Kurdistan NGOs protest lack of emergency aid

Local NGOs in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern region of Kurdistan complain that little assistance is being sent to the area to support those who have been displaced by sectarian violence elsewhere in the country. “Many families [from other parts of Iraq] are taking refuge with their relatives in Kurdistan,” said Adar Mustafa, spokesman for Kurdish Aid Solidarity, a local NGO. “Even if they aren’t in camps or tents, they still need support, such as food parcels and cooking supplies.” According to Mustafa, virtually no assistance has reached them to date, despite promises of support from the central government in Baghdad. After making inquiries, he explained, local officials are told that available aid is not even enough to cover Baghdad, as happened last month in the case of aid arriving from the UAE and Syria. “We’ve had luck only with supplies sent by Turkey and Iran because they come direct to our area,” said Mustafa. Kalif Dirar, a senior official in the Kurdistan regional government, echoed these sentiments. “We’re concerned about the huge amount of aid earmarked for our area but which has either not reached us or, if it has, has arrived with fewer items, without explanation,” said Dirar. He went on to point out that many international NGOs initially send aid to Baghdad before it is distributed to other areas of the country. “So far, very few materials have reached us,” Dirar said. “So we don’t have enough supplies for the displaced who have taken refuge among us.” Similar problems have been observed in recent months by the Kirkuk branch of the Iraq Red Crescent Society (IRCS), officials of which also complain of a shortage of essential materials. “We only receive supplies from the IRCS head office in Baghdad and not from any other sources,” said Nuri Salihi, spokesman for the Kirkuk branch of the IRCS. “This leads to a shortage of essential needs, especially food parcels.” According to Salihi, the IRCS building itself is in poor condition, lacking air conditioning, electricity generators or computers. Salihi went on to urge international NGOs to help supply his outfit with food parcels and medicine to meet the needs of at least 10,000 displaced people in the area. As it stands, he added, local organisations can only afford to help about 1,500 people a month. The situation is worst in the village of Halabja, where thousands of Kurds were allegedly killed by a chemical-weapons attack launched by the regime of former president Saddam Hussein in 1987. The village is one of the poorest in the region, and its agriculture department is reportedly starved of funds. “The situation in Halabja, and in other areas of Kurdistan, is critical,” said Ibraheem Khidr, a senior official at the Kurdistan Ministry of Agriculture. “The economic situation is going from bad to worse.” According to Khidr, nearly US $120 million has been spent in the past three years on reconstruction projects in the region, including projects devoted to sanitation, water and education. Only about US $6 million, however, has gone towards irrigation projects in Halabja, he pointed out. Kurdistan residents, meanwhile, particularly farmers, express exasperation. “We lack the support of international NGOs, which have switched their attention to Baghdad,” lamented farmer and Sulaimaniyah resident Nassen Youssef. “We require urgent assistance – unemployment is rising as a result of the closure of our industries.” AS/AR/AM