Birth amid the bloodshed, then some tough choices

Iraqi parents agonise over fleeing their homeland to protect their children

Peter Beaumont, The Guardian

...But if having a baby in Baghdad is hard, it is most difficult for those with the least resources, such as Mohammed Mahmoud. In better times the 30-year-old shined shoes in the Karrada neighbourhood. But the violence put an end to that 12 months ago. Now he survives on his wits, by his food ration and when times are really hard and his six-month-old son Hussein needs medicine, by selling some of his ration to raise cash. "I am a supposed to receive a ration. But, for instance, we have not had flour for four months. I was a shoe polisher, now I'm unemployed living in the same house as my two sisters and their families. If I could take Hussein and my other child abroad, away from the violence, I would not hesitate. But only those with money can afford to leave. All I want for my son is a stable life when he grows up. For now, life is tasting really bitter." The sound of a machine gun in the distance punctuates his comments. "It is difficult to get milk these days or to raise the money to find a doctor, if Hussein gets sick...

continua / continued