IOM #Iraq Flash Report: Winterization Response (5 February 2015)

05

IOM IRAQ IOM OIM

February

Iraq Crisis Response

2015

FLASH REPORT: WINTERIZATION RESPONSE

Displacement IDP Families

362,794

According to Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) data collected by IOM Rapid Assessment and Response Team (RART) from January 2014 -January 15 2015

Individuals

2,179,764

Locations

2,282

Emergency Relief Distribution Family* Non-Food Item (NFI) kits

86,953

Clothing vouchers

Litres of kerosene

4,100

820,000

Winterized tents and shelters

4,279

DOHUK - On 2 February, hundreds of families lined up in an empty lot across from a mosque in Dohuk to receive vouchers that would entitle them to $450 worth of clothing from a local vendor. As more than two million displaced persons face the freezing winter weather in Iraq, ensuring they receive aid to survive the rain and snow remains a priority for IOM Iraq.

As part of IOM’s winterization response, staff have distributed 820,000 of litres of kerosene to 4,100 vulnerable families in order to supplement winterized non-food item (NFI) kits and tents. These NFI kits include heaters, blankets, stoves, carpets, mattresses and plastic tarps, among other essential items.

IOM has also started distributing clothing vouchers, and plans to provide 6,250 families with the means to receive warm winter clothing. As families mainly fled during warm-weather months, and as many left with little more than the clothing they were currently wearing and their identity papers, IDPs face winter weather with sandles, short sleeves and lightweight clothing instead of warm jackets and boots.

Working with local officials and community leaders, IOM Iraq has made arrangements for displaced families to visit local businesses and choose from a variety of items that best meet their individual needs. The scene from Maxi Mall in Dohuk was one of excitement as displaced families walked out with bags of clothing.

Shaima Faisal, a displaced beneficiary from Mosul, told IOM staff: “My husband is sick, so my son and daughter had to carry him for two hours while we walked with just the clothes we were wearing and our documents. With the cost of my husband’s medicine and our rent, we can’t afford anything, not even clothes. My daughterin-law is expecting a child in two months – with this aid, now we can have baby clothes.”

Above: IOM Rapid Assessment and Response Team staff distributing clothing vouchers to displced beneficiaries in Erbil on 28 January

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IOM OIM

IOM IRAQ: Iraq Crisis Response

Winterization Response - 05 February 2015

Khalaf’s Story

“

I can’t imagine how hard my life would be right now without the help of my neighbors and IOM.

”

“Things are so hard right now, I can’t even afford a proper cigarette,” says Khalaf, a 50 year old man from Kuju, a village near the Sinjar area of Iraq. “With all that happened, it’s a miracle we made it out alive.”

IOM staff spoke with Khalaf at a clothing voucher distribution in Dohuk. He and several other older beneficiaries were sitting behind the tables in the sun, too weak to stand in line with the other IDPs who were waiting on their $450 vouchers they could use to buy warm winter clothing to face the freezing nights in Dohuk.

“Our lives were so peaceful before, in Sinjar, but suddenly everything changed.

Above: Khalaf receiving a clothing voucher for $450 on 3 February Below: Hundreds of displaced beneficiaries exchange their vouchers for warm winter clothing in Dohuk.

“Once we saw the heavy weapons doing damage in the distance, we sent the women and children away. The men stayed to fight, but soon we saw it was hopeless and so we ran. I escaped with 28 members of my family, but not all of them. Two of my nephews were killed fighting the terrorists, and two of my neices were kidnapped. One of my neices had four children, and they were kidnapped with her. We have no idea what happened to them.

“My family and I stayed in a village for 9 days without any food and on the 10th we decided to go to Syria, because we heard that war was again coming our way. We walked to the Syrian border, and from there, some soldiers helped us with cars to the Feshkabour crossing into Iraq.

“When we fled, we only had time to bring our identification documents. We are still living in an unfinished building.

There are twelve families living there and about fifty children. It’s too cold for me to sleep at night, so I can’t imagine how they feel. I am an old man and only have the clothing I am wearing. Without the charity of our neighbors and the non-food item kits we received from IOM, we would be in a miserable condition.

“With this aid, I will be able to buy a warm jacket and the children can buy boots. I can’t imagine how hard my life would be right now without the help of our neighbors and IOM.”

IOM is responding to life-threatening needs in a rapidly changing environment, in addition to monitoring movements on the ground.

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