In Mosul, young volunteers help bring city back to life

Disir

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Sep 30, 2011
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A group of Iraqi university students have found a cause in the ruins of Mosul. They are salvaging what is left of its rich heritage, clearing rubble and distributing aid in a city crying out for help after the war against Islamic State.

The project began when Raghad Hammadi and a group of students decided to launch a campaign to help rebuild the Central Library of Mosul University, burnt and bombed in the war. Its vast contents had been all but lost.

But they found buried under layers of ash some 30,000 books almost intact. Over 40 hot days, with the war still raging on the other side, the students moved the books one by one using holes made by rockets to carry them to safety.

“An entire city with a glorious past and ancient history lost its heritage and culture: the tomb of the Prophet Jonah, the minaret of Al-Hadba which is older than Iraq itself. It is great that we were able to save a part of this heritage,” said Hammadi, 25, a nursing student.

Both the leaning minaret of Al-Hadba , part of the 12th century Grand al-Nuri Mosque, where in 2014 Islamic State’s Abu Bakr al Baghdadi declared a caliphate, and the ancient tomb of what is believed to be the Prophet Jonah were destroyed in the military campaign to retake the city.Hammadi says among the books salvaged were some handwritten by Mosul scholars. They included editions written in Moslawi, the distinct dialect of the region once known as a center for scholarly Islam and the pride of many for its ancient mosques, churches and Old City architecture.
In Mosul, young volunteers help bring city back to life

A little hope.
 

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