SPECIAL REPORT: Five Years later, A Hidden Crisis

Amid ongoing violence in Iraq, more than two million Iraqis remain uprooted and live in dire and dangerous circumstances inside the country.  They are unable to cross into neighboring countries or return home safely.  Many others are trapped in their volatile communities, where basic services are dwindling. Of the displaced, the luckier ones have moved in with relatives.  The rest crowd into small rented spaces, squat in abandoned buildings, or struggle to get by in make-shift shelters, tent settlements or displacement camps.  Most have lost their jobs or businesses and have become impoverished.  Food, clean water and sanitation are in short supply.  The crisis has also disrupted schooling for tens of thousands of children.

The IRC restarted programs in Iraq in November 2007 to assist thousands of internally displaced civilians in northern, central and southern districts. The IRC had extensive operations in these regions from 2003 through 2005, but deteriorating security forced IRC staff to leave and turn over programs to local aid groups.

HOW WE HELP

In displacement camps in the northern part of the country, the IRC is upgrading water and sanitation services Ð ensuring regular access to clean water and building latrines, drainage systems and bathing facilities. The IRC is also aiding schools in communities hosting large numbers of displaced children by providing catch-up classes and recreational activities. In the south, the IRC is set to renovate three overcrowded schools and will be launching accelerated learning programs for children who have fallen behind in their studies.

Since returning to Iraq, the IRC has also been providing guidance and support to local Iraqi aid organizations, which are essential to the humanitarian relief effort and the rebuilding of the country. The IRC has held workshops for local groups working in Shia, Sunni, Kurdish and other minority communities on program design, implementation and financing.

The IRC also delivers humanitarian aid to Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria and those who have been granted refuge in the United States.