Talk:Marla Ruzicka

message: Although it concedes that praise for her work is not universal, it (in the same sentence) sings her beatific attributes to high heaven while relegating her critics to the status of American RW nutters (afterall, what normal person could disagree with her aims?). I don't understand why a POV dispute label cannot stay attached.
User:Achilles2000 10 May, 2005
----
:From: Miguel 
:Sent: Monday, April 25, 2005 8:25 PM
:To: A PeaceActionLake@yahoogroups.com
:Subject: Eulogies for Marla
:I had never heard of this woman, Marla Rezicka, even though she came from the town just a few miles west down the lake from me. The more I read about this unique human being, the more I felt drawn to her memorial. For some undefined reason I felt compelled to go to pay my respects to this peace worker. In a cynical world seething with hate and disillusion, in a world that seems to be increasingly out of control and beyond anything I can do, Marla went forth with no money and no mandate and did something that changed history -- and she paid the price. I had a need to go to this memorial to say thanks to one who took her light and love out into the world and they snuffed it out.
:The morning of the memorial service, the skies were clouded and a light rain intermittently fell on those from Lakeport and from around the world, who came to pay final tribute to this courageous woman. She went where only armed soldiers go and she brought kindness, and hope and her love. She saw the needs of these non-combatants, these civilians whose lives had been shattered by our military might -- a military that shined them on as "Collateral Damage." On her own, she began going door to door gathering names of these innocent victims of our "Shock and Awe." so as to lobby Congress, and anyone who would listen, for reparation funds for them.
:By her own strength, courage and determination, she came to found CIVIC (Campaign for Innocent Victims of Conflict) and through it she was able to bring tens of millions of dollars to aid the tens of thousands who our war has harmed.
:The crowd was huge. It filled the church and spilled into the vestibule, the church's court yard and out into the street. They ignored the intermittent rain and stood for over two hours, with swollen eyes, listening to the eulogies by those who knew her best. Hard-bitten war correspondents, who knew her in Afghanistan and Iraq, paused to gain control of their emotions and looked a little sheepish for their tears and faltering words.
:Senator Boxer gave the final eulogy in which she said:
::I wish everybody in America could have seen this tribute today. We so need to come together as a nation regardless of our politics; to see beyond our differences to our humanity, and that is what Marla has given us.
:Miguel Lanigan
Extracts From Eulogies at the Memorial For Marla Ann Rezicka
December 31, 1976
~
April 16, 2005
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Lakeport, California
April 23, 2005
Kevin Danner—co-founder of Global Exchange –
:“Jesus Christ died because there were Roman Empire troops in Palestine. . . He would not have died had their not been Roman Troops in Palestine. What was his message? –“Unconditional love.” The magic of Marla’s life was she knew what unconditional love was. She did not have prejudice about love. She did not love because of peoples physical package, or their language, their culture, their customs, their behavior, she loved everyone. She understood what BIG LOVE is, real love, spiritual love that the great teachers like Christ, like Mahatma Ghandi, like Martin Luther King tried so hard and sacrificed their lives to teach us.”. .
Marla had no “them”, it was all about “us” -- that was the magic of her love. “She understood that God is not a noun, it’s a verb. She didn’t talk a lot about it; she didn’t have a lot of religious rhetoric, she acted it – “By their deeds ye shall know them”, and by her deeds she changed the course of history.
Philip Machingura—close friend of Marla while Marla was studying political science in Harar, Zimbabwe.
:She liked to roller blade, run, hike and swim. She also liked her beer.
:She was not a saint, she was very human.
:Was always fearless in taking public transportation where it was dangerous.
Bobby Muller: Chairman of Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. He met her in the spring of 2002 and quickly had her join the organization to help arrive at ways to address the issue of civilian victims of war. He encouraged and supported her efforts to create CIVIC. He wanted to highlight just how important Marla’s life has been.
:There’s a lot of cynicism in our country today. The incredible sense of hopelessness on the part of so many people that we say what can I do? There’s nothing I can do. Marla demonstrated the fact that an individual can make a profound difference in this world. That’s an example; that’s leadership.
