US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT2790

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 KUWAIT 002790 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO PASS USAID/W 
STATE PLEASE REPEAT TO IO COLLECTIVE 
STATE FOR PRM/ANE, EUR/SE, NEA/NGA, IO AND SA/PAB 
NSC FOR EABRAMS, SMCCORMICK, STAHIR-KHELI, JDWORKEN 
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/RMT, DCHA/FFP 
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, ANE/AA 
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA:WGARVELINK, BMCCONNELL, KFARNSWORTH 
USAID FOR ANE/AA:WCHAMBERLIN 
ROME FOR FODAG 
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH 
ANKARA FOR AMB WRPEARSON, ECON AJSIROTIC AND DART 
AMMAN FOR USAID AND DART 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREF, IZ, WFP 
SUBJECT:  DART UPDATE ON MARSH ARAB SETTLEMENTS 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
1.   DART members from Kuwait City made several visits to 
Marsh Arab settlements in Maysan governorate between 4 and 9 
June, including Al Amarah, the governorate's capital, and Al 
Khaila, a non-Marsh Arab community east of the Maimona 
"River of Honor".  DART members were sometimes accompanied 
by representatives of the World Food Program (WFP) and by 
the Ministry of Trade (MOT) Ration Registration Center 
staff.  The visits provided DART and WFP with a better 
understanding of the reasons why some Marsh Arab communities 
are under-registered in Iraq's Public Distribution System 
(PDS).  They also provided an opportunity to begin a 
targeted on-the-spot registration process in these 
communities.  Discussions with Marsh Arab and non-Marsh Arab 
leaders also substantiated information about livelihood 
patterns of populations in the marsh region before and after 
the draining of the marshes under the former regime. 
 
2.  DART meetings were held with the U.N. Office of the 
Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UNOHCI) regarding its 
upcoming inter-agency Marsh Arab assessment and with the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its 
implementing partner, Ockenden International, about its 
current efforts to register Marsh Arabs as internally 
displaced persons (IDPs).  The meetings increased DART and 
WFP concerns that approaching Marsh Arab vulnerability from 
an IDP rather than community perspective at this time may: 
1) delay the implementation of relatively simple, quick 
impact community-based interventions which could address 
urgent needs of both Marsh Arab and non-Marsh Arab 
communities; 2) risk deepening rifts between Marsh Arab and 
non-Marsh Arab communities, and may strain already tenuous 
relations between various Marsh Arab tribes; and 3) result 
in an unjustified ethnic-based prioritization of needs.  End 
Summary. 
 
--------------------------------- 
DART Visit to Al Adl AND Al Khair 
--------------------------------- 
 
3.  On 4 June, DART visited Marsh Arab settlements in an 
area southwest of Al Amarah, between Al Adl and Al Khair. 
The settlements flank a dike running along the west bank of 
what is referred to as Saddam's "River of Honor," facing 
plains to the west that were previously their marsh 
homeland.  Residents reported that their villages were not 
affected by any significant military activity during the 
recent conflict.  Most of the government infrastructure 
visited, a primary and secondary school, a clinic, and a 
pumping station, however, were thoroughly looted.  The 
clinic, located in a new building in Al Khair that was built 
within the past 18 months to serve 16 Marsh Arab villages in 
the area, had expensive medical equipment reportedly removed 
by the government in anticipation of a Coalition forces 
occupation.  The schools and the pumping station were 
reportedly stripped and damaged by local residents. 
 
4.  The priority needs identified by interviewees were 
potable water, electricity (available for approximately one 
hour per day), and adequate health care.  There is a 
functioning clinic in Al Adl that is reported to be facing a 
serious lack of drugs, particularly for the treatment of 
diarrhea and leishmoniasis.  Other common diseases reported 
were malaria, Malta fever, urinary tract infections, and 
acute respiratory infections.  DART will pursue the drug 
supply issue with the United Nations International 
Children's Fund (UNICEF), the U.N. World Health 
Organization, and Medecins Sans Frontieres in Al Basrah. 
 
