Despite promises, displaced Iraqis linger in limbo
Iraq's prime minister has prioritized helping the displaced, but efforts to restore them to their homes are still hindered by political disagreements, a lack of funds and the absence of infrastructure and services.
Iraqi Minister of Immigration and Displacement Evan Faek Jabro announced on July 8 that her ministry will resume returning displaced people from Turkey's Akda camp to Iraq. The returning operation had been stopped after the COVID-19 lockdown. However, it is unlikely that they return in the near future due to the ongoing pandemic challenges and economic crisis, not to mention the security decline.
The ministry is also addressing the issue of internally displaced people (IDPs). Faek announced on Jun 24 the closure of 20 camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Anbar province. Most of these refugees had returned to their home districts after spending nearly six years in camps. Jabro said 1,706 IDP families remain in the province.
The next day, during an inspection tour of the camps in Karbala province in central Iraq, Jabro noted, "Many families refuse to return to their home districts and wish to settle in the areas to which they were displaced.”
In the Kurdistan region, Mohammed al-Bebawati, the representative of the Ministry of Immigration and Displacement in Duhok, told Al-Monitor that "some families have returned to Sinjar district. He noted, however, that some Kurdish families refuse to return to Sinjar as members of the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK] and other Iraqi armed factions are present there and the conflict scares the residents.”
