In partnership with Halo Trust, INTERSOS provides psychological support and financial assistance for those affected by antipersonnel landmines
According to Halo Trust, partner in the project, Iraq is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. In fact, years of conflict have caused immeasurable damage and forced millions of people to flee their homes. Many remain displaced, unwilling or unable to return, while others have returned back to find streets and houses unrecognizable. When asked if the trauma related to mines was preventing people from returning home, the psychologists working with INTERSOS responded that “it is rather the actual presence of mines that’s preventing internally displaced people (IDPs) from returning”.
In Baiji, in the Salah al-Din governorate, INTERSOS has been supporting landmines victims as part of its protection intervention. “Most survivors of mine incidents we support in Beiji are IDP boys and men, which reflects the culture of women staying more at home, while boys and men are more exposed to contaminated areas” our team reports. The impact of such an event on the person’s general health is deep since “chronic pain and systemic illnesses can lead to severe traumas and limit ability to carry out even basic tasks, and physical disability without proper treatment and assistive devices prevents people from living an independent life.”
The consequences of antipersonnel landmines
Moreover, since there are no jobs for people with disabilities in the area, when it is the head of the household to be affected, he is likely to lose his job and income, putting the economic consequences on the whole family. In addition, to these challenges, our staff reports that “health costs often remain uncovered and urgent health needs cannot be met such as transportation to health care, assistive devices, lifelong medication, physiotherapy. While, in other cases, where health expenses are prioritised over others, the family is not able to meet other basic needs like food, shelter, electricity.” In light of this common challenge, INTERSOS provides cash assistance to allow access to specialised health services and equipment as well as for basic needs to be met.
Given the indiscriminate nature of this type of weapons, at times the survivors are children. These young survivors are often unable to attend school and end up dropping out and ending their education. This is what happened to eight years old Adil, as our team recalls. “The child was playing with other children and while playing he found something on the ground, while carrying it, it exploded in his hand. Adil was seriously injured, he had shrapnel in the whole body, and the serious injury was in the right leg. After going to both Baiji and Tikrit Hospitals, which lacked proper equipment and treatment ” the psychologist continues “the parents took him to a specialised doctor who performed an expensive surgery for him to be able to walk again. Lastly, the family, who had accumulated debts, could not afford additional surgeries and as result the boy cannot go to school because of the injury”. INTERSOS provided specialised psychological counseling which stabilised the boy’s mental well-being, as well as psychological support sessions to the whole family. Furthermore, INTERSOS provided cash assistance to both support the family in paying off its debts and to afford a wheelchair for Adil.