Although there has been less violence in Iraq over the past year, numerous neighborhoods in the country are still unsafe and unstable. Millions of Iraqis remain uprooted and live in fragile, dangerous circumstances inside the country. They are unable to flee into neighboring countries or return home safely. Some live in cramped conditions with extended family, others crowd into small rented spaces, squat in abandoned buildings, or struggle to get by in make-shift shelters. A small number of people live in tent settlements or displacement camps. Most displaced Iraqis have lost their jobs or businesses and are living in poverty. Basic healthcare, education, clean water and sanitation services are difficult to access. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are living as refugees outside their country.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) had extensive operations across Iraq from 2003, but increasing violence forced the IRC staff to leave. Since restarting programs in Iraq in November 2007, the IRC has so far assisted nearly 50,000 people and is rapidly expanding programs throughout the country.
How We Help
The IRC is renovating schools and recreational areas in Iraqi communities hosting large numbers of displaced children, as well as providing catch-up classes for displaced children who have missed out on schooling because of ongoing violence. The IRC is also training and advising Kurdish police to better respond to incidents of violence against women, improving services for survivors, and training local aid groups to better address community needs. In cooperation with UNHCR, the IRC is running Protection Assistance Centers (PACs) that provide information, referrals and services about rights, entitlements and services available to refugees, internally displaced, returnees and stateless people in Iraq. The IRC is also training local Iraqi aid organizations that work in communities representing all ethnic and religious groups in Kurdistan. We also help Kurds from Turkey who live in northern Iraq to access services inside and outside refugee camps.
The IRC also delivers humanitarian aid to Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria and those who have been granted refuge in the United States.
Latest blog and photos from IRC aid workers assisting uprooted Iraqis
