Eleven-year-old Rasha sits outside her tent in a camp for displaced people in northern Iraq with Raz Babakr, a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) psychologist.

Rasha is originally from Mosul but fled the city with her family when Rasha’s uncle was killed and the fighting between the Islamic State group (IS) and the Iraqi forces became too intense. After they arrived in the camp, Rasha was constantly scared as a result of the traumatic events she had witnessed in Mosul.

“During IS (Islamic State group)…bullets and shrapnel came into our house and our neighbour’s (house). My mother was afraid for us so we went to my uncle’s (Ali) house. We stayed the night with them,” Rasha says.

“The next day, we wanted to go to another house. When we went out of the main door, a sniper started shooting at us. We hid in the kitchen. Then my father yelled “Ali Ali Ali”. Ali didn’t answer. My father went out and saw my uncle dead near the car. Then I was shocked and I got traumatized.”

Rasha received support from Raz and other MSF psychologists to manage and overcome her fear.

“My life in the camp is good and I visit MSF. MSF treated me. And now I’m better,” Rasha says. “I was cured from the fear I felt because of what I saw during IS. I am like my old self. What I was before IS came.”

MSF has been working in Iraq since 1991 and provides primary and secondary healthcare, services for expectant and new mothers, treatment for chronic diseases, surgery and rehabilitation for war-wounded, mental health support and health education activities. We currently work in the governorates of Erbil, Diyala, Ninewa, Kirkuk, Anbar and Baghdad.

In the camps for internally displaced people close to Mosul and Erbil, MSF works in six locations providing mental healthcare and treatment for non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes. The mental health services include psychological and psychiatric consultations, group therapy, psychosocial counselling and child therapy.