:You know there’s a touch of irony in the fact that this tragedy is the very representation to what her life has been dedicated to. Her life was dedicated to innocent victim of conflict, what she wound up being: she died an innocent victim of conflict – exactly that what she was dedicated to calling attention to and to helping.
:IN WW I, 95 percent of the casualties were soldiers; then in WW II, that all changed; everything went into the battle, we fire-bombed cities, targeted civilian populations, and we had the Geneva Conventions that said we can’t do that, but they got kind of washed in the subsequent years as the nature of warfare has fundamentally transformed and today 95 percent of the casualties in conflict today are civilians and we have accommodated to that reality. Most Americans have never experienced war and to them that has become a definition of war. As a combat soldier I can tell you there is a difference between engaging an enemy soldier and having innocent civilians die. It’s not simply an abstraction.
:This woman has managed to do what I have not been able to do in over thirty years of liberal activism brought about my experience at war; she managed to prick the conscience of America. She has managed to get the attention of the leadership in Washington. She has managed to take this issue of innocent victims of conflicts and make it an issue of national concern. To set the precedent of recognition of compensation. I offer you is extraordinary.
:When Muller understood the energy of who this woman was it was he who introduced her to Tim Rieser, U.S. Senator Leahy’s foreign policy adviser and Democratic Clerk for the Appropriations Subcommittee that funds foreign aid programs who was really her sponsor in the trenches of Washington. And made so much of what she did possible. Tim and I, two old war-horses that she would look to and say that we were the inspiration, said to ourselves, ‘Isn’t it remarkable that it is this young woman that is our inspiration.’ The struggle for justice is a never-ending struggle and you always wonder will there be those who will come and carry on the struggle? And to see this generation, to see this energy, to see this leadership as a succession, is what gave us inspiration. Marla, thank you. God bless you.”
Quill Lawrene - BBC radio journalist with the PRI program “The World.” He met Marla in Kabul in the winter of 2001, and they spent time together in Washington, Afghanistan and Iraq.
:“I first met Marla in Kabul in the winter of 2001. We shared a ride over the Hindu Kush mountains in a life-threatening snow-storm and where I discovered that Marla was in Afghanistan without flack jacket, sleeping bag, a decent hat, or any money. I know that there is a photographer who is standing in the back (of the church) who is owed at least six-months lodging by her family.
:Marla is a force of nature somewhere between lightening and gravity. A pleasant mix of Mother Theresa and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
:My greatest memories of Marla; “I passed her on the street and she was wearing some kind of head covering, but with her blond hair sort of like a neon flag. And two years later I had a moment of déjà vu. I was in a taxi on 20th street and P in Washington, D.C. and I saw the same blond hair roller-bladed by me and she was on her way to a meeting at the State Department that she roller-bladed into.
:A typical Marla day in Iraq:
:Start the day with a swim. She invented what she was doing. She didn’t take a course, Some times journalist think we are sort of living by our wits and coming up with what we are doing, but at least we know what we are supposed to produce, and we see how other people do it. She came up with this. It was a very obvious thing – she saw people were being hurt, she saw that that was probably going to happen and she decided to do something to do about it.
:First she would go out and work on her surveys. Now, one thing she would never forgive us for was if we didn’t mention Faiz (Ali Salim), whom (with his voice breaking) I didn’t know well. And I saw Ali as a quite presence sitting in my suite at the hotel where Marla would stay in the extra bedroom. And he would be sitting there and maybe accept a cup of tea and, ah, he would have this bemused look on his face as another person who was working with Marla, and knew he was doing the right thing, but didn’t really know how this had happened. Who was this blond girl, and why am I dedicating my days to working with her, but Faiz, in his own right, should be remembered as a very intelligent man who dedicated himself every day, and he lived in Iraq, to this mission. I think in some ways, Marla would say that his death was even more tragic than hers, because she had made – she had opened the door for him to be able to do what he was doing and he kept doing it; and maybe somebody in Washington could have taken over with his work, and we will do that. But, Faiz could have made a lot more money and probably at a lot less risk working ,for example, me. He lived a truly heroic life trying to change his country and trying to help the people of his country. We’ll always remember him as well.
