Mediaboss Marketing

Mudhafar Abdulwahid Khaleefa in the Amman hospital

In a hospital for reconstructive surgery in Amman,Jordan, war-wounded patients from Iraq receive treatment for complex injuries. The project was established by Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF) in 2006 when it became clear that no such care existed for victims of the war in Iraq. It has since expanded to receive patients from Gaza, Yemen and Syria.

Since the project opened, MSF has treated approximately 4,500 patients and performed nearly 10,000 surgeries. Iraqis are the largest patient group, with 2,442 patients referred from Iraq since the start of the project.

Dr Omar Adil Alani manages patient referrals in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. He has worked with the MSF hospital in Amman since the beginning of 2014.

"The need for reconstructive surgery in Iraq is very big due to the continuous conflict since 2003 and the financial situation our country is facing," says Dr Omar. "While they may receive initial care for their wounds, our patients do not usually have access to specialised surgical procedures. Through this project, MSF offers surgery to treat complications that appear months after the first intervention complications that were hard to predict in the initial life-saving stage and that have a serious impact on the patient's recovery."

The hospital in Amman provides a comprehensive care package for its patients, which includes physiotherapy and psychosocial support alongside specialised surgery. Patients are also provided with accommodation and financial assistance with travel to and from the hospital as well as in-between treatments if the care plan is prolonged.

In Baghdad, Dr Omar coordinates a team of medical liaison officers who identify and refer patients from Iraq.

"The medical liaison officers are in close contact with nine hospitals in Baghdad that deal with trauma cases," says Dr Omar. "We also reach out to other parts of Iraq through a network of medical doctors, the Directorates of Health, MSF offices and other organisations that are present in the field and that meet people in need of reconstructive surgery."

The patients referred to Amman for treatment include people with injuries caused by bombs, explosions and shells. Some have bones that are not just broken but completely shattered. Others have severe burns injuries that cover much of their body. Others have facial injuries, which can include serious damage to lower and upper jaws, making eating or even breathing difficult. Many patients have lost mobility in parts of their body; some have undergone amputatations. Most of the patients need advanced reconstructive surgery, often over many months or even years. The criteria for referrals are strict: they include only those patients whose abilities can be improved with surgery; aesthetics are considered secondary.

Mudhafar Abdulwahid Khaleefa, 43, was injured when armed men stormed the building where he worked. During the attack, he fell from the third floor and suffered multiple fractures to his leg and hip, as well as an injury to the spine. Over the following year, he had seven rounds of surgery, but the bone fractures failed to heal.

"In the end, the doctors recommended amputation above the knee," says Mudhafar. "The bone in my leg was infected and it wouldn't heal. I was starting to feel very bad emotionally. Then I was put in contact with MSF and after a medical assessment I was accepted for treatment in the hospital in Amman. Over four months they operated on my leg several times, first to treat the infection and then to progressively restore the functionality of the leg. Now I don't need a wheelchair anymore and I can walk with crutches."

Many patients who come to MSF's hospital in Amman have already undergone multiple rounds of surgery and received courses of various antibiotics. Some develop resistance to the drugs, and face having their limbs amputated in an attempt to control the infection. In Amman, these patients have the possibility of taking last-line antibiotics to save the limb.

After successful surgery, patients move on to physiotherapy and other types of support. Every year, hospital staff conduct almost 2,000 physiotherapy sessions, while 22 per cent of the patients receive mental health support. Their emotional wounds are not visible but are often deep, and can have a major impact on the patient's life and ability to recover. Most patients have had extremely distressing and traumatic experiences, and their lives have been changed forever by their injuries and the loss of loved ones.

"The psychological support I received in Amman was very important for my physical recovery," says Mudhafar.

Dr Omar describes another patient for whom the mental health support provided by the MSF team has made a huge difference. "A pregnant woman who was on a street in Baghdad when a car bomb exploded was severely burnt over most of her body and lost her baby. When she came to us she was very depressed, she had divorced her husband and wanted to commit suicide. Because of the burns on her face she had difficulties speaking and breathing. She has now had multiple surgeries in Amman and is making good progress.

