Monica Robins
Created: 7/19/2007

CLEVELAND -- Concord woman brings burned girl from Iraq to Cleveland for medical care.
It's 9:15 P.M. on July 16, 2007. Exactly a year to the day Barbara Marlowe picked up her Sunday paper and read a story about a little girl that would change both of their lives.

The woman from Concord has no connection to the Middle East. She can't speak Arabic and knows nothing of Muslim culture. But the picture of a 5-year-old little girl sitting on her father's lap haunted her.

When Teeba Furat was 19 months old, she and her family were on their way to a doctor's appointment when an insurgent's bomb hit their cab. The blast killed Teeba's 3-and-a-half year old brother and severely burned the little girl's head, face and hands.

Barbara was volunteering for Wigs for Kids, an organization that gives hair pieces to children who lose their hair from medical problems.

"All she wanted was a wig because she was afraid when she went to school the kids would make fun of her and I thought I have to help her her eyes were so compelling to me." Barbara said.

So the day after reading Teeba's story, Barbara began an epic effort to bring the little girl to Cleveland for medical care.

"Everyone I talked to within a matter of three or four days agreed to help this child and then it took eleven months and two weeks to get her here."

Teeba's plane was expected to land at Hopkins at 9:20 P.M. She and her grandmother, Amal Hadi, flew 12 hours from Jordan to Chicago.

Barbara, her husband Tim, and a translator received special permission to meet Teeba and Amal at the gate. But as they watched the passengers disembark, their excitement turned to fear.

The little girl and her grandmother, who cannot read and speaks no English, missed their connection to Cleveland. The Marlowes would have to wait another two and half hours for them to arrive.

At 11:50pm, a very tired Teeba and her grandmother finally arrived to hugs and a fuzzy teddy bear for Teeba.

The meeting would bridge cultures with kindness.

Amal is overwhelmed with gratitude and hugs Barbara tightly. "She says she wants to thank you guys and thank God there are good people like you."

The family spent their first night at Barbara's home and for the first time, the little girl from a tiny village outside Baghdad had her own toys.

In a satin princess gown wearing a tiara, Teeba played with her new toys and then carted them around the house, afraid someone would take them from her.

A year ago, Barbara first approached me to do a story to help her raise money to bring Teeba to the states.

I put her in touch with Steve and Huda Sosebee of the Palestine Children's Relief Fund. Their organization helps bring children from the Middle East to the U.S. for medical care.

They believe compassion is more powerful than weapons.

"Complete strangers went through the effort of bringing this child here just by reading her name in the newspaper and that completely offsets and undermines everything Al-Qaida or the terrorists are saying against us." Steve says.

Huda translates for Amal, "Without you without your help she would not be able to be here and she is honored to meet you."

Getting Teeba here was a difficult task. Iraq had recently changed its passport policy, so the family had to wait weeks to get new passports. When that finally happened, there was a limit placed on visas to leave the country and enter the states. Congressman Dennis Kucinich's office made calls on Teeba's behalf.

Teeba and her grandmother moved into the Ronald McDonald House while Teeba awaits her first doctor visit with reknowned pediatric plastic surgeon, Arun Gosain, M.D. of Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.

Meanwhile, on her third day in Cleveland, Barbara made her first wish come true. She took her to Wigs for Kids at Jeffrey Paul Salon in Rocky River to be fitted for her new hair piece.

Teeba made it clear that she wants her hair long and blonde. "All the girls in the Middle East love long blonde hair because of Barbie." Huda explains.

Despite language barriers, cultural and religious differences two families came together for the sake of a child. A simple act of kindness that Barbara hopes might bring a moment of peace to a family in the midst of war.

"God would not have brought her this far if it wasn't going to work out so I'm just gonna take each day as it comes."

Teeba's is allowed to stay in the United States until January. Next week, her medical journey begins. If you'd care to donate to her cause, The Teeba Furat Fund is set up at any National City Bank.