Bomb at Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad

“My hopes are to walk, continue my studies, get married and have a future.”


The prosthetic hand of Hasanen Basim Khudier.

Hasanen Basim Khudier puts on his prosthetic hand during a trauma session with resident MSF phychiatrist Yousef.

In 2004 Hasanen Basim Khudier was a 21 year old a mechanical engineer student at Al Mustansiyra University in Baghdad. He was in the hallway of the university when a Katusha rocket hit. From the explosion he lost the muscles in his left thigh, 20cm of bone from his left shin, and 4 fingers from his right hand. He saw his best friends head explode.

He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, but there was no treatment, facilities or medicines available. The doctors did what they could and sent him home. Eventually he was fitted with a prosthetic hand. In 2005 Hasanen raised US $10,000 from private donors to come to Amman for reconstructive bone surgery. The operation failed.

He is now sponsored by MSF and has had several operations, including bone transplants. To straighten his leg the doctors have attached a platinum external brace. They are waiting to see if the bone will develop, it’s a slow process, but Hasanen is determined to keep his leg and eventually walk again.