In Baghdad, Dr Omar and his team plan to expand their work so that they also have a permanent presence in Iraqi Kurdistan, increasing their ability to find patients whose lives could be changed by specialised surgery.

"The situation here in Iraq is very difficult and many patients who need this specialised treatment don't have access to it," says Dr Omar. "I'm very happy to be in this position, because it allows me to help fellow Iraqis. To see a patient who was in a wheelchair for a long time come back from Amman walking by himself that is an amazing feeling."

MSF has worked continuously in Iraq since 2006. In order to ensure its independence, MSF does not accept funding from any government, religious committee or international agency for its programmes in Iraq, and relies solely on private donations from the general public around the world to carry out its work. In Iraq, MSF currently employs over 900 staff.

Excerpt from:
Jordan/Iraq: A new life for war-wounded Iraqis - Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF) International

IRAQI GOVERNMENT forces last week launched a crucial campaign to retake the western side of Mosul, the Islamic States largest remaining urban stronghold. U.S. planes and special forces were providing critical close-up support for a battle that commanders believe could drag on for months. Victory is not assured and the humanitarian cost, which Iraqi forces managed to minimize in capturing the eastern side of the city, could steeply rise. Yet the biggest challenge looms beyond the immediate battle: whether Mosul and other Sunni-populated areas of Iraq can be stabilized once the jihadists are driven out. Unfortunately, in his first weeks in office President Trump has significantly worsened the chances for success.

The rise of the Islamic State was facilitated by sectarian tensions among Iraqs majority Shiite and minority Sunni and Kurdish populations, and in particular by the discrimination against Sunnis by a Shiite-led Baghdad government backed by Iran. After the fall of Mosul in 2014 the Obama administration helped to engineer the removal of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who fomented the sectarianism, and his replacement by the more moderate Haider al-Abadi, who pledged to build a more inclusive regime. Mr. Abadis good intentions have mostly been thwarted by sectarian hard-liners, including Iranian-controlled Shiite militia groups.

Consequently, the military offensive to recapture Mosul has gone ahead without accompanying political steps that might strengthen moderate Sunni leaders against militants who will seek to perpetuate an insurgency against the Baghdad government. A report this month from the Institute for Study of War warned, Early indicators suggest that a post-ISIS Sunni insurgency may be forming in Iraq and al Qaeda (AQ) is trying to gain traction within it. It said, the U.S.-backed Coalition has been focused only on eliminating ISIS, not other insurgent groups or the conditions that grow them.

While the Obama administration deserves blame for sidestepping Iraqs political challenges, Mr.Trump has quickly exacerbated the trouble. His repeated suggestions that the United States might seize Iraqs oil fields have alienated forces across the political spectrum, notwithstanding a disavowal by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Worse, his inclusion of Iraq on a list of majority-Muslim nations from which visitors and immigrants would be banned has prompted Mr. Abadis opponents to demand that Americans including the more than 5,000 U.S. troops now operating against the Islamic State be expelled from the country.

Mr. Abadi managed to resist a parliamentary resolution to that effect after that ban was issued. But if Iraq remains on the list of banned nations in a revised order the White House says it is preparing, he could face another political rebellion that could cause his government to collapse. Tehrans Shiite militias could push to replace U.S. forces in the fight for Mosul; or more likely, Irans clients could demand that all American forces leave Iraq immediately after the battle. That would virtually ensure the predominance of sectarian elements among both Shiites and Sunnis and open the door to another resurgance by al-Qaeda or other jihadists.

Mr. Mattis discounted that risk during a visit to Baghdad last Monday, saying, I imagine well be in this fight for a while and well stand by each other. A reasonable Iraqi might ask: Why should a U.S. administration that bans all Iraqis from setting foot on American soil be regarded as a worthy partner?

Read this article:
Trump is already losing the long-term fight in Iraq - Washington Post

Hind Safaa has returned to her hometown of Qaraqosh in northern Iraq after Islamic State fighters were pushed out of the town. She and her family left the area two years ago due to fears that Islamic State fighters will target them as religious minorities.

