Iraqis Angry, Distraught at Aid Worker's Murder
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis reacted with anger and disbelief on Wednesday to news that British-Iraqi aid worker Margaret Hassan, who worked in Iraq for decades before being kidnapped a month ago, had been killed by her captors.
Irish-born Hassan, 59, moved to Iraq more than 30 years ago after marrying an Iraqi engineer. She learned Arabic and became a pillar of support in local communities, often helping the needy in the face of opposition during Saddam Hussein's regime.
Those who knew her, worked with her or were helped by her described Hassan as a formidable woman who went about her work with determination. She helped the disabled, the orphaned and those without water or sanitation calmly and efficiently.
One of the hospitals she regularly supported was a spinal cord clinic in Baghdad run by Qayder al-Chalabi, who said her loss was a huge blow to all Iraqis.
"(The killers) made a very big mistake. This was the wrong person," he told Reuters on Wednesday.
"I cannot imagine that these things could happen to her because she was a very humanitarian person. She felt our suffering, she understood the suffering of the Iraqi people.
"We need to admire and remember her. We must have a ceremony every year to remember her," he said, adding that he believed a statue should be erected in her honor.
