ianstone
06-07-2010, 04:51 PM
Horrifically injured Iraqi orphan Ali Abbas becomes British citizen - seven years after botched Allied raid killed his family
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 2:52 PM on 7th June 2010
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Iraq war bombing orphan Ali Abbas is celebrating this week after becoming a British citizen - seven years after a botched Allied raid on his home killed 13 members of his family.
Horrifically injured Ali was just 12 years old when he lost both arms and suffered 60 per cent burns in the U.S. missile attack.
His desperate plight touched millions of people around the world. He was airlifted to Kuwait in 2003 for life-saving surgery after a direct appeal from medics in Iraq.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/07/article-1284663-09ED9952000005DC-274_634x628.jpg Proud to be British: Ali Abbas is presented with his citizen certificate by registrar Robert Bowes
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/07/article-1284663-09ED890A000005DC-830_634x469.jpg Ali stands next the Union Flag after the citizenship ceremony at Wandsworth in London
Ali, who became a lasting image of the Iraq war, was eventually flown to Britain where he was fitted with two artificial arms by specialists at Queen Mary's Hospital in London.
Now aged 19, Ali passed the government's Life in the UK citizenship test in January. He formally became British this weekend at a Citizenship Ceremony in South London.
After receiving his certificate, Ali said it was fantastic to be a UK citizen: 'I will always be an Iraqi in my heart but I am British too now. I miss my parents dreadfully and think about them all of the time but I want them to be proud of me and so I need to go on with my life.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/07/article-1284663-09EE2932000005DC-5_634x469.jpg 2003 bombing: 12-year-old Ali Abbas lies in a hospital bed in Baghdad after the U.S. missile strike on his home
'Being British will help in lots of ways. I have become part of the British society and I want to give something positive back.
'I have lots of friends here and I love the language, culture and traditions. And I love fish and chips and a good Sunday roast. So I am definitely British.'
Despite an Allied raid being responsible for the horrific tragedy that changed his life forever, he told the Mirror that he did not hold any bitterness toward the British people.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/07/article-1284663-01E489600000044D-369_306x423.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/07/article-1284663-01E23DE00000044D-618_306x423.jpg
Recovery: Ali at 14 learns to draw with his feet in 2005 and plays football at his Wimbledon school
'Some people might wonder how I could feel happy to now be a British citizen while the UK is part of the Alliance that wounded me, destroyed my family and many Iraqi people,' he said.
'But many British people have since been very supportive towards me. They have been a big part of my recovery and I am grateful to them and very happy to now be one of them.
'Their kindness has also helped me to reconcile myself with what happened.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1284673/Ali-Abbas-British-citizen.html#ixzz0qCcU05bl (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1284673/Ali-Abbas-British-citizen.html)
[U]Hearts and minds
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 2:52 PM on 7th June 2010
[/URL]
Iraq war bombing orphan Ali Abbas is celebrating this week after becoming a British citizen - seven years after a botched Allied raid on his home killed 13 members of his family.
Horrifically injured Ali was just 12 years old when he lost both arms and suffered 60 per cent burns in the U.S. missile attack.
His desperate plight touched millions of people around the world. He was airlifted to Kuwait in 2003 for life-saving surgery after a direct appeal from medics in Iraq.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/07/article-1284663-09ED9952000005DC-274_634x628.jpg Proud to be British: Ali Abbas is presented with his citizen certificate by registrar Robert Bowes
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/07/article-1284663-09ED890A000005DC-830_634x469.jpg Ali stands next the Union Flag after the citizenship ceremony at Wandsworth in London
Ali, who became a lasting image of the Iraq war, was eventually flown to Britain where he was fitted with two artificial arms by specialists at Queen Mary's Hospital in London.
Now aged 19, Ali passed the government's Life in the UK citizenship test in January. He formally became British this weekend at a Citizenship Ceremony in South London.
After receiving his certificate, Ali said it was fantastic to be a UK citizen: 'I will always be an Iraqi in my heart but I am British too now. I miss my parents dreadfully and think about them all of the time but I want them to be proud of me and so I need to go on with my life.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/07/article-1284663-09EE2932000005DC-5_634x469.jpg 2003 bombing: 12-year-old Ali Abbas lies in a hospital bed in Baghdad after the U.S. missile strike on his home
'Being British will help in lots of ways. I have become part of the British society and I want to give something positive back.
'I have lots of friends here and I love the language, culture and traditions. And I love fish and chips and a good Sunday roast. So I am definitely British.'
Despite an Allied raid being responsible for the horrific tragedy that changed his life forever, he told the Mirror that he did not hold any bitterness toward the British people.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/07/article-1284663-01E489600000044D-369_306x423.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/07/article-1284663-01E23DE00000044D-618_306x423.jpg
Recovery: Ali at 14 learns to draw with his feet in 2005 and plays football at his Wimbledon school
'Some people might wonder how I could feel happy to now be a British citizen while the UK is part of the Alliance that wounded me, destroyed my family and many Iraqi people,' he said.
'But many British people have since been very supportive towards me. They have been a big part of my recovery and I am grateful to them and very happy to now be one of them.
'Their kindness has also helped me to reconcile myself with what happened.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1284673/Ali-Abbas-British-citizen.html#ixzz0qCcU05bl (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1284673/Ali-Abbas-British-citizen.html)
[U]Hearts and minds