Safaa was shocked to witness the destruction and ruins brought upon a town she once called home. Her house where she spent her entire childhood was destroyed.

I cant describe how I really feel. All of these pieces that have been thrown and destroyed carry beautiful memories, Safaa said. These are things that mom and dad worked very hard to build.

Safaa, her parents and siblings were lucky to have left the town in August 2014 two hours before Islamic State took over. Some in town werent as lucky.

Before IS attacked Qaraqosh, Safaa was going to Mosuls College of Medicine and dreamed of becoming a doctor.

Her family left everything behind, taking refuge in the relatively safer Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.

Saffa told VOA that militants have taken whatever they could and destroyed the rest.

In every room, there were shattered parts of furniture, broken plates and torn clothes making it hard to walk through the house, Saffa said. It was so messy because IS fighters were planning to burn the house, but for some reasons they didn't.

Saffa added that IS burned hundreds of other houses that belonged to Christian minorities in the area, including the tall church of St. Mary al-Tahira.

IS graffiti has been smeared on its [church] walls, the nave is scorched black by fire and the altar has been vandalized, Saffa said.

St. Mary al-Tahira church was once Iraqs largest Christian church, and about 3,000 people attended the church every Sunday. Its symbolic significance for Iraqi Christians explains why hundreds of residents rushed back to the town to re-establish the church in late 2016.

FILE - An Iraqi Christian man from Mosul, who fled with his family from violence in their country, reads a book at the Latin Patriarchate Church in Amman, Jordan, Aug. 21, 2014.

But things for many Christians including Saffa are not the same anymore. The rebirth of the Christian community in Qaraqosh and the rest of Iraq seems difficult as most Christians who fled the town refuse to return, and instead are embarking on journeys to settle abroad.

IS blow to coexistence

The mass Christian departure from Iraq has made the future survivability of the church uncertain in a region where Muslims and Christians have lived as neighbors for centuries.

IS not only targeted minority Christians, but also broke societal fabrics in Iraq.

I don't want to live in this place again. I don't want to ever live next to people who chose to stay under IS rule, Safaa told VOA.

She and her entire family are attempting to leave Iraq and join their community diaspora in Europe.

Migration to the West for her is not only an attempt to find safety, but also a door for opportunities.

Two of my friends who moved to France are now preparing to study medicine. And my high school friend, Maryana, has become a great photographer there, Safaa said.

Maryana Habash, Safaas friend from high school, left with her family the night IS attacked Qaraqosh as well.

The situation was so complicated that night that I didnt even know where some of my family members were, Habash told VOA. I could think about anything but how to find a safe place for my two little sisters.

Habash and her family took political asylum in France in early 2016. She now lives in Riems, France and began school.

Just like her friend Safaa, Habash, too, thinks Qaraqosh is in her past now.

I might want to travel there at some point in the future, but I will never live there again. The values of human rights are non-existent in Iraq, Habash said.

Habash says eight more families from Qaraqosh also are settled in Riems, France, and more are on the way, suggesting that Riems will become their new Qaraqosh in the future.

Mass Christian immigration from Iraq is undermining the efforts of Christian leaders who want to establish an autonomous region for Christians in northern Iraq with Qaraqosh as its capital.

FILE - Iraqi Christians, who fled violence brought by Islamic State militants in the village of Qaraqosh, seek refuge inside a church building in Irbil, north of Baghdad, Aug. 11, 2014.

Continued mass migration of our people to the West is the greatest danger to our existence as a religious minority in Iraq, said Romeo Hakari, who heads the Bait-al-Nahrain, Assyrian Christian political party in Iraq.

Iraq had 1.5 million Christians

There is no official data about how many Christians live in Iraq, but it is estimated that more than 1.5 million Christians lived in Iraq before 2003.

