Wassim is from Baachiqa in the Mosul district and he belongs to the Yezidi minority.
When Daesh occupied Baachiqa in 2014, Wassim and his family sought refuge in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, moving around for 3 years until their hometown was liberated. When they returned home, they found nothing but destruction and chaos. “When we got back to Baachiqa, life had come to a stop because 30 to 40% of the inhabitants had left the region because of Daesh, seeking refuge in Europe and other places. We came back and there was no water or electricity and no health services so the situation was really bad,” he says.
His son fell ill one day but he couldn’t take him to Mosul for treatment as health services were still missing. “Health conditions in Mosul are really really bad and there are no medicines available.” Being a nurse (is a man a nurse? Or is there not a male form?) himself, Wassim knew which hospital would be able to help his son, so he drove 150 km to admit him to Heevi Hospital in Dohuk. The paediatric hospital has recently been expanded and rehabilitated to respond to the increasing needs, reaching a total population of 2,5 million, including 1 million displaced people.
If it wasn’t for this hospital and its team and the great heath service it provides my son wouldn’t be well today.
His son’s condition was critical and the doctors were preparing him for the worst but thanks to the medical staff’s efforts, he started improving and was able to leave the Intensive Care Unit.
