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By Erik Gustafson and Brian Nichols Takeaways for October 15-21, 2015 Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have completely cleared Baiji, its refinery, and the surrounding areas, of ISIS fighters. They are apparently looking to continue their momentum north, possibly cutting off the remaining ISIS forces in Kirkuk province from their larger…
“Conflict is natural. The issue is how well we manage conflict and attempt to not allow it progress to violence.” - President of USIP, Nancy Lindborg In a globalized world, it is nearly impossible to be completely insulated. There are faster planes, faster trains, and faster bandwidth. However, what has emerged, in many cases, from…
Introduction This post will focus on Internally Displaced Persons, or IDPs. Understanding the significance of the IDP problem is crucial to understanding the humanitarian crisis occurring in Iraq today. There are currently roughly 3.9 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Iraq, 3.2 million of those being displaced since January 2014. Unlike refugees, Internally Displaced Persons…
The number of displaced people in Iraq roughly equals the population of LA. Hear their story.
By Erik Gustafson and Brian Nichols Takeaways for October 9-15, 2015 An Iraqi airstrike reportedly hit a convoy carrying Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), injuring him. Several of his top advisors were reportedly killed in the airstrike too. Following expanded U.S. involvement in the fight to…
Read about updates on cholera, the crisis in Kurdistan, and advancements against ISIS in Ramadi and Baiji in our latest ISHM report.
Introduction This post will focus on Internally Displaced Persons, or IDPs. Understanding the significance of the IDP problem is crucial to understanding the humanitarian crisis occurring in Iraq today. There are currently roughly 3.9 million IDPs in Iraq, 3.2 million of those being displaced since January 2014. This mass forced displacement has cost too…
EPIC Crisis Center: Internally Displaced Persons has gone live! If you want to learn: who are the IDPs of Iraq, the timeline of the current IDP crisis, the types of shelter available to IDPs, and where are they now read and share.
"I have long said that Americans are the most generous people in the world. But we do have the shortest attention spans. And when it comes to global crises today, I fear that too many in the United States believe that we can insulate ourselves from the world’s problems and leave it to the countries…
By Erik Gustafson and Taif Jany Takeaways for October 2, 2015 Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) retook the Olympic Stadium in western Ramadi, and advanced against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in the towns of Albu Faraj and Khaladiyah Island, just north and east of Ramadi respectively. According to Joint Operations Command spokesman…
EPIC has just released ISHM Report 33.
Takeaways for October 8, 2015
Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) retook the Olympic Stadium in western Ramadi, and advanced against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in the towns of Albu Faraj and Khaladiyah Island, just north and east of Ramadi respectively. According to Joint Operations Command spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, ISF then entered the Zanquarah area, west of the city, seized the Abu Chaleb district to the north and the Albu Risha area to the northwest, and began advancing towards the city center. With air support from the Iraqi Air Force and U.S-led Coalition Forces, ISF operations are now focusing on retaking strategic areas inside Ramadi including the Anbar Operations Command Center and the 8th Army Brigade Headquarters, while consolidating control of much of the Baghdad-Amman Highway, allowing anti-ISIS forces on both sides of the Euphrates River to connect with each other. There are also reports of ISIS militants fleeing the city. ISF forces advised citizens to raise white flags over their buildings to distinguish themselves from ISIS in the coming battle. Also this week in Anbar, Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) Artillery strikes reportedly destroyed ISIS headquarters in northern Fallujah.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) welcomed Russian assistance to Peshmerga forces in the region. In response, Russia voiced its readiness to participate in air operations in Iraq but is waiting for an official request from Baghdad.
ISIS executed 70 members of Albu Nimr tribe in Anbar. Albu Nimr is a tribe that played a crucial role in assisting U.S. troops in fighting al-Qaeda in 2006 and 2007.
A series of bombings and Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (SVBIED) killed hundreds of civilians across Iraq. Also, ISIS kidnapped nearly 300 civilians in Kirkuk based on accusations of cooperating with Peshmerga security forces.
