Iraq | Shelter on a Classroom Floor
Dohuk in Northern Iraq has become a refugee town. Since Islamic State (IS) group attacks in Sinjar on 3 and 15 August, the number of refugees has increased considerably. According to the Dohuk governorate, 530,000 internally displaced persons (IDP) have arrived in that Northern Iraqi district alone by end of August. People sleep on classroom floors, churches, mosques, unfinished buildings and public parks. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) together with local partners and the Kurdish Regional Government had to revise their response plan to cater to the new displacements. The needs are enormous: Food, water, sanitation, shelter and clothing are but some of the many things needed by those IDPs who cannot rely on savings or family assistance. LWF is responding in those areas as well as providing psychosocial support.
The United Nations estimate that 1.8 million people will be displaced by the end of the year.
Photos by LWF/ M. Hyden
9 September 2014
Shia from Sinjar at a School in Dohuk. Over 2000 schools in Iraq are sheltering displaced families who have fled areas overrun by the Islamic State (IS) group. At least half of the schools in Kurdish Iraq - over 700 - are home to those who have fled. The Ministry of Education has declared an emergency earlier this month as the high number of refugees threatens to delay the start of the upcoming academic year.
People staying in community shelters are the most vulnerable, as they do not have any savings or relatives to take them in. Assima was brought to this school by the Kurdish army. “People left me behind, I was crawling for hours” she says. “The Peshmerga saved me”. She wishes to return to her village if peace is restored.
Ghazal had a very hard time escaping the fighting in Sinjar, as she is disabled. Like many others, she was not able to take any belongings with her and relies on LWF assistance.
Classroom desks are used in makeshift kitchens at Salaama Public School in Erbil. There is a great need for kitchen sets and cooking fuel since the community kitchen has not enough capacities. More than 100 families are living at this school. The IDPs must evacuate the buildings by the end of September.
A meal for a family of seven. IDPs in the shelters are provided with cooked meals, but people living in parks or under bridges do not have enough to eat. LWF wants to reach out to those communities who are not receiving food living in various unorganized collection centers and public places.
A Yazidi community center in Dohuk. The mass influx of people has caused a shortage of shelters. Several families have to share one room, some sleep in corridors.
Daily tasks, such as cleaning and washing, are taking place between the over 400 people living in the community center in Dohuk. LWF response includes providing sanitation and showers for refugees, as many shelters are not sufficiently equipped.
A family shares a meal. “The most difficult thing about living here is the absence of privacy. We have only small spaces between families” they say. “We only want to live in peace and dignity”.
This elderly man in the temporary Hanky camp shows his ID. He had been an officer in the Iraqi army during the war against Iran. He feels betrayed by his country which left him with nothing.
Life is tough in the camp. Some families have not yet received at tent. Still, the assistance provided by the host communities is remarkable. This businessman is sponsoring hot meals for the IDPs.
After fleeing Mosul in mid-July, Yousef Yacoub and his family set up shelter at Salami Public Park. He says they have been told they can stay until the first of October . "We don’t know where we can go after. We do not trust to return back and would like to resettle”.
Men, women and children sleep covered only by blankets and whatever cloth they can find. These makeshift-shelters in a public park are not built to withstand heat, wind and rain. Currently people suffer in daytime temperatures as high as 48 degrees Celsius. LWF strives to provide weather-proof shelter before winter comes.