:Marla then would head into the “green zone” essentially the gigantic embassy in the middle of Baghdad. And she recently complained to a friend of mine that she couldn’t talk her way passed the guards anymore – there was a new set of guards, the others had rotated out. Some people inside the Green Zone, inside the embassy, didn’t like her that much. Some people thought she wasn’t being that effective, or maybe they thought that they were going about it right and she couldn’t just jump around and do what she was doing. But the people who were going out, who were the soldiers, were the ones who liked her the best of the people who worked inside there, because, they weren’t looking for a perfect solution; they weren’t looking for a comprehensive philosophy of dealing with this; they were looking for someone who was getting things done because that’s what they had to do every day. And I think that tells you what a great patriot Marla was.
:Then she might come back to the hotel and try to exploit a member of the media with her charms for an interview. Actually she did us so many favors setting up these great stories that she had found --compelling stuff that she would hand to you on a silver-platter…. (There is a break in his eulogy when the tape ran out. It picks up . . .) He spoke of how she was scattered until the tape started rolling. Then she settled down.
“. . .She was speaking in precise language, being very punchy, but not overstating anything, not risking losing credibility by saying some outrageous thing, she was so good at it. I can’t believe how quickly she improved (paused to compose himself, his voice breaking-and this a hard-bitten war correspondent). And how well she listened to people, and got better, and better, (voice once again faltering) and better, I thought she was going to be a senator, but Tim (Reiser) told me I was crazy.
:Marla has left me with a significant problem, ‘cause I used to have this crutch I carried around, which that you can’t help everyone all the time – Um, I’m a war correspondent, and I go to these places all the time, and so if I spent time crying over every victim, or if I got too involved in every victim, well I’d never be able to function; I wouldn’t be able to go to all these places, continue going. And we did tell Marla that she had to take care of herself more –
:I wish she had; but, I now have to face the fact (his voice breaks again) that you can spend your life helping people, and you can take into consideration every person you meet. I have to do that all the time now.
:I want to say two more things -- I think I’ve been up here an hour -- I “wanna” tell you that Marla made me feel like I was the greatest person on earth --I’ve got it in writing (laughter)-- and I know all of you do as well, and she meant it to every single one of us. And, I was walking in with her just now (he was a pall bearer) and I could hear her voice telling me to be strong, that it was OK. I had a wonderful thought, is that, I could hear her voice, clear as a bell in my head, saying, “Be strong.” Um -- I get that voice, I can keep that voice with me for the rest of my life. I can do whatever; I’m -- I’m unstoppable, if I can have Marla’s encouragement. . .I just. . . there’s, there’s. . . we’re invincible. So, I get to keep that and I hope you all, I know you all, can keep that voice with you, so . . . (Applause finished his sentence).
Catherine Philip – South Asia Correspondent for The Times, based in Delhi, India. She met Marla for the first time in Afghanistan in early 2002 and knew her through her times there and subsequently in Iraq. Marla frequently visited her in Delhi over the past year and they also spent time together in New York, Washington, D.C. and California. She was with Marla in Baghdad until two weeks before her death.
:Marla was the type of person for whom no one was a stranger. Catherine was in a topless bar seated at a table with a couple with whom she hadn’t spoken. Marla came in and, “. . . five minutes after Marla joined us, she befriended them, told them to get married (laughter), and being confided in by the woman when her boyfriend went to get more drinks, that she was actually in love with another man. Marla gave the woman her CIVIC card and the next day the woman e-mailed her that she wanted to hold a fund-raiser for her.
:Marla spilled things, and she broke things; her back rubs could leave bruises. That summer she missed nearly every phone call she got; she couldn’t figure out how to answer it. She could figure out how to dial though, so her phone bills were massive.
When she would clap me she would say (in a high voice) “Yea!” and she’d do a little jump. She’d say, “We like her; we don’t like him.!”
She would leave little notes for people with words of friendship and encouragement, and on the “i”s she’d put little hearts where there should be dots.
She liked to party, but however how hard she partied, the next morning she was still up hours before the rest of us to go jogging with military lawyers she was trying to persuade to help her families.
