MODM BASRAH OFFICIAL ON IDP CAMP FOR DISPLACED SHIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BASRAH 000066

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 5/5/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PTER PREF SMIG SOCI EAID KISL IZ
SUBJECT: MODM BASRAH OFFICIAL ON IDP CAMP FOR DISPLACED SHIA
ESTABLISHED IN ZUBAIR

REF: BASRAH 51

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CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah,
State Department.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) Summary: On April 30, the Basrah Regional Coordinator
(RC) and PolOffs met with Abdul Kareen Salman, Director of Human
Affairs from the Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM)
for the Southern Region to discuss the issue of Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) in southern Iraq. Abdul Kareem
reported that the Basrah Provincial Council (BPC) had formed a
joint committee made with the MoDM and the Iraqi Red Crescent to
deal with the issue of IDPs, and that the Zubair municipal
council had decided to establish an IDP camp in the town of
Zubair at the Youth and Sports facility, a public building owned
by the Ministry of Youth that Abdul Kareem described as
abandoned and unused. Committee members had been reluctant to
establish the camp, Abdul Kareem said, but they saw no other way
to provide basic needs to displaced families living in the
streets. USAID/OFDA has deployed assessment teams to the South
but has not yet assessed IDP assistance needs in the region.
REO believes that existing organizations in Basrah are providing
adequate assistance to the displaced families and there is no
IDP crisis in the region, although new families continue to
arrive on a daily basis. The camp is not being touted as a
solution to the problem of displacement due to sectarian
violence. Local officials indicate that displaced families
should return to their places of habitual residence when the
security situation permits and say that this is the desired
outcome of the families themselves. Establishment of a
predominantly Shia camp in an area of Basrah known for its large
Sunni population could exacerbate sectarian tensions. Although
the IDPs populations in Zubair is not yet sufficient to affect
demographics, the influence of Sunnis on local politics could be
diluted if enough new IDPs continue to arrive. End Summary.

IDP Camp Established in Zubair
--------------


2. (C) On April 30, the Basrah RC and PolOffs met with Abdul
Kareem Salman, Director of Human Affairs from the MoDM for the
Southern Region, to discuss the issue of IDPs in southern Iraq.
Abdul Kareem's office covers the provinces of Basrah, Maysan,
and Dhi Qar. Migration of Shia from other Iraqi provinces into
Basrah began shortly after the fall of Saddam's regime, Abdul
Kareem said, but they came in numbers "small enough to count on
your fingers." In the period since the February 22 attack on
the Samarra mosque, Abdul Kareem stated that 735 mainly-Shia
families moved into Basrah province, mostly from predominantly
Sunni areas. Abdul Kareem stated that most of the IDPs found
shelter with friends and relatives, but that there were also a
substantial number of families who had no support and were
camping out in front of the MoDM office in Basrah. He
characterized displacement into Basrah as growing-- "new
families come in every day"-- although the rate of migration
into the area had decreased since the massive influx that
occurred immediately after the February 22 Samarra mosque
attack.


3. (C) About two weeks ago, the BPC formed a joint committee
with representatives from the MoDM, the Zubair mayor and city
council, the local police, and representatives from the local
branches of the Ministries of Health and Human Rights to deal
with IDP issues. Members of the BPC on the committee include:
Seyid Baha Jamal Al Deen (Da'awa),Sheikh Fadil Abdul Mahdi
(Islamic independent),and Sheikh Salah Al Batat (Islamic
independent). The joint committee held a conference for about
400 displaced families in the area, asking them what their major
concerns were. The families reported that employment and
education were their biggest concerns, and they requested to
remain at the Youth and Sports facility in Zubair, a town
located about 30 miles southeast of Basrah, where many of them
had already taken up informal residence.


4. (C) Last week, the Zubair Municipal Council held a session
in which it decided to grant the wish of the displaced families
and allow them to remain officially at the Youth and Sports
Facility, as well as to provide tent accommodations for several
hundred more families. The Youth and Sports facility in Zubair
is a public building belonging to the Ministry of Youth,
described by Abdul Kareem as abandoned and not in use. He said
that 50 displaced families were already living in the building,
and that the camp would accommodate an additional 200-300
families in tents.