--------------------- 
Quick Impact Projects 
--------------------- 
 
5.  DART identified three possible rehabilitation projects 
in Al Khair: the clinic (see paras 3 and 4), a looted 
elementary school (serving 100 students from the neighboring 
villages), and a pumping station for safe drinking water (in 
good condition but stripped of four critical motors for 
intake and output pumps).  Despite reports that the tribes 
in this area are under the authority of an influential Sheik 
in Al Amarah, the lack of any kind of political or social 
cohesion among them became apparent during the discussions, 
and can easily pose serious challenges to the security and 
sustainability of "quick impact" interventions.  As one of 
the tribal leaders described it when asked about the looted 
elementary school, "the desks are in the village houses. 
That village [tribe] does not see the school as their 
problem." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Registration in the Public Distribution System (PDS) 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
6.  In the areas visited by DART, tribal leaders reported 
that they had previously been asked by  "a man and a woman" 
to make a list of families who were not registered in the 
Public Distribution System (PDS) food ration program.  They 
prepared the list, and gave it to "the man".  They did not 
know who the man was or where he took the list.  According 
to the leaders, there were about 150 families on the list 
(approximately 5 percent of the total number of families), 
but the leaders were not sure that all unregistered families 
had identified themselves.  Family size was estimated at 
between seven and eleven people, but has been reported to be 
as high as 17 people per family.  Leaders reported that the 
most common reason for families not being registered was the 
desertion of a family member from the army, or failure of an 
eligible member to register for mandatory military service. 
(Note: By WFP's assessment, the number of unregistered 
families may vary from between five to thirty percent of the 
total number of families.  End Note.) 
 
7.   DART assumed that the "man and woman" who had made the 
request were staff from Ockenden International, a British 
non-governmental organization (NGO) and an implementing 
partner of the International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) that is registering Marsh Arabs under its mandate for 
the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs). 
While this turned out not to be the case, DART verified that 
Ockenden was in fact registering Marsh Arabs for IOM by 
recording a family's lack of a PDS ration card as a need for 
food assistance.  In theory, IOM would then request rations 
from WFP under the rubric of vulnerable group feeding. 
 
---------------------------- 
Vulnerable Versus IDP Status 
---------------------------- 
 
8.  In Al Basrah, DART discussed with WFP and the U.N. 
Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UNOHCI) its 
concerns regarding the approach being taken by IOM, that is, 
viewing the needs of Marsh Arabs as an IDP problem.  UNOHCI 
informed DART that it was under significant pressure to be 
able to provide information about the Marsh Arabs as a 
vulnerable group, and that it will also have to demonstrate 
its ability to coordinate a rapid U.N. response to urgent 
needs affecting Marsh Arab communities.  When the creation 
of a special task force and interagency assessment for Marsh 
Arabs was proposed to the U.N. community in Al Basrah, 
however, a majority of the U.N. agencies objected.  They 
insisted that focusing humanitarian assistance on one 
particular vulnerable group was not appropriate in the 
current environment of widespread instability and 
vulnerability in Iraq.  A compromise was reached with the 
creation of a UNOHCI-led "Vulnerable Group Task Force".  The 
Task Force is initiating its activities during the week of 
June 16 with the inter-agency assessment of Marsh Arabs. 
DART encouraged UNOHCI to take advantage of IOM's DART- 
funded "Iraq Transition Initiative" (ITI), through which 
several projects benefiting Marsh Arab communities are 
already being considered. 
 
9.  In discussions with WFP, DART stressed that in terms of 
non-registration in the PDS, approaching Marsh Arab 
communities from an IDP perspective risked delaying their 
receipt of food assistance and did nothing for them in the 
long-term.  Most of the families in these Marsh Arab 
communities have been residents for between six and ten 
years and a majority are registered with the PDS.  Non- 
registration in the PDS has little to do with having been 
displaced from the marshes, and much more to do with their 
political opposition to the former regime.  WFP agreed that 
a more direct approach to integrating these families into 
the PDS was required, and DART and WFP agreed to return to 
Al Amarah on 8 June to address this issue with Ockenden, the 
Ministry of Trade (MOT) director, and the Ration 
Registration Center (RRC) manager.  (Comment:  With WFP's 
assistance, a decentralized approach to PDS registration has 
already been adopted in Al Basrah and An Nasiriyah, both 
governorates having significant Marsh Arab populations.  In 
Al Basrah, the MOT has publicized registration dates and 
locations using radio and local information networks. 
Representatives from the governorate's RRC have been 
traveling to designated registration focal points.  Families 
are being registered by hand and issued provisional ration 
cards.  A family's enrollment will become permanent when all 
the necessary documentation is submitted and the 
registration confirmed by the Central MOT in Baghdad.  End 
Comment.) 
 
-------------------------------- 
DART AND WFP Travel to Al Amarah 
-------------------------------- 
 
10.  On 8 June, DART and WFP staff traveled to Al Amarah. 
At the City Council's offices, the group held discussions 
with the head of the Al Amarah City Council, who is an 
influential figure in both the governorate's Marsh Arab and 
non-Marsh Arab communities.  The meeting had a very 
disagreeable start, with the Sheik expressing his 
disappointment with the Coalition forces in general, and his 
dismay over the number of "foreigners" who had come to the 
governorate "with their paper and pencils" to assess needs, 
but whose visits had yielded no tangible assistance.  He 
indicated that the Council had considered denying 
"foreigners" any more access to the governorate because of 
the people's disillusionment with both Coalition forces and 
the international humanitarian community.  WFP's Area 
Coordinator (an Egyptian) then reminded the Sheik that they 
were both Arabs, there was work to do, and that perhaps 
politics could be discussed over tea later.  The tension 
lifted, and the rest of the discussion went favorably. 
 
11.  DART discussed what it had seen in the Marsh Arab 
communities on 4 June, describing the looting that had 
crippled schools, clinics, and pumping stations, and 
requested City Council leader's view as to the value of 
rehabilitating this infrastructure at this time of uncertain 
security.  The City Council leader described how in Al 
Amarah, after an initial outburst of destructive protest 
against the regime, local leaders had been able to mobilize 
the people to secure the town and prepare for the arrival of 
Coalition forces as an already liberated city.  He indicated 
that any resources brought to Maysan communities now would 
be well protected, despite the almost total absence of 
Coalition forces. 
 
12.  WFP presented the idea of an immediate PDS registration 
campaign, primarily targeted toward the governorate's Marsh 
Arab communities.  The City Council leader supported the 
idea, but expressed concern that many of the families in 
these communities had avoided all contact with the former 
regime, and that many of them did not have the official 
documentation required by Baghdad for registration.  WFP 
reiterated that the registration is to be conducted by the 
Al Amarah MOT office, and that families will be registered 
at the governorate level until such time as an acceptable 
and accessible system of identity documentation was 
established/re-established for those lacking official birth, 
citizenship, and marriage documentation.  The City Council 
leader offered his assistance in encouraging non-registered 
families to come forward.  The discussion ended on friendly 
terms, with WFP and DART being invited back "if desired." 
DART members stated that the next time they visited pencils 
and paper would be left in the vehicles. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
MOT/Al Amarah and Ration Registration Center 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
13.  DART and WFP proceeded to the MOT/Maysan governorate 
central warehouse and administrative offices.  After 
visiting the warehouse stores, where several food agents 
from Al Amarah city were in the process of collecting their 
commodities, the group was received by the MOT RRC manager. 
The ensuing discussion focused on reports of under- 
registration in Marsh Arab communities, and DART's 
conversations with tribal leaders during its visit to the 
Adl-Al Khair corridor on 4 June.  The RRC manager produced a 
list of 162 heads of households, the same list discussed by 
tribal leaders during DART's 4 June visit.  He also 
indicated that the number of unregistered individuals in the 
Marsh Arab communities was very small, because registration 
campaigns were carried out annually.  He also expressed 
concern about registration procedures, claiming that he 
cannot enroll unregistered families without proper 
documentation and approval from the Central MOT. 
 
14.  WFP explained that families had little recourse for 
securing missing identity, citizenship, and/or marriage 
documentation.  Until families did secure documents, 
however, the Coalition Provisional Authority's (CPA) Lower 
South office was requesting MOT offices in each governorate 
to register families and individuals on a provisional basis. 
WFP also explained the steps being taken in Al Basrah and An 
Nasiriyah to accomplish this, and promised to bring a letter 
from CPA Lower South supporting this effort, which will 
provide the approval that the MOT office in Maysan 
governorate requested. 
 