Thousands of Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad, Basra, Sulaimani, and Wasit demanding improvements in education and with health services, an end to corruption, and the swift implementation of PM Haider al-Abadi’s reform plans.
The Ministry of Health announced 162 new cholera cases have been reported, increasing the total number of civilians infected to 1,201.
A new sandstorm strikes Baghdad and nearly 200 cases of asphyxia have been reported so far.
Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, announced that the Green Zone, home to Iraq’s top politicians and lawmakers, would be opened to the Iraqi public for the first time in twelve years.
With child labor growing in Iraq due to unemployment and poverty, school attendance continues to plummet. The Province of Kirkuk is reported to have the highest rate of child labor with nearly 50,000 children — mostly girls — working in dangerous conditions. In the province of Maysan, the Social Welfare Department announced plans to introduce new legal protections aimed at reducing child labor and increasing school attendance.
- See more at: bit.ly/ISHM33
"I have long said that Americans are the most generous people in the world. But we do have the shortest attention spans. And when it comes to global crises today, I fear that too many in the United States believe that we can insulate ourselves from the world’s problems and leave it to the countries…
I’m happy and proud to share some very exciting news with you about TentEd, a project of EPIC. Over the last several weeks, we have successfully designed and are now implementing a three-way project between us, World Orphans, and Terre des hommes, an Italian aid organization. This is one of our most ambitious initiatives so far.…
By Taif Jany Takeaways for September 25, 2015 In the provinces of Ninewa, Anbar and Kirkuk, a series of advances were reported by the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs), and Peshmerga forces in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Dozens of civilians were killed, and many others…
Soccer Salam: 2,000 and Counting
Summer Update: In a 120°F heat, our SoccerSalam team delivered emergency aid to the besieged City of Al-Khaladiyah providing 500 families with needed supplies.
Fall Update: After having raised $20,361, EPIC and its partners can NOW reach 2,000 refugees, IDPs, and besieged individuals, providing the following:
Shelter
Water tanks and plastic tubes
Children shoes
Food baskets (with 10kg flour, 5kg rice, 2L oil, 1kg tea, 1kg sugar, 1kg beans, 1kg lentils, 1kg dates, and 1kg chicken)
Playground and soccer pitch
Medications and first-aid materials.
Help us surpass our goal. Every dollar counts: https://www.crowdrise.com/SoccerSalam
One Team, One Dream
Last winter, Soccer Salam successfully reached over 1,000 families in desperate need of winter aid. This summer, we embark on the next phase of our mission to help displaced Iraqi children.
Today, Soccer Salam announces the launch of its Crowdrise fundraiser. We’re asking you and everyone we know to help us reach our goal of $20,000 within 60 days to provide our field-based team with what they need to purchase food, water tanks, medicine, and other essentials – along with soccer balls – for more than 2,000 displaced families in Iraq this summer. We need your help to make this goal.
Any amount you can give would be greatly appreciated. We also invite you to help fundraise along with us. Imagine the impact we can have if each of our supporters joined the fundraiser and got their friends and family to donate to our cause. If you’re interested in joining our team, visit our Crowdrise fundraiser and click ‘FUNDRAISE FOR THIS CAMPAIGN.’ In seconds, you’ll have your own fundraiser that you can share with everyone you know.
To donate, just visit us on Crowdrise and click the big orange donate button. Please give what you can. It’ll take less than a minute. All donations via our Crowdrise page are fully tax deductible and will go directly to our team in Iraq. Please share this fundraiser with everyone you know — your family, best friends, even your neighbor.
Thank you for your support.
Soccer Salam is an emergency response project to deliver humanitarian relief to Iraq’s most vulnerable children and families
Join the Soccer Salam team today and help us achieve our dream of reaching over 2,000 Iraqi children and their families with humanitarian aid and the joy of soccer by the end of this summer. We’ve only got 60 days, so let’s get to it!!!
Peace Building in Babel
Babel, IRAQ—Exciting news coming out of Babel, Iraq this week! Our Soccer Salam team just completed the delivery of food baskets and other essentials to 60 families now living in Babel, most of whom were originally displaced from Ramadi - another step forward in Soccer Salam’s continued efforts to reach the many Iraqis displaced by violence and left untouched by humanitarian aid this summer.
