The administration of Ashti 2 Camp in Ankawa is demanding that displaced families leave, but they refuse to leave and ask the authorities to intervene

Ankawa.com / exclusive
The displaced families from Mosul and the Nineveh Plain residing in Ashti 2 Camp (the caravans) in Ankawa asked the administration of the camp and the authorities to support this complex and not to drive them out at the present time and hand the camp over to another administration in case the current one cannot handle such a responsibility. The families demanded the governmental bodies and individuals to intervene and address the issue directly and to return the service of electricity generators and drinking water, in addition to returning the church and the football pitch until the situation improves and they are able to return to their former residence.

In an interview with Ankawa.com, Khider Eliya Jibo (an IDP from Qaraqosh) said: “My house ownership paper was stolen on 11-04-2014 (the number of the property is 1479) and they registered it in a fake name, Lily Ramo. This problem has not been resolved yet and I cannot return to live in my house, so I ask the authorities to help me to return my property, and exert pressure on the government agencies in the district of Hamdaniya to find a solution.
Sander Sabih Behnam (another IDP from Qaraqosh) explained that the reason for not leaving is due to the burning of his house by ISIS and the lack of employment opportunities for graduates in the district of Hamdaniya.
Rayan Farouk (an IDP from Bartila) said, “I cannot go back because of security problems. For example, an armed force has recently attacked Christians in Bartila. Besides, our house is currently demolished, and I do not have enough money to repair it, and I cannot rent a house with my limited income”.

Bashar Azzou Sabri (an IDP from Mosul) said, “After leaving Qaraqosh, I went to Ankawa and lived with my family in the Church of St. Joseph. Then we moved to Al-Hikma School and then to the caravans. I thank the Camp administration for helping us over the last four years, but now they want to get us out of the camp, they took the church out, and they ask us to return to our former regions. My answer to them is that a large number of the families do not have homes and the houses of the other families are destroyed. Besides, we cannot pay the rent of a new house.”
Bashar asked the administration to explain the reason for cutting off water and electricity from the camp, which currently houses more than 200 families, and he demanded the authorities to help them stay because they do not want to go back to Mosul and the Nineveh Plain due to lack of security and employment opportunities, as he put it.

“I demand the return of all the equipment that was dedicated to the compound and I will not return to Mosul because there is no safety, and I and my family may be killed by ISIS if we go back to Mosul,” said Muwaffaq Karbit, an IDP from Mosul.
Polis Matti Hanna (an IDP from Mosul) had no house in Mosul and his financial state did not allow him to rent a house.
“I was staying near Miskenta church on the right side of the city and my house was destroyed and the right side of the city is damaged. My demand now is to stay in the caravan. I have no salary, no retirement, and social welfare. My wife and I are ill and we do not have a source of living, so I ask the priests and officials to consider our condition and address our problem. ”

On our part, we visited the camp administration in order to find out the truth, and a telephone call was made by one of the people in the administration to Father Emanuel, the director of the camp. He was not there and we spoke with him by telephone. He replied: “I spoke about everything during my participation in the program ‘Iraqis’ on ISHTAR TV last Tuesday, 07-08-2018”, and he asked the readers to see his answers through the following link:
The inhabitants of the camp rejected the proposals of Father Emanuel for the following reasons, as explained to us after meeting them for the second time on 10-08-2018:

– they refused to go to Nishtiman compound in Erbil because of being distant and in the center of the popular market near the castle and the need for elevators to go to the third and fourth floors of the compound, especially because there are old people among them.
– Some of them refused to live in the Nineveh Plain now because of the lack of services, despite Father Emanuel’s offer to give free homes for some of them.
– Some of them have a limited income and cannot rent a house and pay the water and electricity bills.
– A large number of them are from the right side of Mosul, which is completely destroyed. They also refuse to return because of the security situation and the fear of repetition of what happened to them previously in 2014 after being expelled from the city by the Islamic State (ISIS).

We received an official document from one of the displaced persons, signed by Jasim Mohammed Mohamed Al-Jaff, Minister of Immigration and Displacement, addressed to the Office of Endowments of Christian, Yezidi, Sabean Mandaean, in reference to Ashtay Camp and Father Emmanuel Kalo, director of Ashti 2 camp in Ankawa with the number 45-3-200 on 25-05-2018. The signature holder, Mr. Jasim, affirms respect for the wishes of the displaced citizens in the mentioned camp not to return to their original places of residence and to stay in the camp, and that the ministry is ready to help these families with the potentials available for the purpose of resolving their problems and maintaining their stability. The honorable reader can have a look at a copy of the document below:

These are the names of the displaced people who are currently in the camp, according to what was provided to us by the people themselves during our visit to them on 10-08-2018: