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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Evicted from Kirkuk province displacement camps by an Iraqi government decision to shutter all camps under its control by the end of the year, many of Iraq’s most vulnerable are unable to return to their hometowns.
“We left behind our vehicles, goods and everything. We fled only wearing our clothes. We want to live in a place where we feel secure and have electricity and basic services,” said Khalil Majeed, who lives with his family of fifteen in a small tent in Kirkuk’s Laylan camp. The father is unsure of his family’s future with the camp slated for closure.
Displaced from Salahadin province, Majeed’s house was destroyed in fighting and he says they are unable to move back. “The local tribes do not accept our return,” Majeed added.
A Ministry of Displacement and Migration decision in mid-October to accelerate camp closures with limited notice to camp residents has left many displaced families vulnerable. The push is putting more than 100,000 people in tremendous peril, said the Norweigian Refugee Council (NRC).
In Kirkuk alone, thousands from the province’s two remaining camps have been impacted by the decision. According to figures from OCHA, 1,665 have left Yahyawa camp and around 7,000 will need to evacuate Laylan.
Like displaced persons in other provinces, many are unable to return for a number of reasons, including but not limited to a lack of basic services in their places of origins, joblessness, the continued activity of ISIS remnants in their areas, and not receiving the promised financial compensation from the government to rebuild their houses.
Yahyawa Camp was predominantly home to displaced families of Tal Afar, a city with a Turkomen ethnic minority. The Iraqi government has closed the camp and demanded the families return to their places of origin, despite the town’s continued devastation.
Many families have decided to move to the city of Kirkuk from the camps, according to the Kirkuk directorate of displacement and migration. They will join the vast majority of displaced persons in Kirkuk living outside of camps.
“People are unable to return. How can they live? They have lost their IDs and documents, they can’t even get their monthly food ration,” said Riyadh Najim, a resident of Laylan,who hails from Hawija, a town 45 kilometres west of Kirkuk city. “Their houses have been destroyed and burnt, how can they return and make a living?”
In addition to the financial strains, families are also concerned by the lack of security in their hometowns. “The security situation is difficult,” Najim added.
Ali Abbas, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration told Rudaw on Thursday: “We are insisting on implementing the decision and closing all the displacement camps. The process is very complex and hard. However, we are trying to resolve the issues with the help of humanitarian NGOs.”
The Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration say they have instructed the mayors and district managers to prepare for the return of the displaced families.
“The return will not be done without preparation in terms of services, housing. This has been told to the district manager,” Alma Bazaz, general director at the Ministry of Displacement and Migration, told Rudaw on Thursday.
However, humanitarian organizations have said the thousands sent home are already facing these obstacles, which have been exacerbated by a lack of coordination.
There has been “no overall plan or vision” communicated to camp residents, humanitarian organizations, or authorities in the returnees’ communities of origin, Marine Olivesi, a media coordinator for the organization, told Rudaw on November 11. “It is all happening in a rushed way without coordination.”
A report by Human Rights Watch in 2019 documented a series of forced returns, highlighting both state force misconduct and civilian violence. Allegations against security forces include lying to IDPs about where they are being taken, and the forced return of IDPs to areas where ISIS activity is known to be rife.
Additional reporting by Hiwa Hussamadin and Halo Mohammed
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