On January 22nd, 2012, an IED (Improvised Explosive Devise) detonated near an Iraqi Army base in Fallujah. Hussein Jamil Abdullah, a 28-year-old soldier from Baghdad was nearby when the explosive discharged, knocking him to the ground. Hey, lay there for half an hour, his right leg in a jerry-rigged tourniquet made from a headscarf, before he was taken to hospital. Gangrene set in almost immediately and the doctors at Fallujah General Hospital had to amputate his leg. He was then moved to Adnan Hospital, the military medical center, but the care Hussein received was terrible. His bandage wasn’t changed for two days and fearing that gangrene would set in a second time his family moved him to Kerkh Hospital, which they had to cover the costs themselves, as the army refused to pay. As soon as he was wounded, the Army cut Hussein’s salary in half: from $500 a month to $250, which is less than he can live on. His brother, Ali, has given up his work as a barber to take care of him, and his two other brothers, Abbas and Hassan, now take care of the family. Before he was wounded, Hussein, was to be engaged to his fiancée, Hind and he had even bought and furnished a room in preparation. But, after the explosion, Hind’s father refused to allow them to marry, saying that they can’t do so until Hussein gets a prosthetic leg. In the summer, a selection of photographs was published online and caught the attention of an NGO worker in Baghdad who arranged for Hussein to have a prosthetic leg fitted. Once he had his prosthetic leg, Hussein married Hind.
