Aid agencies try to sort displaced from squatters

The war that brought an end to Saddam Hussein’s regime has also led to a huge social upheaval throughout Iraq. Thousands of people left their homes and moved to recently emptied public buildings. Some were evicted by the original owners of their houses, others had their residences destroyed in the war, or their rents sharply increased. Aid agenices say they now face a major headache distinguishing genuinely displaced people from the thousands of urban poor. The displaced, who were forced to leave their homes, include tens of thousands of Arabs who were resettled in northern areas and who have either been evicted by returning Kurds, or left in anticipation of their arrival. Alongside them are the urban poor, who have moved into the now empty prisons, military bases and former government institutions for economic reasons - particularly after landlords took advantage of the end of rent controls to demand more money. Aid workers say many people took the opportunity of the fall of the regime to move to public places to avoid rent and live in better areas. The problem is that the groups are a mixture of populations - both displaced and urban poor. Premiere Urgence, which is the focal point in Baghdad for internally displaced people (IDPs), is being funded by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to help the displaced in the capital. It recently surveyed 20,000 people living in public buildings in the city and found that less than a third of them would qualify as IDPs. The agency said that before any aid is distributed to the IDPs, they need to be separated from the other squatters. The problem was clearly illustrated during a visit to a housing complex in Baghdad that used to comprise apartments for Saddam Hussein’s Special Guard. The spacious apartments are now home to 37 families who moved in after the war. The four families IRIN met there had all left their original homes because of rent increases, rather than being forced out. Wafa Subhi, her husband and four children used to live crammed together in one room, for which they paid US $25 a month. During the war, her husband’s taxi was destroyed in crossfire and the landlord tried to increase the rent by $10. "We had no money and we didn’t know what to do. Some friends told us about this place so we came," said Subhi, looking around the two rooms which the family has already decorated with religious posters. "If we didn’t come here I don’t know what we would do, we don’t have any place to go." Shopkeeper Maalah Ismael brought his family and all his furniture, including his china collection, to his new apartment. He said his landlord had also wanted to put up the rent and be paid money in advance, despite the fact that part of his rented home had been damaged by a bomb. "It is good here - the space is large. We are happy here," he said. "Where else could we go?" The displaced and squatters who are not in key installations are unlikely to be moved by Coalition forces in the near future. However, some are in buildings which could serve a useful purpose. A large group of displaced and poor people have taken over a former showpiece orphanage, known as the Iraqi Family Village. The NGO Life wants to see it emptied as quickly as possible and restored to its former use. "We would like to see this being used once again by the orphans, but also we could move widows or single women with children in here to help look after them," said Vicki Robb, development director of Life. "It is an ideal set up here." Before the war, more than 600 orphans lived in the Family Village, with more than 300 teachers and support staff. There was a well-equipped school, a lavish mosque, sports facilities and a health centre. When the war started, the staff sent the children away - some went to stay with relatives, but others have ended up on the streets. The Family Village was comprehensively looted after the war, and then squatters moved in. It was not possible to speak to them as they are aggressive to outsiders, presumably fearing eviction, and are said to be armed. The only residents who approached IRIN were three children who confided that the Family Village was much better than their old homes. "It’s a complicated issue - and it’s one that the Coalition authorities will have to resolve," said Robb. "But we need to get the children back in here." The Coalition forces have been moving some IDPs and squatters out of buildings that they need, such as prisons and police stations. "We have to make sure that if the people are moved, they have somewhere to go to," said Chris Petch of IOM from Baghdad. "And one of the main problems in Iraq is the chronic housing shortage which is not going to be fixed overnight."