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STORY: IRAQ / COUSIN
TRT: 2.18
SOURCE: WFP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 22 - 24 JUNE 2014, KALAK / DOHUK, IRAQ
22 JUNE 2014, CHECKPOINT NEAR KALAK, IRAQ
1. Various shots, Kurdish military checking cars of people fleeing Mosul
2. Various shots, families waiting to pass the checkpoint
24 JUNE 2014, KALAK TRANSIT CAMP. IRAQ
3. Various shots, WFP Executive Director visiting Kalak transit camp between Mosul and Erbil
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ertharin Cousin, WFP Executive Director:
“These people didn’t have any place else to go and they are depending upon the international community and the generosity of the people of this community for their survival. The challenge is that we do not have the necessary resources to provide the assistance that is required for a sustained period of time. We need the international community to continue to support our efforts here so that no family who has now come to find refuge goes without the basic food, water and other assistance needs that UN community and WFP is working to provide to them.”
5. Various shots, WFP Executive Director talking to the diplaced people
6. Various shots, WFP food distribution
23 JUNE 2014, SCHOOL COMPOUND, DOHUK, IRAQ
7. Various shots, food, fans, bedding and other relief items being distributed to people displaced from Mosul staying in a school
World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Ertharin Cousin ended a two-day visit to Iraq on Wednesday (25 June) after high-level talks with government officials in the Kurdistan Regional Government, donors, and meeting displaced families who fled the violence in Mosul.
Cousin stopped at the Kalak transit camp – located in between Mosul and Erbil – and met with the displaced people who fled the recent fighting in Mosul. Families sheltered by newly erected tents and others waiting for shelter in 45 degrees Celsius scorching heat told her that they left their homes with the clothes they were wearing on them only.
It is estimated that close to half a million people have been displaced in various parts of the country over the last few days because of the recent surge in violence in Mosul and surrounding areas.
SOUNDBITE (English) Ertharin Cousin, WFP Executive Director:
“These people didn’t have any place else to go and they are depending upon the international community and the generosity of the people of this community for their survival. The challenge is that we do not have the necessary resources to provide the assistance that is required for a sustained period of time. We need the international community to continue to support our efforts here so that no family who has now come to find refuge goes without the basic food, water and other assistance needs that UN community and WFP is working to provide to them.”
A man displaced from his home in Mosul hosted Cousin in his makeshift tent and told her that only the strong and lucky who could walk in this heat for many hours to reach safety arrived here to this transit camp. Conditions are dire for these families and he asked how they can fast the Holy month of Ramadan in these harsh conditions without access to water, electricity and other necessities.
WFP has launched an emergency operation to feed the conflict-affected population in Iraq and its operations to feed over half a million people of the newly displaced people amid security and funding challenges. Before the latest wave of displacements, starting with the violence in Mosul, WFP has already been assisting 240,000 people displaced by conflict in Iraq’s al-Anbar Governorate, as well as more than 100,000 refugees from the conflict in Syria who are sheltering in Iraq.
WFP needs 88 million US Dollars for its operations in Iraq from July to December 2014.
