the abaya diaries

the abaya diariesmaya alleruzzo

Rolling Stone : The Girl Who Tried to Save the World

Rolling Stone :: "Humanitarian-aid work is a passion, not a career path. Ruzicka approached the work with an almost manic dedication. Unable to sleep, she'd be up at dawn and awake at 3 or 4 a.m. Her Day-Timer was filled with 'to do' lists, hundreds of contact names and fund-raising goals -- as well as personal buck-up notes, some almost Bridget Jones-like in content (she kept a running tally of the number of cigarettes she smoked per day). Still on a shoestring budget, she bounced from friend to friend, many of whom she'd met in Afghanistan, crashing on their couches at the Hamra or in their spare rooms. Pamela Hess, a reporter for UPI who'd met Ruzicka in Kabul in 2002, bumped into her while swimming in the Hamra pool. 'She'd gone from anti-war, almost radical, to a woman who could deal with the U.S. military as a partner in her work,' she says. 'I was impressed at how much she had matured in the intervening year.'

On August 19th, 2003, the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad was hit in a massive suicide attack, signifying a dramatic shift in the war. Westerners -- even those occupying positions of neutrality -- were now targets. By the end of the year, most of the Western aid workers in Iraq had pulled out. Ruzicka decided to stay. In the breezy, upbeat notes she'd post to CIVIC's Web site, she would often begin with a chronicle of Iraq's escalating danger but conclude with detailed accounts of the week's work with victims. 'Their tragedies are my responsibilities,' she wrote.

But by April 2004, Iraq had become increasingly dangerous for Americans. As the mortar attacks and suicide bombs grew in frequency, those who remained rarely left their fortified compounds. Ruzicka was warned, most likely by an Iraqi friend, to get out of Iraq for a while. Reluctantly, she agreed, posting a note to her Web site on April 8th declaring her decision to return to Washington 'and try to make a home...sort of.' But a few weeks later she was back in Iraq. 'I didn't want the hard work we'd put into motion to stall,' she wrote in her journal. During the next two months, she jetted in and out of Baghdad, ignoring warnings that the situation had become too risky. 'Just think of all the work you will be able to do when the situation is better because you were not killed by a bomb,' one friend urged."

Carbs, Communism and Other Things America Can't Stand: 1 - Marla Ruzicka

Carbs, Communism and Other Things America Can't Stand: 1 - Marla Ruzicka: "With sun bleached blonde hair, and a California drawl the 5'3 100lb Marla Ruzicka might have seemed less at home in the Iraqi capital then at a California beach. Her manner, on first glance, would only appear to confirm this estimation as she once asked an American commander during a press conference, if he 'needed a hug.' She often referred to Baghdad as 'Baggers,' and was nicknamed 'bubbles' by the Iraq press corps, mostly because of her themed parties and her tendency to dispense back rubs to beleagured journalists.
She celebrated her professional breakthrough by proclaiming to a friend, 'Dude...this is huge!' Marla was referring to a detailed report she had obtained that had stated that civilian casulaties in Iraq from the week of February 28th - April 5th was 29. The report proved that the Pentagon kept track of civilian casulties, something they have repeatedly denied.
Marla had dedicated the last two years of her life to an organization she had founded called CIVIC. The Campaign for Innocent Victims In Conflict. A campaign which had won an ally in the senate in Patrick Leahy (D-VT) he said of Marla, 'what she wanted to do was eminently sensible...unfortunately things that are emminently sensible sometimes get lost in the bureaucracy without a champion. She was a champion. I would follow her anywhere.' When she died, he said of her on the senate floor that, that she, 'was as close to a living saint as they come.'
It was Marla's hope that Patrick Leahy would be an ally in what would be her ultimate goal which was to establish a government office that would document the civilian casualties of American military operations. An office that would then publicly report that information and then provide compensation for the victims and their families, and then study the data in an effort to minimize future civilian casualties. Sounds tough...no?"

Around the world on 80 Shequels

Around the world on 80 Shequels