During her two-day visit to the Kurdistan Region, Kempa plans to visit Polish-funded aid projects in the Region’s camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees.
“Polish Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Beata Kempa wants to visit IDP camps and meet with officials of the Kurdistan Region,” Ziad Raouf, KRG representative to Poland, told a press conference.
Welcomed Minister for Humanitarian Aid of Republic of #Poland Beata Kempa @BeataKempa_KPRM in her first visit to the Region. Such visits are important to understand the situation of vulnerable #Refugees & #IDPs in & out of camps, the challenges & their immediate & long term needs pic.twitter.com/ixff4718Cn
— Falah Mustafa (@FalahMustafa) December 9, 2018
“The Polish minister wants to closely investigate the situation of IDPs living in Kurdistan Region camps, especially Yezidi and Christian refugees as well as Syrian refugees and Iraqi IDPs, so that they can assist the Kurdistan Region in this regard,” he added.
Polish aid money has funded the construction of livestock enclosures and makeshift module houses, according to Radio Poland. It has also supported the reconstruction of businesses.
“Over the past two years, the [Polish] government earmarked around PLN 5 million ($1.33 million) for aid in Iraq, but we seek to increase funding for the cause, redirect and systemize it,” Kempa told the radio station ahead of her visit.
Kempa earlier met with UN and Iraqi government officials in Baghdad.
“The Polish government doesn’t take immigrants in the country, but helps out refugees in their own countries,” Raouf said.
“Poland wants to be active again in Kurdistan, Iraq, and the Middle East. Her visit marks a new beginning in relations between the Kurdistan Region and Poland,” he added.
Through the ISIS conflict that began in 2014, the KRG hosted 1.8 million IDPs and refugees including more than 200,000 refugees from Syria. About 98 percent of Syrians who came to Iraq came to the Kurdistan Region.
