BAGHDAD, 19 October 2004 — Iraq’s bloody chaos has traumatized many Iraqis, but what troubles one of its top psychiatrists most is the angry young men eager to join the anti-US insurgency. “More of my patients ask my opinion about the guerrillas. They are confused and anxious. Some lean toward the insurgents,” doctor Alharith Al-Asady told Reuters.
“Personally I don’t see it as a resistance. I call it violence. But the patients trust me so I try and talk them out of it. I encourage them to seek an education,” says Asady, who sees himself as a psychological warrior against violence.
In a country racked by daily bloodshed and chronic unemployment and facing an uncertain future, a growing number of frustrated young men turn up seeking his help. He tries to steer them away from joining the rebels.
Contemplating Iraq’s future in his spacious office at Baghdad University, he believes it all depends on whether professionals like himself can educate Iraqis after years of dictatorship, invasion and occupation and the daily carnage.
“How can Iraqis understand what a human right is when they never had one?” he asks. “They don’t know what the rules are now, what the law is. Everyone does what they want. “We can only stabilize the country when Iraqis begin to learn about a new way of life.”
The daily stress, when just eating in a cafe or going shopping can end in death, has caused a sharp jump in the number of patients, many suffering post traumatic stress disorder or anxiety. And he has had to dramatically increase dosages for his traditional patients, manic depressives and schizophrenics, whose delusions can run wild after the frequent explosions.
“Before, these patients were delusional towards their mothers and fathers and brothers. Now they also imagine things about American soldiers and even the insurgents,” said British-educated Asady, 52. Strong medicine can stabilize those patients. But when it comes to Iraqi youths captivated by guerrillas who fire rocket-propelled grenades and blow themselves up, Asady banks entirely on therapy.
“The Americans want a conflict resolution in Iraq but I believe in conflict transformation,” he said. “When someone talks to me about the insurgency I try to shift their interest to something tangible. You can’t talk to Iraqis about freedom the same way you talk to Americans in Virginia. It is a long learning process.”
Raising hopes is not easy in a country gripped by high unemployment. That’s why some of his patients look to the insurgency and violence to release widespread frustration. One of Asady’s triumphs was a university student from the rebel-held city of Ramadi who was studying Spanish. His father followed him one day and found he was hanging out with rebels.
