Homecoming

Keerthana Nimmagadda, reporting from the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), looks into how the conflict-struck regions have been shaping up, post-exit of the Islamic State (IS) militia.

“Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.”

– Voltaire

With every war, comes destruction of civilization. With the destruction of civilisation, comes the need of restoring the society when the war ends. The Republic of Iraq (Iraq) was subjected to demolition in various areas where hundreds of thousands civilians reside. The civilians fled their homes with heavy hearts; post-war, they have been eager to return to their abodes and return to their normal lives. What they do not know is that things will never be the same – it is foolish to assume that they can revert to their previous lifestyles. The Iraqi government has reportedly been striving towards the reconstruction of Mosul; however, there have been several reports which show that reconstruction efforts have been rather stagnant, and not moving at a favourable pace.

Mosul, the third biggest city in Iraq in terms of population, has had great symbolic importance, which is why it has received special emphasis from the Iraqi government. After the reclamation of Mosul from the IS militia, rehabilitation plans worth a 100 billion USD have been chalked out for a period of ten years[1]. The World Bank Organization has also sanctioned a total of 750 million USD as a financial assistance package for the recovery of the newly-liberated Iraqi state[2]. However, officials report that the government has no money to rebuild the city. Haider Al-Abadi, the prime minister of Iraq, has been eager to make promises to his citizens on the quick reconstruction of Iraq – he has, till date, yet to deliver on them. A conference in Kuwait, on reconstructing Iraq is yet to take place in order to loop in prospective foreign construction companies.

One could ascertain that this seems like a déjà-vu: Iraq has failed to reconstruct itself even after the 2003 conflict[3]. A various slew of excuses have been used by the government, citing issues varying from pipeline-digging problems, to multiple miscalculations. Iraq seems to have not learnt from its mistakes. If the government is willing to allow the nation to replay the situation this time, they might as well invite the IS militants back with flowers.

Fallujah, another city in Iraq that has been the victim of the IS forces, requires immense rehabilitation. The hospitals, especially, have been facing a shortage of medical supplies, doctors, and facilities. Some surgeons have also stated that the government has conducted various “security checks”, only to swipe drugs from the hospitals – leading to a stark shortage in the medicines[4]. Several checkpoints in the region’s border require heavy bribing for people to pass through. Several buildings, water facilities, and sanitary facilities that have been damaged have remained untouched. The citizens of Fallujah remain in distress, even though they have returned home.

The reparations required for Iraq are not limited to the physical kind – one must also consider the various tensions present within the community, ready to surface to the top. There remains the ever-present rift between the various sects of the Muslim community. The Sunnis and the Shi’as have been accusing each other of scheming against the destruction of the one another. Here too, the Prime Minister has made several promises to reunite the groups; he has done little to achieve the same.

A concentrated effort must be taken by the right people in the government to bring Iraq back to life. The more that it stays in the state of desolation, the more vulnerable it is to attacks in the future by the same people whom Iraq had previously managed to drive out (with utmost difficulty). If the necessary measures are not taken to give people back their lives, this victory does not mean anything to the state of Iraq.

[1] https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/06/mosul-iraq-reconstruction-national-reconciliation.html

[2] http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/10/31/400-million-for-the-reconstruction-of-mosul-and-newly-liberated-areas-in-iraq

[3] https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/03/the-failed-reconstruction-of-iraq/274041/

[4] http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/10/sense-claustrophobia-pervades-iraq-fallujah-171013105048019.html