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| With Schools Doubling as Shelters in Northern Iraq, Classes Wait | With Schools Doubling as Shelters in Northern Iraq, Classes Wait |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| DOHUK, Iraq — From the look of it, the Khabat primary school bustles with life. Children flit through the building’s atrium, weaving between stacked school desks and racing past the colorful murals that adorn the walls. | DOHUK, Iraq — From the look of it, the Khabat primary school bustles with life. Children flit through the building’s atrium, weaving between stacked school desks and racing past the colorful murals that adorn the walls. |
| But the schools here will not be opening on time this year. The throngs of children playing in the school are among hundreds of thousands of displaced Iraqis who fled the advance of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria across the north of Iraq this summer. | But the schools here will not be opening on time this year. The throngs of children playing in the school are among hundreds of thousands of displaced Iraqis who fled the advance of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria across the north of Iraq this summer. |
| With no established camps for them to move into, more than 130,000 people took up residence in 650 schools in this Kurdish province in northern Iraq, carving out homes in the offices and classrooms of the buildings while posing a problem for the government this academic year. Already, the Kurdish government has delayed the start of school by a month, to Wednesday. But almost no one thinks that deadline can be met, not even the education ministry that set it. | With no established camps for them to move into, more than 130,000 people took up residence in 650 schools in this Kurdish province in northern Iraq, carving out homes in the offices and classrooms of the buildings while posing a problem for the government this academic year. Already, the Kurdish government has delayed the start of school by a month, to Wednesday. But almost no one thinks that deadline can be met, not even the education ministry that set it. |
| “We will need at least two months, but that’s just my personal guess,” said Pishtiwan Sadiq, the minister of education for Kurdistan. | “We will need at least two months, but that’s just my personal guess,” said Pishtiwan Sadiq, the minister of education for Kurdistan. |
| For now, there is nowhere else to put these displaced families — or the children whose education has been delayed. Aid organizations, government officials and the teachers’ union all suspect it will be many more months until a solution is found. | For now, there is nowhere else to put these displaced families — or the children whose education has been delayed. Aid organizations, government officials and the teachers’ union all suspect it will be many more months until a solution is found. |
| “We have no options, actually,” said the Dohuk governor, Farhad Atrushi. | “We have no options, actually,” said the Dohuk governor, Farhad Atrushi. |
| The delayed start of the school year reflects how much the government has been struggling to provide basic services for its citizens in northern Iraq as conflict rages. | The delayed start of the school year reflects how much the government has been struggling to provide basic services for its citizens in northern Iraq as conflict rages. |
| Electricity in Dohuk is largely generated by burning fuel, which was costing the city several million dollars a day before a wave of refugees, many of them from the Yazidi religious minority, arrived here. Water is also a problem. With a pre-refugee population of more than 1.2 million in the province of Dohuk, the water supply was barely sufficient. With an estimated half-million more people drawing on water resources now, the future looks pretty dry. | Electricity in Dohuk is largely generated by burning fuel, which was costing the city several million dollars a day before a wave of refugees, many of them from the Yazidi religious minority, arrived here. Water is also a problem. With a pre-refugee population of more than 1.2 million in the province of Dohuk, the water supply was barely sufficient. With an estimated half-million more people drawing on water resources now, the future looks pretty dry. |
| The government has made plans to build new refugee camps, but it is not clear when they will be ready. The government lacks the funds to supply refugees with food, water or services such as electricity and sanitation. | The government has made plans to build new refugee camps, but it is not clear when they will be ready. The government lacks the funds to supply refugees with food, water or services such as electricity and sanitation. |
| The shortage of camps also reflects the rapidly changing dynamics on the ground. Areas originally slated for refugees were abandoned after ISIS fighters pressed closer to the locations. | The shortage of camps also reflects the rapidly changing dynamics on the ground. Areas originally slated for refugees were abandoned after ISIS fighters pressed closer to the locations. |
