Over the past three years, half a million displaced people have returned to Salah-al-Din governorate, an area characterized by conflict for years and now a place of resilience and reconstruction

picture © Gianmarco Maraviglia

 

At the beginning of 2021, more than one million were displaced in Iraq. The governorate of Salah-al-Din, north of Baghdad, in the heart of the country, has represented, in recent years, one of the epicenters of the crisis, becoming the second governorate in terms of numbers of displaced persons after that of Nineveh. Now the focus is on returnees. In this area, which today has 1.2 million inhabitants, 500,000 have returned in the last three years. This is a very large and particularly varied area in terms of needs, as explained by Qudama Ahmed, programme manager in the governorate and deputy programme manager of the INTERSOS Iraq Mission, which operates in the governorate in the districts of Baiji, Al-Shirqat, Tikrit, Samarra, Balad.

When, after being the ground of a violent confrontation and control by the ISIS armed group in 2014, the Tikrit area returned under the control of the Iraqi army between 2015 and early 2016, its inhabitants have immediately got back to what was left of their homes. For this reason, the situation here is better than in districts where the fighting lasted longer. “Other needs derive from the fact that 90% of the territory was involved in the conflict, which led to the destruction of most of the infrastructure, of many hospitals and numerous schools” explains Qudama Ahmed., thanks t

INTERSOS’s response to the needs of displaced people in Iraq

 

Faced with the several needs of returnees, INTERSOS offers an integrated response in three sectors. The first and most significant is that of protection, which includes legal assistance and support for the retrieval of documents. Since the majority of the displaced have been forced to flee the conflict, the psychological support component is particularly crucial in the return. In addition, in synergy with The Halo Trust Foundation, an NGO that deals with the elimination of land mines, INTERSOS offers psychological support also aimed at survivors of these weapons.

Ahmed offers us an insight into the life of Iraqi displaced people: “The destruction was dramatic, but reconstruction has begun in recent years. The expectations of those who return also depend on the level of destruction. Baiji, for example, has been very affected and people have low expectations for their life”. Despite this, “Many people are returning to help rebuild rather than leave the city empty. Many have decided to return because their homes were not totally destroyed and to be able to resume working as teachers, engineers or doctors”.

 

The central role of health care

 

A second area of ​​intervention, thanks to the support of the European Union, is health care. “Of some hospitals, only the structure remains, there is a complete lack of personnel and medical equipment” our programme manager tells us. INTERSOS is responsible for procuring equipment and training medical personnel to offer services to the ever-increasing population. The commitment to the reconstruction of schools, an activity to which INTERSOS supports the conduct of remedial classes and capacity building courses for teachers, represents the heart of the third sector of intervention in the country, education.

Qudama Ahmed finally recounts how “Returning home, people do not expect to find their life before the conflict with ISIS. They make a simple comparison between their life in a tent or in a camp, where they are completely dependent on humanitarian aid, and what they can find on their return. It is at home that they feel more secure and autonomous because they can find a source of income”. Reconstruction of the area is essential for returning Iraqis to truly feel at home.