:When she came to Baghdad the last time, she brought a bag of presents for me, and she left one for me each morning with a note outside my bed room. She said I love you more often than anyone I’ve ever known.and she meant it every single time. Her last message to me, the day before she died, said I loathe you. (laughter) I think she meant I love you – she was never good with phones.
:Baghdad nor Kabul never knew what hit them when she rolled into town. When a security guard or soldier was obstructed, she’d cock her head to one side and say, “Do you need a hug.” Sometimes she just dispensed them without any warning, so, open to wide-spread alarm.
The day before she died, she saw a wedding party outside the hotel. She rushed up to it to kiss all the women on the cheek. They were left standing, slightly startled, touching their hands to their cheeks, staring after this strange blond. Kabul, having known her longer, grew used to her ways. When she returned there after a long break, people stopped in the street and called out, “Marla Jahn”, “Marla dear friend”
:Marla battled depression, not only for her sake but if because, only if she was well could she help other people. It was a struggle to get her to look after herself. She could find something to love in the most unlikely people, but the person she found hardest to love was herself. Every morning she said to herself in the mirror, “Today I will be a better Marla.” She didn’t know she was already better than all of us.
:She asked me recently if I thought she should write an article about her struggles and would it help others who suffered the same. “I just feel it’s the best way to explain to others the nature of who I am,” she wrote. “Also, I want to somehow support others who struggle like me. It is a risk, but we have to take those in life.” I counseled her to forget about others for long enough to just concentrate and try to just heal herself. And, of course, the message only half got through. “You are right” she replied, “I will fight this illness with love, and then I will be a super-girl again. I will make my organization grow.” Marla believed that love made anything possible. It was the guiding principle of her life. It’s right there, on the top of your program, and her favorite quotation: “The true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love.” (Che Guevara.) It is a radical idea indeed, and one that not everyone appreciated in her lifetime.
:But love is transforming, and Marla knew that. I’m not the person I was when I met her, and now, ,more than ever, I feel her watching over me, appearing at my shoulder whenever given the chance to do the right thing, to show a stranger an act of kindness. The other day in Delhi, where I live, I was about to pass a beggar with out stretched hand, then Marla descended and I had no choice but to cough-up.
:When she was back there to visit me for the first time, a friend wrote, “My God, do you think she will ever leave when she sees a billion people there that need help.” But I thank her for her gift any way, no matter how much it cost me. If we could all be a little bit more like Marla; if we could all hug strangers and have the courage to love without fear or (silent) so the world would start to look a little bit more like the place she wanted it to be. I can think of nothing she would want more
Peter Bergen A writer and journalist specializing in terrorism, author of “Holy War, Inc.”, a fellow of the New America Foundation, an adjunct professor at John’s Hopkins University and a contributor to CNN. Peter Bergen personally interviewed Osama bin Laden. He met Marla in the spring of 2002 in Washington.
:My name is Peter Bercen, I’m also a journalist. I want to thank Nancy and cliff (Mother and father of Marla) for giving us Marla, our little sister. I first met Marla in June of 2002 in Washington, and she came to subject me to, what I was to realize, “the full Marla treatment:”
:Phase I was, “Everyone says you’re great.” (laughter) no matter what they said about you.
:Phase II – “You are actually great. We love you. You’re great, everyone loves you.”
:Phase III – “I want to tell you about my work in Afghanistan, and this was quite early maybe 2002, she’d just come back; CIVIC was yet to be born. She told me about the survey she was doing, the Afghans she was helping.
:Phase IV was what can you do, ah, how can you help?
:There’s a quotation in the back of the church here, on a statue which I think underlies how Marla operated: “No one has greater love than this, that they would lay down their life for a friend.”, and for Marla, everybody was a friend. Unconditional love is what guided Marla. This went way beyond politics.
:She wrote me last week; I’m gonna read the e-mail because it says so much. I’m not going to be able to replicate her wonderful California diction, so let me start:
::Dude,
::I just got $60 thousand dollars from Soros. Things are going amazing here. From our survey of 2003 USAID has helped 250 families of the 500 families we have identified. Also, I’m like super close with the general in charge of Baggers, which is the way Marla referred to Baghdad. He released statistics on civilians killed since the Third Infantry Division has been here. This is huge. The Department of Defense denies that such statistics are even being kept. I feel really good about our work. Where else in the world is a government helping the civilians they harmed in conflict?
:Marla was a super patriot (his voice breaking) She was so proud to be an American, and so proud that the country was doing this. She continues:
::“True I have my battles with my moods, but I feel very proud. It’s great to be among friends. Tonight we are having dinner at the Washington Post House. Every night we eat dinner here, true lovely friends and people. Now I must go and organize the party and keep everyone happy. I am being safe; I limit my movements; and have people meet me in the hotel. I’m sure you are happy and busy. Big hug, and thank you. Marla
:On the day she died, she wrote me a much shorter letter – e-mailed – which I think says so much about everything she wanted to do; how dangerous she knew that . . and how much needed to be done. It says, “We’re helping lots of kids with medical care. This place continues to break my heart. Need to get out of here but hard.”
(A long pause to get control. He continues) :
:Marla really was a revolutionary, and the idea of compensating people we’ve killed in wars present and in the future, it’s both very simple, like all really obvious, like all really revolutionary concepts. It’s both simple and obvious and you ask yourself why weren’t we doing that already?
:Somebody once told me when I was a kid that the definition of responsibility is the ability to respond. Marla had that ability greater than anybody I ever encountered. And I think when you ask yourself in any situation what would Marla do in this situation? I think you know what the right answer is.
Tim Rieser U.S. Senator Lehey’s foreign policy adviser and Democratic Clerk for the Appropriations Subcommittee that funds foreign aid programs. He met Marla in 2002 after her first visit to Afghanistan, and worked closely with her for the rest of her life to create programs to assist civilian war victims in Afghanistan and Iraq. Recently they were in daily communication.
:I’m Tim Rieser and I work for Senator Lehey in Washington. (Pause) And I have two people who have inspired me more than any others in life. One is Bobby Muller (Chairman of Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation), who you heard from and probably understand why, and the other is Marla, who Bobby introduced me to.
:I started working in the Congress ten years before Marla was born. I’m not one who really believes in fate, but I do think that there was some reason that she came to me. Much of what’s been said here are stories that are my own and that I will always remember about Marla. She descended on me in a way that I almost felt like I was simply an instrument for doing what she wanted me to do. (laughter) In fact, I don’t think I have ever met anyone, nor do I expect to, living or dead, who made more work for me. (laughter) and I suspect that will continue for a long, long time, because Marla started something that remains unfinished but which I think gives us an opportunity that we didn’t have before.
:I wrote down some things, but I think it’s too soon for me to talk very much about Marla, because Marla and I spoke almost every day for three years from the time that she first came into my office, until just the day before that she died.
:And, I also received all those unforgettable e-mails, many of them multiple times a day; each one with a new assignment (laughter) with a new idea, some of which were completely impossible, but many of which I felt, “Why didn’t I think of doing that? Of course we should do that.”
:I wanted to say just a couple of things about what Marla meant to Senator Lehey and myself, because Marla came to us really as a protester and I told her, as did Bobby, that if she wanted to do what she told us she wanted to do, which was something that I felt we should try to do, she had to try a different tack, and that it meant working with people who, whether in the Congress or the military, um, could help her, but without them, she couldn’t do what she wanted to do. And Marla, one of the truly remarkable things about Marla at the age of 26 is that she made that choice, and it was a difficult choice, and she never wavered from it. And, in the end, the military became some of her strongest supporters because they saw how genuine she was, and how determined she was, and how unstoppable she was: that she was really doing what they should be doing, and so they helped her.
:It’s really because of Marla that programs were started that now provide millions of dollars in assistance to civilian victims of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Those programs thanks to Senator Lehey and Senator Boxer, will continue, I think, indefinitely, or as long as they’re needed. And I suspect will evolve into programs which are worldwide. Set a precedent which, really before Marla arrived on the scene, I didn’t think was possible, and I could not have done what I was able to do had it not been for her. Just three days ago the Senate named the program the program in Iraq after Marla, and it’s now “The Marla Rezicka Iraqi War Victims Fund.”(Long applause)
:As Senator Lehey said, “I think the reason that people feel Marla’s loss so deeply is because we saw how important and how necessary her work was and (pause to regroup) how dangerous it was and how she risked her life in ways the rest of us were simply not willing to do. But, in a sense she was not helping just the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, but she was helping us to.
