Burns and war-related traumas

by Luca Catalano Gonzaga
Part of A shameless life
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In Iraq, the war began in 1980 and since then it has never ended. Starting with the confrontation with Iran, then Kuwait, then the Gulf conflict in 1990, the independence of Kurdistan, the American invasion of 2003, the explosion of domestic terrorism, the embargo, the creation of Al Qaeda, and finally, the rise of the Caliphate in the northern part of the country. To pay the price of this decade of destabilisation are the civilians, who live in frustration, betrayed by the promises, tired of believing that things might eventually change. If the older generation is losing its memory, new generations cannot even imagine peace. As in Nasiriyah, a city located in southern Iraq, where children are the ones being sacrificed by a global system of insecurity and poor health care. The portraits show their faces before entering the operating room, all marked by deformities of the body and facial burns caused by domestic accidents (exposed electrical wires, gas and fuel oil tanks for cooking) or even worse, by unexploded ordnance still scattered across the country. The story “Burns and war-related traumas” by Luca Catalano Gonzaga tells the stories of women and children who have had the opportunity to be operated on thanks to the surgical treatment of the NGO Emergenza Sorrisi. (text by Luca Catalano Gonzaga).

 

  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Hanen Mohamed Ganin, 6 years old, has just arrived to the Habobbi Hospital from Musol. She has suffered severe burns to the whole body due to the burst of a gas cylinder used for cooking.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Mohammed kisses his brother Abas in the waiting room, before the surgery for cleft lip.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. This baby came to the hospital some months ago, but she was too young to be operated. Today, she underwent surgery for cleft lip.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Zeineb Abba 9 years old, suffering from facial cancer.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. A mother waiting for her daughter to be operated by Emergenza Sorrisi’s surgeons. Her body is devastated by burns due to an accident caused by a short-circuit which triggered a fire.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Haydar Kalad 3 years old, who has suffered severe burns to the body, waiting for medical examination.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Hudahasen Bushara, 5 years old, in the waiting room, before undergoing surgery for burns. Hot oil burn occurred while the child was in the kitchen with his mother.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Mother and son in the waiting room.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Ahmed Hussen Suky, 10 years old, badly burned himself in his father’s car, which caught fire due to an attack.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. A father tries to reassure his son, born with severe malformations of the face, while waiting for the doctors to see his child.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Father and son in the waiting room before the medical examination.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Little girl in the waiting room before the medical examination.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Mother and daughter in the waiting room before the medical examination.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Fatima Alawi, 6 years old, holds tight to her mother before entering the operating room and undergoing the surgery for cleft palate.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Women and their children in the waiting room.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Halla Abedali, 9 years old, in the waiting room with her relatives before undergoing the surgery for cleft palate.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Waiting room.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Mothers waiting for their children to come out of the operating room.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Abdolla, 6 years old, sleeps in the waiting room of the hospital waiting to be operated on.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Families waiting for medical examination.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Mothers waiting for their children to come out of the operating room.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. A father kisses his daughter before the medical examination.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. A father prays for his son while he waits during surgery due to sever burns. His son Karar, 16 years old, burned by a gas cylinder burst while he was walking along the street with some friends.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Waiting room.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. A mother and her daughter who suffers from facial malformation, waiting to be photographed for the completion of the hospitalization file.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Medical examination of a small patient.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. A mother tries to reassure her daughter moments before she enters the operating room.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Hanen Mohamed Ganin, 6 years old, has just arrived to the Habobbi Hospital from Musol. She has suffered severe burns to the whole body due to the burst of a gas cylinder used for cooking.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. A father embrace his daughter before she enters the operating room.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Zeineb Abba 9 years old, suffering from facial cancer.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Little patient before entering the operating room.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Ahmed Hussen Suky, 10 years old, badly burned himself in his father’s car, which caught fire due to an attack.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Little patient before entering the operating room for burns.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Mother and son waiting to enter the operating room.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. A son holds his father’s hand before entering the operating room.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Worod Habieb, 11 years old, suffers from extensive burns on the entire body.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Surgery by Professor Fabio Abenavoli and his staff.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Meriam Mehdi Neyty, 11 years old, suffered from severe burns to one hand due to hot oil.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. mother and her child in the hospital aisle after surgery to reconstruct the child’s nose which had been bitten by a stray dog.
  • Al Habobbi Hospital, Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Two young patients still under anaesthetic right after surgery due to severe burns.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Library inside the Mosque.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Prayers inside the Mosque.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Going along the streets of the city.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. View of the city.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Ahmed Hussen Suky (in the middle), 10 years old, badly burned himself as his father’s car caught fire during to an attack. In November 2016 he underwent a reconstructive surgery. Now he’s gone back to play with his friends.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Shopping downtown.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Kerar Kadhum, 6 years old, in his house with his father. Kerar will shortly undergo surgery for angioma of the upper lip.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Kerar Kadhum, 6 years old, in his house with his father. Kerar will shortly undergo surgery for angioma of the upper lip.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Zainab Abbas Atay, 8 years old, finally at home after facial reconstructive surgery.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Fatima Jasim, 20 years old, in her bedroom, after lip surgery.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Maather Mayd Abbas,19 years old, here with her sister. Maather underwent several surgeries because she suffered from severe burns on her face and body due to the burst of a defective gas cylinder.
  • Nāṣiriya, Iraq 2016. Maather Mayd Abbas, 19 years old, at her own house. Maather underwent several surgery because she suffered from severe burns on her face due to the burst of a defective gas cylinder.