Iraq’s homeless suffer from neglect, exploitation

Homeless people in Iraq are often neglected by the state, and some armed groups take advantage of their situation to try to recruit them.
An Iraqi homeless person sleeps inside a street tunnel in central Baghdad, 14 November 2007. A roadside bomb attack targeting a US patrol near Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone killed today two Iraqi civilians and wounded three, security officials said. AFP PHOTO/SABAH ARAR (Photo credit should read SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images)
An Iraqi homeless person sleeps inside a street tunnel in central Baghdad, Nov. 14, 2007. - SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images
Omer Iamge BW.jpg
Omar al-Jaffal
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In 2010 at the age of 16, Wissam left his home in Babil province to find work in Basra. At times, he had to beg to survive. Wissam's parents searched for him for nearly four years, but to no avail, and then on Feb. 27, they saw him on television.

The police had picked up Wissam and transferred him to a homeless shelter in Baghdad. There he met Sabrine Kazem, a young journalist covering social issues for Alhurra Iraq TV. It was her story for a news bulletin that led Wissam's family to find their son.

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