Although displacement has continued to slow down during the first
half of 2008, IOM assessments show that daily life for thousands of
internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in tent camps remains
grim.

Although the number of IDPs living in tent camps remains very
low compared to the overall number of displaced persons living in
rented housing, with relatives, in collective settlements or
squatting in public buildings, tent camp residents have little or
no access to basic services, cannot protect themselves against the
elements or extreme weather, and are located far away from medical
care, education, and other services.

These harsh conditions, combined with a cultural aversion to
living without familial privacy and personal dignity, make tent
camps a last resort for Iraqi IDPs.

Furthermore, the report shows that those who reside in tent
camps are often the most vulnerable among a displaced population,
which is already vulnerable and in constant need of humanitarian
assistance.

In Najaf's Al-Manathera camp, the largest in the country,
families who were evicted from public buildings live in cramped
tents and caravans, with limited access to sanitation and potable
water. Unemployment, overcrowding, and a lack of privacy continue
to cause significant tensions among the camp's
inhabitants. 

In Sulaymaniyah's Qalawa camp, IDPs who settled in June 2006 on
an empty piece of open land still have no sanitation, no
electricity and no toilets, and live surrounded by garbage. As a
result, cases of typhoid have recently been reported. 

According to IOM's recently published Mid-Year Displacement and
Return Review, an overwhelming majority of Iraq's 2.8 million IDPs
and returnees continue to suffer from inadequate shelter,
insufficient access to potable water, food and other basic services
such as health care, education and electricity.

Despite limited funding and insecurity, IOM continues to assist
the displaced, returning Iraqis and host communities with emergency
food, water and household item distributions, community assistance
projects, and advocacy.  However, overall assistance to these
vulnerable communities remains inadequate.  Until long-term
stability is realized, the rule of law improved and basic services
restored, internal displacement in Iraq will remain a serious
humanitarian crisis that calls for urgent assistance.

This document, along with a range of other IOM reports released
on all aspects of displacement in Iraq, can be found at "paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://www.iom-iraq.net/library.html#IDP" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.iom-iraq.net/library.html#IDP.