Northern Iraq Seeks More Aid for Syrian Refugees
The Kurdish Regional Government in Northern Iraq has appealed to
IOM and other international agencies for more help to cope with
growing numbers of refugees arriving from Syria.
According to Shakir Yasseen Yasseen, Director General of the
Regional Government’s Bureau of Migration and Development
(BMD), the number of Syrian refugees sheltering in
Kurdistan’s Domiz refugee camp near Dahuk has increased to
over 3,500 in the past month.
“With the help of international agencies we have managed
to provide them with basic necessities, including shelter, food and
water since the camp opened at the beginning of April. But our
prognosis is that they will not be going back home anytime
soon,” he says.
According to the latest BMD statistics, there are now over 5,300
Syrian refugees in Northern Iraq. By the end of May 4,413 had
registered with UNHCR and another 425 were waiting for
registration.
Videos
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"window.open('http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL55E334E451572ED7', 'mywindow', 'location=1,status=1,scrollbars=1')">Syrian
Refugee Stories
Refugees not living in Domiz camp are mainly staying with
relatives or in local mosques in Sulaymaniyah and Erbil
Governorates, according to Mr. Shakir.
An IOM-conducted assessment of 180 families in Domiz Camp last
week showed that virtually all the refugees were Kurdish Sunni
Muslims and had fled from the Syrian governorates of Hasaka, Halab,
Damascus and Reef Dimashq.
They cited escalating security problems and the rapidly
deteriorating economic situation as their primary reasons for
leaving Syria.
Some male refugees said that they left to avoid involvement in
the conflict or to avoid being drafted into the army or police
force.
The vast majority were uncertain about their futures and wanted
to return home, but did not expect to do so in the near
future.
Many of the refugees said that they crossed the Syria-Iraq
border illegally, traveling on foot and by car with the help of
hired smugglers. Several said that the fee for a family to be
smuggled across the border is now USD 300.
As Kurds, they said that preferred to seek shelter in Kurdish
Regional Government-controlled Northern Iraq, but other Kurdish
families had sought shelter in neighbouring countries or been split
up by the conflict.
“We have a mother with three of her kids in Domiz, while
her husband and her two other kids are in a refugee camp in
Lebanon. They were split up by the smugglers. The husband is
still trying to figure out how to get here,” said Government
Emergency Cell Liaison Officer for Dahuk Niyaz Noori Bamary.
While the camp now provides basic amenities for the refugees,
including a 21,000 liter water tank constructed by IOM in April
with funding from Slovakia, it still lacks numerous services
including medical facilities and adequate water and sanitation,
according to Bamary.
He lists a need for up to three more water tanks, a pipe
network, an adequate sewage system, cement flooring to safeguard
the camp from mud during the winter and livelihood support to help
the refugees to start small businesses and improve their economic
situation.
To date, IOM, in coordination with UNHCR, has distributed
non-food relief items to a total of 1,773 people in the camp,
including cooking stoves, gas cylinders, water filters,
rechargeable lights and bedding.
As part of the Syria Regional Response Plan (SRRP), IOM Iraq
appealed for USD 2 million to help Syrian refugees from June
through December 2012. To date it has not received any SRRP
contributions from donors.
To see three short videos from Domiz camp, please follow this
link:
"http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL55E334E451572ED7">http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL55E334E451572ED7.
For more information, please contact
Lado Gvilava
IOM Iraq
Tel: +962 795 409 624
Email:
"mailto:lgvilava@iom.int">lgvilava@iom.int