15.  The RRC manager then summoned the RRC staff member 
responsible for registration in the communities previously 
visited by DART.  Considerable confusion ensued, as the 
staff member insisted that the list represented entire 
families, not simply individuals, and further, that the list 
had not captured all unregistered families, particularly 
from the tribal villages south of the town of Al Adl.  DART 
and WFP then proposed that the RRC manager and staff 
accompany them through the Marsh Arab corridor the following 
day, to try to determine the exact coverage on the list, as 
well as to clarify the question of individual versus family 
exclusion from the PDS.  The RRC manager held that it was 
the offender and not his wife or children who were denied a 
ration card.  The RRC manager agreed to travel through the 
corridor with DART and WFP. 
------------------------------ 
Marsh Arabs Registered as IDPs 
------------------------------ 
 
16.  Following the meeting with the RRC manager, DART and 
WFP met with Ockenden representatives.  Ockenden's staff is 
young and enthusiastic and very knowledgeable about the 
Marsh Arabs in Maysan governorate, as well as IDPs arriving 
from Kirkuk and Iraqis returning from border areas inside 
Iran.  Ockenden explained that its objective after it 
completed the registration of IDPs in Al Amarah town was to 
register all Marsh Arabs, as they, as a group, "have been 
determined to be IDPs."  (Note: Registration is not linked 
to need but status.  However, specific needs are noted 
during the PDS registration process.  End Note.)  DART and 
WFP questioned Ockenden staff closely about the differences 
between Marsh Arab communities and the Marsh Arabs who live 
in Al Amarah town.  Ockenden indicated that there is a great 
variance in the economic standing of Marsh Arab communities 
and between rural and urban Marsh Arabs, with wealth being 
attached to land ownership, land sales, and wheat 
production. 
 
17.  WFP asked what Ockenden staff did when they came across 
families that were not registered in the PDS.  Staff 
indicated that this was noted on both the IOM registration 
papers and on a registration card left with the families. 
Ockenden does not direct families to the MOT RRC for 
registration, but informs families that IOM would approach 
relevant agencies to provide assistance based on their 
registration cards.  (Comment: Even though DART and WFP were 
concerned by Ockenden's actions regarding registration of 
Marsh Arabs as IDPs, they did not pursue the issue in Al 
Amarah with Ockenden, deciding that it would have to be 
taken up with IOM in Al Basrah.  End Comment.) 
 
--------- 
Al Khaila 
--------- 
 
18.  The final visit on 8 June was to Al Khalia, a non-Marsh 
Arab village east of the Maimona "River of Honor".   WFP and 
DART met with farmers and a food agent serving the village 
and families living within an 18-kilometer catchment area. 
Wheat farming is the primary source of income in this 
region.  Some rice is also grown, but rice and sugar cane 
played a more significant role in the area's economy prior 
to the draining of the marshes.  The sugar cane fields and 
State-owned sugar refinery reportedly provided employment 
for both Marsh Arabs and non-Marsh Arabs.  The rice crop, 
while owned by farmers, provided seasonal employment to 
Marsh Arabs in neighboring communities.  Date groves have 
also been an important source of income in Maysan 
governorate. 
 
