Exodus (V)

Part of a series that began here. Previous installment here.

Our latest email from Haider Ajina:

Greetings,

The following is my translation of an article from Iraq’s Buratha news on 6-19-08

Iraqi Refugee minister declares 400 doctors and 19 thousand Iraqi return.

Iraqi refugee minister Abdul-Samad Rahman Sultan announce that over 19,800 families have returned to their residences through out Iraq and another 6,100 families have returned to Baghdad, out of which 5,200 have been covered under the Prime Minster’s assistance plan. The minister added, ‘the relative calm and improvement of security is becoming very obvious, hence the return of over 400 doctors to Baghdad’s Kargh area alone’. He also denied the existence of any forced repatriation, saying ‘all who return are returning voluntarily. The migration or exodus of families has stopped since late November of last year; however, the numbers being reported since then are due to delays in reporting or registering with the ministry due to the then security situation’. Sultan continues, “When the ministry started dolling out assistance money for the displaced, many families started registering at the different offices of the ministry”. The number of registered displace families in Dialah, Nainawah, and Anbar provinces reached 220,000, with Dialah province having the largest number registered. This is due to the opening of new ministerial offices in Dialah province. This recent increase in registrations is not an indicator of continued violence; in fact it is a result of former violence. Recent security operations in Mousul and Basrah have improved security in Iraq, allowing people to register.’

Sultan talked about the need for more funding to support the repatriation program, implemented by the ministry. The funding will compensate families for damages. The 195 million dollars allocated to the ministry will cover the repatriation but not compensation for damages.

Regards
Haider Ajina
McKinleyville CA

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