Posted on 08/11/2003 1:55:37 PM PDT by anniegetyourgun
LONDON (AP) - An Iraqi boy who lost both arms in the war that toppled Saddam Hussein will be a messenger for peace in the world, a Kuwaiti health official said Monday.
Ahmed al-Shatti, a Kuwaiti health ministry spokesman who accompanied Ali Abbas to London where he will be fitted with prosthetic limbs, said the boy was an example to children around the world.
``Ali has already decided to be a messenger of peace,'' al-Shatti told a news conference at Queen Mary's Hospital Rehabilitation Center in London, where Ali began treatment Monday.
He said Ali and 14-year-old Ahmed Hamza, who lost his left foot and right hand in U.S. bombardments near Baghdad, would ``set an example for the children in the world,'' because of their positive attitude.
Ali's story drew international attention after pictures of him crying in pain at a Baghdad hospital appeared across the world.
The youngster told the news conference, with al-Shatti translating, that he looked forward to being fitted with prosthetic arms and to continuing his education in Britain.
Ahmed also thanked the British and Kuwaiti medical teams and wished the British people ``peace and love and prosperity,'' al-Shatti said.
Robin Cooper, a clinical specialist in prosthetics at Queen Mary's, said last week Ali worked hard, there were few limits to what he could achieve.
``It very much depends on him. We can give him the tools, but the real work comes from him,'' Cooper told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. ``We have had people who have had the same level of loss as him who fly light aircraft or drive cars.''
Russel
What do you call an armless Iraqi boy laying in a hole in the road?
Phil.
<./rimshot>
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