[ModerateGuy]

Boy, 5, doused in gas, set on fire by masked men


Source: Boy, 5, doused in gas, set on fire by masked men - CNN.com

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Five-year-old Youssif is scarred for life, his once beautiful smile turned into a grotesquely disfigured face -- the face of a horrifying act by masked men. They grabbed him on a January day outside his central Baghdad home, doused him with gas and set him ablaze.

It's an act incomprehensibly savage, even by Iraq's standards today. No one has been arrested and the motive remains unknown.

In a war-ravaged city torn by sectarian violence and marked by acts of vengeance, this attack's apparent randomness stands out as an example of what life has become in a place where brutality -- even against young children -- is a constant.

"They dumped gasoline, burned me, and ran," Youssif told CNN, pointing down the street with his scarred hands where his attackers fled.

As he sucked his thumb, he repeated, "I was burning." He tried to put the flames out himself.

It looks as though this boy's face melted and then froze into rivers cutting through swollen hard flesh. It's hard to see the energetic outgoing child his parents describe beneath the sullen demeanor that defines Youssif today.

"He's become spiteful, I am not sure why," said his mother, Zainab. "He is jealous of everyone. If I say the slightest thing to him, he cries. He's sensitive."

Even things like eating have become a chore. His face contorts when he tries to shovel rice into his mouth, carefully angling the spoon and then using his fingers to push the little grains through lips he can no longer fully open.

Helping Youssif

No aid organizations have taken up Youssif's cause at this point. CNN and CNN.com will keep you updated if this changes.

He has also become jealous of the baby sister he used to dote on. "I sit sometimes at night and cry," Zainab said, her voice heavy with guilt. "If only I hadn't let him go outside, if only I hadn't let him play."

It was on January 15 that masked men attacked her boy, their identities still unknown. Zainab said she was upstairs at the time.
"I heard screaming. I thought someone was fighting or something," she said.

She ran downstairs, saw her son and fainted. When she came to, she barely recognized her child. "His head was so swollen, you couldn't see his eyes, and his nose was pushed in."
"There was blood," she added, shuddering slightly. "The skin was melted off."

He spent two months in the hospital recovering from the severe burns. These days Youssif spends most of his time indoors, in front of the computer. It's only then that traces of the 5-year-old in him emerge. "He can't play outside with the other kids," Zainab said. "The other day they were playing, and he came in crying. I asked him, 'What's wrong?' and he said, 'They won't play with me because I am burned.'"

She said he once wanted to be a doctor and he loved kindergarten. "He used to be the one who would wake me up every morning, saying let's go to school," Zainab recalled.

She coaxed him to tell me the few words he knows in English. "Girl, boy, window, fan," he said, his voice barely audible, the words barely intelligible.

Doctors told the family there is little more they can do to help Youssif. The family can't afford care outside Iraq.

So Zainab has taken a massive risk by telling her story to the world. Her husband works as a security guard, and it's too dangerous for him to talk to the media.

"I'd prefer death than seeing my son like this," Zainab said.

All she wants is for someone to help her little boy smile again.

[psychoteddybear]

i read about this today and literally felt physically ill...how can grown men do such a sick and despicable thing to a child is beyond me...these are the people that need to be in abu ghreib...that's just so sad may Allah swt have mercy on this boy and his family...and what goes around, comes around.

[ModerateGuy]

Originally Posted by psychoteddybear

i read about this today and literally felt physically ill...how can grown men do such a sick and despicable thing to a child is beyond me...these are the people that need to be in abu ghreib...that's just so sad may Allah swt have mercy on this boy and his family...and what goes around, comes around.

I just can't see how someone is even CAPABLE of doing something like this.

[Kona_Silat]

See... the terrorists in Iraq are doing more evil.

[iTz_NoT_Me_iTzZu]

wow that's HORRIFYING may Allah ease his suffering and grant them patience.

Is there any sort of donation thing set up?

[A_Muminah]

As-Salaamu 'Alaykum,

SubHana-Allaah.

No one deserves the pain this little boy is going through.
There is a hadith which states any Muslim that dies (by drowning) in water or by fire receives the reward of a Shaheed in the Aakhirah and SubHana-Allaah, there must be a reason for that. The torment the person has to face with such heat is way too much to beat for a grown adult, think about this 5 year old.

Its sad how I cry over the small cooking-burns I receive, this story tears me apart inside.

Wa'Alaykum As-Salaam Wa Rahmatullaah

[Skinwalker]

This is such a disgusting brutal act. I wonder if the family was being paid back for something or if they were mistaken for another by these cowards.

[Musashi]

Assalamu 'alaikum wa rahmatulLahi wa barakatuh

That's horrible! The poor boy.

I also wonder what was their 'reason' for doing this, though in the end it hardly matters since I'm sure the boy couldn't have done anything about it.
Adults who attack children disgust me.

