My walk in Mosul

I walked in Mosul in late 2017 and early 2018, in particular the old town was said to be the most ravaged and decimated place on earth since Dresden during WW2. I walked through the destruction with a camera, not knowing what I should point my camera at, smoking to take away the stink of decomposing people.

Mosul was obliterated because ISIS had their last stand there. At least 9000 civilian people were killed because ISIS hid amongst them, ISIS hid in regular people's homes, made their headquarters in one of Iraq's largest hospitals, they holed up like rats.

The Western world, and media, was very aware, that ISIS were terrorists, extremists that didn't reflect anyone else's values whether religious or ideological.

We know much of the activity of Hamas, resembles ISIS, they don't have the same nihilistic ideology but their terrorism has many similarities. Yet British crowds chant 'from the river to the sea', blurring the lines between racism and compassion, empathy and hatred, supporting a terrorist organisation and it's ideology not understanding the life 'giving' and 'taking' reasons for what's occurring.

Every life has value, but war and especially the western military response to terrorism has been consistent. Not unlike much of the war against ISIS, the horrific scenes in Gaza and Israel are religious and represent ideologies I cannot understand but as a result I will not place my judgement on the geopolitical and geo-religious events, but I can on moments of injustice.

Why did no one speak up when Mosul was being flattened? Why didn't the media care? Where was the noise?

Perhaps Russia didn't have as much of an agenda then? Perhaps Covid hadn't galvanized extremist views in the suburbs?