19.  The food agent interviewed in Al Khaila reported that 
of the 169 families in his catchment area, 50 families are 
consistently unable to pay the 250 Iraqi dinars (1,500 ID = 
USD 1) per person required for the PDS ration.  The majority 
of these families does not own land, are not employed, and 
must rent their houses.  The food agent indicated that these 
families would sell a portion of their ration in the market 
and repay him when they can.  The food agent expressed his 
concern that he would not be able to absorb the increasing 
transport costs (caused by rising fuel prices and security 
concerns), but he also did not want to ask for more than 250 
ID per ration.  WFP explained that this issue was affecting 
food agents throughout southern Iraq.  Although the 
transport issue was unlikely to be resolved in June, efforts 
were being made by the CPA and MOT to increase the 
proportion of ration fees allocated to food agents for 
transport.  Before leaving Al Khaila, WFP national staff 
verified the commodity pick-up date of the food agent and 
promised to return to interview some of the families he 
served. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
Al Nasar Alla and Reasons for Non-Registration in the PDS 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
20.  On 9 June, WFP and DART returned to Al Amarah to pick 
up the RRC manager and staff and proceeded southwest to the 
Marsh Arab village of Al Nasar Alla.  The group was met by 
the leader of the tribe and invited into a central meeting 
hall.  When the village's male heads of household had 
assembled, the RRC manager asked whether there were families 
in the village who had not registered in the PDS.  The next 
hour convinced the RRC manager that, contrary to what he had 
expressed in Al Amarah, entire households had been excluded 
from the PDS, not simply one offending member.  By far, the 
most common situation described was when a man, excluded 
from the PDS because of desertion or avoiding conscription, 
married outside the civil court system because he had no 
other choice.  (Comment: This situation has been reported as 
a reason for non-registration throughout the south and is 
not specific to Marsh Arabs.  However, ad hoc assessments 
indicates that Marsh Arabs were more likely to have avoided 
involvement in the military and the marshes, while they 
existed, provided good hiding places, resulting in a higher 
percentage of unregistered marriages, and therefore under 
representation in the PDS.  End Comment.)  Without civil 
recognition of the marriage, his wife and children cannot 
therefore be enrolled in the PDS, but the man, still liable 
to be prosecuted for avoiding/escaping the military, cannot 
seek civil recognition of the marriage. 
 
------------------------ 
Provisional Registration 
------------------------ 
 
21.  DART and WFP questioned tribal members about the issue 
of documentation (identity, citizenship, marriage, birth, 
etc.) and it quickly became apparent that provisional 
enrollment in the PDS would have to be done absent much of 
the previously required documentation.  The RRC manager 
proposed that unregistered members of Al Nasar Alla present 
themselves for registration in one of two larger towns south 
and north of Al Nasar Alla.  The tribal leader replied that 
this would be impossible, due to tensions between his tribe 
and the tribes in the area of these towns.  The RRC decided 
to begin the registration process immediately, recording the 
names of 20 families not already on the previously collected 
list of 162. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Livelihoods Discussion with Al Nasar Alla Marsh Arabs 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
22.  During this PDS registration process, DART and WFP took 
the opportunity to question the tribal leader and heads of 
households about their lives prior to the draining of the 
marshes, their lives now, and what they hope for with the 
establishment of a new government.  They discussed the role 
that fishing had played in terms of income generation, as 
well as (in this particular area) seasonal labor in the 
cultivation of "amber" rice and sugar cane.  Water buffalo 
continue to provide a source of income from the sale of its 
milk.  They reported about the marshes providing them the 
materials to construct houses, and how difficult it was now 
to find reeds long enough.  They were excited by the 
increased water flow in the Maimona "River of Honor" since 
the Coalition took Al Kut (whose dam controls the water flow 
on the river), saying the salinity of the water had 
decreased and that the fish were returning. 
 
23.  Those interviewed indicated that since the marshes had 
been drained, they had been cultivating wheat, which they 
appreciated as a source of food and income.  When questioned 
further, it appeared that the village had not produced much 
wheat this year, but wheat cultivation was still considered 
important.  When asked if they will live in the marshes if 
restored to their natural state, the villagers initially 
appeared to split their vote.  Half said yes, if there were 
schools for their children, and half said no, because they 
would lose their wheat fields.  In the end, all present 
agreed that the best alternative would be to have wheat 
cultivation and the marshlands. 
 
24.  From Al Nasar Alla, DART, WFP, and the RRC drove north 
towards Al Khair and Adl, visiting seven villages of 
different tribes to determine whether or not targeted PDS 
registration will be required.  Four of the seven villages 
did require registration.  The RRC managers requested 
assistance from tribal leaders in gathering the names of 
unregistered families, and informed them of the day the RRC 
will return to register these families.  WFP will follow up 
to ensure that unregistered families are provisionally 
registered and receive rations during June. 
 
