LFT received Appeal from Widows of Emara, Iraq having 650 Orphans

"I and the sponsor of the orphan are like these (holding up two of his fingers) in Paradise"

Saying of Prophet Muhammad (as)

The ancient city of Emara is the capital of the south-eastern Iraqi province of Meisan. Situated on the banks of the Tigris river about 320 kilometres south-east of Baghdad and a mere 50 kilometres from the Iraqi-Iranian border, Emara has been known for its affluence and beautiful architecture for centuries. Today, however, Meisan province and its capital Emara belong to the poorest parts of the country due to Saddam’s oppressive regime and his neglect of provinces with a Shia majority. In addition, Emara’s infrastructure has still not recovered from destruction caused by the Iraqi-Iranian war, when the frontline went straight through the city.

In 2008, it was estimated that about 1.14 million people live in the city. The majority follows the Shiite faith, but the city is also home to Sunni Muslims as well as Christians and members of a sect of early Judaism.

Iraq has one of the greatest numbers of orphans worldwide, and a disproportionate share of these unfortunate children live in Emara. It is estimated that about 50,000 orphans in this city live in abject poverty, half of whom are not even able to attend school. Reasons for the exceptionally high number of orphans in Emara are as follows:

• Right until Saddam’s removal from power, Emara constituted a safe haven for opponents of his regime because its inhabitants were fiercely independent and opposed to his reign; dense marshes offered hiding places and the proximity to the Iranian border made it easy to flee the country. As a result, Saddam mercilessly persecuted the population in order to punish them for sheltering opponents and many families count martyrs, disappeared or poisoned persons among their member. Obviously, many of them left several orphans behind.
• Due to the population’s position towards Saddam’s regime, the city was neglected and especially health services deteriorated. Many people died of perfectly treatable ailments during the last years of Ba’athist rule, leaving behind families to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, the situation is still the same.
• Emara’s society is a tribal society, and tribal feuds still occur frequently. Men are killed in fights and ambushes and leave behind orphans.
• The presence of aggressive foreign troops in and around the city causes many incidents, and innocent bystanders are frequently killed.
• Generally, the death rate is higher in poor societies. Despite the fact that Emara is “floating” on one of the largest oil reservoirs worldwide, little has been done to exploit it so far. About two years ago, the Emara Oil Company has been formed, but the results of oil exploitation are expected not earlier than five to ten years from now.
• Due to local customs restricting the freedom of women, widows are not allowed to remarry. Neither are they allowed to go out and work in order to provide for their children. Due to general poverty, extended families are unable to care properly for the orphans among them, leaving many orphaned families in abject poverty.

IRAC has recently opened an office in Emara and was soon approached by widows with orphans who had heard about IRAC’s orphan programs in Karbala, Baghdad, Basrah and al-Kut. Below, please find some of their testimonies:

• I am Majida Emtashar, widowed and mother of six orphans. My eldest son is named Faisal Ghazi. My husband died of an illness in 2008. We are living in a rented house and live on people's help. There are days when we have to remain hungry. But I have to be thankful to Allah that He gives us patience (“sabr”).
• I am the widow Turkiya Mansoor, mother of four orphans. My husband left us in 2005 after long and hard suffering caused by his illness. It is Allah's decision. We can't refuse what comes from Him. But He knows how much we are suffering and how we are living and the amount of suffering we are facing every single day.
• I am Wahida Juma Fajer, a widow and the mother of orphan Zahra, 8 years old. My husband died in 2003 after suffering from an illness for a long time. We live in a rural area (outside al-Emara) and we have no house but live in a mud hut. It is difficult for us to survive and to cover even our most basic daily needs. We believe that almighty Allah, who brought us into this life, will never forget us and will take care of us. This is just an exam that we are going through.
• My name is Kawthar Jabbari, mother of Batool and Ayaat. My husband was shot in 2004 in a quarrel between our tribe and another tribe. I live with my family. My brothers are busy with their own lives (and cannot take care of us) but the tradition says I have to be either with my family or with my husband's family, regardless of what I am forced to face in terms of dependency and disrespect. Allah will establish justice in the end and he will get our right back; if not in this temporary live then in the permanent one, in sha' Allah.
• I am Hanan Emtashar Jaber, a mother of four orphaned children. My husband was blind and he was gaining his income from reciting Quran at funerals. He was killed by the Americans in 2004. We do not own a home. My children are Sadat and we live on people's help.
• I am Qabila Jaber Owaid, a mother of three orphans. My husband was killed by (Moqtada) Sadr (forces) in 2001. We live on Sadaqat and I can't tell how many nights my children and I slept without eating anything, I can't tell how many times I could not take my children to the doctor or to buy them medication (for lack of money), I can't tell how many times I cried for hours at night when my orphaned children were asleep. In my daily prayers I ask Allah to finally have mercy upon us.  

Although IRAC’s sponsorships are not sufficient to cover all the needs of the sponsored orphan, every little amount of cash goes a long way towards alleviating some of the suffering these families experience. The most important point for the future of the orphans is that IRAC strongly encourages and monitors school attendance. Those mothers whose children do not attend school are strongly advised to register them. IRAC monitors the school performance of all sponsored orphans and this alone makes the children want to do well.

IRAC proposes to sponsor 150 orphans in the first phase of this project, 100 Non-Sadah and 50 Sadah.