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A Kurdish man in the Kurdistan Region has dedicated over two decades of his life creating prosthetic limbs for victims of war.
Shaduman Muradkhan, a prosthetist from Sulaimani, is serious about his work and usually dedicates up to six hours to build robust prosthetic limbs, leaving him with little time to socialize with his friends and family.
“I made it my life’s purpose to give a fraction of hope to those who have lost it in times of war and conflict,” Muradkhan told Kurdistan 24.
“War does not only affect the adults,” he added. “A day does not go by where I do not see a child or two in need of my help which makes me sad and, at the same time, gives me the strength to keep working.”
Muradkhan said the most challenging part of his job is when a child visits his shop with an amputated arm or leg amputated. “It makes me want to spend more time working with kids as I try to rehabilitate them back to normal life,” he stated.
People from different governorates in Iraq, especially Mosul, which was once the de-facto capital for the so-called Islamic State, seek his services in Sulaimani.
Muradkhan has been a prosthetic surgeon for 21 years and has molded over 1,500 prosthetic limbs for patients. The doctor says his strength comes from the smile on the faces of patients who can, with his help, enjoy a normal life despite their disability.
Thousands of unexploded ordnances from the Iran-Iraq war which remain in areas of the Kurdistan Region mountains along the border with Iran continue to claim many victims.
Moreover, the recent war against the Islamic State resulted in thousands of civilians across Iraq falling victim to landmines and explosives, with many people losing limbs and in need of prosthetics.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Additional reporting by Diyar Jamal)
