Turning crises into opportunities: stories from Iraq and Lebanon
After eleven years, Syria remains the world’s largest refugee crisis with more than 6.6 million Syrians forced to flee their country and another 6.7 million people remaining internally displaced. The majority have fled to neighboring countries, seeking refuge primarily in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.
Host cities in Iraq and Lebanon have been facing the challenge of providing housing, public services, and job opportunities to both refugees and host communities, testing the limits of already fragile infrastructures and public services.
Since 2013, Iraq has been deeply affected by the conflict with the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), leading to the displacement of nearly 6 million people, combined with an influx of over 250,000 refugees from Syria. While the conflict in Iraq is over, there is still immense pressure to accommodate increasing numbers of people returning to their area of origin, with houses and basic infrastructure damaged and destroyed thus leaving vulnerable displaced persons and Syrian refugee families living in over-crowded houses in urban neighborhoods with no tenure security or basic safety, nor structural or sanitary standards. Aside from widespread physical destruction, the lack of employment is impacting their ability to access food, housing, health care, and other basic needs and rights, as well as the possibility to re-gain lost resources.
In this context, UNDP and UN-Habitat with the financial support of the European Union have joined forces to help local authorities provide basic services to vulnerable communities across 5 governorates.
5,600 residents including internally displaced persons (IDPs), host community members and refugees in Erbil, Dohuk, Sumel, Mosul and Sinjar benefitted from the rehabilitation of 976 houses that were damaged by the conflict, while clean and regular water supply was provided to over 13,000 people through the rehabilitation of 20,000 meters of water pipe.
But the benefits of this intervention go beyond brick and water. As the breadwinner for his household, Ismail Faris worried about being able to support his family as they rebuilt both their home and their lives within. The Faris family experienced the trauma of war twice. Ismail himself was hit on both occasions, first by heavy shrapnel, and then by bullets in his arm while fleeing during the Mosul liberation. Tragically, their 10-year-old son was killed by a shell that landed in their home. Both the house structure and the water network supplying their street in West Mosul were damaged in these conflicts.
He now works part-time casting concrete for houses, a job opportunity he attributes to the UN which is employing locals in the design, construction and management of water and sanitation projects.
Supporting local economies and job opportunities for vulnerable community members is a key component of UN-Habitat and UNDP work in the country.
Through a job creation grant scheme, 700 internally displaced and refugees were employed, and 179 entrepreneurs and start-ups were coached to develop business plans that are viable and ready for investment and financing. Through vocational training, 300 people acquired new skills that will enable them to enter the labour market in sectors that were previously closed to them, thus increasing their chances of generating income.
Iraq’s population is one of the youngest in the world, but youth unemployment has significantly risen due to the stifling economic conditions resulting from the conflict. To give talented vulnerable youth the means to support themselves, 42 youth including Syrian refugees, internally displaced people, and members of host communities from Erbil, Duhok, Sulaymaniyah and Nineveh were trained to become Community reporters and then contracted by UNDP and its partners to be field photographers and videographers capturing unique perspectives of their local communities.
Another 50 vulnerable youth participated in a short Film Festival featuring 23 short films created by young Syrian refugees, internally displaced and host community members in the same four governorates. The films tackled a variety of topics such as rebuilding Communities Post Conflict, Women Role in Social Recovery, Youth and Unemployment and Life through Your Lens. Films were voted for by people on social media and 13 winners were awarded trophies and cash prizes by the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani.
Socio-economic vulnerabilities in Iraq have also been impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which has further exacerbated the vulnerabilities of displaced communities and individuals. Over 30 million people were reached offline and online through the “Let’s Beat Corona campaign” spreading awareness and information on symptoms, prevention, myths, and psychological health and 200 teachers were trained on Covid-19 protection measures to reduce the spread of the virus in schools in Erbil.
In Lebanon the impact of the Syrian crisis has reached an unprecedented scale in the history of displacement-driven emergencies, with the country hosting an estimated 1.5 million refugees, a quarter of the total Lebanese population. The refugee crisis places tremendous pressure on Lebanon’s services and resources, further compounded by the current economic and financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of the devastating Beirut port explosion of August 2020. As a result, Lebanese and refugees alike face long-term poverty, shrinking job opportunities and dwindling resources and services, which are also main drivers of tension at the local level.
In this context, UNDP and UN-Habitat are working together to help residents overcome deteriorating living conditions, while at the same time helping local authorities to provide services to the population.
For instance, Bourj Hammoud has one of the highest concentrations of poverty and vulnerable groups in Lebanon, including refugees and Internally Displaced People. The city, located approximately two km away from Beirut port, was severely impacted by the explosion. In 2021, the Municipality launched a new WhatsApp hotline service in three languages, Arabic, Armenian and English, responding to requests for services related to Covid-19, damaged housing following Beirut blast, and support for people with disabilities, making it both affordable and accessible for residents from various nationalities. In one year, 1,743 cases were submitted to the hotline.
“This project should have been developed long time ago, but unfortunately the municipality didn’t have the required resources. The implementation of the hotline is very timely. I encourage Bourj Hammoud residents to use this service and to benefit from the health and social support provided.” Said Mardig Boughossian, Mayor of Bourj Hammoud municipality.
On a larger scale, nine municipalities and one union of municipalities are working on local economic development and basic services projects that respond to urgent communities’ needs, expected to benefit more than 1 million people in the South, North and Matn regions of Lebanon. One example is the rehabilitation of the union fire brigade department at the Urban Community Al-Fayhaa in the North of Lebanon which covers four cities and about 800,000 residents, responding to calls related to fire incidents and rescue. The department suffers from a great shortage of fire brigade equipment and staff including firefighters.
In addition, to contribute to reducing tensions and violence among the host communities and refugee population, mediation units were established in the South, North and Matn regions of Lebanon to support unions and municipalities in local conflict resolution.
Heba Balhas, an employee at Siddiqin municipality in the South was one of the 43 participants who completed an eight-month mediation programme training. Heba sees herself playing a new role within the mediation unit at the Union of Tyre Municipalities, building a bridge of dialogue and understanding between people using the knowledge acquired during the training programme.
About the project
Launched in 2019, the “Strengthening the Long-Term Resilience of Subnational Authorities in Countries Affected by the Syrian and Iraqi Crises” project, is a UNDP/UN-Habitat joint initiative in countries affected by the impact of the Syria crisis, namely Lebanon and Iraq over a period of 48 months. The project is funded by the European Union Regional “MADAD” Trust Fund for the Syria Crisis.
The main objective of the project is to improve the resilience of host and refugee population in communities impacted by the Syrian crisis, through strengthened local multi-level governance systems, and improved access to basic services, affordable housing[1] and income.
Get to know more about the project in Iraq and Lebanon.
[1] Only in Iraq.
