Our hope in Mosul’s hell

Aid workers from Edinburgh-based Mercy Corps battle to save kids left traumatised by Islamic State

The destruction is on a scale which has shocked even hardened international aid workers.

Mosul was finally liberated from the murderous grip of Islamic State earlier this month – but the city was left in ruins by shelling.

Edinburgh-based Mercy Corps are used to dealing with natural disasters and wars.

But staff have been left shocked at the scenes they face in Iraq’s second city.

The charity’s Christy Delafield told the Sunday Mail: “Some areas are in total ruins.

“There are directions about where we can go and there are sometimes curfews.

“We look to see who is on the street. We go house- to- house, trying to find out what people need.

“And we try to assess how many people are inside and how we can help. They’ve come to recognise us as the people with the tablet computers asking the questions.

“We don’t have guards and we don’t carry weapons. We are humanitarians – that is our role.

“The western side of Mosul is level led. I can’t overstate the devastation. In those cases, we help people in displacement camps outside the city.

“Families are living in makeshift camps in the east of the city.”

Nearly one million people fled the fighting during the battle.

Hundreds of thousands won’t be able to go home because there is nothing left to return to.

The charity bring relief in the form of emergency pack s containing blankets, jerry cans, tarpaulins and rope.

They are also able to give emergency cash handouts which allow people to buy food and clothing – and help to kick- start the local economy. Workers have set up youth centres to give kids some respite from the grim reality of life in the savaged city.

Christy told of meeting Ali, 13, at one of the centres, where his favourite activity is a music class.

She said: “His dad and brother were killed in the conflict.

“I’ve never encountered a child of that age who looked so serious.

“Ali told how he sold rose seeds in the past to try to raise money for his family.

“He’s small for his age and a lot of the children are malnourished.

“Ali has become so old at such a young age. His childhood has been stolen from him. But he said, ‘I like the youth centre because the people treat us well’.”

Mercy Corps are also helping families back into housing after months in the displacement camps.

Four- month- old Asil Hassan lives in East Mosul with parents Hatem Emir and Diana Hazem Abdullah and grandparents Zuhor Maraai and Emir Sheban Hassan.

Their house was badly damaged in the fighting but the family have received £ 300 from Mercy Corps for clothes, food and milk.

Another child, three-year- old Rama Moatez Hashem, lives with her grandmother Faiza Abdulrazak Aziz, after they and the extended family fled IS.

They had nothing left after their car was torched and their home destroyed.

They now share a home with five fami l ies and have bui lt an improvised swimming pool – a plastic tub – to help the kids keep cool in the overwhelming heat.

The family have also received cash from Mercy Corps, which has transformed their lives.

In the past 12 months, the charity have helped more than 12,000 families hit by the fighting around