"Would you believe that sometimes I am so tired, or the cave is so dark, I'm not even sure of the colours I give them? Would you believe that men have been given blues, have been set aside to die, suffering from nothing more than dehydration or a broken arm? Disturbing, I know, but it's true. - Dr Ahmet Talzani"

“Elena understood that sometimes it was a terrible thing to be the one who lived, that this could be a weight in your heart that never left.”

“It leaves scars in my head, it leaves scars all the time. - Colin”

“There is no pattern to who lives and who dies in war . . . In war, people die because they do. - Dr Ahmet Talzani”

“We've been losing wars forever; it's what we Kurds do best . . . We are like the little guy at the bar who wants to fight all the big men. We get beaten up by one, then get up off the floor and go for another. Over and over. A lifetime of war, can you imagine? - Dr Ahmet Talzani”

“If I stay too long in here, I begin killing more patients than I save." He laughed lightly. - Dr Ahmet Talzani”

“Legs will always be the biggest problem. That’s always the case. Legs, legs, legs. For every arm I’ve amputated here, I’ve probably taken ten legs. Puzzling, isn’t it? . . . I think human legs * simply weren't designed for modern war. - Dr Ahmet Talzani”