Robert L. Rumfelt, Mayor of Lakeport: Read the City’s proclamation:
:Whereas Marla lived her formative years in Lakeport, attending Lakeport Unified School District schools, where she earned academic recognition and participated in student government and athletics and served as a role-model for fellow students by giving back to this community by working at a convalescent home and with abused children.
:And Whereas Marla Ruzicka graduated from Clearlake High School located in Lakeport, in 1995 and then attended Long Island University in New York and continued her involvement in bettering the lives of others by working with Global Exchange.
:And Whereas Marla Ruzicka continued her personal and professional commitment to the betterment of all in need by continuing to work for global exchange in founding CIVIC, which seeks to assist civilian victims of Afghanistan and Iraq by going door to door to tally casualties and then lobbying Congress and others including private donors to contribute money to assist survivors, rebuild their homes and lives.
:And Whereas Marla Ruzicka saw a need, and sought to fulfill it throughout her life, living behind a legacy that is inspirational to all in the city of Lakeport and throughout the world.
:Now therefore: as the mayor of the City of Lakeport, I hereby proclaim April 23, 2005 a day of loss for Marla Ruzicka who gave her life while trying to aid needy children in Iraq, and ask that all recognize, as I do, her work as a humanitarian assisting civilian victims in Afghanistan and Iraq. And for her efforts and deep commitment in aiding children and victims of war. And witness whereof I have hereon onto set my hand and caused the seal of the City of Lakeport to be affixed this twenty-third day of April 2005.
Mike Thompson Congressman for the 1st District which includes Lakeport. Mike is a combat veteran, and one who went to Iraq to see for himself the conditions there.
:I’m Congressman Mike Thompson. I am both honored and humbled to be here to day to both celebrate the life and also to be sad about the loss of a truly extraordinary young woman. Marla was compassionate, she was passionate, she was dedicated, she was motivated and she was brave. For anyone who saw the infamous press conference in Sacramento or heard Nancy tell the story, she also had a terrific sense of humor. So many people have said she did more in twenty-eight years than most people will do in sixty, seventy, eighty or ninety years. She was spectacular, and as evidenced by the number of people who are here today, the number of people around the world who have felt her touch, mourn her loss.
:She cared more about other people than she did herself. Some she knew and some she only knew of their plight, but she loved and she respected everyone. And that’s an important lesson for all of us to take from this terrible tragedy.
:You know, having served in combat myself and having been in Baghdad and throughout Iraq, it doesn’t seem to me that brave truly justifies what Marla put forward. She left the security of her home, the security of her country, the safety provided by her family, her friends, and she left that to go to a very dangerous place to work tirelessly for other people. And you know, there aren’t many people that many of us can point to and say that person made significant change, or that person changed the way we think, or even the definition of the word or phrase, but Marla did that. Collateral damage, something that not too awfully long ago was something that was merely a crude, cold, military, faceless term. She changed the way people understand that, the way people think of that, and probably most difficult, the way the Department of Defense understand that. She made people believe that it’s not just a cold, calculating term, but that it’s injury and it’s death and it’s suffering of real people – human beings.
:Marla made an unprecedented contribution to improving the lives of many and to making our world, our entire world a truly better place. That will be her legacy.
:A few years ago my mother passed away and I took it pretty hard. A friend wrote me a letter, and in that letter she said you know, you may have lost a friend, you may have lost a loved one here on earth, but in Heaven you have gained an advocate. I was thinking about that on the drive over today and many of us here in this room, many people around the world have lost a friend, and they have lost a loved one in Marla. And the truth of the matter is, not just those people who knew her and loved her will gain an advocate in heaven, but everyone in this world, especially those who are less fortunate, will gain an advocate in heaven.
Nicole Boxer Daughter of Senator Boxer.
