula Ruedenberg at ursula@pacifica.org.

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.

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