Mosul, Iraq

[Ruskie]

I don't know if anyone is interested but I have just returned from Mosul in Iraq. I volunteered to work in a trauma stabilisation centre with a NGO for 2 weeks. No NGO has worked as close to the frontline of a war zone as we did.

The aim was to stabilise the most serious trauma and move them out to definitive care within 15 minutes. Soldiers, civilians and lots of civilian children were who we cared for. The battle for control of Mosul has been going on since October 2016 but slowly the Iraqi army are winning the war against ISIS. They are a brutal enemy and we saw a lot of evidence of that brutality. ISIS snipers didn't discriminate against women and children trying to flee the violence and we also saw a lot of severe injuries from ISIS mortars.

The trip changed my outlook on life. The inhumanity and brutality I witnessed was shocking and raw. I'm proud to have tried to make a difference. I will put some pictures up.

The living conditions were as you can imagine, limited. 40c+ heat every day and no air conditioning combined with limited running water and sleeping on the floor was challenging. We worked in a disused house with a make shift clinic.

This was the first house.



The clinic set up.

[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/q6uTEpKC[/url

This was the second house we used.
[url|https://thumbsnap.com/mWrcPVW8[/url]

This house was a ISIS house prior to it being recaptured. Here is the sniper not still built up.

]

ISIS Graffiti



Empty shells left over from ISIS



View to the frontline.



Second clinic.



Sleeping arrangements.



Mobile missle launcher



I have a few pictures of the injuries we dealt with (consent gained) but I won't put them up here. They are as horrific as you can imagine. I dealt with so many children with shrapnel wounds, gun shots and burns that I lost count. That said for all the inhumanity and austere living conditions I loved every minute of being there. I'm struggling to adjust back to life in the UK but that is normal after witnessing so much. It's giving a little media coverage but the Iraqi armed forces are pushing hard and suffering losses to push back this evil group ISIS and ,ale the world a safer place.

Thanks for reading if you got this far!

Edited to say I have no idea why they are side on. If anyone wants to see anymore I will put more up.

[Ruskie]

Stupeo said:

Much respect for spending two weeks volunteering!

I can't imagine what it must be like - but very sobering seeing some of those images.

How did you get in/out safely? Did the "clinic" have any protection, i.e. armed guards/soldiers etc? How far away from the frontline?

I meant to say that in the original post!

We were 4/5km from frontline as ISIS mortar capability was approx 3km and 4/5km was was deemed safe. We weren't alllowed on the roof in case of sniper fire and stray tracer bullets. The noise was an experience, mortars, small arms fire, apache gunships and the mobile missle launcher firing regularly. I have videos but they are too large to upload.

We were embedded and working along side Iraqi special forces ERD. They had medics working alongside us and were armed and responsible for our safety and watching our back. Really nice guys and felt totally safe in their hands.

[Ruskie]

Turn volume right up :-)

Apache gun ship. This was a constant noise throughout the two weeks.
https://youtu.be/C3cUEiEtxSs


Mobile missile launch. This was so loud it felt like your ear drums were going to burst.
https://youtu.be/wdzrp96cqzk

[Ruskie]

rich85uk said:

Fair play to you for having the balls to do that

So how do you actually get to Mosul, is it a direct flight into Iraq then transport or via somewhere like Turkey? and how do you actually go about getting this arranged?

Its Istanbul to Erbil then roughly 3 hours by road through various checkpoints. We had special privilege (lights and sirens basically) as the more you keep moving the less chance of abduction/incidents. It was done through a charity/NGO. I'm a Paramedic so my skills were transferable to working in that environment.

[Ruskie]

Children are for the vast majority the most difficult to deal with. Unfortunately this conflict is causing a lot of civilian casualties. As the fighting has reached the old town it its a network of small alleyways and streets that tanks and hummers can't get down. Because of this it is slow clearing the area as each area house has to be checked individually. Combined with IED's and sniper fire it's dangerous. As areas are liberated we were getting the civilians casualties brought to us, many with mortar injuries and all hungry and dehydrated. These people are literally scared to leave their own house because of the indiscretion shown by ISIS snipers.

