The Work of Terre Des Hommes in IRAQ

Iraq is a land where two crises and two stories of suffering intersect. Indeed, for decades, the Iraqi conflict, which began with the Second Gulf War in 2003, has brought instability and poverty to the civilian population. With the outbreak of the war in Syria, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees arrived simultaneously with the advance of ISIS, which established its headquarters in the city of Mosul in Iraqi Kurdistan.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THESE CONFLICTS FOR THE CIVILIAN POPULATION?.

The consequences are not just economic: in addition to losing everything they had, displaced and refugee populations have experienced traumatic events that have deeply scarred them physically and psychologically. Many have developed disabilities and have been unable to access assistance and care services. Many healthcare centers have been destroyed or are inadequate. Children have only been able to attend school sporadically, accumulating significant delays that expose them to the risk of dropping out, child labor, and early marriage.

Terre des Hommes has been present in Iraq since 2003 and opened an office in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2014 to assist Syrians and Iraqis fleeing the violence of ISIS. Over the years, we have operated in the governorates of Erbil, Nineveh, Baghdad, Basra, and Anbar for Syrian refugees, Iraqi internally displaced persons, and the most vulnerable host communities. With the defeat of ISIS and the return of refugees to their villages, we have implemented specific interventions.

HOW DO WE HELP CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN IRAQ?

• To facilitate the return to school for refugee children, we organize school remediation activities, informal education, and after-school programs. We renovate schools and equip them to be more comfortable and accessible, especially for children with disabilities.
• We organize courses for teachers on inclusive education, gender-based violence, and child protection. With parents, we hold meetings on the importance of education. We offer vocational training courses for adolescents and young people.
• In such complex contexts, the protection of children is fundamental. On one hand, we provide psychological and social support to unaccompanied minors, detained minors, children in distress and/or victims of violence, and their parents. On the other hand, we promote the establishment of protection and prevention mechanisms at the community level. We raise awareness among local communities about children’s rights and their protection. We offer legal assistance to children and adults without identity documents. We engage young people to improve social cohesion in communities and protect children.
• We offer basic medical and dental care to refugees, displaced persons, and vulnerable families, including through mobile clinics that reach the most difficult-to-access areas. We visit pregnant women and new mothers with their babies, providing necessary medications and supplements. We provide physiotherapy sessions for children with disabilities to improve their mobility and quality of life. We organize awareness campaigns on children’s hygiene and health, as well as prevention of diseases including Covid.

The major donors for our projects in Iraq are UNICEF, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Polish Medical Mission, and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.