Resettlement Villages as a possible solution for the Iraqi IDP and Refugee Crisis.

[Rob Thornton]

The model village would be organized on a frame of one hundred families in one hundred single family homes, an Iraqi security force detachment, a volunteer civil guard from within the families and an elected town council from which a mayor and police chief would be drawn. The town would be built around a community center with both elementary and primary school facilities, be provided a medical clinic, power generator, water purifier and sanitation facility. These villages could be established quickly and efficiently by the use of prefab containerized housing units.

Containerized housing has been utilized for U.S. military base housing in expeditionary areas, but has also been utilized by universities and private groups’ world wide. The advantage is that the villages can be constructed, including the power, water, medical, schools and community center in safety outside Iraq. These prefabs can then be loaded on container ships and brought to Kuwait where they can be offloaded and driven via truck to the designated sites. While this would involve a large number of convoys the number would most likely be less than that necessary to construct the same number of villages in a more traditional manner.

Troufion,
I'm not sure how much thought has been been directed toward resettlement of IDPs - I do know its been pointed out as a source of instability in the region as neighboring states, and even within the more stables regions within Iraq, as those people are absorbed in some capacity.

We (the very big macro "we") should be considering - when the best time for this to happen might be, how the best way(s) to do this might be, how this might impact other lines of operation, and who should be driving the train on this?

I think we also have to understand that no matter where these DPs ultimately go back to there are cultural factors and cultural patterns that will influence the process and have long term consequences - many of these people that have fled will be caught up in a kind of time warp since they have become separated from their home environment.

I follow your logic of the "containerized modular village", but I'd offer that this might be a costly solution that can not be sustained in the cultural and physical environment at hand. A modified idea might be to pursue improving the camps and working within them to resolve issues surrounding repatriation - such as reuniting kinsmen, getting a better sense of demographics and cultural lines, providing some education that allows faster integration once repatriated, etc. At the same time working within the Iraqi government to plan the reintroduction from the associated logistical challenges to the social implications. A course of action like this might forecast infrastructure needs and even generate economic opportunities by considering where to establish new factories, build new homes, improve and expand utilities, consider emergency services, etc.

Whatever the solution may be, it must involve the local, provincial and national government in order to account for the role of government and allocation of resources. If the echelons of government do not have an accurate reflection of who they are government, they will have a hard time executing the responsibilities of government.

Best Regards, Rob