Death in Iraq spawns grim subcultures

[maddezmom]

Death in Iraq spawns grim subcultures By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 17, 5:34 PM ET



BAGHDAD - Abdullah Jassim expected ambulances and security forces to arrive first after a blast last month near his clothing shop. Instead, it was thieves.

"I saw them with my own eyes," said Jassim, who has survived a string of suicide bombings in Baghdad's well-known Shurja market. "Young men between 20 and 30 years old stole mobile phones, money and wrist watches from the dead and badly hurt."

The consequences of sudden and violent death — so commonplace in Iraq's relentless turmoil — have spawned their own macabre subcultures: the human vultures, grave markers with serial numbers for unidentified victims, tattoo artists asked to etch IDs on people afraid of becoming an unclaimed body amid the carnage and killings.

It's more than just another grim tableau in a nation brimming with sad stories. It points to how deeply war and sectarian bloodshed have reordered the way Iraqis live — and confront the constant possibility of death.

"As a society, we are finished," said Jassim, whose store is only several dozen yards from the site of a car bomb that killed at least 127 people and wounded 148 on April 18. "We may have hit rock bottom."

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070517/ap_on_re_mi_ea/dying_in_iraq

[dave_p]

1. Freedom's untidy. Stuff happens

Today Iraq, tomorrow, the US.

[shrike]

2. One of the saddest things I have read in a long time

And that is saying a lot.