Displaced Iraqis now being turned away in Basra

With more than 40 displaced families arriving in Basra every day, local officials say that the province can no longer accommodate all of the Iraqi families fleeing insecurity, IRIN reported Monday.

“We cannot cope with any more families seeking refuge in our province, whatever their reasons. The governorate is seriously affected by the high number of displaced families,” Hassan Abdul-Kareem, a senior official in the Basra Governing Council, told IRIN. “Health services have deteriorated, schools are overcrowded and we aren’t even able to offer a good service to our locals. Things have become worse since the high influx of new arrivals.”

The increasing number of families fleeing to Basra has, according to the article, “led to higher crime rates, deteriorating security and a rise in the number of commercial sex workers.”

“We cannot try to offer something that isn’t available; we lack resources. We understand the desperation of Iraqi families trying to flee violence but the central government has to take urgent action to better disperse displaced families to other governorates,” Abdul-Kareem said.

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