Two stories that will stick with me. A small snapshot of the 2 weeks.

We received a 6 year old girl with fairly minor injuries, however her entire family had been killed due to a mortar hitting her house. How do you even begin to understand the pain she was experiencing?

At one point we received 3 children in one ambulance. The girl I was looking after was 4 and from her knees to the end of her toes on both legs were completely burned. Not only that but they were 2 days old so the risk of infection was incredibly high. Her brother has full thickness burns to his face. He was 2. His face was literally black and his eyes shut due to the swelling. Truly heartbreaking.

[Ruskie]

A few miscellaneous pictures.

This was one of 4 refugee camps we saw en route to Mosul. It's a mixture of displaced Iraqis and Syrians.



The general destruction of the city was mind blowing. Every house has either been flattered or riddled with bullet holes. Whilst withdrawing when pushed back, ISIS blew out the bridges and main roads so that it was slow progress for the Iraqis to moved forward. Bulldozers are a common sight but because of their value they are a target for snipers and are incredibly well armoured.

[Ruskie]

Ok so I'm not going to mention the NGO I went with as I am putting pictures/videos up involving guns and things and that is an association I want to avoid as they are a completely impartial organisation. There a few pictures of me taken on my down time. This will be last set of pictures. The others I have have injuries, other people at work and are NSFW.

My bed in first house.



[url|https://thumbsnap.com/pDgxWPTH[/url]

Bomb crater.



Who doesn't like a Hummer?!



I did 3 transfers out to other hospitals with critical patients. Because of the risk of IED and sniper fire I had to wear body armour.



Mosul burned 24/7



Small example of minor shrapnel injury




Thanks for the interest.

Edited by Ruskie on Monday 21st June 09:30

[Ruskie]

Dan_1981 said:

Fantastic thing to do.

Massive respect. Saw your post in the jobs forum when you mentioned you were going.

Is it back to day to day paramedicing now?

It is but having a little break away first. It's going to be tough but my family and friends are ecstatic I'm home safe.

[Ruskie]

thainy77 said:

Good work OP, i spent three years working in Iraq ending in mid-2014. I split my time between Erbil and Basra with multiple trips passed Mosul when travelling to oil rigs, nothing as admirable as you.

I decided to leave as ISIS were moving in and bombs started going off about 500m from our office in Erbil. The Kurds are great people.

They really are. They are in a tough situation and you have to remember it's national service so many are there but don't want to be. Worth noting that unless a family can afford it body armour isn't standard issue. Many of the injuries could be prevented by armour and certainly the severity would be reduced.

[Ruskie]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

First of all, big respect for doing what you've done there-there should be more recognition for what volunteers do over there.

But one thing I have to ask (though you don't have to answer), disregarding the huge humanitarian thing that you've done what do you actually think of what's happening down there and the fellow man that you were were working for?

Are the Iraqi army the same one we've fought against in previous conflicts? Are some of the ISIS fighters ones that may become our allies once the political outlook inevitably changes in a few years?

I guess I'm wondering if there's a certain futility to it all over there? Is the place just destined to go from one conflict to another, with the inevitable damage to innocent civilians part and parcel of living in the region?

Interesting questions mate and ones I don't have the answers too!!

I found the guys I was working with to be really nice people. I was embedded with the ERD which is the special forces element and as such 'professional' soldiers as oppose to national service guys who were not necessarily there voluntarily. They were engaging and I never felt in danger when around them (and their guns!)

Iraq as a nation have been at war on and off for 20+. They fought Iran, then the two gulf wars and now against ISIS. My understanding of ISIS is they are a random collection of people from a variety of countries with the same ideology. If they aren't stopped they will spread their poison. Think it clear from today's events in Philippines they are a threat to normal people. Thankfully the end appears near for this conflict but who knows what ISIS will do to survive? Nothing is off limits for them.

