This man risked his life to rescue books from the hands of the socalled Islamic State the militant Group Adopted a scorched earth policy in the iraqi city of mosul burning books on mass so that nothing of value would be left to the enemy. To rescue what he could. Offer then you can shift for me these Cultural Assets mean everything theyre the basis for building a new future a generation that is progressive well educated and has clear goals. Otherwise the worst thing about i asked rule was that they destroyed our culture rather than from o. T. And they ban books and then burn them to have. As one of many heroes to stand up to the trauma inflicted by Islamic States brutal reign of terror. Like oh mom many here just want their lives back. Lives filled with aunt new. Entertainment and fun everything that i yes set out to destroy. Is cycling from western mosul which is almost completely destroyed to the eastern part of the city on the other side of the river tigris their villages struction is less widespread the bridges near the old one was destroyed during the nine month battle for the city when the iraqi army return mosul. Omar is studying economics he resumed his studies after the city was liberated in twenty seventeen. During the i. A. S. Occupation the university was closed and militants set up their administration in the building making it a target for iraqi forces and their allies including u. S. Fighter jets. It will take a long time to rebuild the campus but the material loss is less painful for the students than the memory of what happened. The worst part about trying to study and i asked rule was the oppression and the feeling of being totally at their mercy and it lasted for three years. I suffered a lot of students who managed to flee to other provinces like a beer or are now one of two years ahead of us in their studies some have even finished. This was once one of iraqs biggest libraries a great source of information and knowledge for students like omar until i asked moved in. During the fighting there is very solid building lined with books offered effective cover for the militants. When they could no longer hold their position they torched the entire thing. A final act of revenge before fleeing. Could the little girl will be just the books were all lying on the floor that some of burning but others were just lying under the ashes and we tried to salvage as many as we could and bring them to safety forgot that the area had been completely liberated at that point so it was dangerous and mortars were still landing in and around the campus. The rubble has since been cleared away what remains is an empty shell. Around a million books went up in smoke here more than in any other area occupied by Islamic State the militants destroyed one of the leading libraries in the arab world many historic handwritten works and are lost forever. From the libraries collection of one million books the students managed to save seven thousand among them nearly a dozen handwritten manuscripts rescued from the flames at the last minute. On. These books a very rare that they werent part of the main collection. Some of them are two or three hundred years old so theyre very precious. For that one idea they include historic commentaries on the quran the i. R. S. Militants would have destroyed them too rather than leave them for the enemy. Every friday as the sun begins to set booksellers lay out their wares on a nearby street. One more piece of normality thats returned to mosul its one of omars Favorite Places the range is limited but its a start. This part of the world was once the cradle of civilization a center of culture and. You. Look at the folks who abandoned ah yes thats because the extremists saw them as a threat to us now since the liberation we have a variety of books appearing again a few of us were happy that culture is once again returning to mosul in the form of books. Like here on the sidewalk. But in most of the them and also for the. Omar is known here among locals as the book hero he refused to let i asked steal his passion. And omar is not alone. That these young people also continue to pursue their passion and i ask rule in secret they are all artists drawing pictures of human beings for example was absolutely forbidden by the militants. I think i know as a for the amount of illusion of often or thought of the french we formed a group called revolution of art. Or phenomena were all friends and students of the arctic at an awful job of a moment of genius did the other group develop because of the treasure exerted by the i. R. S. When everyone was under pressure back that. Most artists burned their works for fear of being prosecuted and having to undergo the i. R. S. Version of judicial proceedings i thought of them so i live. On a miracle that. It was only after the Islamic State were gone that they were free once again to pursue that openly. They are now planning to do a war painting to promote reconciliation between iraqs various religious communities. Every time they want to paint a wall somewhere in the city they need to get permission. The city of orators are once again up and running in mosul and they appear happy to give the go ahead for these colorful works of art. Not that we dont have any problems were trying to send a message without was that we oppose ignorance and injustice with our paintings on art works we want to resist all that our cake thinking find. The young women are glad the dark times are over and they can now pursue their art work openly but the situation is still difficult for them as women they know that many in mosul a very conservative in their religious outlook. I did where women but were not going to stay at home we want to Say Something to not just the guys we have something to say as well thats how i see it but most people wont accept that especially not the residents of mosul i dont you know. Today they are sounding a warning against religious intolerance of different faiths key elements in Iraqi Society if one element is missing they say the whole thing will break down. The pictures painted by revolution of art have now gained a wider following the artists post their work online thats very important to them