Eight years in Kirkuk, Iraq: following along the journey of Hawija recovery

“People arrived in a dire situation, both physically and psychologically. The children and elderly were significantly affected by the shortage of medical care and food before managing to escape,” says Aso Khalil, an MSF nurse from Kirkuk who started working with the organisation in January 2017 at the camp.

Omar Ali, an MSF health promoter, was living in Hawija before fleeing his beloved home, seeking safety. Throughout his escape, he had many encounters with MSF as a displaced person. 

“MSF was there and witnessed everything we went through. We found MSF at the reception sites when we just managed to cross to safety. Then in the camps, where we went to live,” says Ali. “When we started to return home after the battles, MSF was there before us to cover the needs of the returnees.”