By far, the most numerous casualties (killed or injured) in warfare are civilian bystanders. In the Iraq war, for example, for every U.S. military casualty, there are an estimated ten civilians. And this does not take into account the psychological trauma of organized violence or other consequences of war from economic privation to environmental wreckage. We explore efforts to give voice to these civilians and help them heal their broken lives. Also heard are Jennifer Leaning, MD (Harvard School of Public Health) and Charles Clements, MD (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee) who have treated civilian victims in conflict zones and advocated on their behalf.

They’re having to do what they can, not only to recover from what just happened to them but then to go on day after day living in the same war zone, knowing that the same thing could happen at any time.”

—Sarah Holewinski, Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict