The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
Article (Arabia On Line) sent by Rania Masri, Iraq Action Coalition:-
**********************
Excerpt from article:
The Flying Hospital, a US- and British-based charity, is to send the
giant
Lockheed L1011-50 aircraft on a two-week mission to the Gaza Strip in
April
and later to sanctions-hit Iraq.
Surgery carried out on the converted aircraft includes eye, bone,
appendix
and hernia operations. The Flying Hospital, with an international array
of
doctors, can even cope with heart surgery.
To overcome any objections from Iraq because of its US aircrew, however,
the
organizers have offered to bring in Arab pilots.
But a mission to Iraq planned for earlier this year has been postponed
because of the US and British air strikes that have taken place on an
almost
daily basis since December.
"We have the 'no-fly' zone problem now. We are waiting for the
appropriate
time," said Rowland Taylor, a Briton in charge of marketing for the
Flying
Hospital.
On the medical side, "We have been told by the Iraqis that we can send
as
many American and British doctors as we want," he said.
Full article below
=====
Thursday, March 18, 1999: The Living Channel
Iraqi Star Sings for Charity Ball
DUBAI (AFP) -- Iraqi singer Kazem Al-Saher, a sensation in the Arab
world,
joined forces with European royalty in Dubai on Wednesday for a glitzy
charity ball aimed at raising millions of dollars for a "Flying
Hospital."
With Britain's Prince Michael of Kent and Prince Charles Antoine de
Ligne of
Belgium among the VIPs, a vintage Rolls-Royce and a "millennium diamond"
from De Beers were up for auction at the ball in the Gulf emirate of
Dubai.
The crown prince of Dubai, Shaikh Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum, was
patron
of the 275 dollars a ticket event at which Kazem Al-Saher, whose normal
fee
runs into tens of thousands of dollars a show, was to sing for free.
The crooner said he would offer his services at any time for charity and
prided himself on a 1997 fund-raising concert he gave before Princess
Anne
at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
"But please don't forget the children of Iraq and the suffering they are
going through," he appealed.
The 40-year-old star is a source of pride for Iraqis both inside and
outside
the country, despite Baghdad's isolation since its August 1990 invasion
of
Kuwait.
"Lots of people tell me you are our ambassador. Through you, we feel
Iraq
again," he told AFP.
"Most of my songs are pan-Arab, not only Iraqi," he said, explaining his
appeal throughout the Arab world. In Iraq itself, he normally plays at
the
annual Babylon festival but his last performance was two years ago.
Kazem Al-Saher, well-groomed in a dark suit like an Italian football
star
off the field, said his next album, "My Love and The Rain," would be
released in April.
"I don't like music videos. I have stopped such videos. In the last
year, I
have been turning to classical Arabic songs, with big orchestras," said
the
Paris-based star.
He is separated from his wife, who lives with their children in Jordan,
and
travels back to Iraq to see his parents. "I am a friend of every Iraqi,"
said the soft-spoken star, vowing to preserve his links to his homeland.
The Flying Hospital, a US- and British-based charity, is to send the
giant
Lockheed L1011-50 aircraft on a two-week mission to the Gaza Strip in
April
and later to sanctions-hit Iraq.
Surgery carried out on the converted aircraft includes eye, bone,
appendix
and hernia operations. The Flying Hospital, with an international array
of
doctors, can even cope with heart surgery.
To overcome any objections from Iraq because of its US aircrew, however,
the
organizers have offered to bring in Arab pilots.
But a mission to Iraq planned for earlier this year has been postponed
because of the US and British air strikes that have taken place on an
almost
daily basis since December.
"We have the 'no-fly' zone problem now. We are waiting for the
appropriate
time," said Rowland Taylor, a Briton in charge of marketing for the
Flying
Hospital.
On the medical side, "We have been told by the Iraqis that we can send
as
many American and British doctors as we want," he said.
3.18.99 H.Y.
Copyrights
(c) Copyright 1997 Arabia.On.Line. All rights reserved.
---
'too many windmills... too little time'
-- Don Quixote
---
http://iraqaction.org
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a discussion list run by Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
To be removed/added, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk, NOT the
whole list. Archived at http://linux.clare.cam.ac.uk/~saw27/casi/discuss.html