by Angiola Codacci-Pisanelli for l'Espresso. Photos by Giuseppe Fanizza
Peace is built step by step, one chick at a time, one calf after another. Peace is returning to Iraq, despite difficulties, even to Iraq's Nineveh Plains, a territory controlled by ISIS from 2014 to 2016. These were years of violence, fire and destruction. Of the 50,000 inhabitants of Qaraqosh, the region’s capital, at least half fled after the arrival of the Islamic group. Many have not yet returned and probably will never come back.
However, for those who have returned, life is slowly going back to normal.
One woman we managed to involve in our project to re-open the farms has seen her life slowly returning to normal. She had lost everything, all the men in her family died. We gave her ten calves and taught her how to raise them. She was able to reopen her family’s farm and is now the one in charge.
Daniele Mazzone, AVSI's Deputy Country Director in Iraq
Freeing the Ninevah Plains from ISIS was the first step towards peace, but alone it is not enough. Reconstruction goes hand in hand with the return of the community, thanks to projects implemented by NGOs like AVSI and made possible by governments and private donors.
