On the edge of Tigris River, some of the relatives of the victims of tragic ferry accident on March 21, 2019, recalled their missing who were considered "martyrs" by a decision of the House of Representatives, and denouncing the government's delay in paying their dues, and politicians denying their promises.
Later, a number of Iraqi parliament members from Ninewa joined the event to console them and consider what hinders the achievement of their rights.
On March 21, 2019, a ferry capsized in Mosul carrying about three hundred people. 142 people were dead, mainly women and children and 60 went missing. The ferry was designed to carry 50 passengers, local sources earlier told KirkukNow.
The touristic ferry was carrying families to a tourist area on Jazirat Umm al-Rabaen in the Tigris River when it started to take on water and capsized.
The passengers on board, mainly women and children whom could not swim, were thrown into the river, which was swollen by heavy rainfall, and dragged by the strong current.
The Iraqi parliament has decided to compensate their relatives yet the relatives denounce the slow process.
A resident of Mosul who lost his parents and younger brother in the incident, anonymously told KirkukNow, "Three years after the statement, I personally did not obtain any governmental right. I have lost three members of my family in one day, and every time I go back, they come out to me with a bigger issue than the one that I had."
Two obstacles to reparation
A number of relatives of the missing say that two issues stand in the way of getting their rights. "Security Permission" and "Accountability and Justice". Each of these two procedures takes more than a year for the case to be closed. Therefore, the people fear that the budget for the new year 2022 will not lead to obtaining their rights.
Some families criticized the political promises made by politicians at the time of the incident and their guarantee of the procedures for obtaining their rights, as the promise had passed for three years.
The decision of the Accountability and Justice Commission is an amended version of the de-Baathification law where this revealing body was formed in 2012 and its main task is to look into its records, whether the person was part of the Baath party led by Saddam Hussein or one of its agencies.
Lawyers and observers criticized the handling of Ninewa by the commission's "unfair" decision, as it disrupted the rights of many families of the victims for the capsized ferry.
Abdullah Al-Husseini, a political activist, described the decision of the Accountability and Justice Commission, about a five-year-old victim who was swallowed by the river, as unfair and unjust.
At the same time, criticizing the non-effectiveness of the decision of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kademi, who canceled "accountability and justice" in Ninewa during his visit to the city a year ago, after a large group of citizens complained to him that the decision obstructed the conduct of their stalled interests for years.
The video of the ferry capsizing on March 21, 2019
142 bodies and the rest are missing?
Regarding the number of victims of the accident, which varies from one side to another, the director of forensic medicine in Ninewa Hassan Wathiq, said "We have recovered 142 bodies over the course of the three years, while dozens of victims are still missing."
No official body spoke about the real number of victims of the disaster, while observers indicated that the actual number was greater than what the official authorities mentioned.
The ferry accident sparked protests by Mosul residents, who blamed negligence by the local government and demanded those in charge be held accountable. Nineveh appeal court issued an arrest warrant in March 2019 against the owner of the resort whom was arrested in Erbil Northern Province.
On March 24, 2019, the Iraqi parliament at the request of Iraqi former PM Adil Abdul-Mahdi decided to dismiss governor of Nineveh, Nawfal Hammadi al-Agub and his two deputies on charges of corruption, misuse of power and wasting public funds.
In mid-February, Iraqi criminal court to fight corruption issued two verdicts against former governor of Nineveh for imprisonment for five years for baseless projects, the Supreme Judiciary Council said in a statement.
Iraqi parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halboosi urged Iraqi parliament finance committee to allocate a budget to compensate relatives of the victims in 2021 draft budget to be ratifies soon as “fair compensation for families of the victims and consider them martyrs.”
Resort doors to open again?
Moslawis circulate news about attempts to reopen the tourist island by investors while activists and bloggers demand in their posts that the negligent be held accountable and that the people hurt to be compensated before they start thinking about investing in it overlooking the wounds of the families that have not been healed yet.
Alaa Adel, who lost one of his relatives in the incident, believes that the opening of the island will be met with great anger and rejection by the families of its martyrs. He believes it is unimaginable for the resort to open doors and receive visitors at a time the incident did not leave the minds of most citizens in Mosul in particular and across Iraq.