According to Iraqi Christian Relief Council, a non-profit organization that advocates for Christian minorities in the country, sectarian violence following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and systematic targeting of religious minorities by IS and other militant groups have forced approximately 80 percent of the Christian population to leave the country.

Hakari of the Baitl-al-Nahrain political party puts part of the blame for mass Christian immigration from Iraq on the West for encouraging people to settle in Europe and elsewhere.

European embassies in Iraq, especially the French and German embassies, have facilitated the migration of our people, Hakari said

Western countries have shown more willingness to accept Iraqi Christian and Yazidis, citing continued IS persecution of these groups as a justification. Earlier this year, an official from the U.S. State Department told VOA that the U.S government and Canada were working to permanently resettle hundreds of Yazidis and Christians from Iraq.

Iraqi Christian leaders are continuously meeting with the U.S. and European officials to discourage such programs, Hakari told VOA.

Western countries can play a major role in providing us with assistance to rebuild our homes and defend ourselves in an autonomous region, he added.

But for many Christians like Safaa returning is not an option.

With time we have realized that it doesn't matter where we live and what system is in place. What really matters is the people around us.

Originally posted here:
Mass Christian Immigration From Iraq Makes Future of Church Uncertain - Voice of America

After months of fighting, Iraqi Security Forces have finally regained control of the eastern half of Mosul, the last urban stronghold of Islamic State in Iraq. They are now advancing on the citys west.

The recapture of the northern Iraqi city will be a strategic victory for Iraq and its international partners. But did it ever have to come to this?

Violent opposition has gone up like a mushroom cloud in Iraq since the early years of US occupation. The US military believed that buying peoples hearts and minds with cash was an effective tool to counter against the opposition. Things did not always work out that way.

Back in 2003, shortly after taking control of Baghdad, US forces discovered millions of dollars of loot taken by the Baathist Party during its rule. The US government decided to use it as the seed funding for the Commanders Emergency Response Programme (CERP).

The CERP aims to rebuild the country by funding hundreds of small-scale projects on water and sanitation infrastructure, food production, health care, education, and transport. And research shows that these small projects have improved the security situation in Iraq in the short term.

But the hearts and minds strategy may not be as effective as it appears in the case of Iraq. Aid can fuel conflict by creating incentives for looting, and providing a fertile ground for criminal activities. It is frequently stolen en route and induces fraud and corruption.

This new resource base can strengthen rebels capacity in an armed struggle. And many Iraqis see this foreign assistance as occupation forces simply giving them a tent after burning down their home.

The relationship between different religious groups is a decisive determinant of aid effectiveness in Iraq, and it was crucial in this case.

After the US invasion, the Shia-led government had the chance to reduce the enmity of the Sunni population towards them. To this end, part of the emergency response funds were used to sponsor the Sons of Iraq programme, which paid Sunnis to become security providers.

Sons of Iraq had two effects in the short term: it rewarded people who chose to stop fighting and, it gave incentives to local people to cooperate with security forces by providing them with local intelligence. After the introduction of the programme, the number of attacks in Iraq between 2007 and 2012 decreased.

According to the plan, the Government of Iraq would offer participants, most of them Sunni, a job in the security sector or civilian ministry. But in the end, only a small number of Sunnis were lucky enough to get a government job. Worse still, there were reports that the Shia-led government arrested, tortured, and murdered Sunni members of the programme.

Between 2009 and 2013, former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki gradually dismantled the programme, and filled Iraqi security forces with Shias; Sunnis began to be excluded in Iraqi society once more. This stirred up religious tensions between the two groups. The conflict escalated, leading to a massacre in Hawija in 2013, where hundreds of Sunnis were killed in clashes with security forces.

An Iraqi boy holds a rifle at a Sons of Iraq checkpoint in 2009.

Mosul has long been a site much-contested between different religious groups. These include Sunni and Shia Arabs, Kurds and Assyrian Christians. The complex tribal structure of the region and its proximity to the Syrian border make governing the area almost impossible.

