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Helping Hands – Improving Access to Mental Health Support for Genocide Survivors
IRAQ – Maloka was held hostage by Daesh forces for four years during their genocidal campaign against the Yazidi community in Iraq in 2014.
“When I stay at home, I feel anxious,” shares Maloka with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Iraq during a visit to her new home in Duhok, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. “I want to keep myself busy and never stay indoors for too long”.
An invasion and a genocide; a decade of displacement and the horrors of losing loved ones – psychological scars run deep in many internally displaced persons and returnees in Iraq. Through tailored mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services, provided by grassroots organizations assisted by IOM, Maloka and many others in northern Iraq are taking control of their mental health and well-being as part of their healing and recovery.
In 2023, IOM supported the Directorate for Survivors Affairs to join forces with local and grassroots organizations from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Nineva to establish a formal referral system under the Yazidi Survivors’ Law (YSL). The referral system would connect survivors of genocide with mental health and psychosocial support service providers in their areas of residence. Meanwhile, IOM would strengthen local organizations through in-kind support and funding to better serve the survivors. For some organizations, trainings and upskilling staff in project management, financial literacy, and fundraising to maintain sustainable operations was a priority.
“Many people with disabilities simply cannot reach us due to accessibility challenges,” shares Nizar Burgis, head of Naseem Sinjar for the Care of People with Special Needs (PWSN), a grassroots organization providing counselling for differently abled persons. IOM helped the organization set up an accessible office in Sinjar and provided equipment to support case management. The centre now supports 320 – 380 individuals monthly.
Eliminating barriers to access, such as stigma about mental health issues, or fear of exposure, have also helped organizations like Turkmen Rescue Foundation (TRF) provide better services to survivors, such as individualized psychological counselling and legal assistance.
“Many survivors hesitated in seeking support due to lack of privacy. Now, they feel safe confiding to our staff in our designated safe spaces for private consultations,” says Shuayb Ahmed from TRF.
“Before IOM’s support, we struggled with writing project proposals and managing budgets effectively,” shares Himan Mahmoud, director of Tulay organization, that works with Turkmen survivors in Erbil and implements projects in Talafar and Kirkuk.
“Now, we have the skills to pitch our work and secure funding,” adds Mahmoud, who leads a team of 12 staff. Beyond office renovations and technical support, IOM has been working with local experts of grassroots organizations to ensure that the latest services and updated trainings reach mental health professionals.
“The refresher trainings we received on mental health were life-changing,” shares Hussein Hassan, head of Justice Organization for Minorities' Rights (JOMR). “We now have an improved and structured approach to providing psychological support to survivors,” he adds.
The needs of survivors, marginalized communities and returnees are vast and require tailored support and a range of psychosocially informed approaches through case management, group and individualized support sessions, recreational activities, access to legal services and support to rebuild a new life. This means the need for continued investment in capacity-building of grassroots organizations in northern Iraq, so that they can provide improved and holistic survivor-centered support to their communities.
"Most of our employees were working with individual efforts without specialized training in MHPSS programming and community engagement. Today, we have a trained team that knows exactly how to manage projects and deal with different cases," Ibtisam from Inter-dialogue Organization confirms the importance of capacity building in their work.
The support to the five grassroots organizations is yet another step toward transitional justice and recovery. This was made possible with support from the Government of Japan.
