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USA Providing Prosthetics to Iraqis Whose Hands Were Amputated
As Iraq rebuilds after 35 years of oppression and cruelty under Saddam Hussein, seven men and their families will finally begin to repair the pieces of their lives destroyed by Saddamâs injustice. The men, punished in 1996 for allegedly dealing in foreign currency and sentenced to lose their healthy right hands, passed through Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, April 5 on their way to Houston, Texas. Theyâre scheduled to receive prosthetic hands at the Houston Medical Center. âBesides having our hands amputated, we were scarred on our foreheads, between our eyebrows,â said Alaâa Abdul Hussien Hassan, one of the men, noting an âXâ tattoo between his eyes. A video of the surgery, made by the Makhabarat, Saddamâs secret police, revealed the horror that these men and their families suffered through. Donald North, video producer and former television correspondent, discovered the videotape and the mensâ stories while he worked as the senior advisor for the Iraqi Media Network in Baghdad. âI was amazed and shocked by the tape,â said Mr. North. âIt clearly showed doctors working with surgical instruments cutting through and severing these healthy hands. The victims were under anesthetics, and while they were still under, they had these black crosses tattooed to their foreheads.â After watching the videotape last spring, Mr. North not only convinced the Iraqis to tell their story, but also coordinated a trip to get the men to America and receive new hands. The article continues. Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-04-20 |
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