Iraq

Emergency aid and development projects

Interview: 80% displaced people have returned home and are now rebuilding their villages in Iraq

With the support of Danish European Mission donors, the inhabitants of four villages are almost finished rebuilding their schools and medical clinics as well as water and electricity supply.

By Samuel

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Pictured above: Reconstruction work is in full swing

The project has developed very positively and all the inhabitants of the four villages, Tell al-Laban, Kuzahkan, Wardak and Al-Majidia east of Mosul, which were among the first to be liberated from Islamic State, have now returned home. In this interview, I asked a project worker, Dominik, what the help of the local Christian project workers means to the villagers.

Image: School being renovated.

What does it mean for villagers to come home and rebuild their villages?

Early on, in mid-2016, the displaced people supported by this project were already eager to return to their villages and home areas. This was partly because the economic and humanitarian situation was very difficult in the interim environment of Kurdistan in northern Iraq, where they sought refuge when Islamic State displaced them. It was in many ways a relief for them to return to their homes because it brought back hope for a better life and there was a sense of security in returning to an area they knew.

The families were back together as a community and were able to break out of the precarious situation they had found themselves in as refugees. Now they could begin to rebuild what they had lost. But when they returned home, they began to realize how much they had actually lost, the extent of the devastation, the time and resources it would take to rebuild it all and also the time it would take for the community and individual wounds and trauma to heal.

Many of their houses were used by IS fighters. Some found improvised bombs behind their doors and in their fields, and often messages were painted on the walls, such as: "We have moved on, but the ground will fight on our behalf" (referring to the thousands of landmines on the Nineveh Plain). All this they have had to and still have to deal with. But it is honestly incredible to see how these people have remained undaunted and are working hard to create a better future despite all the obstacles.

Image: Rebuilding brings joy to the returnees.

Has the project enabled participants to stay in their home country instead of traveling to the West?

Firstly, it is quite difficult, expensive and dangerous for many minority families in Iraq to go to the West. As a result, the majority of refugees leaving Iraq end up in neighboring countries and are often stranded there - uprooted, isolated from their communities, living in squalid conditions, ignored or even discriminated against by the host country, with no prospect of change or opportunities to make a living.

This brings with it a responsibility to help vulnerable groups such as the Kaka, Christians, Yazidis and others to return home. In this respect, the international community, international organizations and those responsible in the region have been very slow to act in practice. This is especially true for politically "irrelevant" groups in the countryside who have very little influence but are in great need of help. And it is this gap that is at the heart of the project: reaching out to the most vulnerable families who have lost everything, have been through years of war and hardship and have been forgotten again.

The families in our project insisted that they would only return if their children had access to schooling in the villages. Addressing these issues was crucial to the design and objectives of the project. When we talk to returnees about the project, this is exactly the help they refer to: you reopened the roads, repaired the water supply, rebuilt the electricity supply and repaired our schools and two clinics. "Without you, we would not have returned. You have brought life back to our villages. Where others were paralyzed, you stepped in and helped!"

"Without you, we would not have returned. You have brought life back to our villages" 

What does it mean that it's Christians who help?

Christians and other minorities have suffered from the various waves of persecution since 2014, but also over the last 40 years. The fact that local Christians are now helping is an incredibly powerful testimony to the villagers.

A few international organizations came and stayed for a while and took a lot of pictures and then left again without having helped much, or they started something that soon fell apart again, explains a villager. The strong and honest engagement with the people and their difficult situation over several months has given great credibility to the local Christians who helped them. Moreover, many minorities experienced exploitation again and again. That's why it's important that our help is given unconditionally and impartially - that no quid pro quo or anything else is required in order to access our help. Those who receive help are selected solely on the basis of their needs. In an environment of political competition, military confrontation, cronyism and favoritism, the unconditional love of Christians, like the unconditional love of Christ himself, is a very powerful message. The aid shows that Iraq could also be a society of peaceful coexistence. "A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden," says Jesus, and the same goes for the love of Christians. Those who were persecuted themselves are now bringing hope and love to other vulnerable minorities. And this impact is happening everywhere. Or as one villager said to one of our team: "We are so extremely grateful for your help - we would even go with you Christians to Jerusalem!"

Therefore, this project is not only a help to the project participants. It is also very important for our Christian partners themselves. They gain purpose and hope for themselves by living out their calling to love their neighbor. At a time when many Christians are leaving Iraq, the churches involved in the project have found a calling and a mission to give loving help to their fellow Iraqis in need and express their faith.

"At a time when many Christians are leaving Iraq, the local Christian project workers have found a mission to provide loving help to their fellow Iraqis in need"

How far is the rebuild so far?

  • Two medical clinics have been rebuilt and are starting to be used
  • 3000 children are back in repaired school buildings
  • Water and electricity supply almost restored

The reconstruction work is not yet complete, but you can help the project reach its goal. It costs an average of DKK 827 to ensure that a displaced Iraqi can return home and a total of DKK 650,000 to complete the project. You can help the brave returnees reach the finish line so that infrastructure, schools, clinics and electricity and water supply are completed in all four villages. Please extend a helping hand to people who have suffered so much on the run from Islamic State, but have found the courage to return home to rebuild their communities.

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