Another Victim of NATO
You can help Bogdan Pavlovic
by Svetlana Ivanovic
10/27/99

On the night of May 12, 1999, Bogdan Pavlovic was in his bed. There was nowhere to run nowhere to hide, when seventeen bombs fell on his hometown of Paracin. That night, as every night during the bombing, next to his bed was his sister and his parents, to share their destiny, to stay together in the prayers that the watchful eye of God is looking upon them.

Bogdan Pavlovic is a thirteen-year-old boy from Paracin, Serbia. He was born to parents Radmila and Borko Pavlovic with a very serious heart defect: transposition of the great arteries, one hypoplastic ventricle, pulmonary stenosis and total pulmonary venous drainage to the superior vena cava, with situs inversus. In lay terms, this means that the two main arteries coming off the heart were switched around, one of the two pumping chambers was too small and the pathway from the heart to the lungs was narrowed. Additionally, the veins from the lung to the heart were going to the wrong place,

Bogdan's first surgery was in London, England in 1992 performed by Dr. Jaroslav Stark. This operation improved his health, but now his hemoglobin is rising again and he is at risk of developing thrombosis, the most severe risk being thrombosis and possible abscess in the brain. The only hope for Bogdan is a new surgery. Unfortunately, Bogdan's parents cannot afford the cost, nor can the Government Funds be provided for the operation. Helpless, Bogdan's parents are asking for our help. Their last Hope is us. Two month ago I started a fundraising effort for Bogdan's surgery. Thanks to many great people we have now accumulated $10.000 in Bogdan's account. An equal amount must now be raised to cover the costs of his second surgery at The Ormond Street Hospital in London, England.

Bogdan is just one of the millions of Yugoslavian children who is now suffering all the horror and devastation that bombing and seven years of economic sanction have left upon my country. Children are innocent; they have no guilt of their own. There are many more children who depend on surgery for their survival. I am not a doctor nor do I know much about medicine. I only feel deep in my heart that if American people could only see the human suffering of my people, if they could only hear our screams for help, many hearts would be touched. In this address to all of the people on Antiwar.com I would like to appeal to your human instincts. Please, stay with us and help us as much as you can. Children like Bogdan need you. They should not have to suffer for the madness and folly of a few men. They need our support and love. Please, help me save Bogdan's life. Let us show once again our deep, undeniable need to nurture and heal, to mend what has been broken and destroyed by bombing and long lasting sanctions.

You can find more information about diagnosis, how to became a donor and a list of the people who contributed so far on Bogdan's website. Please click on Bogdan Pavlovic Foundation.

Please, join the great people on our Donors list. Help as much as you can, every dollar counts because Bogdan's life depends on it.