The needs of these displaced people, especially the needs of displaced Iraqi children go beyond food, water and shelter. They need a chance to play and forget the traumas of war. Soccer Salam addresses these psychological needs, supplying soccer balls for these children in addition to vital provisions of aid.
Soccer Salam’s on the ground partner, the Iraq Health Aid Organization (IHAO), was instrumental in the Babel distribution. As an NGO based in Baghdad, Iraq and operated by Iraqis, IHAO aims to promote the long-term health and stability of the country from within. Hala al-Sarraf, our fearless colleague and IHAO director, spearheaded this most recent distribution. Here is Hala’s direct dispatch from Babel:
From: Hala al-Sarraf
Dear All,
I am pleased to report the distribution of food baskets to families now in Babel, originally displaced from Ramadi. The event was attended by the Head of the Committee for Displaced people of the Provisional Council of Babel. Mr. Kassim al-Fatlawi, who is an IHAO member and our focal point in Babel, worked to collect the IDP families’ names and data. All names were checked against food ration coupons and IDs of each family who received a basket.
This mission is different from others though. A member of IHAO team participating in the distribution of goods today, Mr. Ahmed al-Kaissy, hails from Kirkuk. A Sunni Iraqi, Mr. Ahmed is now working together with his Shia IHAO colleague Mr. Kassim to help these IDPs from Anbar.
Some of the IDPs told us their stories.
Among the accounts were heard those we heard were from IDPs fleeing al-Qaim, which is currently under the control of ISIS. One Sunni man described the fate of his tribe, many of whom had died at the hands of ISIS only two days prior. Despite this tragedy, we find that the Sunni IDP families were welcomed into this Shia community, who helped arrange for this distribution, giving these families the aid they desperately needed.
A positive sign in the shadow of despair. More photos to follow.
Best, Hala
Hala’s dispatch sheds light on just how significant the impact of Soccer Salam is and why it is vital for the future of Iraq. The sheer number of displaced Iraqis, over 3.6 million according to recent estimates by the UN, exhibits that the need for aid is more dire than ever. Additionally, large international relief efforts lack the funds to reach all of these vulnerable populations. There is an evident gap between the amount of aid needed to assist all of those who are displaced and how much is actually provided. Projects like Soccer Salam, which partner with Iraqi organizations who deliberately seek out hard-to-reach groups, often untouched by aid, are imperative for the relief effort as a whole.
Soccer Salam offers more than just lifesaving relief to its beneficiaries. It gives Iraqi volunteers, from diverse backgrounds, the opportunity to work together, and in the process to build bridges of understanding over divisive issues. Many times Iraq is portrayed as a country chronically divided along religious, ethnic and cultural lines. Sunni-Shia, Arab-Kurd, etc. Babel is an exceptional case. Volunteers and aid workers have come together to help their fellow Iraqis; Shia communities have opened their arms to Sunni populations displaced by violence, all acting in contrast to stereotypes. Religious divides did not prevent volunteers from different regions and religious sects from coming together to solve a common issue that all Iraqis face—the humanitarian crisis fueled by the conflict with ISIS.
In a larger sense, Babel exemplifies how efforts to assist those in need right now can have a lasting impact in the future. Peace building does not happen overnight. It requires rigorous participation by the people, the government and international society. The road ahead will be a difficult one in the wake of the displacement and destruction caused by ISIS; however, Soccer Salam’s work is a step in the right direction. By peacefully bringing together various segments of Iraqi society to help those in need, Soccer Salam is actively participating in building a lasting peace in Iraq.
Soccer Salam hopes to be a part in laying the foundation for a more robust and prosperous Iraq. With your help, our partners can reach those still in need of aid and invest in the future of Iraq—its children. Join our team and support Soccer Salam’s campaign to raise money for displaced Iraqi children in need.
- See more at: http://www.epic-usa.org/peace-building-in-babel/#sthash.BM7eV41u.dpuf
Donations from Lake Oswego go towards nonprofit's efforts to aid children and families in a war-torn nation.
