Perspective: Iraqis risk their lives in desperate bid for work

Yesterday's car-bomb attack on day laborers was followed by another today, killing over two dozen people

BAGHDAD — Workers know a trip to the square could mean death, and still they go.

Every day, laborers crowd downtown Tayaran Square, the scene of nine bombings in the last three years, according to Iraq's Interior Ministry. But with unemployment as high as 60%, families survive on the jobs men find here — jobs that pay an average of $10 a day.

They faced their latest challenge Tuesday, a suicide bombing that left at least 76 people dead and more than 200 injured, the Interior Ministry said. The nation's leaders condemned the attack and promised to investigate.

But workers complain that the government offers little relief from a cycle of poverty and violence that is pushing them toward extremism.

Ali Naji, 32, avoided the square as long as he could. He returned Tuesday because he desperately needed the money. One of the car bombs exploded as he watched a group of fellow laborers eating breakfast.

"I saw their flesh shattered," Naji said.

Read the rest at the LA Times