Assessments by Iraq's Ministry for Displacement and Migration (MoDM) and IOM of Iraqis having returned to their original homes from internal displacement or asylum abroad reveal that return has not brought them relief from the humanitarian crisis they suffered during their displacement.
Priority needs among the 5,200 people assessed by IOM monitors out of nearly 78,200 returnees identified so far across the country are food, fuel, non-food items and access to health care and medications.
In the first of IOM reports focusing exclusively on the monitoring and needs assessment of returnees, nearly two-thirds of identified returns were to Baghdad with March 2007 as the peak month for returning.
Almost half of these returnees said they only had an intermittent access to government food rations which were largely insufficient to meet their needs.
For those returning to Baghdad, lack of access to health care was the worst of any region at 70 per cent with the national average still high at 56 per cent. Shortage of health facilities and medications and a lack of finances were the main reasons cited.
Although the vast majority of returnees had returned to their original house (84 per cent), many properties had sustained significant damage and lost or stolen belongings including furniture, highlighting a significant need for property assistance.
In Baghdad, where most property disputes occur over occupied houses, the resettlement of returnees is currently being handled on an ad hoc basis by various authorities. Any future large scale returns would necessitate setting up a comprehensive policy and mechanism in order to avoid renewed tensions.
Although identified returns so far constitute less than one per cent of the total displaced Iraqi population (an estimated five million internally displaced people and refugees), monitors had observed an increase in returns in March prior to the recent violence in Basra, Baghdad and elsewhere that outstripped the capacity of the MoDM and local authorities to identify all locations. Therefore, real figures for returns are likely to be higher.
"The situation for those returning is grim and isn't necessarily an improvement from when they were displaced. Many returnees are unemployed while only a fraction have received any form of humanitarian assistance other than some food rations," said Rafiq Tschannen, IOM's Chief of Mission for Iraq.
"Although efforts are being made to help returnees really get back on their feet, intensifying these efforts is major challenge for all the humanitarian agencies as well as the Iraqi government. IOM is working closely with the MoDM to ensure assistance reaches a much greater number of returnees and our reports on the monitoring and assessment needs of returnees will go a long way to making sure we all get the right kind of help to those who need it."
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