Forty-year-old Thatha and her four sons escaped ISIS-controlled Hawija, Iraq, to Kirkuk in June.
Recent military operations to retake ISIS-controlled areas have already uprooted 240,000 people from their homes in cities like Fallujah and the areas south of Mosul. Some 3 million Iraqis remain trapped, living under ISIS’s brutal rule. ISIS imposes strict laws of dress and behavior and carries out harsh punishment – including execution – for any disobedience.
Humanitarian aid agencies are racing to be ready to assist as many as 700,000 of the displaced who will need food, water, shelter and medical care. These traumatized families will also require longer-term support to help them to recover.
The International Rescue Committee helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future.
