Yasmine Mousa

MOSUL captured the genuine core of the Iraqi spirit: in its anger, foul language, empathy, improvising, and wittiness. Ultimately, it is a sense of humor. During a bartering scene, a narcotic for weapons, an Iraqi soldier, despite his dismal surroundings, jeers, "Cigarettes and weapons unify the world." Over the last 20 years, I have watched countless American T.V. shows in the realm of NCIS and CSI, where Iraq is the culprit. We, Iraqis, have been portrayed as terrorists, villains, yet never victims. I shed a tear when I see a former American soldier or nurse traumatized, suffering from PTSD after losing a friend or injured owing to a tour in Iraq. In reality, we are the terrorized. Ever since the U.S. rolled its tanks into our land in 2003, we Iraqis have been fleeing our homeland to save our children, leaving loved ones and livelihoods behind. Overnight, our country became a battlefield with elusive borders.Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city is inhabited historically by diverse faiths and ethnicities. All used to practise freely, their culture, faith, cuisine and language, until 2003. The bustling City embraces centuries old shrines, of prophets’ Sheet, Jonah, Zarzis and the Humpback Minaret. A revered testament to coexistence. This concurrence was embodied in the movie, bereft from embellishments. When “co-star” Kawa Faili, joins the squad, one of the squad mutters sarcastically “now we are recruiting Kurdish boys” his comrade indifferently said “why not Kurds?”. The performance was perfect in its imperfections

Over the last 17 years, I have watched countless American shows, in the realm of NCIS and CSI, where Iraq is the culprit. We, Iraqis, have been portrayed as terrorists, villains, occasionally, victims. I shed a tear when I see an injured American soldier or a traumatized nurse on TV. Likewise, suffering from PTSD after, losing a friend owing to a tour in Iraq, in medical drama episodes akin to “Mercy”. In reality, we are the terrorized. Ever since the US rolled its tanks into our land, in 2003, we Iraqis have been fleeing our homeland to save our skins, leaving loved ones and livelihoods, behind. Overnight our country became a battlefield with elusive borders, creating the largest diaspora in modern history. Recently, over the holidays, I watched a movie, MOSUL, on Netflix, by powerhouse Hollywood filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo. This movie revealed an inverse image. The movie MOSUL, is named after the City Mosul that was obliterated by ISIS, in 2014.When I first heard about it, I reckoned, argh, another presentation of Iraq’s forged image, in the same token as American Sniper. However, I took my chances. Besides, it’s pandemic times! Not to spoil the movie MOSUL for future viewers: An Iraqi police squad, SWAT, in an act of valor and selflessness goes rogue to seek avenge from the infamous group ISIS. The movie is in Arabic, according to the Russo brothers not an easy task, yet MOSUL captured the genuine core of the Iraqi spirit: in its anger, foul language, empathy, improvising and wittiness. Ultimately, its sense of humor. During a trivial bartering scene, narcotic for weapons, an Iraqi soldier despite his dismal surroundings jeers “cigarettes and weapons unify the world”. In MOSUL movie, the city was a total departure from the Mosul I remember. In 1993 March break, we vacationed in Mosul-Nineveh. It was a five hour drive, north of Baghdad. We booked in Oberoi Nineveh, a five-star hotel at the time. Decades later, ISIS leaders subsisted its guests’ list. Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city is inhabited historically by diverse faiths and ethnicities. All used to practise freely, their culture, faith, cuisine and language, until 2003. Snaked Bazars from goldsmiths to nightgown vendors, were run by names like Toma, Shamon, Zakaria, Yahya and Jalil. The bustling City embraces centuries old shrines, of prophets’ Sheet, Jonah, Zarzis and the Humpback Minaret. A revered testament to coexistence. This concurrence was embodied in the movie, bereft from embellishments. When “co-star” Kawa Faili, joins the squad, one of them mutters sarcastically “now we are recruiting Kurdish boys” his comrade indifferently said “why not?”. The performance was perfect in its imperfections.In MOSUL, the brief interaction scene between the Iranian officer -in charge of Iraqi units- with the main SWAT actor, touches on the Iranian regime’s meddling in Iraq’s affairs. A factual incident corroborated the scene. November 2019, I was in Baghdad, I came across a young driver. He had joined the Popular Mobilized Movement (Hashid), to fight the Islamic State (IS). He said “our commanders were Iranian”. He scornfully added “They speak Arabic better than you and me”.