Writer, translator and research assistant Ayad Thamir Ahmad ja työryhmä (Ahmed Zaidan)

Mosul: A story of hope – A book based on writers’ own experiences and interviews of people who lived through the siege and have then seen the rise of new civil society in Iraq

Taiteellinen työ / siihen pohjautuva työ | Yksivuotinen

Note! “You are not just reading a book, you are taking a tour in the corridor of a great prison, where every page is a cell and every story is a window bidding to find the way to the outside world . Welcome inside! beyond the walls of the media and the razor-wire of stereotypes” This project focuses on storytelling of the diverse categories of social elements: Ordinary people, journalists and artists, and the feminist movements engulfed the city of Mosul after liberation from ISIS. Series of people's testimonies would concede what the situation is and was really like on the ground. The author who resides in Finland and originally comes from Mosul is projecting his own experience before departing from the city in relation to his new homeland and the journey.. How does it feel seeing one’s mother town being gutted by the flames, starting from pre and post ISIS; the earthquake that led to a more stable society benefited from prior mistakes, a society washed out by the shower of hard experience. Stories of survivors, bold initiatives and a soar beyond the social heliosphere, resisting the gravitational power of religions and some of the local heritage perching on the chest of freedom. Getting rid of the shackles of the past and extending a hand to the world are an essential step that comes from the flare of experience-no matter how hard it was-but transacted the fusion of concepts and reshaping of values. Trusting the outside world hasn’t been easy in Mosul. It seemed that the shells of the battles had demolished the thick walls, permitted the caravans of the world to infiltrate into the razed heart of the city in the form of civil organizations and so on… to resurrect the city. City and it’s residents that were abandoned, conquered, liberated and finally forgotten after the flames of war and tears of international tragedy left their streets. They need to be heard once again as inspiration of man's desire for common good and ordinary equality.