Ali has to prove he is disabled first before getting the government aid.

BAGHDAD, March 29, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Two years after the US invaded Iraq to “liberate” its people, disabled Iraqis realized that they were better off under the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein, decrying the apathy of their government and occupation authorities, who both speak from an ivory tower in the Green Zone.

“Neither the government nor occupation authorities raised a finger to help the disabled Iraqis and end their unspeakable sufferings,” Mohammad Hassan Abd, who lost a leg during the second Gulf War, told the London-based Al-Quds Press news agency on Tuesday, March 29.

To earn his living, Mohammad decided to sell cigarettes on a street in Al-Eskan neighborhood in western Baghdad.

“Nothing has been changed since the ouster of the former regime. Worse still, the government is accusing some of the handicapped of taking part in wars against Iran and Kuwait as if it was up to them,” Mohammad added.

Prove Your Disability

A striking example of the uncaring is the case of orphan Ali Abbas, who lost his limbs in a deadly US attack.

Abbas has been robbed of government financial aid for claims that he is unable to prove when he lost his limbs, Britain’s daily the Mirror reported on Tuesday, March 29.

Ali also suffered horrific burns to his torso and legs before he was airlifted to Kuwait for a life-saving operation before he arrived in the UK in August 2003 for treatment.

The government decision raised anger from the local Iraqis and drew rebuke from the aid group in Britain.

“What does this innocent little boy have to do to prove he is disabled?,” Questioned Zafar Khan, chairman of the Limbless Association that arranged for Ali's UK treatment.

“It is ridiculous to say he is only affected from last week. It is insensitive and appalling.” (click to read the Mirror’s article in full).

Fraud

Adding insult to injury, some of the disabled have fallen prey to fraudulent “charities.”

“Many charities have been parroting about job opportunities and pieces of land for the handicapped, but all this proved to be a big lie,” Mohammad Abdullah,  who lost his leg during the eight-year Iraqi-Iranian war, told Al-Quds Press.

“When we applied for these charities, we found out at the end of the day that we were victims of a bunch of crooks, who took advantage of our handicaps.”

Battling to make a living, some of the disabled found no other option but to work as beggars.

Since the ouster of the former Iraqi regime, Iraq has been a thriving scene of charities and NGOs, supposedly operating to help the poor, the orphans and the handicapped.

But evildoers jumped on the charity bandwagon and unabashedly siphoned off money from the needy.

Citing his painful experience with one of these “charities,” Abdullah said he and a number of his handicapped colleagues thought that life was still rosy. But it was a pipe dream.

“The charity issued identity cards for us in return for 3,000 Iraqi dinars each with a hollow promise of providing us with pieces of land,” Abdullah said with a bitter tone.

“Then the charity asked for additional 25,000 dinars allegedly for registering the land,” he added. “No sooner had we paid the money, the charity vanished into thin air.”

One Million

A library photo of a wheelchair-bound Iraqi.

Mwafak Al-Khafaji, the head of an NGO catering for the handicapped, said his group helps around 55,000 handicapped people in Iraq.

“The charity provides food aid for the families of the handicapped, especially those who are jobless,” he told Al-Quds Press.

“The government should help us provide the handicapped with their basics like appropriate accommodation, monthly salaries, wheelchairs, etc.”

His colleague Mohammad Al-Obeidi said the number of the handicapped in Iraq is estimated at around one million of the some 27 million population.

“Iraqis with physical handicaps make up 70% of the overall number and most of them were severely handicapped at times of war,” he said.

Obeidi, however, noted that there was no precise estimates of the number of Iraqis disabled by since the US tanks rolled into Baghdad.