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Iraqi laborers facing harsh conditions in holy city of Najaf

Due to the economic crisis, thousands of workers, including children from southern provinces, come to Najaf to work under difficult circumstances to support their families.
Iraqi workers load bricks on a donkey-drawn cart in a brick factory in Najaf, Iraq, February 9, 2016.  REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani  - RTX266RY
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Mohammad Karim Khudair, 13, quickly pushes his luggage trolley through the streets of Najaf. The small three-wheel trolley is loaded with the luggage of an Iranian tourist who came to the city to visit the Shrine of Imam Ali. Next to the bags, an elderly woman managed to squeeze herself onto the trolley.

Just like Khudair, many workers push their heavily loaded trolleys and race each other to the X-ray scanner at the checkpoint at the entrance of al-Sadeq Street in the old city of Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of Baghdad.

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