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5. (C) Abdul Kareem said that he personally felt sad that a
camp had to be established in Zubair for the displaced families.
He said that the building had electricity, but it was not up to
living standards. However, he also said that there was no room
for a camp in the city of Basrah itself, where most of the
displaced currently are living on the streets. The city council
of Zubair proposed allowing the families to stay in the Youth
and Sports facility and enlarging camp facilities, as this was
where the families themselves had elected to reside. PolOff
countered that camps were not considered to be a good solution
to the problem of displacement because they entailed substantial
administrative, security, and sanitary support. In addition,
camps attracted even more families and had a tendency to become
permanent establishments. PolOff mentioned that at an April 6
Humanitarian Sector Working Group meeting (Reftel),local Iraqi
officials and humanitarian organizations all agreed that they
did not wish to establish an IDP camp in Basrah for these
reasons. Abdul Kareem said that he agreed with all of these
assessments, but that the situation had become untenable for the
displaced families in Basrah. The local government could not
turn their backs on the needs of the displaced and leave them
living in the streets.


6. (C) Abdul Kareem stated that local Iraqi police are
providing security for the IDP camp in Zubair. These police had
been provided on request of the displaced families living in the
Sports and Youth facility after the camp was attacked by a group
of men about ten days ago, he said. The attackers were pushed
off by youths in the camp, and no further attacks had occurred
since then. Abdul Kareem said he did not know who had attacked
the camp or if the perpetrators had been caught.


7. (C) When PolOff asked if the displaced Shia families were
concerned for their security in Zubair since the town was known
to have a large Sunni population, Abdul Kareem stated that
security was not a problem because the Sunni residents of Zubair
were peaceful, unlike the "Sunni terrorists" in the north.
PolOff pushed back, disputing the charge that all Sunnis in the
North were terrorists, and when pressed, Abdul Kareem admitted
that he had no hard facts about the activities of the Sunnis in
the north. Sunnis comprised only about 50 percent of Zubair's
population, Abdul Kareem stated, and were not a majority there
as some people believed. (Comment: We have heard estimates that
the Sunni population in Zubair ranges from 10 to 80 percent.
There are no reliable figures, although we believe Sunnis to
comprise roughly ten percent of the population of Basrah
province, concentrated mostly in Basrah and Zubair. End
Comment). Abdul Kareem asserted that Sunnis in Zubair took an
active role in protecting the IDP camp. He said that the vast
majority of those moving into Basrah were Shia, but asserted
that some Sunni families also moved into Basrah after having run
into problems with multi-national forces elsewhere in the
country.


8. (C) When asked if he thought the camp would solve the
problems caused by the displacement, Abdul Kareem answered
firmly that it would not. The long-term solution would be for
the families to return to their homes when it was secure enough
for them to do so. The displaced families indicated that they
wished to go home as soon as possible and did not intend to
remain in Basrah any longer than they had to. When asked if he
would permit us to visit the camp, Abdul Kareem said that this
would not be a problem and that we were welcome to do so.

MODM Basrah: Needs for the Displaced Being Met
-------------- --------------


9. (C) Abdul Kareem depicted the problem of displacement of
families into Basrah as significant, but our current assessment
is that the situation is not unmanageable. A number of sources
of assistance for the displaced exist in Basrah and are actively
dispersing aid. The central government has sent boxes of food
to the local ministries' offices in Basrah for distribution.
Many private organizations and businesses have donated food and
clothing to the families as well. Abdul Kareem said that Sheikh
Mansour, a long-time REO Basrah contact, had donated food,
clothing, water tanks, and air conditioning units to the Sports
and Youth facilities families in Zubair. He noted that the Red
Crescent, World Food Program, and the Shia Endowment had all
contributed significant assistance to the families. PolOff
stressed the U.S. government concern for the wellbeing of all
those displaced from their homes and in need of assistance and
said that our policy was to channel further aid through existing
organizations. Abdul Kareem thanked us for our concern and
said he would keep us informed about developments.


