Diya, 29, is from Anbar province. He was injured in 2009 and was admitted to the Amman Reconstructive Surgery Project in 2012.

Diya was returning from a family visit when a bomb exploded directly under the car he was driving. The explosion killed his mother, wife, brother and son. Diya was the only survivor.

“It was supposed to be a nice family day but it became a day of family loss, thanks to the ongoing violence in Iraq,” Diya says.

“It was like a nightmare,” he adds. “I lost my one year old son, my wife, my mother and my brother. I also lost the desire to live.”

Diya had multiple burns all over his body, head injuries, severe fractures in both legs, and injuries to his lower jaw. After arriving at the Amman project, he received several surgical interventions and was also supported by the MSF physiotherapy and psychosocial teams.

“I still have memories of the day of the injury,” Diya says. “I attempted suicide several times because I had lost the desire to live. I miss my family and even after all these years, I can’t overcome this feeling. The MSF psychosocial team helped me a lot to regain my passion for life and to ask God’s mercy for the soul of my son Qutaybeh who I miss the most.”

Diya has successfully completed his treatment at the Amman project and was discharged in February 2014, after one year of first stage treatment followed by a follow-up surgery in January 2014.

Now back in Anbar, Diya is unemployed and depending on his grandfather’s support. He hopes to one day open his own barbershop, now that his treatment is complete, but with the deteriorating security situation and the difficulty in finding an income, his dreams are currently on hold.