Fearing a perception of favoritism towards Sunnis, the US tamed the Sons of Iraq programme in Mosul. But doing so contributed to the rise of insurgency in the region. It has had the unintended consequence of making Mosul a safe haven for members of al-Qaeda in Iraq, who were repelled from Baghdad, Anbar, and Diyala.

By now, all the conditions were set for a firestorm. Angry people were gathered in Mosul, willing to fight for whichever group was ready to overthrow the government.

Arguably, if the Shia government took the chance to absorb more Sunnis into the regime according to the original plan, ISIS, which stormed onto world stage in June 2014, taking both Fallujah and Mosul in the space of a few months, would have found it more difficult to initiate a war that has since become a political crisis at the global level.

While there is still a long way to go before a decisive victory in Iraq, it is time to plan ahead.

What can the international society do to prevent ISIS from re-emerging?

Humanitarian assistance is necessary for rebuilding houses and infrastructure destroyed by rockets and car bombs. But as the military advancement of the past few months shows, the key to success is cooperation that transcends religious and ethnic identities.

On one hand, the Shia-dominated security forces and Kurdish Peshmerga need intelligence from local citizens, mainly Sunni Arabs. On the other hand, local people require the help of the security forces to free them from ISISs harsh rule.

Behind the major identity fault lines between Sunni and Shia lie numerous grassroots-level rivalries over land and resources that have led to decades-long enmity. To achieve sustainable peace, different community members have to reach reconciliation. At the minimum, all groups should realise that no one is more righteous than the other.

Studies have found that cross-ethnic interactions in unions, theatres or even playgrounds can explain why Hindu-Muslim riots are less common in some places than others.

In this light, donors should fund social and urban design projects that help to build more inclusive, safe and resilient cities for all Iraqis. Hopefully, through these small steps, disparate groups can begin to reach a national-level reconciliation.

Even when ISIS is defeated, unless different groups can repair their relationship, violent extremism will remain, and peace in Iraq will stay elusive. Donor funding must be directed to programmes that help bridge divides.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Originally posted here:
Sons of Iraq: Mosul will only recover if we heed the lessons of the US invasion - Huffington Post

MOSUL, Iraq A reporter and anchor for an Iraqi Kurdish TV station was killed Saturday while working on the front lines as Iraqi forces battle ISIS for the city of Mosul.

Shifa Gardi, 30, a beloved journalist in a male-dominated profession, died in a roadside bomb blast that also injured her cameraman, Younis Mustafa, according to her employer, Rudaw.

Bayan Sami Rahman, the Kurdish governments representative to the United States and a former journalist, tweeted that Kurdistan has lost a courageous and professional journalist who cracked the glass ceiling.

Gardi had been live on TV hours before her death, reporting from western Mosul with Iraqi forces in the background.

She joined the Kurdish media network in 2013.

The network paid tribute to Gardi on its website Saturday, recalling her empathy earlier this week when she earlier rescued an injured rabbit during fighting outside Iraqs second-largest city and ISIS last stronghold.

The rabbit is suffering from malnutrition, which has caused visible damage to its face, she said after returning to the newsroom with the animal.

We will be treating the rabbit and then give it to an animal protection agency which is willing to look after it.

Douglas Silliman, the US ambassador to Iraq, sent his condolences to Gardis family and friends on Twitter. Very sad news, he wrote.

Gardi, who was born a refugee in Iran in 1986, graduated from Salahaddin University in Irbil, according to Rudaw.

She started her journalism career in 2006.

Shifa Gardi was one of Rudaws most daring journalists, the station said in a statement.

Falah Mustafa, minister of the foreign relations department for the Kurdistan Regional Government, described Gardi in a tweet as a brave journalist and role model to young women.

Quentin Sommerville, the BBCs Middle East correspondent, tweeted that Gardi was intrepid and determined.

Iraqi forces are advancing on western Mosul after taking the citys east.

The second stage of the operation could be especially dangerous for civilians as Iraqi troops try to secure densely populated areas amid ISIS resistance, humanitarian groups warn.

More:
Reporter killed, cameraman injured in Iraq after roadside bomb blast - kfor.com