This is a picture of Mosul, a city in Iraq where I come from. This is how it looks after the liberation war against ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria). It used to be a very beautiful city, but it changed during the war years. Mosul was invaded by ISIS, a group of terrorists who had the ability and opportunity to control a lot of areas because of different reasons.
I took these pictures after liberation. I entered the old part of Mosul which was totally damaged. The destruction was everywhere. I felt like I was stepping on human souls while crossing the streets or while I was entering an exploded house, building, or shop…”Watch your steps, every part of this city has a story and a human has died here, so walk carefully.”
Edward and David were Italian Journalists. They came to Iraq to make a short film about Mosul as a part of a project for a non-governmental Italian organization called Un Ponter Per that works in Iraq as an International NGO. The two journalists needed an Iraqi fixer from Mosul who could have helped them solve problems if they had faced any unwanted situations, so I volunteered to help them. I could enter the old side of Mosul again because of them on 23/11/2018. Before that, I kept avoiding going back there not to see these images, but I had to.
Seeing all this destruction because of war encouraged me to work in the same NGO which David and Edwardo were working for. I decided to start working in peacebuilding between different communities of Nineveh, “the ancient Assyrian empire capital, and it is the governor’s name that contains different other cities including Mosul which is the biggest city” there. I started as a volunteer because I believe in Goodness’s power.
Mahmood Hussein