| As a result, the newly homeless arriving in Dohuk were forced to find alternative accommodations. Half-constructed buildings, community centers, schools, abandoned basements and parking garages swarm with the dispossessed. The dispersion of people from areas where the fighting is heaviest makes it hard to determine the number of displaced and their needs. | As a result, the newly homeless arriving in Dohuk were forced to find alternative accommodations. Half-constructed buildings, community centers, schools, abandoned basements and parking garages swarm with the dispossessed. The dispersion of people from areas where the fighting is heaviest makes it hard to determine the number of displaced and their needs. |
| From Mr. Atrushi’s perspective, each potential solution is as challenging as the last. There is some hope that Kurdish pesh merga fighters, with the help of American airstrikes and the Iraqi military, will liberate Sinjar, the home of many of the refugees. But even if that objective is achieved, it will be difficult to persuade the displaced to return to their homes, Mr. Atrushi said. | From Mr. Atrushi’s perspective, each potential solution is as challenging as the last. There is some hope that Kurdish pesh merga fighters, with the help of American airstrikes and the Iraqi military, will liberate Sinjar, the home of many of the refugees. But even if that objective is achieved, it will be difficult to persuade the displaced to return to their homes, Mr. Atrushi said. |
| Mr. Atrushi, who has been applauded by aid organizations as well as refugees for his response to the crisis, said he may also be forced to move families out of the schools and into open spaces, already overcrowded abandoned buildings or the streets. | Mr. Atrushi, who has been applauded by aid organizations as well as refugees for his response to the crisis, said he may also be forced to move families out of the schools and into open spaces, already overcrowded abandoned buildings or the streets. |
| “The vast majority are scattered in different locations,” said Nicole Walden, the team leader for the International Rescue Committee, referring to the refugees. “This crisis requires creative thinking.” | “The vast majority are scattered in different locations,” said Nicole Walden, the team leader for the International Rescue Committee, referring to the refugees. “This crisis requires creative thinking.” |
| Families in schools fare better than those in the camps. The wide corridors offer cool breezes and protection from the blistering heat. The compounds are easier to secure, and offer more privacy, in addition to the proximity of water, electricity and standard toilets. | Families in schools fare better than those in the camps. The wide corridors offer cool breezes and protection from the blistering heat. The compounds are easier to secure, and offer more privacy, in addition to the proximity of water, electricity and standard toilets. |
| It was these amenities that drew Murad Ghalil, a member of the Yazidi religious minority, to the Khabat school this month. After fleeing Syria, Mr. Ghalil initially stayed with a relative. But as more people arrived, he decided to find a more permanent solution for the elderly and the infants, who would suffer in a camp. | It was these amenities that drew Murad Ghalil, a member of the Yazidi religious minority, to the Khabat school this month. After fleeing Syria, Mr. Ghalil initially stayed with a relative. But as more people arrived, he decided to find a more permanent solution for the elderly and the infants, who would suffer in a camp. |
| So he visited the ministry of education, and officials there offered him a school. | So he visited the ministry of education, and officials there offered him a school. |
| Now, 174 people live in the building. They have set up cooking stations and mattresses. Their laundry hangs from the second-floor banister that looks out over the atrium. They pray on the rooftop. | Now, 174 people live in the building. They have set up cooking stations and mattresses. Their laundry hangs from the second-floor banister that looks out over the atrium. They pray on the rooftop. |
| Among Mr. Ghalil’s Yazidi relatives, who practice an ancient religion with roots in Muslim and Zoroastrian traditions, there are 42 children who were attending school in Sinjar. He is hoping those students can join the 150 who normally attend Khabat. | Among Mr. Ghalil’s Yazidi relatives, who practice an ancient religion with roots in Muslim and Zoroastrian traditions, there are 42 children who were attending school in Sinjar. He is hoping those students can join the 150 who normally attend Khabat. |
| “We are comfortable,” said Mr. Ghalil, a Yazidi elder. But he knows that the comfort is temporary, and that inevitably their situations will change. But, he acknowledged, “no one has told us how long we can stay.” | “We are comfortable,” said Mr. Ghalil, a Yazidi elder. But he knows that the comfort is temporary, and that inevitably their situations will change. But, he acknowledged, “no one has told us how long we can stay.” |
| The sentiment is the same at other schools: a sense of ease and comfort, in particular compared with the distress many have endured, buffeted by an abiding concern about the coming school year, whenever it arrives. | |
| “We hope the government doesn’t ask us to move,” said Farhan Ghayab, a Kurdish Muslim from Sinjar, whose family has set itself up in another Dohuk school. “We know it’s impossible to stay, because education is important for this region, but we are hoping.” | “We hope the government doesn’t ask us to move,” said Farhan Ghayab, a Kurdish Muslim from Sinjar, whose family has set itself up in another Dohuk school. “We know it’s impossible to stay, because education is important for this region, but we are hoping.” |