IRAQ: Jawad Ridwan, Iraq, "We have lost everything…"
Source: IRIN
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BAGHDAD, 10 September 2007 (IRIN) - Widower Jawad Ridwan's two sons were killed in an attack which also maimed his daughter. Ridwan is unemployed, lives in
poverty, and says he needs help to provide for his remaining two children. "On 17 November my wife was found raped, handcuffed and murdered near Dora District, a suburb of Baghdad. She was working
as a housekeeper for two families and after she left work in the outskirts of Dora, someone took her and ended her life. "On 13 May I left my children with my sister-in-law and, as she was taking
them to buy some chocolate near her house in Alawi District, insurgents opened fire on a passing US convoy. She was killed, together with my two sons, in the crossfire, and one of my daughters was
injured. "I don't like to remember how much my six-year old daughter, Rana, suffered. Sometimes when I'm asleep, I can hear her in the hospital screaming with pain. "The bad health service and the
long hours of waiting, led to her losing her leg… I contemplated suicide but God protected me from that because Rana needs me now more than anyone. "Jobless, I rely on a local non-governmental
organisation for food and clothes. I have moved house more than three times since my wife died because Rana needs to be near a hospital as she sometimes gets infections where she was amputated. "I
don't know how long I can stand this life. My two daughters don't attend school and they don't eat well. I hope I can get a job because with money, maybe, I can travel abroad and take them away from
this violence." as/ar/cb© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.irinnews.org