:I’m Nicole Boxer, and Marla was my buddy. I met her in D.C. about three years ago. And I really didn’t know what to say about Marla, so I wrote her an e-mail this morning. It goes like this:
:“Sweetie, my sweetest voyeur girl, as I always told you, you are a bright light to me with the strength of a million men, and the power to move mountains. All the networks are running your story and you looked so beautiful hugging those sweet babies. (voice breaking) Marla, I’m thrilled to tell you this, you moved Congress as well – what a feat. Dude, you procured another $20 million for your work Do you have any idea how powerful you are. I think my mom was right last week when she e-mailed me last week when she said simply, “Marla’s reach is remarkable.” Your love made me stronger and better babe. Did I really thank you enough. Somehow I know you feel me, and I know you know. We will keep your work alive – I promise. There’s been a flurry of interest in your life’s story Marla. Finally your vision for urgent change, the change you could make is becoming a reality and as hard as this is, you would want me to get your story out there. Anything I could ever do for you, I would do always. So here I am in Lakeport, California, the beautiful place that helped shape you, and I’m meeting the friends and the family that adore you, and I wish I was here for another reason, but I have to say goodbye to you today, and I gaze on to the lake which is caught up in a dark storm this morning; in your honor, I can only see the light Thank you for careening into my life and making me see the goodness again. You’re an angel, and for all our beautiful friends who couldn’t be here today, we all love you Marla, and your love will live on in our hearts and in the hearts of our children. Kisses -- and you will be in my thoughts everyday of my life.
:Your voyeur girl,
:Nick
Barbara Boxer (Part of her eulogy is missing from a stopped tape)
:I wish every person in America could have seen this tribute today. We so need to come together as a nation regardless of our politics. To see beyond our differences to our humanity, and that is what Marla has given us. My daughter Nicole, Annete and my beautiful daughter ___ and I wanted to be here today with Marla’s family and dearest friends to pay tribute to a young woman of remarkable courage and love. . . .
:It was Senator Lehey and Tim (his assistant for Foreign Policy) who were inspired to act for her cause, for her kindness, and her goodness. It was this young woman sending a powerful message, when it would have been easy, so very easy to say your ideas are wonderful, but we have this thing with deficits, this is tough. He didn’t do that. Senator and Tim and we worked to get those millions of dollars for innocent victims of war. And I know all of you will be grateful to know that all of us agree now, we’re going to work with them now. The program will never dies. It will live on in Marla’s name. (very long applause).
:In the end, Marla’s legacy is in this room. We are so blessed . . . We all know that Marla would not want us to hang our heads. She would want us to keep smiling and fighting for dignity and justice throughout the world. Marla’s work with the Iraqis who’s broken bodies and spirits she healed in tragedies and darkest conflict. What a tough assignment she gave to herself and she’s given to us. She was the voice of the victims and we must heed that voice. Now it’s easy to pull the covers over our heads and not look at the things that Marla looked at. We have so many other things that we have to take care of in our lives, so much work to do, so much nurturing to do just for our friends and our beautiful communities – but we can’t look away now, Marla does not give us permission to look away now. So, Marla, a young California woman filled with faith hope and love. And now each of us will need those traits to honor her life and finish the project she so courageously began.
----
The above material (starting at the email header) was all part of one big edit by Miguel Lanigan. I see no relation to the discussion on this Talk page other than in the most general sense. These eulogies appear to be original source material; by my understanding wouldn't they be better moved to WikiSource?
PhilipR 19:45, 18 May 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  10 May Revision 

message: VIDEO: American Woman Counts Iraqi Casualties
Moscowamerican (talk) 12:52, 25 June 2017 (UTC)
thread_title: Video

message: "In Afghanistan, she conducted a survey on the military campaign effects on Afghan civilians to apply for compensation and aid."
to use as evidence to get grants for her organization from the us military?
to identify victims for the US government?
--Gbleem 17:24, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Please clarify. 