[Jamroll]

This is absolutely cruel, twisted and sickening. What kind of deranged psychopath does this to a tiny kid, I can't fathom. I'm so disgusted with this.

[ModerateGuy]

Originally Posted by Jamroll

This is absolutely cruel, twisted and sickening. What kind of deranged psychopath does this to a tiny kid, I can't fathom. I'm so disgusted with this.

Part of the punishment for whomever is responsible for this should have the exact same thing done to them.

[Kona_Silat]

Originally Posted by Jamroll

This is absolutely cruel, twisted and sickening. What kind of deranged psychopath does this to a tiny kid, I can't fathom. I'm so disgusted with this.

Yet Muslims do nothing. All talk.

[rahat]

What gives you people the right to be upset?

Only those who do not support tyrants can be upset at this.

Saddam did the same stuff, and much much worse - and most of you pray for him to goto Heaven.

In fact, the fatwa patrol told me its "haram" to pray for bad things to happen to murderers! All of you sat there, or joined in, in when I was told that Saddam will 100% goto Heaven.

I hope that anyone who has tolerance for either Saddams crap or this crap goes straight to hell forever.

May the curse of Allah be on them all.

-
rahat

[rahat]

004.093
YUSUFALI: If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein (For ever): And the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him, and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him.

[iTz_NoT_Me_iTzZu]

***update****



ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Few stories have touched CNN.com users like that of 5-year-old Youssif, an Iraqi boy who had gone out to play on a January day when he was suddenly grabbed by masked men, doused in gas and set on fire.


Youssif was known for his bright smile before he was attacked by masked men.

1 of 2 more photos » CNN.com users responded by the thousands to the story asking how they could help. But there were tricky and difficult issues the family had to suddenly confront, as several aid organizations quickly offered their services.

Specifically, the family had to make a decision on whether to leave their homeland or stay inside Iraq for treatment. If they chose to leave, could they get visas to travel to the United States or leave Iraq safely? Further complicating matters is the fact that few aid organizations remain in Iraq; most moved out months ago due to the constant threat of being targeted.

Leaving one's homeland is never an easy choice to make, even during war. But the family has decided Youssif should seek treatment in the United States.

The Children's Burn Foundation -- a non-profit organization based out of Sherman Oaks, California, that provides support for burn victims locally, nationally and internationally -- has agreed to pay for the transportation for Youssif and his family to come to the United States and to set up a fund so you can donate. See photos of Youssif before and after the attack »

Impact Your World
See how you can make a difference
The foundation says it will cover all medical costs -- from surgeries for Youssif to housing costs to any social rehabilitation that might be needed for him. Surgeries will be performed by Dr. Peter Grossman, a plastic surgeon with the affiliated-Grossman Burn Center who is donating his services for Youssif's cause.

Officials are still trying to get the appropriate visas for his travels. Youssif could be in the United States for up to a year for the various treatments he needs.

Don't Miss
Children's Burn Foundation
Youssif's story
You can make a donation at the foundation's site by clicking here. There's a drop down menu under the "general donation" area that is marked "Youssif's fund."

When informed of the news in Baghdad, Youssif ran around his house, saying, "Daddy, daddy, am I really going to get on a plane?!"

Youssif's father was also cheered by the news. "I feel like I am going to fly from happiness," his father told CNN's Arwa Damon, who reported the story on what happened to Youssif.

Barbara Friedman, executive director of the Children's Burn Foundation, said she and others at the foundation were deeply moved when they first read the piece.

Aid groups
Other organizations that offered to help:

International Medical Corps

Doctors Without Borders

Shriners

Palestine Children's Relief Fund

The Leap Foundation

The CURE Foundation

The Global Medical Relief Fund

Fresh Start

World Craniofacial Foundation

"In terms of a personal reaction, the only thing I could say is it takes your breath away -- because it's just so unfathomable, that that kind of brutality and violence was undertaken in a premeditated way against a defenseless child," she told CNN.com.

"From the foundation's perspective, our immediate reaction was: Can we help? How can we help? We want to help. This is what we do."

Many of you had the same reaction. "This kind of thing breaks my heart," wrote CNN.com user Jessica Allen. "To see that smiling adorable face before that day that he was so brutally attacked is enough to make you cry. How could someone do this to anyone, let alone a child?"

Others pleaded for CNN to act. "CNN, if you put this on for us to read, then you should allow us to donate," wrote Brian Quinn.

The story -- published and broadcast on Wednesday -- has been one of the most-read, non-breaking news stories in CNN.com's 12-year history.

"We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for Youssif and his family, and are grateful that the Children's Burn Foundation and the Grossman Burn Center have volunteered to help," said Mitch Gelman, CNN.com's senior vice president and senior executive producer.

"It is heart-warming and restorative to see such generosity and goodness emerging from this truly unspeakable horror." E-mail to a friend


Help is on the way for Youssif - CNN.com



Yayyy alhamdulilah, I'm happy for him and his family