The destruction in Mosul was mind blowing. I can't see how it can ever get back to a fully functioning society/city. If it was the UK even with our finances and workforce it would take years. I can't see it ever being 'normal' again.

[Ruskie]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

Just volunteered my time. You have to be either a Paramedic, RN or a doctor.

[Ruskie]

Had it confirmed today that I'm going back out to Iraq but for a month this time. Same work but in a different location 60km east of Mosul working outside a ISIS stronghold that is the next military target.

[Ruskie]

schmalex said:

I work in CT and C-RCIED and have recently been reading quite deeply into some of the wider barbarism committed by daesh throughout The ME and into SE Asia. Their brutality is utterly shocking and doesn't just stop at Syria and Iraq. What is reported in the news doesn't even scratch the surface.

May you have gods speed OP and may you save as many innocent souls as you possibly can.

Having witnessed it first hand it's pretty shocking. There are no rules of engagement with ISIS. Any group who indiscriminately use sniper fire on women and children fleeing has no limit to their barbarity.

Thank you for the kind messages. I will try and get some further pictures if anyone is interested?

[Ruskie]

Just returned from my second trip to Iraq working in a trauma stabilisation point. I was based near Hawija which is being reported as being liberated in the last couple of days. I will attach a few pictures from my trip. Due to the independence vote in Kurdistan the Iraq army have suspended all international flights out of Erbil, consequently I have just had a 4 flight, 40 hour trip home!!

My particular highlight this trip was arriving at a new base for the TSP next to a family of 9. They had been under IS control for 3 years and had literally being liberated 3 hours before our arrival. We gave the kids, attention, biscuits and make shift toys. They had never seen a westerner let alone one that smiled and played with them! The men were clean shaved for the first time in 3 years. An example of the misery inflicted by IS was the family had no soap for 14 months. A single bar was going for $15, a fortune for a poor family. The children had skin complaints from poor hygiene.





One of the TSP house we used. We moved 5 times in total due to chasing the ever moving front line!

[Ruskie]

We explored a school that IS had destroyed. Here was a room they had burned books they deemed unsuitable.



They also left pro IS graffiti on the board.



Bed was mostly on the roof as we were out of mortar range.



One of the locals!



I have a few images of bad injuries and the stories behind them. I might put them up if people are interested in that side of it?

All in all I had another incredible experience, I find the Iraqi people to be warm and hospitable. They are very grateful for the help.

[Ruskie]

citizensm1th said:

Glad to see you got back ok, nice one


what was the on the ground reaction to the kurdish vote?

Nervous. It’s bubbling under. I believe Baghdad banned the Kurdish politicians from entering the national parliament. I can see a scrap brewing based around Kirkup. It’s a city responsible for half of Iraq oil production and Home to 1m Kurds. It’s under Iraq government control though and is clearly an important economic and strategic place.

[Ruskie]

citizensm1th said:

Glad to see you got back ok, nice one


what was the on the ground reaction to the kurdish vote?

Nervous. It’s bubbling under. I believe Baghdad banned the Kurdish politicians from entering the national parliament. I can see a scrap brewing based around Kirkup. It’s a city responsible for half of Iraq oil production and Home to 1m Kurds. It’s under Iraq government control though and is clearly an important economic and strategic place.

[Ruskie]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

Day to day life for the majority of Iraqis in the north is improved now they are free from IS control and their brutality but as a country there is so much to be done. Mosul especially, the infrastructure is destroyed. Massive swathes of houses are either destroyed or abandoned as are the roads and bridges. The elephant in the room is Kurdistan and I can see massive issues arising once IS are chased out.

I think the charity I went with are going to try and get some corporate sponsorship and try and put Health packs together. Otherwise it’s very difficult to get supplies out there.

[Ruskie]

This house was our 4th house and had evidently being occupied by IS.



I found the following abandoned and decided they would make a macabre keepsake. OS prayer beads, Koran and old Iraqi/Syrian money.

[Ruskie]

Bomb disposal Iraq style!!

https://youtu.be/Lhe_v0levUA