Shafaq News / More than three decades have passed and yet some neighborhoods on the right side of Mosul are still rural, although they are located within one of Iraq's most prominent cities that dates back more than 3,000 years.
Shafaq News agency's reporter toured these neighborhoods and documented through his lens the dire situation, where there is no infrastructure, no sewers, and no paved roads that save the people from mud whenever it rains. He also met with several residents who expressed strong dissatisfaction with the neglect of successive local governments, while some complained about the officials' regional discrimination.
"No one remembers us"
"Do not be surprised by what you see here. Officials only remember us on election days. Many promised us and all of them lied, and we do not know whom to complain to. Whenever we visit the relevant departments, they promise us services, and so far, nothing has changed", said Ahmed, a resident of The Rajim Hadid area.
Skin diseases
Um Ammar reveals another problem that threatens these neighborhoods' residents' health - especially children - saying, "We are tired of our lives, the houses in which we live have become more like ruins because there are no sewers, no paved roads, and we rarely see the municipality's wheels".
She noted that skin diseases have begun to spread among children, "from time to time, we visit dermatologists' clinics due to the diseases that our children are getting".
Um Ammar added, "We received this land deservedly because my husband was a deputy officer in the Iraqi army. But despite all of my husband's sacrifices, we live in this humiliating situation in areas that are not suitable for humans".
"Regional discrimination"
An elderly man described his displeasure with the situation, "Our lives are despicable. Many other neighborhoods on the right side of the city share the same misery with us, such as Tal Al-Rumman, Al-Ma'amoun, Al-Tanak, Rajim Hadid, and others".
"If these neighborhoods were on the left side of Mosul, would they have been neglected like ours?", the man wondered, in a sign that services and conditions on the left side of the city are better as it houses the headquarters of the local government and the previous provincial council.
"The budget is not enough"
"We are aware of the dire situation in these neighborhoods, and we have made plans to provide services to them but the budget is not enough to cover all Mosul's neighborhoods. Nevertheless, we have divided the budget so that we can provide as many services as possible in the mentioned neighborhoods", said Dr. Ra'ad Al-Abbasi, deputy governor of Nineveh.
30 years of suffering
"Life in the villages is way better than our lives here, but there is no alternative for us. If there were anyone interested in buying our houses, we would leave the area without hesitation", a grocery shop owner said when our reporter asked him about the situation in his neighborhood.