------------------ 
Al Majarr al Kabir 
------------------ 
 
25.  Before returning to Al Amarah and Al Basrah, the group 
stopped in Al Majarr al Kabir, the district headquarters for 
the area visited.  WFP and the RRC manager briefed officials 
about the day's visits, and requested their assistance in 
ensuring that information about provisional PDS registration 
was disseminated throughout the district.  One of the 
officials proceeded to produce an IOM registration card (he 
had been registered as an IDP) stating that he and his 
people had assumed they were already registered because they 
had received these "ration cards."  WFP explained that in 
order to receive PDS rations, the RRC would have to register 
the families whose IOM cards indicate that they were not 
already registered in the PDS system. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Insecurity Rumors in Al Majarr al Kabir 
--------------------------------------- 
 
26.  Some of the discussions in Al Majarr al Kabir addressed 
the issue of insecurity.  According to local officials, two 
theories about the Coalition force's role in security were 
gaining popularity in Maysan governorate.  The first was 
that Coalition forces permitted crime and insecurity to 
continue as a way of increasing the population's dependence 
on the Coalition.  The second was that insecurity was 
permitted to continue as a way of turning people away from 
their religious leaders because religious leadership was not 
able to control the insecurity. 
 
-------------------- 
Discussions with IOM 
-------------------- 
 
27.  Returning to Al Basrah, DART and WFP met with IOM's 
coordinator for IDP assistance.  WFP informed IOM of the 
confusion and expectations arising from Ockenden's effort to 
register Marsh Arabs as IDPs.  The issue of need versus IDP 
status was also discussed.  IOM's coordinator also indicated 
that he had concerns about the purpose of registration at 
this point in time.  IOM had offered to stop registration in 
its last meeting with UNOHCI, but the UNOHCI coordinator for 
southern Iraq encouraged IOM to continue the registration 
process. 
 
28.  DART and WFP stressed the importance of identifying and 
addressing needs in Maysan governorate from a community- 
based perspective.  The most basic of these needs (water, 
electricity, and health care) have the potential for 
creating and/or strengthening links between Marsh Arab 
tribes, and between Marsh Arab and non-Marsh Arab 
communities.  DART suggested that IOM include its DART- 
funded "Iraq Transition Initiative" team in its assessment 
and registration of Marsh Arabs, including its participation 
in the UNOHCI inter-agency assessment of Marsh Arabs in 
Maysan, An Nasiriyah, and Al Basrah governorates.  Finally, 
DART raised the issue of the lack of documentation in Marsh 
Arab communities.   Members suggested that, if IOM continues 
its registration of Marsh Arabs as IDPs, IOM should do so 
with the purpose of assisting Marsh Arabs. The IOM 
registration will regularize their identity, citizenship, 
and marriage documentation as a crucial element in ensuring 
Marsh Arab access to public services and representation in 
civil government. 
 
--------------- 
RECOMMENDATIONS 
--------------- 
 
29.  As a result of these visits, DART and WFP are following 
up on these recommendations: 
 
-- The decentralized, provisional registration of families 
that are currently not registered in the PDS should be 
accelerated.  Emphasis should be placed on Marsh Arab 
communities in Al Basrah, Maysan, and Dhi Qar governorates. 
WFP will follow up with RRCs at the governorate level and 
DART will follow up with CPA Lower South. 
 
-- Community-based quick impact projects addressing needs in 
the water, health, and education infrastructure sectors 
should be accelerated in Marsh Arab and neighboring non- 
Marsh Arab communities in Maysan governorate, and identified 
in Al Basrah and An Nasiriyah governorates. 
 
-- IOM and UNOHCI should re-examine their strategy of 
registering Marsh Arabs as IDPs.  They need to focus their 
efforts on developing a program of assistance to address the 
documentation needs of Marsh Arabs, as well as other 
excluded Iraqis.  IOM should involve the Iraq Transition 
Initiative in its Marsh Arab assessment activities. 
 
-- Assessments conducted by USAID and UNOHCI of Marsh Arab 
communities and the marshes should include an examination of 
the extent to which the marshes exist as a shared resource 
that provided economic and social security to and between 
Marsh Arab and non-Marsh Arab communities. 
 
JONES