Not a day passes by if you don’t hear the word Mosul.
True, but at what cost?
Destroyed rubbles, damaged houses, traumatized people, perhaps so traumatized, they are incapable of living an ordinary life, all come to mind when Mosul is mentioned.
As you enter the city, you see a place consumed by the aftermath. Traces of bullets in houses, torn apart buildings and jaded-looking faces. This is not all, however. You also see rebuilding and reconstructions of houses, parks, mosques, churches, and buildings, some of which exceed expectations. QAF Lab is a perfect example.
A center for creative media production, QAF Lab gives rebuilding a new definition. Composed of a team of vibrant and energetic staff, the group brightens with its diversity. College students, freshly graduates, professors, senior-level staff work in a cozy modern style space, producing creative and authentic ideas and productions not only in Mosul but in all of Iraq. Possessing one of the few VR studios in the country, senior engineering students are producing an unprecedented high quality of video clips that highlight Mosul’s hidden talents including those of musicians and singers. A radio station at the heart of the office opens the door for locals to share their stories, complaints, and live experiences from Nineveh to listeners everywhere. In every corner of QAF Lab, there is an opportunity for Maslawis of all ages, background and experiences to learn, share, produce and renovate.
One day in QAF Lab is enough to show an accumulated enthusiasm from all involved, one that illuminates the hope that after every calamity there is an opportunity to grow and create. The staff’s synchronized determination and effort, unite their different backgrounds, stories and even dialects under one umbrella.
Named after the strongest letter in the Arabic alphabet, QAF stands true to its name. It holds the strongest, most resilient group of people who are in fact incapable of living an ordinary life because they are aiming at an extraordinary one.