as they believe their message of reconciliation is vital for the whole of iraq. And they go by facebook or not we have a group on facebook and discuss things there. And we collect ideas to go with. One person might have a suggestion someone else takes that up and gradually it becomes a concrete idea. Is obviously you would then need to find an appropriate place and draw up a sketch. After that we get a permit and get down to work we dont experience any problems and people love our work we shall know. Mosul has certainly become more colorful since i asked occupation ended. Shortly after capturing the city in twenty fourteen the militancy from blow up the shrine of the prophet yunus or jonah revered in both the quran and the bible. Now the ruins are an ideal Training Ground for park or enthusiastic a sport where participants have to negotiate various obstacles. The i asked militants were very interested in their skills and approach their trainer. The militants were looking to recruit them for military purposes a very dangerous situation for the group. Of knowledge it does have emitted there was one when i asked for a control here in mosul they asked us if we could train children the cubs of the caliphate as they were not they deny the war we refused because we dont want to hurt people and they were athletes and didnt want to do anything to harm our country. But we just want to do sport and put on a show. This is our way of expressing freedom. Where young people reject violence we dont want to kill them our other ship. Their impressive moves will cost a whole new light on the ruins. Just. As. Many local people are devastated that i asked destroyed this historic landmark the militants claimed it had become a place of idol worship. The Islamic State unyielding in their interpretation of right and wrong and terrorize the people of mosul. Their occupation ended in july twenty seventh teen with one of the biggest urban battles since the second world war. Mosuls old city on the banks of the tigris was reduced to rubble. The streets of largely being cleared but the task of rebuilding is huge. And everywhere there is the threat of unexploded ordinance and booby traps the parco ass leitz always have to be careful where they tread. Another terrible legacy of i ass. But for these Young Athletes life is still far better now than he was back then. He has a missed were persistent they wouldnt take no for an answer and kept coming back to my about about one of them say to their children four or five times and of course i was afraid. I was in the car that we didnt want to get involved with them so we stayed on and start training altogether until the senate was liberated. Then we were free to take up our sport again. They were determined not to give in to why as true heroes in the ruins of mosul who refused to be beaten back then and refused to be beaten now. As i did that at the debate we want our city to flourish again and we want to show people that the city is suffering because of all the destruction which came from all sides and not just this one group. Theyve been we want to show what life is like here. And we want to prove that we can Reach International standards and sport in education and in art so a federal that out dr thanks. While they look for a new Training Grounds in the rubble of mosul others are grateful to be able to earn some money cleaning up schools that have been rebuilt all these women are widows. Fifty four of them are working for a project funded by the european union. Without the money from this job jawad and her son would go hungry the women earn fifteen dollars a day for their work. Its one of the few Jobs Available to them the local economy has all but collapsed its difficult for women to get work here at the best of times. In this highly conservative society its the men who normally provide the family income. Was the life that i work to feed my children and where should i get the money from others was nice and i my husband is dead its tough i have no other income nothing. We dont even have a room of our own where we could sleep alone with love yeah i know that. They all lost their husbands in the fight the moral life was hard then and still is i was. Right about the women do their best to cope with the situation and look to the future i. Was why should we laugh in spite of our problems thats better than bottling everything up its a good thing everyone has problems its no disgrace to work this is our country and well rebuild it and god willing it will be better than before. The liberation of mosul from my ass rule has in particular brought freedom for jawad children now their future is looking up again. How did they were laid out during the time under i. I. S. I didnt send my daughter to school because they wanted to teach her how to use a gun with real cartridges that was the final straw after that i kept to her and now thankfully my children can go to school again without what i did i just sat down i took one year to rebuild their school and mozillas old city but now its once again a place of learning for children the dark days of i. R. S. Rules are over i. Still watch her and her children fled their home in the old city in twenty seventeen at the height of the battle for morsel. It was a time when u. S. And iraqi forces were conducting air raids and i. A. S. Militants began using civilians as human shields eleven months after liberation jawad returned to the old city. Traders are now slowly appearing to and with them some semblance of normality. Jawad has family lives in one of the countless narrow alleyways the militants chose to hunker down here where no tanks could enter drawing the iraqi army into a devastating fight for every street and every house by then the family had already left otherwise they would almost certainly have been killed. The twenty five year old is now living with her parents do while his father is out of work a brother picks up old jobs wherever he can. Her fifteen dollars a day is now an important source of income for her extended family comprising thirteen people. And her daughter cooked vegetables for dinner. They cant afford meat the husband used to be the main breadwinner but now hes gone. So certain that