After losing his leg on duty for the Iraqi Army, Hussein was told by his fiance's father that their wedding was off until Hussein had a prosthetic leg. Prospects for his marriage looked grim. But when the right person saw his story through Ali Arkady's photographs, the wounded veteran's luck turned around.

After years of war, Northern Iraq is experiencing a housing boom. Photographer Ali Arkady documented the poor Iraqi men who are meeting the demand for cheap labor. The project was part of a weeklong photojournalism workshop organized by Metrography, Iraq's first photo agency.