IRAQ / DISPLACED DESERT CAMP

Tens of thousands of displaced Iraqi families are living in extremely difficult conditions in these camps, where temperatures have topped 50 degrees Celsius. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:06:29
• Production Date: 2 August 2016
• Asset Language: Arabic
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: CONFLICT SITUATION; DISPLACED PERSONS; HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
• Geographic Subject: IRAQ
• MAMS Id: 1685205
• Parent Id: 1685205
• Alternate Title: unifeed160802f

Description

STORY: IRAQ / DISPLACED DESERT CAMP
TRT: 3:14
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 19 JULY 2016, AMERIYAT AL-FALLUJAH CAMPS, IRAQ

Shotlist

19 JULY 2016, AMERIYAT AL-FALLUJAH CAMPS, IRAQ

1. Various shots, women and children carrying water bottles
2. Med shot, tent
3. Various shots, Juma’a family inside their tent drinking tea
4. Close up, phone showing photo of Taha’s daughter
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Taha Juma’a, displaced person:
“I was scarred in this place. Do you know what it means to be scarred? It is a scar in the heart. I mean my child is the most precious thing to me. She was taken from my heart; it’s not easy. All the effort I put into her, four year, my child, I did everything for her. She was taken from me in a day and night from right here.”
6. Various shots, UNHCR staff talking to women
7. Wide shot, children moving aid supplies
8. Wide shot, women gathering
9. Wide shot, aid supplies
10. Various shots, people filling water buckets
11. Wide shot, children playing
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Taha Juma’a, displaced person:
“I have nightmares, many nightmares. I have this medicine in my pocket. I went to get this medicine. They gave me a sedative because the doctor prescribed it. I told them I don’t sleep at night. My daughter died in my arms and I cry all the day. At night I have nightmares.”
13. Various shots, cemetery where Taha’s daughter is buried
14. Various shots, Hana’a in tent
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hana'a Khamis, displaced person:
“I feel lost. I came here to seek safety and I was devastated because I lost my daughter. I just want to be happy for one day and I’m never happy. There, back home, there was fear and here, I lost my daughter. There is nothing that can make me happy. There is not even a day that I can be happy.”
16. Various shots, Juma’a family

Storyline

Tens of thousands of displaced Iraqi families are living in extremely difficult conditions in these camps, where temperatures have topped 50 degrees Celsius. More than 87,000 people fled Fallujah and surrounding areas, which had been held by extremist groups for two and a half years. But many families are finding it hard to deal with the challenges that displacement has brought.

Life is a daily struggle here in the dusty desert camps of Ameriyat al-Fallujah, in Iraq’s Anbar province. Taha Jumma and his family fled their rural home in Zobaa, on the outskirts of Fallujah. They made the dangerous journey across the Euphrates River by boat and saw others drown on the way.

But the camp’s harsh environment has its own dangers. Days ago, Taha’s daughter Duha died from a scorpion sting.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Taha Juma’a, displaced person:
“I was scarred in this place. Do you know what it means to be scarred? It is a scar in my heart. I mean my child is the most precious thing to me. She was taken from my heart; it’s not easy. All the effort I put into her, four year, my child, I did everything for her. She was taken from me in a day and night from right here.”

The United Nations Refugee Agency provide shelter and emergency assistance to thousands of families in the camp, but the scorching sun, soaring temperatures, and a shortage of basic necessities like electricity, water, and medical care make life here tough. Small children, like young Duha, are most vulnerable.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Taha Juma’a, displaced person:
“I have nightmares, many nightmares. I have this medicine in my pocket. I went to get this medicine. They gave me a sedative because the doctor prescribed it. I told them I don’t sleep at night. My daughter died in my arms and I cry all the day. At night I have nightmares.”

Duha is buried in a cemetery, several kilometres from the camp. Her mother, Hana’a, is reeling from the tragedy. She sent two of Duha’s older siblings to live temporarily with her parents near Baghdad.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hana'a Khamis, displaced person:
“I feel lost. I came here to seek safety and I was devastated because I lost my daughter. I just want to be happy for one day and I’m never happy. There, back home, there was fear and here, I lost my daughter. There is nothing that can make me happy. There is not even a day that I can be happy.”

Hana’a and Taha try to remain strong knowing that they saved their family from conflict back home. Despite their heartbreak, their young children give them hope and a reason to work for a better future.