ISIS Victims Struggle for Compensation

07/12/2020 Iraq (International Christian Concern) – Three years after the military defeat of ISIS in Iraq, challenges continue to swirl regarding compensation for victims of those impacted by the extremists. According to a recent report by France24, most internally displaced persons (IDPs) who filed claims with the Nineveh Governorate’s Subcommittee for Compensation have yet to see any results.

These claims are filed by IDPs with the intent of seeking reparations for material goods, injuries, and loss of life experienced at the hands of ISIS. Displacement had ruined the prospects of a secure future for IDPs, and the struggle many have to rebuild has only worsened under the conditions imposed by COVID-19. Iraq’s infamous government corruption and heavy bureaucracy has made the compensation process immovable.

Thousands of Christians and Yazidis from Nineveh were forced to flee their homes when ISIS invaded the land in 2014. This was hardly the first genocide these communities had experienced. It prompted a massive wave of immigration from the displaced community. Those who remain behind struggle immensely with rebuilding their lives. Many experience a complete lack of trust in the government to protect and assist them in these efforts.