The special effects exploded too early while Michael Jackson filmed a Pepsi commercial in 1984 and his hair caught on fire, causing burns to his scalp.
Youssif happily pulls off his plastic face mask and pats his cheeks, which were once covered by horrific burns.
One Monday nearly a year ago, a 4-year-old Iraqi boy named Youssif was sitting outside his modest Baghdad home eating chips and playing when masked assailants doused him with gasoline and set him on fire. Their motive remains a mystery, but their violence left the boy's face horribly disfigured.
Youssif squats at the edge of the lake at Balboa Park near Los Angeles, tentatively holding out bread for the ducks, his large dark eyes widening in delight and fear as it's snatched from his hands.
When CNN.com users first learned of the story of Youssif, a badly burned Iraqi boy, they immediately responded to help.
Youssif's first surgery is a success but for his young parents, its an agonizing ordeal. CNN's Arwa Damon reports.
CNN's Arwa Damon reports on the latest surgery endured by Youssif - the 5-year-old Iraqi boy doused in gasoline.
Five-year-old Youssif underwent his most important surgery Thursday as his doctor removed the most extensive scar tissue on his face -- putting him on the path of being a normal boy again.
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, the 5-year-old Iraqi boy who was savagely burned by masked men, arrived in the United States late Tuesday with his family -- the first step toward his lengthy rehabilitation.
CNN's Arwa Damon follows along on the journey to recovery as an injured Iraqi boy and his family arrive in the U.S.
I don't speak Arabic, but I do speak the universal language of boy.
Help for Youssif
updated: Thu Sep 13 2007 10:45:00
CNN's Arwa Damon travels with Youssif, a young Iraqi boy burned by insurgents, who will begin his treatment in the U.S.
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