The poison gas attack on the city of Halabja on 16 March 1988 led to the immediate death of over 5000 civilians and severely injured another 7000. Many of the surviving victims and their children suffer until today from diseases such as leukaemia and other cancers, birth defects, nerve palsy or respiratory ailments, skin defects as well as psychological trauma. The vast majority of victims were unable to receive of adequate medical treatment within Iraq.

 

Kayvan was one of the few survivors who was able to obtain medical treatment abroad. Professor Dr. Gerhard Freilinger, a specialist in plastic reconstructive surgery, treated four victims of the Halabja chemical gas attack in Vienna, including Kayvan. This is the story of Dr. Freilinger and Kayvan.