AsiaNews has gathered stories from Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, considered by Iraqi MPs themselves to be a "forgotten" region in the new Iraq. The money allocated for reconstruction has not borne fruit: electricity and water are lacking and people live in fear of suicide bombers. Many are leaving; others, like Christians are striving to persist in hope: there were glimmers in the ordination of a priest and the Holy Communion of 82 Chaldean children.
Mosul (AsiaNews) Nineveh, with its capital Mosul, is "a province forgotten in the new Iraq", said an Iraqi parliamentary committee. The admission came after committee members visited the region for a few days to check up on security conditions and the state of public and administrative services. The stories of daily life reaching AsiaNews from the province confirm the situation is not improving, as civilians face the terror of incessant suicide bombings, a lack of electricity and fear even to go to the market or to hear Mass. But, in spite of everything, there are those who seek to find rays of hope, not least thanks to faith.
After visiting the province, the MP Usama al-Najafi, head of the committee, urged parliament to adopt urgent measures to improve the situation in Iraq's second largest city.
Christian residents in Mosul said that when al-Zarqawi al-Qaeda's man in Iraq was killed last month, the situation did not change for the better; if anything it became worse. "Three weeks ago, a car bomb exploded in the middle of a civilian area, near the university, killing at least 10 youth and causing enormous destruction," said a Chaldean youth. "On the same day, another bomb went off near the Chaldean Church of the Holy Spirit, injuring several people." The youth witnessed the event.
"There are one or two explosions a day in the city," said the mother of a family. "This is to say nothing of the many people who are killed for money or because of their ethnicity or religious beliefs: recently in my neighbourhood (left of Tigri River), four brothers and a nephew were killed only because they happened to be Shiites in a city of Sunnis."
Everything is lacking in Mosul: water, petrol, gas and electricity. The government, according to local media, is pumping enormous sums of money into reconstruction, but the results are not in evidence. The MP Najafi admitted: "We have seen no trace of the huge sums of money said to have been appropriated for the province and could gather no idea on how they were spent;
It is essential to bring the province's budget under scrutiny."
"Everything, even the tiniest thing, is a big problem, except killing," said one woman. The stories gathered by AsiaNews tell of craftsmen forced to shut down shop and to search for new ways of earning a living. But many families choose to barricade themselves at home for fear of being kidnapped or killed. Some have moved to Kurdistan, which is safer, but not everyone can afford to do this, because "it's very expensive".
However, there are glimmers of hope amid the prevalent insecurity. Fr Ragheed Ganni, parish priest of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul, said that on 2 July, the parish community experienced "a day of great joy" when the ordination to the priesthood of Fr Basman George (see photo) was held. He added: "While clashes continue daily between police and rebels, 82 children are coming for catechism classes to prepare for their first Holy Communion. Together with the other priests, I am trying to make people feel the power of faith and to spread hope in miracles, because today, this is what peace in Iraq is for us: a miracle."