Seeking refuge in Iraq
As fighting continues to spread through Iraq, families are fleeing for the relative safety of Iraqi Kurdistan. World Vision is providing cash assistance to mothers like Ekhbal, who fled her village with a newborn son and three other children.
By Cecil Laguardia, Communications Coordinator, World Vision KRI
She took a deep breath and started telling her story. At one point, she stopped. Tears fell. 30-year-old Ekhbal said she missed her parents and family who were left behind in the northern region of Baghdad. When the fighting intensified in her town and the militants began abducting and beating men, she and her family fled in the night, leaving everything behind. Some of her relatives were not so lucky and were taken. “Our family is in so much grief,” Ekhbal explained sadly. “We do not have any news about what happened to them.”
Ekhbal walked with her family, and others who were fleeing, for days. They crossed the Euphrates River and managed to rent a car with another family. The taxi charged them 350,000 Iraqi Dinar (£192), more than double the normal rate.
At that point, she was more worried about her youngest child, Ahmed, who was just 29-days-old.
Another escape
Rehana had a similar experience. Along with hundreds of neighbours, 22-year-old Rehana fled with her husband and one year-old son from her village when the militants came and the fighting started. When their house was bombed, she remembers thinking, “Now, we have nothing.” They ran from the danger without carrying anything with them. They walked for days until they reached the Zakho District in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Struggling to survive
Ekhbal’s family drained their savings paying their share of the rent for a rundown house with exposed wires and peeling paint that they share with another family. “This is the cheapest we can get in this town,” Ekhbal says. “After staying here for six months without income, we have spent all the money we had and do not know what the future holds for us.”
Her husband used to provide for his family through farming and as a taxi driver, but now when he tries to find work, “many times he cannot find any and comes home frustrated,” Ekhbal explains. Eight-year-old Zaineb now watches over baby Ahmed and her other two brothers Hamsa and Osama instead of going to school, while her mother tries to earn some money for the family.
A helping hand
Thankfully, this month, Ekhbal and her family received help from World Vision’s cash assistance programme. This one-time support aims to meet the urgent needs of the family, allowing them to decide how to spend it.
“I am using this money to pay for our rent and for the needs of my children. This is hardly enough for what we need but it is a big help,” said Ekhbal.
Moyra Mahari, World Vision’s Cash-Based Programme Manager, said internally-displaced people prefer to receive cash rather than in-kind assistance. “It gives them the freedom and dignity to buy what they need. It also ensures they can get what is urgently needed by the family.”
As Rehana left the distribution area with her baby, she thanked us for the support. “I will set aside most of the money for my baby’s needs,” she smiled shyly. Rehana plans to save the money to provide for her son as her husband has not been able to find work and they do not know when they will be able to acquire income again. “I hope we can go home someday and I can provide for his future,” she added.
“My wish is for all the countries to help end the fighting so we can go home in peace,” said Ekhbal. “But, if this cannot be achieved, I am willing to stay where my children will be safe. I do not want my children to grow up scared.”