Iraq's forgotten children - The scrap collectors of Mosul | DW Documentary

The Iraqi city of Mosul bears the scars of war and ISIS occupation. Many neighborhoods still have piles of rubble where houses once stood. Amid the ruins, children scavenge for plastic and scrap metal in the hope of finding a buyer.

This film accompanies Razzan, Hameed, and Maher - three boys from Harmat. The neighborhood is known locally for many families having had affiliations to the Islamic State terrorist organization. The jihadist militant group ruled Mosul from June 2014 to July 2017, before being ousted by Iraqi forces, with support from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and the US Air Force, among others. Hameed’s and Maher’s fathers belonged to IS: One was arrested, the other is dead. The two boys are taken care of by Razzan, whose father was beaten by IS fighters. Together, the boys head out every day looking for scrap material in the ruins of Mosul. It's physically demanding and dangerous work - with many explosive devices still lurking in collapsed buildings. But they need to earn money to provide for their families because they don’t receive support from either the Iraqi government or international charity organizations. The children are essentially outcasts, but they take pride in their work.

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