FAMILY: Hamid Abdelraza, 55, his wife Fatma Khdhair, 42, and their children Bilal, 7, Faride, 14, Mohammed 19, Marwa, 25 (married), Duaa, 22 (married), Rahama 19 (married). Pictured here from left to right: Fatma, Hamid, Bilal and Faride.

Hamid: “We fled our hometown of Fallujah approximately 2 years ago because of military operations. Our neighbourhood was threat-

ened by ISIS. We were displaced to Erbil where we lived in a hotel for two weeks, and then, because it was too expensive, we decided

to go back to Anbar. We stayed with my sister in Ramadi. In April [2015], we fled Ramadi and came to Baghdad. We fled from Ameriyat

al Fallujah on foot and walked for 10 km until we reached the Bzeibiz bridge. My wife, who is sick, was feeling unwell. I had to push her

on a wheel barrel because she couldn’t walk. The area around Bzeibiz bridge was so crowded and the road was blocked. We came

only with the clothes on our back, nothing more. We entered Baghdad without sponsorship. When the police saw her at the bridge,

they let us go through, because she looked as if she was about to die. From then on, we went straight to the camp and moved in on

the same day. Our house was 200 square meters, it’s a big house, with 6 rooms and all the facilities, built in a modern design. When

we arrived in the camp, we were living in tents. It was so difficult. We were sweating constantly, day and night. I would try to use a fan

to help Fatma, but she was feeling horrible. [UNHCR] provided us with air coolers and rechargeable fans but the weather this summer

was just too harsh. The tent was just too small, with dust everywhere. We were so excited when we found out [about the RHU/Better

Shelter]. The RHU is a blessing from god for us in the desert. We are so grateful to UNHCR for providing us shelter. The low ceiling

was the worst in the tent. During the summer it was very hot and you couldn’t move inside either. In the RHU, there is space to move

unrestricted and we started to buy things to make ourselves feel at home, like a set of drawers and a TV. It provides us with more

privacy. My wife and I sleep behind the curtain and my kids sleep on this side, in the main ‘room’. During the floods earlier this year, all

the tents were damaged. But when we were flooded again at the end of October, the RHUs were not affected at all. The new shelters

are better because they give us privacy, which is extremely important for our tribe’s values. We received a summer assistance kit

and non-food items. [A summer kit comprises a water cooler, a cool box and a rechargeable fan] We also received blankets, mattress-

es, cooking utensils, and hygiene items. Our life would be so miserable and difficult without UNHCR. Our future is full of mystery. We

hope to return to our old life. We belong in our neighbourhood, with our relatives.”

Abdelraza family, Al Jamea’a Camp, Baghdad, Iraq

Hamid: “...The new shelters are better because they give us privacy,

which is extremely important forour tribe’s values...”.

BACKGROUND: In 2014, large numbers of Iraq Nationals were displaced by armed groups. Many fled to the Baghdad area in search of safety. Camp Al Jamea'a was opened by Iraq Authorities in April 2015. The RHUs/Better Shelter units were installed in September 2015. SHOOT DATE: 17 December, 2015 © UNHCR/Sebastian Rich

BETTER SHELTER TELEFONVÄGEN 30 126 26 HÄGERSTEN TEL+46(0)8 40 92 50 10 INFO@BETTERSHELTER.ORG WWW.BETTERSHELTER.ORG

The Hameed family, pictured here with just two of their daughters: Malik, 5, and Hamsa, 9. Their mother Hind is 30 years old and their father Saffa, 34. There are 98 Better Shelters/ RHUs here, accommodating 115 families (several families share RHUs).

The family left their home in Ramadi at the end of June 2014 and moved to 4 different places in the area, eventually leaving for Bagh-

dad in April 2015. They built a small kitchen outside their Better Shelter.

