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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
IRAQ: Compensation for wartime losses going slow
BAGHDAD, 11 Oct 2006 (IRIN) - The seventh in a series of IRIN stories examining the obstacles Iraq faces in implementing its government’s plan to reconcile different sections of Iraqi society.
Muhammad Subhi’s garden once was filled with roses which his family had cultivated when they built their house 25 years ago. Today, no flowers survive amid the strewn debris that was his house before the US-led occupation of Iraq began three years ago.
Like thousands of others, Subhi, 48, has been promised compensation from the government for the losses he has incurred as a direct result of the coalition forces’ invasion of Iraq in 2003 and subsequent fighting.
“But what I always get is explanations that there is no money, and because of insecurity and terrorism, reconstruction is being delayed," Subhi said. "Nothing was left to me but to live as a displaced person in my own country and the rubble of my lovely house."
Among the 24 points of the reconciliation plan proposed by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in June is compensation for damage caused by “terrorist acts, military operations or violence”.
The government has said this is one of the priorities for the country’s redevelopment and that it is allocating enough funds to cover compensation claims, but that the increase in violence has prompted more destruction – piling up more claims for compensation than can be paid out.
“Until the end of this year, we expect to have enough funds to cover most of the compensation [for claims already filed as of July], giving priority according to the date of the destruction,” said a spokesman for the Prime Minister’s office who refused to be named.
“We are sure that soon we are going to pay all families and have a country walking toward development and reconstruction - but for that we need that security be at least stabilised,” he added.
The compensation money is mainly from oil revenue and also from the US-funded reconstruction department.
NGOs estimate that at least 80,000 families and businesses across Iraq are still awaiting reimbursement for all kinds of damage incurred over the past three years. Expected payments range from US $800 to US $30,000 per case.
Long road to compensation
The process for receiving compensation is handled by the Iraq Property Compensations Commission (IPCC). It takes at least two to six months just to complete the submission of documents and verifications of claims. Actual disbursement of the money, however, can take more than two years.
Claimants must present full documentation of their goods with pictures of the damage sustained in addition to a police report, and sometimes witness statements. If the claim is accepted, a government official makes a valuation of the damage and then the claimant waits until the commission contacts him. However, the money for the payment must be available.
"Thousands of families are still awaiting compensation from the government," said Fatah Ahmed, spokesperson for the Baghdad-based Iraq Aid Association (IAA). "Each day there is new fighting, more destruction, more attacks, and as a result, more families without their homes and shops - with the government alleging that there are no funds to reimburse yet."
More than 10,000 families have received their compensation, however, and many of them have already rebuilt their homes - especially in the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, according to the IPCC.
“I received the payment for my losses and have finished the reconstruction of my home two months ago,” said Mariam Rabia’a, 43, mother of five and resident of Fallujah. “We were lucky, the money didn’t take too long to reach our hands, and now we are back in our house with our kids in safety and happiness.”
However, the ongoing dire security situation in Iraq has made it difficult for the compensation process to continue smoothly for other families. Millions of dollars have been reallocated from compensation to additional security measures and the reconstruction of government offices, officials said.
“If we have control over the security in Iraq there will be less money invested in security issues and as result more money freed up for reconstruction efforts and compensation,” said Muhammad Farhan, media officer adviser of the Ministry of Construction and Housing.
Farhan added that many families have not yet filled out the claim documentation, and for this reason it is hard to know exactly how many there are.
"According to surveys and material collected by NGOs in Iraq [including the IAA], at least one million Iraqis have some kind of compensation owed, related to losses in their homes, shops, mosques, cars and others,” said Fua'ad Ibraheem, a political science teacher at Baghdad University. “And as the compensation process is going so slow, it might take years for those families to receive [even] a coin as payment."
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This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006
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