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With IS Pushed Out a Year Ago, Mosul Still Lies in Ruins

by Rikar Hussein

   One year has passed since the U.S.-backed Iraqi army and its allied
   Shi'ite militias defeated the Islamic State (IS) terror group in Mosul.
   Yet much of the city is still a pile of rubble, with residents losing
   hope that they will be able to return to a normal life anytime soon.

   Mosul is Iraq's second-largest city, with a population of more than 1
   million people and the biggest formerly IS-controlled city across Iraq
   and Syria.

   Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially declared victory over
   IS in Mosul July 10, 2017. The jihadist group has since lost control of
   all territories it once controlled in Iraq and struggles to hold the
   remaining small pockets of territory it has in eastern Syria.

   The initial video of destruction in the aftermath of the Mosul
   operation drew international attention, with the United Nations
   secretary-general's special representative for Iraq, Jan Kubis, warning
   the Security Council that the road ahead was "extremely challenging."

   The U.N. estimated that more than $700 million was needed to stabilize
   the city and make it livable.

   Struggle

   Mosul residents who spoke to VOA explained the daily struggles people
   in the city face 12 months after IS's expulsion. Many are still living
   in refugee camps and waiting for help to rebuild their destroyed homes.

   Jafaar Subhi, 47, along with his wife and eight children, are among the
   few residents of the Old City neighborhood who have returned from
   displacement. Their shell-pocked home is hardly habitable, but they say
   they do not have other options.

   "Our house was hit by an airstrike and several rockets because IS
   fighters were hiding on its roof," Subhi told VOA. "We are going
   through all of this because of IS terrorism. We alone live in this
   area. None of our neighbors have returned."

   Subhi said many Old City residents who returned home after Mosul's
   recapture have left the neighborhood again due to a lack of support and
   public services.

   The historical Old City used to be a densely populated district and
   Mosul's trade center before IS occupation in mid-2014. The area is now
   a husk of shattered concrete and twisted metal that once were part of
   people's homes and shops.

   "There is no water or electricity in the neighborhood. With the
   exception of some visits by charity organizations, no one asks about us
   here," Subhi added.

   An assessment by the Norwegian Refugee Council this month revealed that
   around 54,000 houses in Mosul and surrounding areas are still
   destroyed, and 383,934 people remain displaced. It estimates $874
   million are needed to repair basic infrastructure in the city.

   "What was hailed by the Iraqi authorities and the international
   community as a victory a year ago has not translated to relief from
   abject misery for many Iraqis from Mosul," said the refugee agency's
   Iraq director Wolfgang Gressmann. "One year on, they are still waiting
   to return to normality, and the international community is not helping
   enough."

   Reconstruction

   The Iraqi government has said it is doing its best to reconstruct Mosul
   and other areas recaptured from IS.

   City officials Tuesday announced they are working with the U.N.'s
   Development Program (UNDP) to start rehabilitating 10,000 homes in the
   Old City. The U.N. agency has also provided water treatment plants in
   several Mosul neighborhoods to give access to clean water to thousands
   of people.

   Younis Sharif, head of Nineveh University reconstruction projects and a
   member of the reconstruction committee of Mosul, told the local Shafaaq
   News that the reconstruction project excludes entirely destroyed
   houses.

   No longer willing to wait for help, many residents have started
   borrowing money to rebuild their homes. For them, reconstruction can
   start from something as simple as removing debris or repainting walls
   disfigured by bullets or covered with violent IS graffiti.

   WATCH: Mosul Artists Help Restore Shattered City

   Residents say full recovery will also require reimbursing those who
   suffered damage in the conflict and providing job opportunities to
   those who lost their businesses.

   Disabled victims

   Demand for compensation is particularly high among residents who were
   disabled by the war.

   Besides the large number of civilian war deaths, estimated to be 11,000
   by an Associated Press investigation, the number of those who were
   disabled is also staggering.

   Saeed Nizar, head of a Mosul-based charity group, told VOA that over
   2,500 residents handicapped by the war with IS have registered with his
   organization for a stipend. He said many have been forced into begging
   due to a lack of support.

   "The government hasn't provided any accommodation for people with
   disabilities. They have no pension or other sources of income," Nizar
   said.

   Iraqi officials said they need generous international aid to allow them
   to restore the damage.

   An international conference in Kuwait earlier this year collected about
   $30 billion, mostly in credit and investments, to help rebuild Iraq's
   economy and infrastructure. However, that amount fell far short of
   Iraq's hope for $90 billion for post-IS recovery.

   VOA's Kawa Omar contributed to this report from Mosul.