Mosul loves Saddam Hussein after IS forced out of city
IF YOU want to hear the resentment people of Mosul feel now that Iraqi forces have driven Islamic State out of most of the city, you should talk to Saddam Hussein.
Most of the people in Mosul are Sunnis
Not the dictator, but the Mosul schoolteacher, who proudly shows off an identity card bearing the name which his parents gave him in the ruler's honour 45 years ago, and which he passed on to his sons.
The original Saddam, a Sunni Muslim who was toppled in a US-led invasion in 2003 and hanged three years later on an Iraqi army base for crimes against humanity, is a hate figure to the Shi'ites who make up the majority of Iraqis, violently repressed under his rule.
But here in Mosul, where most people are Sunnis who feel disrespected by the authorities in Baghdad, he is still beloved, just one example of the many ways in which the local narrative veers sharply from that of most of the rest of the country.
My name is Saddam and all three of my sons are called Saddam, because I love him
"My name is Saddam and all three of my sons are called Saddam, because I love him," said the teacher.
"Saddam was the best leader Iraq has ever had."
When Islamic State fighters swept into Mosul in 2014, supporters of the ousted leader were among those who welcomed the Sunni militants as protectors against the Shi'ite authorities.
A group of ex-Saddam era military officers pledged support for the Islamic State caliphate.
The Sunnis in Mosul feel disrespected by the authorities in Baghdad
Most residents of Mosul turned against the militants during their two years of harsh rule, and the teacher said he never supported them.
But few here trust the central authorities that have now returned.
The teacher lost his salary under Islamic State when Baghdad stopped sending money to pay wages of government workers in territory held by the militants.
Like many in Mosul, he is now embroiled in a long vetting process to get back on the payroll, which he considers discriminatory and unfair.
Most residents of Mosul turned against the militants
When fighting reached his district, he fled with his family to a UN camp.
He has now come back to his old home, but the landlord is evicting him.
With no salary, he has no way to pay rent.
People walking through a market in Eastern Mosul
The family will soon be homeless, with nowhere to go but back to the camp.
"I have lost everything. I can't feed my family anymore," he said.
"I can't pay my rent anymore but I don't want to move with my family to a camp again. I'm really tired of this life."