Challenges continue in Mosul: “The situation is difficult and the needs are great.”
Hovig Etyemezian has been serving as head of UNHCR’s Sub-Office in Mosul since last November. A native of Lebanon, he previously served in a number of field assignments including Jordan where he managed Zaatari camp, as well as Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Mauritania and DR Congo.
Almost one million people from Mosul have been displaced since October 2016. As of July 27, some 244,978 people have returned to East and West Mosul (including 94 percent of those who had fled the eastern part of the city). An estimated 21,000 people have returned since the government declared an end to the battle for Mosul on July 9. Hovig describes what this new situation means for UNHCR operations.
With large scale returns taking place and people returning to their homes, what is the mood of people on the street?
"People are eager to return to their homes, and life is slowly resuming in both East and West Mosul. Iraqis do not like living in camps. Many long to return to rebuild their homes, start businesses, reunite with their families, and return to some sort of normalcy. Many Iraqis, however, have lost their homes and belongings.
The situation in West Mosul is still unsafe – entire neighbourhoods have been totally destroyed. It will take time to clear areas from mines and unexploded ordnance, to repair infrastructure, and for public institutions such as the judiciary, schools and health centres to become fully operational."
How has your staff been personally affected by the recent changes in terms of movement, work and families?
"The countless days spent in the field take their toll on staff and their nuclear families. Over the past months our team and partners have built camps for internally displaced, registered new arrivals and hosted them in our camps, ensured life-saving assistance is delivered upon arrival, worked closely with beneficiaries, authorities and partners, to ensure displaced people are sheltered protected and assisted in the camps. We have also assisted over 400,000 internally displaced Iraqis who have passed through our transit centres on their way to the camps. We have also assisted internally displaced and returnees in urban areas."
With the changed security landscape in Mosul, what is UNHCR doing to assist displaced persons who want to return home? What kinds of assistance are returnees receiving?
"Assessments in the return areas are ongoing, we are looking at structural damage, vulnerabilities of the population as well as legal and protection needs. We have started supporting the reunification of families and working with partners to deliver in-kind and cash assistance. We are distributing emergency shelter sealing-off kits that can help families do basic repairs to their homes. The situation is difficult and the needs are great. UNHCR aims to deliver 36,000 emergency shelter kits by end of the year and cash assistance to 3,000 families by September 2017."
What are the biggest challenges and most urgent needs to UNHCR’s operations in Mosul?
"Most of the thirteen camps that UNHCR built to respond to the Mosul emergency are full. Expansion of Al Salamiyah camp is underway. We expect that thousands of people will be displaced as a result of military operations in Tal Afar and Hawiga. Given the scale of destruction in West Mosul, and the need to clear areas contaminated by explosive devices, we anticipate that displaced families will continue to shelter in camps.
UNHCR is under-funded for its work to meet the critical needs of families displaced from Mosul and surrounding areas, as well as those who are beginning to return to safe areas. UNHCR urgently needs $126 million this year.
The most urgent needs include reunification of separated families, civil documentation, psycho-social support to families, services to vulnerable people, and livelihoods support. Given the level of destruction in West Mosul, shelter assistance is crucial, otherwise many Iraqis will find it very difficult to return. "
What recent experience with displaced persons and returnees in Mosul has been particularly moving?
"The resilience of Iraqis in the face of such traumatic experiences is humbling. The woman portrayed in the photo (below) is sheltering in the UNHCR camp in Hammam Al Alil south of Mosul. ISIL destroyed her home and robbed her family of all their belongings. Despite all her suffering, she still manages to be optimistic about the future and wants to return and rebuild her home."