Needs for Displaced and Returning Families in Iraq Linger as New Displacement Falls
Four years after the bombing of the Al-Askari Mosque in the
northern city of Samarra, which triggered an unprecedented wave of
sectarian violence and large scale displacement, tens of thousands
of families have returned to their places of origin and new
displacements have all but stopped, according to a new IOM report
released today.
However, the report, which is based on assessments carried out
over the past four years by IOM monitors with more than 220,000
displaced and 5,700 returning families, underlines the need for
continued humanitarian assistance for vulnerable displaced families
and sustainable solutions for those who wish to return, resettle,
or integrate into their current locations.
According to the report, improved security, combined with
difficult conditions in areas of displacement and governmental
financial incentives for retuning families have led to the return
of more than 62,000 displaced families (374,000 individuals) since
mid-2007.
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target="_blank" title="">IOM Displacement Reports: Four Years of
Post-Samarra Displacement
It finds that the majority of returns (58 per cent) occur from
within the same governorate and mainly to the Baghdad
governorate. A smaller but significant percentage (23 per
cent) of families have returned from other governorates, such as
Diyala and Anbar, and 19 per cent of returnees have come back from
outside the country, mainly from neighbouring Jordan and Syria.
When asked about their reasons for return, 48 per cent of
interviewees mentioned improved security in the place of origin, 12
per cent cite difficult living conditions in areas of displacement,
and 26 per cent said they were influenced by a combination of these
two factors
Furthermore, assessments show that 49 per cent of all
post-Samarra Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) would like to
return to their places of origin, 29 per cent would like to remain
and integrate into their current places of displacement, and 19 per
cent would like to relocate in a third location.
The report notes that new displacements are rare, although small
flows continue along the disputed internal boundaries in the north
and due to drought and desertification.
Most recently, targeted assassinations of Christian families in
Mosul resulted in more than 1,000 Christian families fleeing Mosul
for nearby locations in Ninewa, Erbil, Dahuk and Kirkuk.
Four years after the Samaara bombing, the largest group of
displaced families (36 per cent) lives in Baghdad, whilst the
governorates of Diyala, Ninewa, and Dahuk continue to host
significant displaced populations.
When asked about their most pressing needs, post-Samarra IDPs
overwhelmingly name access to work (73 per cent), shelter (62 per
cent), and food (61 per cent). Water, health care, and legal help
are also chief concerns.
The majority (58 per cent) of the IOM-assessed displaced
families live in rented accommodations, which puts a strain on
overstretched household budgets. Almost a third of the most
vulnerable IDPs continue to live in public buildings, old military
encampments, or crude group squatter settlements with hand-built
houses on publicly or privately owned land. Less than 1 per cent
live in tent camps.
Shelter is also a major issue for returning families, as some
return to partially or completely destroyed property, while others
need legal assistance to reclaim their properties.
According to current IOM displacement monitoring, only 9 per
cent of post-Samarra IDPs are certain that they have access to the
property they left behind. Another 31 per cent do not have any
access, primarily because the property is occupied or destroyed.
Twenty-eight per cent of surveyed IDPs have not been able to find
out the status of their property, often for security reasons.
Access to food remains problematic, with less than half of the
post-Samarra displaced families having access to the government's
Public Distribution System. Returning families also list access to
water (36 per cent), fuel (35 per cent), and access to work (34 per
cent) as important concerns.
Access to health care remains a serious concern for IDPs and
returnees across Iraq because of their frequently precarious living
situations without access to potable water, protection from the
elements, or sewage disposal.
While 86 per cent of IDPs nationwide report access to health
care, this does not ensure that the health care is of good quality,
or that the health care facilities have the necessary qualified
staff, medicine, and equipment. Furthermore, health care services
in Iraq have deteriorated greatly over the past four years due to
the exodus of qualified professionals, a severe shortage of
medication and equipment, and damage to existing medical
facilities.
Since 2006, IOM has successfully assisted IDPs, returnees, and
host community families in every governorate of Iraq, implementing
454 projects totalling over USD 48 million. For the period
2010-2011, the IOM Iraq mission requires USD 90 million for the
following programmes: community stabilization; return and
reintegration; emergency preparedness, information management,
capacity building and community regeneration and private sector
development.
The report is available online at
"paragraph-link-no-underline-bold" href=
"http://www.iomiraq.net/Library/IOM_Displacement_Reports_Four_Years_of_Post-Samarra_Displacement.pdf">this
link.
For further information, please contact:
Rex Alamban
IOM Amman
Tel: +962-79-906-1779
E-mail:
"mailto:ralamban@iom.int">ralamban@iom.int