Alongside its partner Blumont, UNHCR Iraq has been holding a series of unique initiatives through its conflict resolution and resilience building program that uses interactive theater to address a number of daily issues faced by displaced people.
Teams from Blumont carried out group discussions with displaced Iraqis in the al-Salam and al-Jame’ea camps of Baghdad, hearing some of the problems and issues they face that have been creating tensions between host communities and camp residents, as well as among the residents themselves. These issues were then woven into a script for an interactive theater show performed at the camp.
“The key message is to raise awareness and address problems that were identified in the group discussion with the displaced people as they are facing these issues on a daily basis,” said Hadeel Faiz, program officer at Blumont and the woman in charge of the conflict resolution and resilience building program.“The main issues addressed are discrimination against displaced people by the society, some hygiene issues in the camps, and the financial difficulties [displaced communities] are facing.”
Many Iraqis and representatives from local and international NGOs attended the play. All sides participated actively in discussions about the play in between each act.
“I think this is very good and it really helps all of us to sit together and see how we can deal with the issues of our daily lives,” said 24-year-old Samah, who was displaced from Ramadi and lives in the camp. “We like the questions and how everyone raises their hands to answer them. It reminds me of school.”
“The interactive aspect helps people to discuss suggestions and solutions for each problem or scenario displayed and their recommendations,” said Hadeel. “By having people who are facing the issues sit down together and think about solutions, we are raising awareness and also encouraging these people to be more proactive.”
UNHCR hosted the program in order to identify the root causes of conflict in displaced communities and educate them on how conflict resolution mechanisms work. The program also aims to strengthen the resilience of communities during displacement.
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