Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUnifeed
UNHCR / IRAQ WIDOWS
STORY: UNHCR / IRAQ WIDOWS
TRT: 03:05
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 02 JULY 2017, HAMMAM AL-ALIL, IRAQ
02 JULY 2017, HAMMAM AL-ALIL, IRAQ
1. Close up, mobile screen showing picture of Aamra’s husband
2. Close up, Aamra’s eyes as she looks at the picture
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aamra Aaqla, displaced Iraqi widow:
“I loved him so much. I used to feel jealous if he dressed nice and went out. I was jealous for him; I didn’t want him to go out. He would ask me ‘How do I look? Do I look good?’ I would tell him ‘No. You’re not handsome.’ He would say ‘I know I look good but you just don’t want me to go out.’”
4. Wide shot, Aamra sitting with children and mother in law
5. Close up, Aamra’s face
6. Rack focus, from mobile to child
7. Close up, Aamra’s face
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aamra Aaqla, displaced Iraqi widow:
“It is difficult. It is difficult to see someone die in front of you. It’s difficult to describe. I can’t imagine it.”
9. Wide shot, Aamra walking in front of tents holding child
10. Wide shot, Aamra walking into tent
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aamra Aaqla, displaced Iraqi widow:
“I want to devote all my life to my daughters. I want to find stability and a house to raise them in until they grow up.”
12. Various shots, Aamra bathing daughter
13. Med shot, Aamra kissing daughter
14. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aamra Aaqla, displaced Iraqi widow:
“I feel his presence. I put the earphones on and listen to his music, I remember him.”
15. Wide shot, camp
16. Wide shot, woman carrying water walking with child
17. Wide shot, Asmaa walking out of tent with daughters
18. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Asmaa Mahmoud, displaced Iraqi widow:
“Two weeks after we arrived in the camp, my husband was killed. They told me my husband was killed and I was in shock. I suffered from psychological traumas and grief.”
19. Med shot, Asmaa feeding daughters
20. Close up, Asmaa
21. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Asmaa Mahmoud, displaced Iraqi widow:
“I want to learn how to read and write to find a job. I don’t want anyone telling me not to work or not to become someone.”
22. Close ups, Asmaa’s daughter
23. Wide shot, Asmaa feeding daughters
24. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Asmaa Mahmoud, displaced Iraqi widow:
“I don’t worry about myself. I just don’t want my daughters to feel different from any other girls who have a father.”
25. Med shot, Asmaa filling water
26. Close up, jerry can being filled with water
27. Wide shot, displaced Iraqis standing in line to get water
Widows fleeing the conflict in Iraq are among the most vulnerable internally displaced. Living away from home and without a source of income, they face a daunting fight to provide for their families.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said female-headed households represent a quarter of all the families in the Hammam al-Alil 2 camp currently hosting over 21,000 Iraqis outside of Mosul.
Aamra remembers her husband the most for his personality. She said he was killed during their flight from West Mosul as fighting in that area intensified.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aamra Aaqla, displaced Iraqi widow:
“I loved him so much. I used to feel jealous if he dressed nice and went out. I was jealous for him; I didn’t want him to go out. He would ask me ‘How do I look? Do I look good?’ I would tell him ‘No. You’re not handsome.’ He would say ‘I know I look good but you just don’t want me to go out.’”
Aamra and her husband were married for eight years. With sorrow, she recalls his shooting as they were attempting to leave the city.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aamra Aaqla, displaced Iraqi widow:
“It is difficult. It is difficult to see someone die in front of you. It’s difficult to describe. I can’t imagine it.”
In this camp outside Mosul, Aamra now has to focus on providing for her five daughters. She said she is looking for work and hope for stability for the family.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aamra Aaqla, displaced Iraqi widow:
“I want to devote all my life to my daughters. I want to find stability and a house to raise them in until they grow up.”
Aamra remembers the good days with her husband. She said his memory keeps her strong.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Aamra Aaqla, displaced Iraqi widow:
“I feel his presence. I put the earphones on and listen to his music, I remember him.”
Asmaa is a 25 year-old widow with two daughters; Rimah, four years old, and Bedoor, two. Her husband was taken by militants when the family tried to flee western Mosul.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Asmaa Mahmoud, displaced Iraqi widow:
“Two weeks after we arrived in the camp, my husband was killed. They told me my husband was killed and I was in shock. I suffered from psychological traumas and grief.”
She is trying to stay strong has still has hope for a better future for herself and her daughters.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Asmaa Mahmoud, displaced Iraqi widow:
“I want to learn how to read and write to find a job. I don’t want anyone telling me not to work or not to become someone.”
Asmaa said she has received marriage proposals but she is not ready to think of that. She said her top priority now is her daughters.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Asmaa Mahmoud, displaced Iraqi widow:
“I don’t worry about myself. I just don’t want my daughters to feel different from any other girls who have a father.”
UNHCR said years of conflict have made widows of many women in Iraq, with some 1,250 female-headed households in Hammam al-Alil camp alone. The Agency is providing assistance to Iraq’s war widows, including legal support and issuing missing documents.
Download
There is no media available to download.
