Focus on Fallujah residents returning

In floods of tears, and with her 10-month old son in her arms, Hanan Jaboury, a mother of five and resident of Fallujah, some 60 km west of Baghdad, waited near a US checkpoint on the outskirts of the city for the green light. She looked to the sky, asking God for a solution after losing her husband in the battle between US troops and insurgents. Now, she is without a home or financial support, waiting for the final authorisation to find out what is left of her life in Fallujah. "I have been told that everything has been destroyed," she told IRIN. After nearly a month of heavy fighting in the city, many residents that fled the city are staying in areas near the main checkpoints, awaiting a final decision from the interim government allowing families to return home. The first group of residents will be allowed to go home to the western neighbourhood of Andalus and will be followed very carefully by US troops and Iraqi national guards. "I preferred to stay in the camp. It is really very sad. I lost my home and everything I had inside it. I thought that I was going to find at least something of mine here but all I can see are destruction and blocks everywhere," said Muhammad Rabia'a, 65. He was one of a handful of people allowed back to the area on Tuesday to check on his home. Devastation is everywhere after a month of conflict in the city. Many homes that still stand have no roofs. Burned out cars can be seen everywhere blocking the streets, along with dead animals. The interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, told IRIN at a roundtable discussion with journalists in Baghdad on Tuesday that families would be compensated for the damage caused to houses and shops, as well as each family receiving US $600 dollars as a way to guarantee basic essential needs, such as food and water, until reconstruction takes place. According to Allawi, returns to the Andalus district are the first step. From Saturday, people from other areas would also be allowed to return, if security permitted. Allawi's office said families would get US $2,000 for minor damage to homes, $10,000 for major damage and new accommodation to replace those houses completely destroyed. Officials believe it will take time to access the entire city but say it could be back to normal in a few weeks. Nearly 200,000 people fled from Fallujah, leaving only a third of the pre-conflict population. Most of them stayed in areas around the city in camps or with relatives. A US Marine spokesman told IRIN that two clinics and two hospitals had been set up and 500,000 gallon water tanks had been distributed in Andalus for returning residents.

Many children from Fallujah have been suffering due to lack of facilities after becoming displaced

But even with all the help from US troops and the interim government, civilians going home will face a city they no longer know with no water, electricity or telephone lines, and inadequate health services. Despite this, some Iraqis are desperate to return. "I'm happy that I will be back home, even in a place without water and a house without doors and roof. It is my land but at the same time I feel myself to be in a desert surrounded by an impressive image of destruction and loss," Salim Kubaissy, 30, who lost his leg and arm during one of the attacks, told IRIN. Government ministries are now working in cooperation with troops to help start cleaning and rebuilding. Unexploded ordnance (UXOs) is of particular concern and Industry Minister Hajim al-Hassani told IRIN that they have been removing explosives and mines left by the insurgents in the area, and want to guarantee total security to residents before they can return. "We are working in partnership with various ministries to fix many important units such as water and sewage treatment [facilities]. The power is down in the city and should be solved as soon as possible since people will start to return to Fallujah soon. It is the emergency cases that we are working on these days," al-Hassani said. Jotiar Akramy of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) told IRIN that they are concerned about the reaction of people when they return. "The psychological situation will be very important when they go back to Fallujah. Many of them will find their relatives buried everywhere. It will be a big shock," Akramy added. An IRCS convoy, including ambulances, will leave on Thursday morning for Fallujah carrying essential materials such as food and blankets. "We have heard that the government is going to help the residents that will go back to Fallujah and we hope that it doesn't take time because this winter is affecting the health of many elderly and children," IRCS spokeswoman Firdoos al-Abadi told IRIN. She added that their office in Fallujah had moved due to attacks in the neighbourhood near the old office. They are working from a temporary house, donated by one of the residents in a safer place. In addition, the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) has launched a two-week emergency aid operation, benefiting more than 200,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) that are located in nine areas around Fallujah as well as in old governmental buildings, schools and camps improvised by the IRCS. This aid will include mainly food and non-food items such as blankets, heaters, plastic sheeting and cooking sets. The food will be distributed in cans since there is no power to run fridges to store it. "They will let us go back to our homes, but here in the camps we at least had a roof over our head. God bless us. We hope that the government keeps its promises and rebuilds Fallujah for the innocent people," Sheikh Abu Sabah, a resident of Fallujah staying in Habanya camp, told IRIN.