Additional Challenges
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there had been 27,389 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nineveh Governorate by the end of March, with 167 still active and 507 fatalities. This is the third month in a row where the numbers appear improved, or at least stable, depending on the data’s interpretation. There was significant concern that the crowds participating in the Papal visit would become COVID super-spreaders, so the numbers by the end of March for Nineveh at least are encouraging.
In an interview with Iraq Oil Report, Nineveh Governor Najim al-Jibouri shared that the biggest investment opportunities in the province relate to infrastructure. He said, “we are currently mostly working on infrastructure projects: bridges, hospitals and schools. This year we will finish 250 schools. We finished the al-Hurriya bridge and in two or three days from now we will open the third bridge. Then, the Badosh bridge will be opened in May, and we are also working on two other bridges, one of them in the city and the other to the south of the city. We also have al-Qayarahh bridge, 50 to 60 kilometers to the south of Mosul, on a very important strategic road to Erbil, between Mosul and Kurdistan, we are working on that, and in addition, a company is also working on al-Qwier bridge.”
Although infrastructure development has been ongoing since the defeat of ISIS, the speed of development rapidly increased in the days up to the papal visit. Such a discrepancy did not go unnoticed. Mosul Eye, an activist, tweeted, “People in Mosul are doing a mathematical calculation of the reconstruction of Mosul and @Pontifex visit: If the Pope announced a (one week) visit to Mosul every month. Results: all streets will be paved. IDPs will return home. Houses will be rebuilt. 1000s of trees will be planted.”
Even so, the progress is noticeable. Said one local, “five years ago, none of us believed that we would be back from displacement one day, we couldn’t believe our eyes seeing the pope and having a mass in the same church that ISIS took as military base for them and destroyed all the statues, it is exciting to see how the village is recovering day after day”
Others, saw no comparison. Speaking of the Pope’s visit to Mosul and reconstruction there, a former resident said, “visiting Mosul is not connected to Christians returning to Mosul, it is more about jobs and security, but also Christians found better life in the KRG and three years of displacement was more than enough for us to get used to live in Erbil or so.”
For interviews please contact Alison Garcia: [email protected]