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IRAQ / MOSUL DISPLACED
STORY: IRAQ / MOSUL DISPLACED
TRT: 2:03
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR
LANGUAGES: ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: OCTOBER 21 2016, DEBAGA, KURDISTAN REGION, IRAQ
1. Wide shot, Tourfa Nasser sitting among displaced people
2. Med shot, pan from a boy to Tourfa
3. Med shot, Tourfa Nasser
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tourfa Nasser, Displaced woman:
“I fled Mosul after I witnessed the killing, torture and executions. They executed people for having mobile phones. If they caught someone carrying a cigarette, they would cut their hand off.”
5. Wide shot, tilt down from internal displaced people to Tourfa
6. Various shots, internal displaced people
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tourfa Nasser, Displaced woman:
“I left Mosul, do you think they didn’t cross their limits with me? I took one (of them) and hit him.”
8. Close up, Tourfa Nasser
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tourfa Nasser, Displaced woman:
“I crossed all the landmines. All I could hear was the sound of ‘shshsh’. I crossed them all and the police got me out.”
10. Wide shot, internal displaced people
11. Med shot, displaced children outside
12. Wide shot, pan of camp staff carrying big pots
13. Various shots, displaced people outside
The United Nations (UN) Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is stepping up its preparations to receive large-scale displacement from Mosul, which the UN has estimated could reach one million people.
As the military offensive to retake the city of Mosul from extremist groups continues, more displaced Iraqis are arriving in Debaga camp in the Kurdistan region of Iraq to seek safety.
UNHCR said that there are now over 32,000 displaced people staying at the camp, with hundreds more arriving every day.
Sixty-four-year-old Tourfa Nasser fled Mosul a month ago. She walked for 13 hours to Debaga camp and was forced to leave her son and two daughters behind.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tourfa Nasser, Displaced woman:
“I fled Mosul after I witnessed the killing, torture and executions. They would cut people’s hands if they were caught smoking a cigarette. They don’t allow people to work to earn a basic living.”
Tourfa is sharing space with other 250 families in a school-turned-makeshift shelter for women and children while she waits for a tent of her own.
Most of the families are new arrivals, having fled villages on the outskirts of Mosul before the offensive began.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tourfa Nasser, Displaced woman:
“I had to flee, because ISIL crossed their limits. They crossed a line with me. They hit me. I couldn’t take it, so I hit one of them.”
Witnesses helped her get away, but her escape was not easy.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tourfa Nasser, Displaced woman:
“I crossed all the landmines. All I could hear was the sound of ‘shshsh’. I crossed them all until I reached the police who got me in here.”
While fighting continues for Mosul, the displaced families still hope that they can soon go back home and live their lives in peace – and without fear.
UNHCR is sending 7,000 tents to provide shelter for the displaced and the new arrivals are given food and blankets. Meanwhile, the agency has five camps open and ready to receive people.
UNHCR said that in Iraq 11 facilities are being prepared in anticipation of the large-scale of displacement. The camps will have a total capacity of up to 120,000 people by year’s end.
UNHCR is also securing a total of 30,000 additional tents and 50,000 emergency shelter kits to house families on the move.
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