Returns of Internally Displaced Continue at a Slow Pace, Pick Up in Parts of Baghdad
IOM's latest Returnee Needs Assessment carried out in coordination
with Iraq's Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM) confirms
that families displaced by sectarian violence and military
operations are returning in numbers to certain areas of the capital
where security has improved over the past months.
This is particularly the case in Bagdad's eastern Sadr City,
where according to the MoDM, more than 4,000 families (an estimated
24,000 individuals) have returned to their former homes, despite
sporadic clashes between Iraqi Forces and insurgents.
The report notes that most health facilities and schools in Sadr
City have reopened, as well as some shops in the Jamil wholesale
market, although recent fire damage, lack of electricity and
sanitation still prevents the majority of market shops from
resuming their activities.
In May, returns also gathered momentum in Baghdad's Rasheed
sub-district, with up to 1,000 displaced Shia and Sunni families
returning to the Awareej area to date.
Reasons cited by families for taking the decision to return
include improved security and reconciliation among various groups,
particularly between tribal leaders, the Multi-National Force-Iraq
(MNF-I) and local authorities.
Other governorates are also experiencing returns, although to a
lesser degree. The report underlines however, that in many
neighbourhoods or cities, families cannot return to their former
homes, either because it was destroyed, is currently occupied by
squatters or because of on-going insecurity.
In Baghdad's Dora neighbourhood, some Iraqis families cannot
return to their original homes because this area remains divided
along sectarian lines.
According to the report, returnees and internally displaced
people throughout the country continue to face a chronic shortage
of services, with almost half of the families in some areas saying
they have intermittent access to government food rations, which
remain largely insufficient for their needs. Access to potable
water, health care and medicines also remains problematic
throughout the country, particularly for poor families. Only 35 per
cent of the displaced country-wide report they have access to
fuel.
Access to education remains difficult for displaced children
because their families have often lost food ration cards, which are
required when enrolling in local schools. The fact that they've
missed school in their area of displacement also means that many
face problems when they want to enrol once they have returned
home.
In some governorates, such as Basrah or Muthanna, local
authorities have recently issued warnings to displaced families and
resident squatters to evacuate public properties or face up to
three months incarceration and/or fines.
In others, such as Salah al-Din, the police continue to search
for and evict displaced families coming from the neighbouring
Samara district or Diyala and Anbar governorates for fear that they
represent a security risk.
More than 2.7 million Iraqis remain internally displaced, more
than 1.5 million of them since February 2006 when the bombing of
the Al-Askari shrine in Samarra triggered a new displacement crisis
in the country.
To access the report, please go to:
For more information, please contact:
Dana Graber Ladek
IOM Iraq
Tel: +962 79 611 1759
E-mail:
"mailto:dgraber@iom-iraq.net">dgraber@iom-iraq.net