The Sangasar internally displaced persons camp in Sullymania province, Iraq, is home to approximately 500 families from the Quandhil mountain region. The Kurdish Regional Government recently allocated land to move IDPs from these temporary tents to permanent land. Photo by Pvt. Jennifer Montagna

Task Force Marne Deputy Commanding General Support, Brig. Gen. Tom Vandal, has made several visits to internally displaced persons camps in Kurdistan and has met with government officials to assist the families who reside in those camps.

Hundreds of families along Iraq’s borders have taken refuge in internally displaced persons camps throughout the past eight years of conflict. The government of Iraq and the Kurdish regional government are looking for long-term solutions, but currently humanitarian support is being provided by non-military organizations and the KRG.

Camp Sangasar, in Sullymania province, is home to approximately 500 displaced families. Most of the individuals fled their Qandhil Mountain homes due to artillery fire. While their current camp is safe from artillery fire, there is another problem caused by the location of the village; it is located on a flood plain.

“Our engagement with KRG officials following the Sangasar visit was to have the KRG allocate space to move IDPs … which will fix the short-term problem,” said Vandal.

For the camp’s residents, returning to their homes in the near future isn’t a safe option. It is believed by government officials and Vandal that the artillery fire was an attempt to clear the village of civilians and that anyone who remains in the area may be labeled as terrorist suspects.

While families at Camp Sangasar wait until they can make a safe return to their homes, the KRG has donated money and is setting aside land for farming.

Several IDP camps in the Dahuk province are in need of different assistance from their government. The people said their main needs are central services, such as water and electricity. Many families also need help maintaining the condition of their homes. Old Iraqi Army barracks have been turned into housing. Some are falling apart, and others are too small for the numerous families they house.

Like their Camp Sangasar counterparts, the residents of Dahuk province IDP camps feel that they cannot safely return home. According to the Dahuk Director of Displaced Persons, some of the families in these camps were forced there by Saddam Hussein’s Regime. Many fled their home city of Mosul due to terrorist attacks.

“These IDPs only remember the conditions when they departed four or five years ago from Ninewa province when there were around 300 to 400 violent attacks per month. Now, attacks are down to 10 to 15 per week,” said Brig. Gen. Vandal.

While security has improved in Mosul, the KRG and GoI are looking for permanent homes. The U.S. Army is assisting them along the way.

“The KRG is more than capable of providing for the humanitarian needs of these people. What we can do is engage senior leadership within the KRG to ensure that they are focused on long-term solutions,” said Vandal.

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Story by Pvt. Jennifer Montagna

Approximately 30 people gathered for the grand opening of the Tovo Medical Clinic Feb. 12 in the Kani Karweshkan foothills, located in Halabja, Iraq.

The clinic opened in honor of Brig. Gen. Kenneth Tovo, in recognition of his past service in Iraq

The facility will be equipped with more than $25,000 of medical equipment and will help significantly improve the region’s medical care and provide essential services throughout the Kurdish autonomous region, said a Coalition forces advisor.

The clinic provides nearly 500 residents from six surrounding village’s access to a medical facility and the medical services of a staff of three full-time doctors. The location of the clinic also increases the chances of survivability by providing people in a community, where vehicular transportation is scarce, access because of the clinic’s central location. Access results in more immediate care, so patients can be stabilized before they are moved to another medical facility, if more specialized care is necessary.

“Most of the trauma cases we see are due to snake and scorpion bites to farmers working the fields,” said the regional tribal leader. “These patients can receive care immediately, lowering their chances of death.”

Potential long-term projects include paving the clinic route to make it more accessible, drilling wells to provide water to the clinic, establishing nearby electrical lines for communication, and expanding clinic services.

“The opening of this clinic is just one of several planned to promote local participation and demonstrate the government’s commitment to maintaining security while encouraging social and capital development, said Col. Bill Buckner, spokesman for the Multi-National Corps – Iraq. “Projects like this one create short-term benefits and long-term potential consistent with the intended goals of the Iraqi and CF partnership. Short-term, the clinic makes medical care for potentially fatal illnesses and injuries more accessible.”

A KRG representative reiterated that commitment, saying, “Give me a list of everything the staff needs, whether it is equipment, medications or supplies, and I will take care of it,” he told the head tribal leader. “Coalition forces helped build the clinic, but it is our job to sustain it.”

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To improve the learning environment and overall welfare of about 35 elementary school students in Kani Mayor Village, Iraq, Feb. 12, Kurdish regional government leaders and U.S. Coalition forces opened the doors to a new, insolated, five-room schoolhouse, complete with instructor-living quarters.

Kurdish Regional Government leaders and Coalition forces inaugurated the first, permanent educational facility Feb. 12 in the mountainous region of Kani Mayor Village, Iraq.

The new school supports growing educational needs and serves as a platform for the future economic stability of the Kani Mayor Village and surrounding communities of Panjwin, Iraq.

“When decent schools are not available for their children, parents have traditionally packed up and moved from their villages to the city. After awhile, due to the exodus of people, the village’s economy begins to suffer,” said the tribal leader.

“By putting brick on brick, it is proof you are not only protecting our people from terrorists, but also caring for our children’s educational future,” said the regional education director. “Thank you for giving the children a place to study and have a future.”

The modern schoolhouse is fully equipped with five roomy classrooms, two bathrooms, new desks, textbooks and overhead lighting. Additionally, in an effort to attract and retain the most qualified educators, a separate building was constructed to serve as living quarters for the instructors.

Village children expressed sincere appreciation for the new facility to KRG leaders and were ecstatic to leave behind their temporary schoolhouse, which was a loaned-out chicken coop from one of the local farmers.

“It’s nice to finally be rid of that old school and not have to share (my new school) with chickens,” said a 13-year-old girl, who is excited to get back to school and continue her Arabic lessons.

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