he was hit by shrapnel in the head and shoulder and he died. It was from a missile at least i still have the children when my husband had work we would have something to eat but when he couldnt get work we would go hungry there wasnt much work around back then either so we went hungry a lot. Today and just about make ends meet with her fifteen dollars a day its more a case of surviving than living but at least theyre not going hungry. Yet theres always the underlying fear of what the future might bring. But mother what will happen to me. I wish an Aid Organization could give us a room just one room for me and the children not my parents house is too small for thirteen people but where else can we go. One part of the house was destroyed in the fighting. She was family doesnt have the money to rebuild it. So far only a few people have returned to mosuls old city others are waiting for the infrastructure to be repaired. When Running Water and electricity are being restored more people will return and begin rebuilding their homes. Are made sahara is a Civil Engineer and is currently overseeing multiple building projects unlike so many in mosul hes overwhelmed with work he faces a different set of challenges but thats a job. That when it gets very hard especially in july or august when it gets up to forty five or fifty degrees celsius the way its not go out. Every. And of course an amount we have to do it before it gets too but at the minute how so out of work that. One of the central squares in the old city has now been cleared of rubble and bombed out cars. It boasts one of the only functioning traffic lights far and wide its not really needed right now but the war weary people of mosul long for a return to normal life and that includes traffic lights and color. And icecream. The people of malls are refused to give up in the midst of all the destruction we keep finding flashes of civilization and a sense for what is is setting pleasing. Like this barber who is once again trimming his customers b. S. That too was forbidden under the militant strict system of religious rules men were forced to wear long beards. The hairdresser another sign that times have changed. But they were little i now have about ten to fifteen customers. And each of the children its Getting Better each day. So ive only been open for twenty days and each day is a bit better. Ive. Made while aftermath the engineer is on his way to another construction site shops are to be built here. When he and his workers cleared away the rubble they made a dreadful discovery it was in may this year ten months after the fighting had finished. Thats not a sin that i would argue after we got down past the first metre of rubble and we found corpses they were decomposing human. And of course the stench was almost unbearable. But the smell drove many people away completely. We must have recovered it literally twelve corpses right here. But how. Many are hoping that mosul will one day be restored to its former glory ahmed is optimistic that it can be done and he doesnt even believe it will take that long. Hair. As. My guest says it will need two to three years to rebuild completely. Center. On the main thoroughfares you get everything standing within a year. Because theyve already been reconnected to the water supply and the electricity grid but at the site of the. Ruined homes can be easily rebuilt but not ruined lives many have been left deeply scarred by their experiences under i. R. S. Rules. Mosuls twelfth century great mosque of our newry still lies in ruins destroyed by the militants as they retreated. It was here that i as leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi proclaimed the creation of a caliphate in twenty fourteen. For many it was the beginning of a nightmare. This young girl has experienced the greatest loss a child can go through it is twelve years old. She is gradually getting back into normal life. Shes even started going to school again. This week i do like when my friends play and chat with the teachers where we dont have lessons we sometimes go to the School Principal and play with her until the bell rings for the start of lessons. Arent didnt find out what happened until later. Thats how selfish our mothers who are yes people blew themselves up a man and a woman as they were trying to flee it ended up crossing to the other side of the river with strangers the harir these people posted information about her online. Thats how we were able to find her and bring her here a bottle. Asked us if her mom and dad had come as well. She thought they were still coming. But they were all dead her sister the uncle to my house. But. It. Is taking her to see a psychologist to help her process what shes been through the waiting room is full the i asked reign of terror has left many scars. Ready to face up to her trauma the psychologist says its a very good sign that she can talk about watches experienced. My dad is missing. My sister and my mom or dad or my uncle to hear that this that i dont have a brother. How it was a suicide bombing a man and a woman blew themselves up. Last night i dont know i couldnt hear anything it was just this really strong pressure i ran away shouted out frightened. Well there. When she sleeps she constantly tosses in turns shes always restless and sometimes she falls out of bed that night that they. Say oh yeah the doctor doesnt want to prescribe drugs instead he recommends plenty of fun and carefree enjoyment. It and hour on take the doctors advice to heart and head straight to the main street for a spot of window shopping. These days you can buy almost anything in mosul since the summer of twenty eighteenth one here after i as a rule ended cut flowers are now also available again with overseas mosuls only florida shop so far. A lot of it is that under i. R. S. Hatred and jealousy rules now we need love and peace to overcome that women could only leave the house if they were fully veiled we couldnt really live it affected every aspect of life there was no art of singing nothing spiritual no music beauty or a statics but it had what a devotee at. An Amusement Park set up on an island in the river tigris is now fully operational again. It has long wan