Baghdad and Kurdistan are facing harsh criticism as a result of the poor conditions in the displacem

[size=52]Baghdad and Kurdistan are facing harsh criticism as a result of the poor conditions in the displacement camps[/size]

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Pictures shared by Iraqis on social media of displaced children in camps
Baghdad: Fadel Al-Nashmi
[size=45]The federal authorities in Baghdad and the federal authorities in the northern Kurdistan region are facing sharp criticism these days as a result of the miserable conditions experienced by the residents of displaced persons camps after the severe cold wave, especially in the northern areas where most of the camps are located. In the last week, an unprecedented cold wave hit Iraq. In some northern regions, it reached minus 17 degrees Celsius; This prompted local administrations in most governorates to suspend the official working hours of government institutions.
While a human rights observatory talks about the death of a woman and two children from the cold, the spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Migration and Displacement, Ali Abbas Jahangir, accused the Kurdistan region authorities of “not cooperating” in the file of the displaced, as they are responsible for managing the camps, but he did not specify its nature.
Jahangir told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the Ministry of the Displaced has asked the Ministry of Oil to prepare additional quantities of white oil for the camps most affected by the cold and snow wave, especially Sharya camp in Dohuk governorate. The problem is that we cannot store large quantities of fuel of all kinds in the camps for fear of movement and other accidents.
He added, "We have a total of 26 camps, most of them are in the governorates of the Kurdistan region, and some of them are in the Nineveh governorate, most of which are residents of the Yazidi component. Most of the camps are almost secured and have the equipment and means necessary to confront the cold wave, and few of them do not have those capabilities."
In response to the accusations leveled by human rights organizations and political parties that the federal government failed to provide a safe environment for families in their areas of origin; What prevents them from returning from the displacement camps, Jahangir believes, is that “some families do not want to return for reasons related to them and not to their original areas. He noted that about 95 percent of the displaced people of Anbar Governorate have returned to their homes, but a small percentage of them preferred to stay in the camps.” The same applies to the governorates of Salah al-Din and Nineveh, and of course the Ministry of Immigration cannot compel those who remain in the camps to forcibly return.”
Yesterday, the director of Mount Sinjar camp in Nineveh Governorate, Ali Shabu, launched an urgent distress call to the United Nations and the Iraqi Human Rights Commission to help hundreds of families trapped as a result of the strong snow wave that swept the region.
Shabaou said in a statement, "The immediate weather conditions, if they continue, will lead to a humanitarian disaster for the citizens residing in Mount Sinjar camp in the Sardashti area of ​​Nineveh Governorate."
For its part, the "Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights", yesterday, sharply criticized the Iraqi authorities, accusing them of "dealing chaotically" in the file of the displaced.
And the “observatory” stated in a lengthy statement, that “the displaced are suffering from tragic conditions as a result of the severe cold wave, and it has been confirmed to (the observatory) so far the death of two children in the Ashti camp for the displaced in the Sulaymaniyah governorate, northern Iraq, and the death of an elderly woman who lives with her family in a dilapidated house in the governorate. Diyala due to the severe cold and the lack of blankets and fuel.”
The "observatory" quoted activists and officials in the Ashti camp for the displaced as saying that "the authorities did not take any measures to confront the cold wave that hit the areas of northern Iraq, and an official in the camp said: Frankly, we are wondering about the money allocated to the displaced and where it went."
The Observatory pointed out that “the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement, with its new administration, dealt with the file of the displaced chaotically and without knowledge, and tried to end the file in any way, even if it was at the expense of the displaced.”
The Observatory’s statement noted that “an accelerated government effort to close the displacement camps has had counterproductive results on the displaced from their homes.
The government did not provide a safe and livable environment for them to return to their areas, nor did it provide them with what they needed in the camps, as if it tried to punish them.”
The statement revealed that “more than a million displaced people are in camps and gatherings distributed in Anbar, Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk, Diyala and Nineveh in poor conditions, and they do not have sufficient clothes, means of heating, and the necessary fuel. The authorities do not provide them with what they need to get through the winter. Basic requirements".
A member of the Iraqi parliament from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Majid Shankali, criticized the government's handling of the displaced people's file in light of the very low climate temperatures.
Shankali said in a press statement, yesterday, that "the situation of the displaced throughout Iraq is very dire, and so far not a single drop of white oil has been distributed, whether to the displaced in Mount Sinjar or in the Kurdistan Region. Snow covers the area of ​​Mount Sinjar, and the displaced are living in tragic conditions." .
He added, "Last year, the Ministry of Immigration bought ice blocks worth 6 billion dinars, and if it bought this amount today, it would have bought white oil for at least 60 thousand families, a barrel of white oil. This is a catastrophic matter for the displaced."
Shankali called on the federal government to “open the file of funds allocated to the displaced since 2014 until now. We have great doubt that most of the funds allocated went into the pockets of the corrupt and thieves.[/size]
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