Yesterday, I met a little girl named Guljumma. She's seven years old, and she lives in Kabul at a place called Helmand Refugee Camp District 5.
Guljumma talked about what happened one morning last year when she was sleeping at home in southern Afghanistan's Helmand Valley. At about 5 a.m., bombs exploded. Some people in her family died. She lost an arm.
With a soft matter-of-fact voice, Guljumma described those events...
Read the full column (which includes a photo)
Readers who wish to assist residents of refugee camps in Kabul can make a tax-deductible donation to PARSA, a nongovernmental organization that provides vocational training and employment placement for displaced Afghans.
The contributions can be made via the website afghanistan-parsa.org or by check to: PARSA, P.O. Box 31292, Seattle, WA 98103
Robert Koehler wrote September 10th, 2009 in the Chicago Tribune:
OK, let's jump now to a refugee camp in Kabul, where journalist Norman Solomon introduces us to a 7-year-old girl named Guljumma Khan, who lost her arm in a U.S. bombing raid, and whose father has gotten nowhere trying to get redress or the least support fromthe United States, the United Nations or the Afghan government to obtain medical assistance for her or take care of his family.
Furthermore, Solomon writes, "Basics like food arrive at the camp only sporadically." The girl's father "pointed to a plastic bag containing a few pounds of rice. It was his responsibility to divide the rice for the 100 families" in the refugee camp.
"Is the U.S. government willing to really help Guljumma, who now lives each day and night in the squalor of a refugee camp?" asks Solomon. "Is the government willing to spend the equivalent of the cost of a single warhead to assist her?"
