Swapping Ilford for Baghdad

摘要

Iraq's interim health minister, Dr Khudair Abbas ― like any other Iraqi working closely with the US led Coalition Provisional Authority ― is a natural target for attacks. Far from the east London suburbs, where the 54 year old worked as a general and orthopaedic surgeon until he was appointed to Iraq's ministerial council in September, his four mile journey to work in Baghdad is a reminder that he can never feel safe. "There are guards at home. I travel to the ministry in a convoy, taking different routes and different timing," Dr Abbas said in an interview in Geneva, where he was attending the World Health Assembly. "Constant awareness of security has become part of my life," he added.