The Death of an Activist and a Peer

"She was not part of a large relief organization, nor did she represent the government of the United States. She was just one woman who cared about the fate of her fellow humans."

By Maya Trabin

Marla Ruzicka, a California native and passionate young activist, died Saturday on the Baghdad Airport Road in Iraq when a suicide bomber attacked a convoy that was next to her vehicle. At 28, Marla spent much of her short life working towards the causes she felt deeply committed to, including humanitarian causes around the world. In recent years, she had been working in Afghanistan and Iraq, surveying those civilians who have been injured or killed in the war, numbers which are not accounted for by the U.S. Military. 

Marla grew up in the conservative town of Lakeport, in northern California. She did not, however, take on the tone of the town. Begining her campaigns toward public awareness and exposure of the world's attrocities outside of Lakeport, Marla started speaking her mind as an eigth-grader when she led a school protest against the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and was suspended soon thereafter. 

From her high school graduation, throughout college, and in the years since, Marla developed her understanding of the world through the eyes of an activist. Working with numerous human-rights based organizations, including Global Exchange and Code Pink, she developed deep compassion for those around her and those she had never met. 

In her recent missions to Iraq, she was not part of a large relief organization, nor did she represent the government of the United States. She was one woman who cared about the fate of her fellow humans, and had the ability to convince others around her to see the urgency of such work. 

More information about Marla's relief efforts can be found on the CIVIC website, an organization founded by Marla. CIVIC - Campaign for Innocent Victims of Conflict - is "a small organization working to obtain U.S. Government assistance for communities and families in need, while helping to shine a spotlight on the human costs of war." 

Han Shan, of Students for a Free Tibet, was a friend of Marla’s. He helped gather pictures of her, and had this to say: “The photos show her doing what she did best: connect with people, gain trust, make friends, make people of all ages smile. She did this as effectively with war-rattled Iraqi children, veteran news reporters, or politicians. And she did it all in the name of raising awareness about the devastating impact of war on innocent people."