Soccer Salam is grateful for donors like the Lake Oswego Rotary Club who help us to continue to deliver humanitarian relief and the joy of soccer to the vulnerable children and families of Iraq.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work in Bzeibiz
Bzeibiz, IRAQ – On June 17, the second event under Soccer Salam’s summer cycle successfully distributed food items, medications, and water tanks in Bzeibiz, an area previously untouched by humanitarian aid.
Our partner on the ground, the Iraq Health Aid Organization (IHAO), led by Hala al-Sarraf, facilitated the visit to Bzeibiz accompanied by another NGO partner who wished to report on the distribution and to contribute aid efforts to the area. The more International NGOs involved with our visits the better! With NGOs reviewing and circulating news of the realities of the humanitarian crisis, Soccer Salam is able to earn more support towards helping overcome the damaging effects of ISIS on the displaced children and families of Iraq.
IHAO’s visit to Bzeibiz was approved by Iraq’s Office of People’s Affairs under the Prime Minister’s Cabinet, who supplied them with vehicle passes. The distribution team expected to reach Bzeibiz early in the morning, but due to reports of car bombs in the area, two truckloads of humanitarian aid goods and two cars were not allowed to pass through the required security checkpoint until 3:00 pm. The delay of the two-hour drive from Baghdad into the heat of the day added to the preexisting stress of maintaining safety in a desolate and remote area of the desert of the Anbar province. Soccer Salam’s partners pushed forward, determined to deliver aid even in the face of danger.
Wednesday’s mission is the largest thus far for Soccer Salam’s summer aid. The distribution included several key elements to summertime survival for the IDPs in Bzeibiz: medicine, water, food and other personal items.
Medications were donated to IHAO, who generously contributed them to the Soccer Salam project to maximize the benefits of aid distribution. Two doctors and a pharmacist helped to collect and distribute 100 bottles of 23 kinds of medication in an effort to combat some of the most common diseases found in IDP camps, such as chronic infections of the skin and lungs, fungal infections, worms, and others. According to the WHO/EWARN, the leading causes of death in IDP camps include Acute Respiratory Tract Infections and skin diseases like scabies. Among those affected by illness, 31% are children below the age of 5.
100 water tanks and tubes were distributed to 100 tents where it is common for multiple families reside in a single tent. Water sanitation tablets were also given to these families. This is the first time the families of Bzeibiz have ever had water containers – before our visit they collected water in stagnant cement storage basins and shared it amongst all of the occupants of the camp.
Food baskets were delivered to families who had not been reached during our previous visit to Bzeibiz, and an additional 30 baskets were distributed to the families of a third camp near Bzeibiz by the IHAO teams. With Ramadan now fully underway, these food baskets provide the opportunity for displaced families to safely participate in fasting and to enjoy Iftar (breaking of the fast). The celebration of Ramadan is one way for these families to escape the violence and desolation around them, if only for a month.
A colleague of Hala al-Sarraf, who works intensively with women in IDP camps and mosques in Baghdad, accompanied IHAO for the distribution. During the event she visited every tent and spoke to the women and girls about their issues in the camp. It became quite apparent that children were traumatized after witnessing substantial violence – many of the children witnessed their parents killed by ISIS.
The tragedy of the stories of the children and families in Bzeibiz did not hinder the joy of the event. Along with humanitarian goods, soccer balls were given to the children, and we witnessed the reinvigoration of fun in an otherwise forsaken place. Not only did the children have a great time, but some of the IHAO staff got carried away playing a soccer match against the kids! When night began to fall, the team had to pack up (and forfeit their game) to hit the road back to Baghdad. When asked about the events of the day, the team said that they had so much fun with the kids that every minute in the heat was worth it. It is inspirational stories and experiences like these that drive the Soccer Salam team to continue reaching as many children with aid and fun as possible.
If you would like to follow our progress in Iraq, subscribe to the Soccer Salam webpage and receive inspiring updates about the young lives we are changing.