Ben Irwin 
New York Times journalist Rukmini Callimachi shared a series of powerful tweets from her recent visit to east Mosul. The eastern side of the city was liberated in January. But signs of ISIS rule—and the death it brought—still remain. One painter is taking it upon himself to do something about that, replacing ISIS graffiti with messages of hope.
You’ve been sharing tangible hope with the people of east Mosul for months—in the form of food, refurbished medical clinics vaccinating babies and caring for pregnant moms, and repairs to Mosul’s battle-damaged water system. You’re showing up in west Mosul, too—where the battle against ISIS still rages.
Many people are painting over ISIS graffiti in east Mosul. But Rukmini Callimachi had to stop when she saw one main replacing it with graffiti of his own…
1. All over liberated areas of Mosul, 1 of the 1st things people are doing is painting over ISIS graffiti. Some are being artistic about it: pic.twitter.com/Rkmj9rZf4Z
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) April 15, 2017
2. Today I noticed this man across the street, carefully stenciling a message on this freshly painted wall. So we stopped to talk to him: pic.twitter.com/K4HLVGQzXx
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) April 15, 2017
3. His name is Sadoun Dhanoun, 39. He’s been hired by a senior citizen group to paint over ISIS’ graffiti preaching hate. He chose magenta: pic.twitter.com/e46DVlO7e1
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) April 15, 2017
This particular wall once carried a message of violence against those deemed “infidels” by ISIS—Christians, Yazidis, and other Muslims who didn’t measure up, according to ISIS ideology…
4. This wall here used to be painted with a verse from scripture calling for violence against the kuffar, or infidel. Sadoun painted over it pic.twitter.com/vQKyTCFcJd
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) April 15, 2017
Sadoun, the painter, didn’t merely want to hide the dark legacy of ISIS; he wanted to replace it with something better…
5. What I love is he didn’t stop there. He went to an Internet cafe and Googled حكم ومقولات or “Wise sayings.” Here’s what he wrote down: pic.twitter.com/zJWagRKW1k
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) April 15, 2017
6. The one he chose for this wall says, “In life, be like a cube of sugar, so that when you are gone you leave a sweet taste.” pic.twitter.com/MJIOVLSp9B
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) April 15, 2017
7. He said he found that evocative “because ISIS left everyone with a bad taste in their mouth.”
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) April 15, 2017
8. He’s painting at least 7 walls in this northern suburb of Mosul with donations amounting to less than $200. So there’s a lot more: pic.twitter.com/iVOt1o59ny
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) April 15, 2017
9. He says he’s almost done with this wall and he proudly posed with the quotes & his freshly painted sign. Next he plans to paint flowers pic.twitter.com/3BBHPdkNMj
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) April 15, 2017
Sadoun is bringing beauty and new life where death once reigned. It is a small but powerful form of resurrection taking place right in the heart of Mosul…
10. His aim is to bring back beauty. It’ll be so pretty when he’s done, he said, maybe drivers will be distracted. I know it made me stop pic.twitter.com/LGnszG061c
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) April 15, 2017
