Sores appeared everywhere, and scratching became an obsession.

Sores appeared everywhere, and scratching became an obsession. A 'Doctor' came to the metal door thrice a day. The window would open and a trimly young man accompanied by Haras would appear. "Man Indahu Ilaj?" he would shout. Those who needed treatment flocked to the door. The common complaints were 'ishal' (diarrhoea), 'Qabdh' (constipation), 'Ghudood' (tonsils), sores on the tongue and upon the palates and the nostrils. The medicine man had a list, which he consulted.

If one said 'Ishal' , one was given the red tablets to swallow in his presence, and if it was 'Qabdh' , then the tablet was invariably pink; and so on. Minor ailments like sores were never treated; they were all classified as "Hassasiyyah", allergic. Some killer cream finally treated the scourge and havoc played by the lice, and we felt greatly relieved. The lice were there, but their number had considerably reduced. It takes all sorts of men to make a society in the cell.

There were political refugees, dissidents, defectors, smugglers, thieves, foreign exchange dealers, pimps and sexually perverted. And along with them were men like me who were accused of espionage.

Jawad, aged 19 years, was there because he tried to trace the President's portrait and inadvertently drew his nose crooked; Muhsin was there because he visited mosques and the Holy Shrines of Najaf and Kerbala quite frequently; Abdul-Rab was apprehended because he was found with a note-book in which he had written quotations from Nahjul Balagha; Mustafa, a Turk, was brought in because they mistook him for another Mustafa, also a Turk, who was wanted; Jasim was there because he dealt with ammunition and firearms; Ibrahim came because he believed that Iraq-Iran war must stop and strongly expressed his opinions before the informers; Abu Mansoor was here for no reason known to him, and a half-mad Muhammad was with us because he visited the Shrine of Najaf, and banged his slippers upon the sacred Zareeh.

An Indian, Kehar Kaushal, entered the cell because he joined a strike, which was illegal in Iraq. They had struck together since they had not been paid for six months. Two Pakistanis came to Iraq without visa, another one without a passport. One Indian tampered with his own Passport, trying to erase an old, expired visa so that a new one could be stamped. Such was the colourful, motley crowd, each with a peculiar story. Previous…