Iraqs Sunnis and Shiites coexist in Kurdish refugee camp
IRBIL, Iraq While Iraq is being torn apart along sectarian lines, Shiites and Sunnis have managed to keep the peace among themselves in a tent city near Irbil.
The United Nations-funded Camp Hashem houses more than 1,300 Iraqis displaced by the war that pits Islamic State militants against government and Kurdish forces. The French relief agency in charge manages to maintain order among the mixed, destitute population with just a half dozen employees and no security personnel. The camp opened its doors to all comers in September, accepting 35 families each day before reaching capacity in October.
Here its actually been incredibly calm, said Yasmine Colijn, the camp manager with the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development. Weve had some tensions arise, but I think in the same way you would in any city or village where you dont get along with your neighbors.
Internationally funded camps ideally house several different ethnic groups and faiths, she said, while private sites like those funded by the Catholic Church or improvised shelters may be more selective. Still, in practice most camps can easily be identified by the predominant group they house.
Disputes at Hashem, Coljin said, have never led to violence. Earlier on Sunday a distraught woman came to the administration tent pleading with workers for new housing. The family in the neighboring tent had stolen money from her, she said, and she could no longer trust them.
A worker directed her to one of four so-called community mobilizers, who meet with residents and form representative committees from their ranks to deal with problems. The family members surrounding her calmed down and walked away.
Like most of the camp residents, the woman had likely fled her home with little more than the clothes on her back and a collection of horror stories about Sunni Islamic State extremists, who have claimed village after village in northern Iraq.
We used to eat and drink with our (Sunni) neighbors, said Mahmoud, a 27-year-old Shiite carpenter from a village near Mosul. He and others felt safer providing only their first names. One night they were our neighbors, and by morning they were ISIS, he said, using an alternative name for the Islamic State.
Mahmoud still gets mocking phone calls from his former Sunni friends, he said. They invite him back home and complain they missed out on the hefty bounty the Islamic State placed on fighting-age Shiite men like him.
His harrowing experience is typical of those fleeing the Islamic State.
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Iraqs Sunnis and Shiites coexist in Kurdish refugee camp