This archive report was first published on 25 August 2019.
More than two years have passed since the Islamic State was driven out of Mosul, but tens of thousands of Iraqis who fled the city remain in displacement camps.
For Nihaya Issa, a 33-year-old widow and mother of eight, the decision to stay in the Khazer camp was a difficult one, but ultimately necessary.
"When I went back to Mosul I didn't find my house. It was destroyed," Issa said, speaking from her tent in the Khazer camp.
"I also couldn't afford renting a house, so I came back to this camp again," she added, clapping her hands in exasperation.
Issa's story is not unique. Across Iraq, more than 1.6 million people remain displaced, with nearly 300,000 from Mosul alone, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
Many of these displaced individuals, like Issa, have tried to return to their homes but were shocked by what they saw.
"I found that my house was unliveable. It was demolished and the area didn't have basic services," said Ghazwan Hussein, a 26-year-old father of four who fled the region of Sinjar, west of Mosul.
"I couldn't stay and came back to Khazer once again," Hussein added, his toddler perched quietly on his lap outside their tent.
Only a sliver of Sinjar's native population of 500,000 Yazidis has returned, with the rest saying persistent destruction, the lack of services, and the tense security situation have kept them in camps.
According to the migration office, about 72,000 families have returned to Nineveh since the fighting against IS ended two years ago.
However, many of these returnees are finding that their homes are in poor condition, with some even living in destroyed homes, schools, and other public buildings.
Shaking from a medical condition, Sabiha Jassem made her way through her tiny home, the grimy walls dotted with bullet holes and flies.
"This house is a danger to us – its roof and walls could collapse. But we're poor and have no other solution but to live in it," said Jassem, 61.
"This is not a life we are living here," she added, her voice filled with desperation.
