If a link in the NCCI newsletter is not working anymore, it might be because the source of the document remove it from their website. Usually you can find it clicking here EDITORIAL Issue 89 – November 15, 2007 ------------------------------------------- Another risk for Iraqis: slackening? With each passing month, the number of US troops returning back home from Iraq with emotional or mental distress is reported in increasing. Recent reports argue that more than a quarter of recent Iraq combat veterans are grappling with various psychological problems, while at least 40 percent of reservists suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder GHT (PTSD). I L According to the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), “Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop H after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger G PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused I disasters, accidents, or military combat.” If 40 percent of the troops who have been trained and prepared to be in a H war context can suffer from such a disease, what about civilians, who have Y not been trained, who find themselves caught up in the maelstrom of violence afflicting so many of their neighborhoods? L K These last few weeks, some war-torn areas of Iraq such as Baghdad and Anbar, once considered as the most violent places worldwide, are reported E to have become calmer, or less violent. Actually the level of violence is E reported to have scaled down to the level it was in 2006, which was then considered as unacceptable. However, while widely challenged and mainly due to divisions and withdrawal of neighborhoods, this “positive” trend W changes little in the life of many Iraqis. Their life does not become safe, but I their environment appears to be now less violent. In psychological terms, is the current level of violence less harmful, more acceptable? Symptoms of PTSD and other emotional stress usually begin within 3 months of the incident but occasionally emerge years afterward. Generally, they appear once the person can relax or slacken. Therefore, the more that NCC Iraqis feel safer and quieter; the more likely it is that they will begin to display the symptoms of anxiety and trauma disorder that have been suppressed, until now, by preoccupation with the need to survive. Yet, when such a disorder appears or is diagnosed by a physician, treatment is usually to be conducted through meeting with a mental health specialist. According to the NIMH, “the practitioners who are most helpful with anxiety disorders are those who have training in cognitive-behavioral therapy and/or behavioral therapy, and who are open to using medication if it is needed.” In a country where so many families are struggling to survive and to access basic services, how many people facing such stress will be able to consult with a qualified mental health worker? How many will accept to meet with a psychologist or psychiatrist, who are often considered as “doctors for mad- people” in Iraqi society? After more than 55 months of war, after years of violence, social upheaval and destruction of infrastructure, after the targeting of thousands of health workers, how many mental health specialists remain in Iraq? How many who have knowledge in such therapies are still able to provide the needed help? If the current trend of a decrease in violence is confirmed in the coming weeks, it will become urgent for the humanitarian community and donors to prepare adequate responses to this new threat. Whether or not this alleged trend is a consequence of the “surge strategy”, there is no social or psychological component embedded within the security operations that can help to relieve the mental distress of the Iraqi population. PTSD and other stress disorders are not only individual problems. The psychological scars of war can affect everyone in Iraq and have consequences on the whole population, on entire communities. Our wish is that, as soon as possible, every Iraqi will be able to relax and release the pressure they have had on their shoulders for too long. Slackening is not a threat. But its corollary may have huge consequences on the Iraqi society if nothing is prepared on time. But when the time comes that there is a genuine reduction in the level of violence afflicting so many Iraqi civilians, the costs of not accessing their psychological needs in a timely and effective way will be far too expensive for Iraqis and the international community to bear. --------------------------------------- Salaam, NCCI Team NCCI Weekly Highlight 2 Issue 89 – 11/15/2007 ____________________________________ Humanitarian Updates From NCCI, NGOs’ reports from the field and UN agencies Advocacy - Iraqi Refugees: A Lot of Talk, Little Action Source: Refugees International Document: Report Date: November 14, 2007 Access: Open The situation for Iraqi refugees in the Middle East continues to deteriorate, while the scale of the crisis continues to dwarf the