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Iraqis Traumatized by Bombings

The frequency with which Iraqis witness the carnage wreaked by explosions has psychologically scarred a high percentage of the country’s population.
A man looks at a car on fire at the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad October 7, 2013. Bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 22 people, police said. Five of the six blasts were in mainly Shi'ite Muslim districts, but there was also an explosion in the predominantly Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Doura.  REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX142ZK
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Ahmad Saad al-Khazerji, 25, dreams of obtaining the necessary documents from the International Organization for Migration, which would allow him to travel out of the “land of explosive devices,” as he called it. Speaking to Al-Monitor, he acknowledged that he will be “overjoyed when the gates of Baghdad International Airport open to allow his departure, but not without a mix of some sadness about leaving the country.”

The part of Khazerji’s story worth noting is that his every move is dictated by a fear of bombs — the terms booby trap, explosion and suicide vest are a permanent fixture of all his conversations.

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