Basra was the Iraqi city most affected by the Iran-Iraq war. It is a city famous for its date palm groves and the Arabian Gulf where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers meet. It’s also famous for the good-heartedness of its people and their generosity. When the war intensified and the palm groves were burned, many left Basra to go live in Baghdad. We had no work there (in Baghdad in 1989). We passed the time and distracted ourselves from worry and fear by learning how to sew and knit. I brought the first example of my work with me when I left Iraq in 1990 – during a 2 week period when the government allowed people to apply for exit visa and travel abroad.

I came to visit my sister here in London where she had lived for a long time. After a few months, the invasion of Kuwait happened pulling in its wake the tragedies of Iraq, now doubled by economic sanctions and continuous American bombardment. I was forced to remain here. Eventually, my family followed me – my mother and brother. I married an Irish man and now have 3 children.

The first communion book teaches the essentials of the Christian Catholic faith and the teaching begins from an age of 8. There is a special day every year when the completion of this learning by the children is celebrated in the church. I have kept this book since I was a child. And I will pass it on to my daughter whose communion we will soon be celebrating. During this event, young girls wear white dresses and garlands in their hair and the boys look like bridegrooms in their beautiful suits. They enter the church all in a row, each girl with a boy next to her. They recite lovely hymns, which they’ve been practicing for months before. The ceremony is attended by many of the congregation, priests and bishops. The priest gives a sermon and then the young boys and girls leave to complete the celebrations with their family either at home or elsewhere depending on what the family can afford.

JAN HABIB MEHTI (now MORIARTY), family originally from Mosul, but born and raised in Basra in London since 1989