message: washington post article seems to indicate that she became less radical and more pragmatic. I think that is a good balanced story. She was a radical protester who changed her tactics. --Gbleem 17:30, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: "She was a radical protester who changed her tactics." And as such she became the enemy of Madea Benjamin. Though that isn't mentioned in the wikipedia article. Hmmmm. Chops79 (talk) 02:19, 22 November 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  washington post article 

message: As a youth she traveled often to Cuba. She once exposed a sign hidden under a dress. She changed her tactics at a Rumsfeld speach. Was criticized for working with the government. --Gbleem 17:54, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Earlier work

message: Good day, can someone add a section on her death? It's not clear to me how/why/where/when it happened from the article. In one para she's doing work in Iraq and in the next para. she's dead w/ no explanation. Thanks, Hu Gadarn 21:45, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  section on death? 

message: After having got here from the Medea Benjamin page, I think it is definitely wierd that her Code Pink involvement was not mentioned. Also, there were very significant conflict between Marla and Medea, for example at http://commongroundmag.com/2005/09/activeparents0509.html. I personally find Front Page Mag rather distatestful and not exactly what one would call a "reliable" source, but Common Ground isn't exactly a right wing advocate. She also went back to Baghdad against the advise of many of her friends, which should be included in a section on her death. Wikipedia is not a memorial (and, as Achilles so indelicately put it, paens are to be discouraged), we deal in facts... -66.92.218.130 20:23, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  NPOV tag 

message: I think that she was killed by the USA.
History proves that USA has made such things more times before. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.136.83.185 (talk) 00:50, 9 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The above post is so extreme and out there, I don't even think it deserves a reply. Just do us a favor and don't edit pages because accuracy is supposed to be key to Wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by WYATTKOPP (talk • contribs) 22:55, 27 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: As you can see from the war above, accuracy is in the eye of the beholder... -206.173.244.52 (talk) 23:05, 27 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Killed by USA 

message: Removed Military History tag as article is out of scope. The subject of this article didn't serve in any military force nor is her notability directly related to the military. The subject was an activist for victims of military campaigns and a victim but I do not think this qualifies as Military History notability. --dashiellx (talk) 11:27, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  WikiProject Military history/Assessment/Tag & Assess 2008 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 3 external links on Marla Ruzicka. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20060913082908/http://www.veteransforpeace.org/American_woman_052803.htm to http://www.veteransforpeace.org/American_woman_052803.htm
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20091110050135/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/04/18/marla/index.html to http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/04/18/marla/index.html
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20050613233708/http://www.record-bee.com/Stories/0%2C1413%2C255~34731~2825258%2C00.html to http://www.record-bee.com/Stories/0%2C1413%2C255~34731~2825258%2C00.html
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 20:09, 3 June 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: At Senator Leahy’s urging, President George W. Bush signed legislation on May 11, 2005, which renamed the civilian war victims the “Marla Ruzicka Iraqi War Victims Fund.” At of 2006, the combined sum that Congress had allocated to assist Afghan and Iraqi civilians who were victims of U.S. warfare is thirty-eight million dollars.Abrahamson, Jennifer. Sweet Relief: The Marla Ruzicka Story, October 1, 2006, page 181-182
Websites that originally in the article 12 years ago:
* Salon, Marla Ruzicka, RIP
* FrontPage.Mag Who Killed Marla Ruzicka?   
* CounterPunch.org: Marla Ruzicka, Rachel Corrie and "Credibility"; Censored: How an NRA man found the Long Lost Ivory Billed Woodpecker; Fatal Connexion: Roy Orbison and Laura Bush; Pickett's Failed Charge, (April 30 / May 1, 2005).
*CIVIC website
* Independent, The senseless death of the woman who fought George Bush 
*Washington Post, U.S. Activist Mends Lives Torn by War Compensation Sought For Victims' Families
*Guardian,  Marla Ruzicka (Obituary) 
*Our Heart and Conscience, Appreciation by Iraq-based journalist Christopher Allbritton 
*uruknet.info, Remembering Marla Ruzicka
*Lake County Record-Bee, Statement in honor of Marla Ruzicka - Senator Barbara Boxer transcript 04.18.05 
Moscowamerican (talk) 13:28, 25 June 2017 (UTC)
thread_title: Added Marla Ruzicka Iraqi War Victims Fund information and other sites deleted before