international response. As the number of displaced Iraqis has reached an unprecedented level – more than 4.5 million – Iraq’s neighbors have increased restrictions on the refugees. These restrictions are at least partially a response to the lack of support received from the United States and other donor governments, as well as the government of Iraq itself, to lessen the tremendous burden that the host countries are assuming. - Private Security Companies Engaging in New Forms of Mercenary Activity Says UN Working Group Source: UNHCHR Document: Press Release Date: November 6, 2007 Access: Open A number of private security companies operating in zones of armed conflict are engaging in new forms of mercenarism, the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries concludes in its second report. The full report - The Iraq war has become a disaster that we have chosen to forget Source: The Guardian Document: Opinion Date: November 5, 2007 Access: Open With the media subdued, governments have not been held to account for the biggest political calamity of our time. It can take a generation or more for people to grasp the significance and magnitude of historical events. Facts that are infinitely more bizarre and awful than fiction - as Naomi Klein's book The Shock Doctrine documents - take a long time to be fully absorbed. The Iraq war has been about the abject failure of democracy: governments have not been held to account for a war that has squandered lives, billions in public money and the stability of an entire region with reckless criminality. - America and the world's executioners join efforts to block UN moves to end death penalty Source: The Independent Document: Article Date: November 15, 2007 Access: Open If last-minute "killer" amendments to a draft UN resolution do not scupper the initiative, the 192-nation UN human rights committee will begin voting on the measure today. If adopted, it will give a powerful moral boost to those campaigning for an end to the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. As of last night, the draft resolution had been sponsored by 85 states, including all 27 European Union nations. The United States, which executed 53 people last year, will vote against. So will China, which put 2,790 people to death last year. In fact 91 per cent of all death sentences carried out happen in six countries: China, the US, Pakistan, Sudan, Iraq and Iran, where two men were publicly hanged for murder and robbery yesterday. NCCI Weekly Highlight 3 Issue 89 – 11/15/2007 Operational Humanitarian Space - Response to Iraq Humanitarian Crisis Source: IFRC Document: Report Date: November 5, 2007 Access: Open The present funding status enabled the International Federation to complete relief \ assistance to 13,000 socially vulnerable families in four governorates. Negotiations are under way with donor National Societies to utilize some funds by reallocating to relief operations. The community based first aid (CBFA) programme was re- launched on 20 September 2007. - Contingency Plan regarding displacement of population in Kurdistan Region of Iraq as a result of Turkish incursion - Draft Source: UNHCR Document: Contingency Plan Date: November 5, 2007 Access: Members This is a draft Contingency Plan addressing the ‘’Internal and External Displacement of population in Kurdistan Region of Iraq as a result of Turkish incursion’’ and is work in progress. It is a confidential document and should not be shared beyond the current circle of recipients. The scenarios indicated in this document are for the planning purposes and humanitarian response only and do not imply any political stance of the participants in the planning process. This document was prepared by UNHCR after intensive consultations with concerned authorities (OCUNA, MoERA-DDM, concerned Governors), UNAMI, UN Agencies, IOM, ICRC and INGOs and is subject to further revisions. - Aid agencies ready for N.Iraq refugees over war worry Source: Alertnet Document: Article Date: November 2, 2007 Access: Open Aid agencies are gearing up on Friday to deal with thousands of people fleeing their homes in northern Iraq, where small groups are already on the move out of fear of Turkish troops invading to quell Kurdish rebels. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is preparing supplies for up to 12,000 displaced people in the north of the country, spokeswoman Jemini Pandya said. - Regional Dimensions to the Iraqi Displacement Crisis and the Role of the United Nations Source: Brookings Institution Document: Speech Transcription Date: October 25, 2007 Access: Open Let’s start with numbers. The best estimates today are that there are some 2.25 million internally displaced Iraqis and over 1.5 million Iraqis in Syria, 500-750,000 in Jordan, 150,000 in Egypt, 55,000 in Iran, 40,000 in Lebanon, 10,000 in Turkey and 200,000 in the Gulf (including Saudi Arabia.) With the exception of a few hundred Iraqi Palestinians, none of these refugees live in camps.