America Must Pray For Mosul, Too

Photo courtesy of Reuters

A medic escorts an injured child to an ambulance in western Mosul.

Above the skyline of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city,    looms the famed leaning minaret of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, which has called masses to daily prayer since the 12th century A.D. Unfortunately, this monument no longer serves as a testament to Iraq’s remarkable history, as it once did. Off the side of the minaret’s roof, the menacing black ISIS flag now flies — a dismal reminder of the terrorist organization’s stronghold over the city.

This past October, Iraqis initiated a defensive coalition to retake the city in what has since been deemed the “Battle of Mosul.” Although much of the city, including eastern Mosul, and bordering territories have been liberated, the state of the conflict is still incredibly dire. Despite this continued chaos, the crisis has not warranted global outrage, only occasionally grazing the headlines of news outlets such as Al Jazeera and the BBC. If the Western media and people can muster up sympathy and attention for terrorist attacks in Belgium, Paris, and London, shouldn’t Mosul be allotted the same treatment?

To be sure, the murder of innocent people in privileged countries is no less evil than it is in less developed nations. Yet, no doubt, Westerners have become so desensitized to the deaths of black and brown bodies that images of the destruction in Mosul — neighborhoods diminished to rubble, recovered airstrike victims in blue body bags, children staring at the graves of their family members — elicit not shock, but silence.

Why are we not angrier? Where is the rage, the confusion, and the Facebook profile pictures with Iraqi flag filters? Why is it when terrorism occurs in the Western hemisphere, we unite in mutual support, but when it happens in the East, we turn a blind eye?

Currently, the campaign to liberate Mosul has resulted in the deadliest urban combat since World War II. The city is more dangerous for civilians right now than at any other point in the conflict, and the magnitude of the crisis has far surpassed the U.N.’s expectations. Undoubtedly, a recent surge in American airstrikes has only escalated the urgency of the fighting. Meanwhile, 750,000 Iraqis remained trapped within western Mosul under the control of ISIS militants, who do not care whether they live or die. In fact, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency, one million and 200,000 Iraqis could be displaced due to the conflict.

Imagine American soil being targeted by routine bombings that kill up to 200 people. Visualize your neighborhood in smoking ruins. Conceive, if you can, losing your entire family to an extremist group. Feel angry. Feel confused. Feel something, because merely sitting back and watching as the conflict in Mosul escalates into a full-blown humanitarian crisis would be an improvement from what has the majority of American have done so far. So, to my fellow Americans and all other Westerners worldwide, please step up to help, recognize, and commiserate with the plight of the Iraqi people.

Comments are closed.