electronicIraq.net

Direct Aid Initiative
Mustafa

Staff, Direct Aid Initiative

Aug 27, 2007

The Direct Aid Initiative is a project of Electronic Iraq intended to support Iraqis displaced as the result of the ongoing Iraqi crises through providing funds for crucial medical expenses.


On April 1, 2003, a week before the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, Mustafa climbed to the roof of his home in Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood to adjust his television receiver in order to get news about the progress of the American invasion. The concussive force of an explosion from a nearby US bomb strike threw him from his roof. He fell two stories, landing on the cement below. His back broke in two places, paralyzing him from the waist down.

Doctors operated on Mustafa three times in Baghdad, inserting a platinum brace to support his back. He lay in traction for months before being released. Soon after these initial hospitalizations, Mustafa began to suffer severe pain. For some reason, his body was rejecting the brace.

From Iraq, he identified a hospital and a doctor in Amman, Jordan who would perform the tests and operations he required including an MRI, since at that time there was no MRI machine in Baghdad. His extended family raised $1500 for the surgery. Doctors in Amman performed surgery to remove an iron screw that had been used in Baghdad to hold his platinum spinal brace in place. The intense pain Mustafa had been suffering had been due to his body's rejection of the iron screw.

Back in Baghdad, Mustafa tried to obtain compensation from the US government. Finally, he received a letter from the United States Department of Defense saying that the US military took no financial responsibilty for the injury that they had caused. He continued to wheel himself around Baghdad trying to get help. “I left no door unknocked,” he told DAI team members.

Because Mustafa spent so much time soliciting the US military, he became a target for kidnappers and other armed groups. After a failed attempt to kidnap him, he fled to Amman with his fourteen year old brother, Taha, who is his primary caretaker. Mustafa’s cousin, who had been supporting him in Iraq, has since been killed, possibly in a continuation of the targeting that Mustafa experienced based on his supposed connection with US forces.

DAI has arranged for Mustafa to receive ongoing physical therapy twice a week until he is resettled. He is also receiving acupuncture treatment on a regular basis at a nearby community health center.

He has been able to locate an apartment closer to the facilities where he is provided care. Because Taha has recently been able to enroll in school for the first time in years, transportation to and from his physical therapy clinic is now being facilitated by DAI. Iraqi team members are working with him to assess and support his ongoing needs until and after he is resettled.

Mustafa is likely to need further spinal cord surgery, perhaps following his resettlement to another country. DAI is committed to supporting Mustafa up to and throughout his transition, and to assisting with arrangements for care following his resettlement as needed.