One of Our 'Gifts' to Iraq

Trauma leaves an indelible mark

Numerous bombings since 2003 have left many severely traumatized

1 September 2010 (IRIN) - US President Barack Obama may have hailed the end of US combat operations in Iraq, but the seven-year war has left an indelible mark on many ordinary people who are still traumatized by the horrific things they experienced.

Whenever he sees a speeding car, Ammar Khalil Sadiq recalls the summer of 2006 when a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden vehicle into a police patrol a few metres from his Baghdad music shop.

Seconds later Sadiq, 34, found himself lying underneath the shop shelves and shattered glass, the air heavy with smoke, dust and a strong smell of TNT. Ignoring his injuries, he knew he had to get out to check on his brother who was in the street just before the explosion.

“The smell of burnt human flesh and the yells of the wounded are still in my nose and ears,” Sadiq said. “I can’t forget how I walked on pieces of human flesh until I recognized my brother’s dismembered body by the watch which was still on his left wrist.” {read more}