Saffa: “We were threatened by IS telling us to leave our homes because they were near military bases. They used our homes to fight

against the army. Snipers took to the roofs of our houses. There were also checkpoints at all the roads around our homes. We left our

home nearly two years ago. The last place where we lived in Ramada was in April 2015, and the fighting was so fierce, so we decided

to go to Baghdad and never return to Ramadi until things were stable again. We walked by foot for about 1 km to another area and

held a white flag in our hands. We waited there for about 6 hours after walking to my sister’s place. We took a taxi to Bzeibiz bridge.

The journey all together took about two days. We were so frightened. My daughter, Malik, is still very scared of strange sounds. We

did not take any belongings with us. We had four children with us and we had to carry them; we could not walk for a long time. We

did bring a bag of clothes, but it was too much to carry and we threw it in the river. My house was my palace. It was so beautiful, it

was near everything: a pharmacy, a mosque. We had four rooms and a small garden.”

Hind: “We really miss the privacy we had back home, especially the wash facilities here. I have four daughters and it’s important to

have privacy when I dress them. The first night in Baghdad, we stayed in a sister’s house in an IDP camp; my husband stayed in the

garden because there was not enough space. There were three families living in the same house. We moved into a tent.”

Saffa: “The tents we lived in were a disaster. It was so hot and in the middle of the summer, we all had diarrhoea for at least a week

because of the heat and the poor circumstances.”

Hind: “[Traditionally] in our home area women stay inside the houses. We do not go out many times and we had a lot of privacy. But

here, in the camp, we lost the privacy. I could not take the heat, the cold, and we have to dress and cook outside.”

Saffa: “I try to accompany my family to the bathroom, and other places outside, because I want to protect them.”

Hind: “When the rains came to the camp, the water was about one foot high. But this shelter is more protected. We have a door

that we can close and lock. I feel it’s safer. It is cleaner and more protected.”

Saffa: “The tents are like a piece of clothing and they would always move. We lived without any privacy. It was so difficult. If you

compare life in the tents and now life in these shelters, it’s a thousand times better; there is no comparison. In the tent, we only

had a small lamp. In June, we got summer kits and a water cooler. We also received things from UNHCR like a jerry can, 3 mattresses

and blankets. We hope to go back home and to go back to our lives and my kids can live normally. I left my job and now am unem-

ployed [he worked at the Ministry of Industries, responsible for warehouses]. We depend on donations [aid from organisations in the

camp] and sometimes I get some money from working here and there...”

Hameed family, Al Jamea’a Camp, Baghdad, Iraq

BACKGROUND: In 2014, large numbers of Iraq Nationals were displaced by armed groups. Many fled to the Baghdad area in search of safety. Camp Al Jamea'a was opened by Iraq Authorities in April 2015. The RHUs/Better Shelter units were installed in September 2015. SHOOT DATE: 17 December, 2015 [Image is cropped] © UNHCR/Sebastian Rich

BETTER SHELTER TELEFONVÄGEN 30 126 26 HÄGERSTEN TEL+46(0)8 40 92 50 10 INFO@BETTERSHELTER.ORG WWW.BETTERSHELTER.ORG

Saffa: “...If you compare life in the tents and now life in these shelters,

it’s a thousand times better; there is no comparison...”.

Hameed family, Al Jamea’a Camp, Baghdad, Iraq

Sa’ad Mohammed, 27, his wife Yasmine, 27, and their 2 month old daughter Ritaj born two months premature in October 2015. The cou-ple also have an 8 year old daughter, Anssam, and a 6 year old son, Bassim.

Yasmine: “We left Ramadi because the security situation got worse and we decided we had to move to a safe place in Baghdad prov-

ince. I was pregnant at the time we left. We crossed Bzeibiz bridge on foot and took a truck with more than 5 other families from the

bridge to the checkpoints. We waited for a sponsor to allow us to come here. There were thousands of families on the bridge. People

were pushing each other to get across and they were trying to divide families so they could cross. We were scared that the bridge

would break. My house back home had three rooms, with facilities and a garden. We had built the ground floor, but hadn’t constructed

the upper floors. We had space in the garden to build a home for my sister. Our journey here was difficult. I was so frightened; espe-

cially because I was pregnant. I was scared and afraid for myself, my husband and my baby. I prayed all the way to reach safety.

