Data from IOM teams, which have monitored Christian
displacement since the October 2010 attack on the Saidat al-Najat
church in Baghdad in which 58 people were killed, shows a marked
decrease in the number of these displaced families across the four
northern governorates of Dahuk, Erbil, Ninewa and Sulaymaniyah from
over 1,350 a year ago to under 500 at the end of last month.
The report cites insecurity in Northern Iraq – an area
previously regarded as safe for religious minorities - as a main
cause. Christians in Mosul have repeatedly been threatened and
targeted for violence. In Dahuk, Islamist rioters and arsonists
have targeted Christian-owned properties, and there has been a
recent spate of kidnappings of Christians in the town of
Ainkawa.
Displaced Christian families have therefore been forced to
choose between remaining in the northern governorates, returning to
even more insecure places of origin in the rest of the country, or
emigrating to Turkey, Jordan or, in some cases, Syria. (UNHCR
Turkey reported a significant increase in Iraqi registrations in
2011, with approximately 1,700 of newly registered Iraqis being
Christian).
The report is an update of emergency assessments conducted in
the immediate aftermath of the October 31, 2010 bombing and attacks
on Christians. These assessments showed that Christians faced
numerous challenges that would impact their ability to successfully
integrate. Many Christians displaced from Baghdad were unable to
sell their homes for a fair price to support themselves in their
areas of displacement, where rents for apartments and houses have
in some cases tripled over the past year.
According to IOM’s earlier emergency assessments of these
newly displaced Christian families, a third of displaced families
were living with host families or relatives and 57% were living in
rented accommodation. Those who share accommodation with
relatives often live in over-crowded homes, while those who live in
rented accommodation are especially vulnerable to secondary
displacement due to rising costs. As displaced families left
monasteries, churches and host family homes to seek more permanent
shelter over the course of 2011, their inability to gain
sustainable livelihoods and affordable housing drove many to
emigrate or return to their places of origin.
In addition to the strain of high rent prices and lack of
employment, many displaced families were unable to send their
children to school due to language barriers or because they were
not able to transfer their registration.
IOM, in addition to monitoring the situation of displaced
Christian families has also, with its humanitarian partners,
delivered essential non-food relief items to some 600 families in
the four northern governorates in 2010 and 2011.
For further information, please contact Keegan de Lancie
at IOM Iraq. Tel: +962 6 565 9660, Email: kdelancie@iom.int or
visit:
