Baghdad (AsiaNews) - More than a million civilians have been disabled by the war in Iraq, and represent the most marginalised sector of society.  The psychological traumas they bear create serious imbalances inside their families, and the central government is not paying enough attention to the problem.  The denunciation comes from Faris al-Ubeidi, an Iraqi researcher, interviewed by the news agency "Voice of Iraq". Al-Ubeidi explains that the state has the duty of guaranteeing that those who have been disabled by the war, but have professional skills, can still participate productively in the labour force.  The problem is that fathers who have been handicapped and are unable to work feel that they are a burden on their families, and this generates psychological problems and tensions.

According to a study conducted by the International Disabled Persons' Organization - in collaboration with the Iraqi ministries of labor, health, and social affairs - out of a population of 26 million inhabitants, after five years of war, over 1 million have been handicapped.  Of these, 5,600 are completely disabled, 100,000 have had limbs amputated, another 100,000 have been blinded, and another 250,000 are in danger of losing their vision.

Civil society, the researcher maintains, is instead responsible for exploiting the Iraqi tragedy in order to collect funds (for children, refugees, and so on), but without providing in any way for these other forgotten victims.