We were afraid that we would not be able to cross the bridge, since we needed a sponsor to cross. We preferred to leave rather than

stay because we heard about the deterioration of the security situation and IS. We prepared some clothes and food items, readying

ourselves to leave. After there was an explosion of a police station near our house, we decided to leave Anbar. We just brought some

small bags with us. We spent about three days with relatives in one room..there were 12 of us, including children, women and men.

Then we felt we were being heavy guests and left. We stayed on the street for about an hour. Then someone from a local mosque

asked us to come inside and get off the street. We stayed there for about 10 days. Then we were registered and moved here to Al

Jamea’a camp. The RHUs are a thousand times better than tents because they are more protected, more safe, and they give more

privacy for me and my family. In the tents, we could not turn on the air cooler or heater but now, this shelter is more like a real

house.” [The family’s unit is spotless, with toys and flowers decorating the ceiling; carpets and rugs on the walls; she says she even

had the decorations up when they were living in a tent]. “The first time we heard they were going to replace the tents, we were so

grateful. We really suffered in the tents. They were difficult to live in. We were afraid that winter would come and we would still

be living there. We heard that many tents were flooded and people lost everything, so we were really grateful that the tents would

be replaced. It was such a relief; the shelters are more private, more safe; especially for Ritaj; she needs a warm space and the

shelter provides this…much more than tents, and they are really protected. Even when we only had a place of cloth, a tent, it was

better than being on the street, in the open area. We prefer to live in a safer place. I am grateful for UNHCR’s support in this time of

crisis. They relieve and improve our situation here; we have had things like hygiene kits, mattresses and so on. We would really be in

a bad situation if UNHCR was not here; they do not leave us; they did a rapid assessment of all the camp and all the families. Things

would be very bad if UNHCR was not here. They provided us with everything that we needed. For me, there is no future until today

because our life is not a stable situation for us. Maybe today we are here, and tomorrow, we will not be here. Until we can go back to

our place, we delay thinking of a future. I miss my home, my relatives, because they stayed all around my house. My main concerns

are about my home. The RHU provides my child with a protected environment. I consider the RHU as my room and my house…it

is not the same as being in the tents. When we heard we would be moving to a shelter, we prepared all our things so we could

quickly move from the tent. We were counting the days when we could leave the tents. I suffered a lot living in the tents when I

was pregnant and my movements were restricted. Especially in the summer, we really suffered from the very hot weather. I used to

go to the bathroom and wet my dresses to cool down and go back to the tent – I did this several times a day. It was difficult for me

to clean everything in the tent; it would get very dirty when the winds blew or when the children came back. But we can keep this

shelter clean. The tent was like a cave. This RHU is like a castle to me!”

Hameed family, Al Jamea’a Camp, Baghdad, Iraq

BACKGROUND: In 2014, large numbers of Iraq Nationals were displaced by armed groups. Many fled to the Baghdad area in search of safety. Camp Al Jamea'a was opened by Iraq Authorities in April 2015. The RHUs/Better Shelter units were installed in September 2015. SHOOT DATE: 17 December, 2015 [Image is cropped] © UNHCR/Sebastian Rich

BETTER SHELTER TELEFONVÄGEN 30 126 26 HÄGERSTEN TEL+46(0)8 40 92 50 10 INFO@BETTERSHELTER.ORG WWW.BETTERSHELTER.ORG

Saffa: “...If you compare life in the tents and now life in these shelters,

it’s a thousand times better; there is no comparison...”.

Hameed family, Al Jamea’a Camp, Baghdad, Iraq

Yasmine: ”...The RHUs are a thousand times better than tents because they are more protected, more safe, and they give more privacy for me and my family...this shelter is more like a real house...”.

Mohammed family, Al Jamea’a Camp, Baghdad, Iraq