10. (C) While the pressing day-to-day problems of food and

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clothing for the displaced families were under control, Abdul
Kareem said that the MoDM was also working on the thornier
issues of food ration delivery, education, and employment. The
MoDM was working through ministerial channels to arrange
delivery of Public Distribution System food rations to the
displaced families. The MoDM had also worked with the Ministry
of Education to allow school children to take their final exams
in Basrah in order not to disrupt their studies. The issue of
employment was proving to be the biggest challenge. The MoDM
was requesting that the Ministries of Oil, Industry, and
Minerals employ those displaced to Basrah who had appropriate
backgrounds in these fields. (Note: Giving scarce jobs to IDPs
will not likely, in the end, turn out to promote community, let
alone sectarian, harmony. Although anyone qualified should get
a job - provided there is a need/vacant position -- and MODM's
push for other ministries to employ IDPs seems noble at first
glance, the actual effect may be padding payrolls for political
purposes.)



11. (C) Abdul Kareem admitted that Sunni families were leaving
Basrah. He said he believed that most of these Sunnis were
leaving Iraq for Syria and the United Arab Emirates, although he
admitted that he had no hard facts about their destinations. He
said he was aware that some Sunnis were also leaving Basrah for
Anbar province, but that he believed this was a much smaller
number than those going abroad. (Note: The April 2 IOM report
on displacement in Iraq due to sectarian violence lists that 372
Sunni families have left Basrah for Anbar province and 279 Sunni
families have left Basrah and Dhi Qar provinces for Salah Al Din
province. End Note.) He said that those leaving for other
provinces in Iraq most likely had relatives in the area that
they were staying with and that it was his opinion that these
relatives were likely engaged in terrorist activities. Why
else, he questioned, would a family move into such violent
areas, unless they themselves were somehow connected to the
violence? Again, when pushed, Abdul Kareem stated that he had
no hard evidence of Sunni links to terrorism, and clarified that
this was just his personal opinion.

Other Southern Provinces
--------------


12. (C) According to MODM figures, a total of 440 Shia families
have moved into Dhi Qar since the February 22 attack, settling
in the Suk As Shuyk and Al Shatra areas, and the Al Fajr camp.
The Al Fajr camp in Dhi Qar province is the only other IDP camp
in the southern region of Iraq. Located about 100 miles north
of Nassiriyah near the provincial border with Wasit, Al Fajr
houses about 150 Shia families. MODM does not yet have figures
for displacement in Dhi Qar. The International Organization for
Migration (IOM) estimates a total of 440 Shia families have
moved into Maysan province following the February 22 attack. No
MoDM IDP camps have been established in Maysan; most of the
displaced in Maysan have moved in with relatives in rural areas.
Abdul Kareem assessed the issue of displacement to be of
greatest concern in Basrah due to numbers of the displaced, and
that Dhi Qar and Maysan were less critical cases.

Comment
--------------


13. (C) Comment: Displacement into the southern provinces of
Basrah, Dhi Qar, and Maysan has reached a significant enough
level for the local branch of MoDM and the BPC to determine that
tent camps for displaced families in Basrah and Dhi Qar are
essential, despite the pitfalls and limitations of camps.
USAID/OFDA has only just received funding for additional
assistance to IDPs in Iraq and is in the process of deploying
reconnaissance teams to determine IDP assistance needs in the
South. At this time, USAID/OFDA is not able to comment on the
accuracy of assessments by ICRS, MODM-Basrah, and the local
governments. REO Basrah believes that displacement has not yet
reached a crisis stage, and that existing organizations appear
able to adequately address the needs of the displaced. The
preferred long-term solution is agreed by all stakeholders to be
the return of the IDPs to their place of habitual residence.


14. (C) Comment continued: REO Basrah is concerned, however,
that the establishment of a predominantly Shia IDP camp in an
area of Basrah with a large Sunni population could spark further
sectarian tension. We have heard Abdul Kareem's assumption that
Sunnis who leave Basrah must be terrorists echoed by Seyid
Hassanein Al Safi, the BPC Humanitarian Sector Chair, local
media, as well as many of our other Shia contacts in Basrah.
The BPC is made up entirely of Shia; no Sunnis are represented
on the council. The current numbers of Shia moving in and

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Sunnis moving out are not yet substantial enough to alter
demographics and dilute the influence of Sunnis on local
politics. However, the potential of the IDP camp in Zubair to
further exacerbate sectarian violence in the period leading up
to provincial elections warrants close monitoring. We will
continue to dialogue with our Sunni contacts on the issue, as
well as maintain relations with the joint committee on IDPs. If
security conditions permit, we intend to take up Abdul Kareem's
offer to visit the Zubair camp in order to more fully assess the
scope of the IDP situation in Basrah. End comment.
GROSS