Of the two million people displaced within Iraq from Daesh militants, nearly half have fled to safety in Kurdistan, putting huge pressure on the region’s resources, which has led the United Nations to designate the situation as a level-three emergency, the highest classification of a humanitarian crisis, Britain's The Observer newspaper reported.
The current and most pressing challenge is the onset of winter. We need to provide proper shelters, heating, winter clothing and blankets. We’re still receiving people from Syria and places like Anbar. The crisis isn’t even stabilising,” said Bayan Rahman, high representative to the UK for the Kurdistan regional government (KRG). The mountainous Dohuk province is hosting more than 50% of all the displaced in Kurdistan, on top of about 100,000 refugees from Syria, a total equal to almost half the province’s own population.
Streets are clogged with traffic, living costs have risen and there is not enough water or electricity for everyone. Before the internally displaced persons (IDPs) were moved to new camps on 1 December, most were being housed in schools across the province, which meant local students missed out on two months of this year’s education.
Despite the Kurdish authorities’ best efforts to provide for the displaced, the region has been suffering since Baghdad cut funding early this year, bringing an oil-fuelled economic boom to an abrupt halt. That has left hundreds of would-be apartment complexes, office blocks and supermarkets unfinished – now used as shelter by the displaced.
Syrian refugees who have been in Iraqi Kurdistan since the civil war broke out in 2011 appear to be better established, working in the bazaar polishing shoes, selling cigarettes and telephone cards and working across the Kurdish region in cafes and restaurants.
Aid agencies are also struggling to meet the needs of the displaced. “Winter is the devil right now,” said the UNHCR’s external relations officer, Jessica Hyba. “It’s a time issue; we are all working around the clock to make sure we reach everyone. This is a protracted situation. There’s really no end in sight.”