Shafaq News/Displaced people in Duhok, Kurdistan Region, participated in the populationcensus that began on Wednesday morning, marking the first census in decades.
Duhok’sCensus
Duhokprovince hosts 15 displacement camps, housing nearly 55,875 displacedindividuals, both in and out of the camps.
The censusbegan at 8:30 AM, with survey teams covering tents and additional teamshandling displaced people in nearby areas, according to Shafaq Newscorrespondent.
Zozan Qasim,a member of the census teams, explained to our agency, "We are visitingfamilies, registering data using national ID cards, and assigning each team aspecific number of tents to cover daily."
Zozan notedtechnical challenges that affected the process, saying, "Unfortunately,some tablets malfunctioned…We are coordinating with the relevant authorities toresolve the issue quickly and ensure the process runs smoothly."
SmoothProcess, Wishes to Return
Jasim Hassu,a displaced person, expressed satisfaction with the organization of the census,saying, "This process is going well, and our names were recorded easily…Weare cooperating with the census teams, and everything is proceeding smoothly."He added that displaced families were “actively” waiting in tents forregistration.
“I wish wewere in Sinjar doing this process…We've been here for over 10 years, and oursituation remains difficult,” Mirza Khalaf, a displaced person living in acamp, told Shafaq News, referring to the suffering caused by displacement whenISIS took control of Sinjar in 2014.
Hecontinued, "Aid from organizations has dropped significantly. While wewant to return, Sinjar still lacks basic services like water, electricity, andsecurity."
About Duhok
Duhok, oneof the four provinces in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq along with Erbil,Al-Sulaymaniyah, and Halabja, is located in the country's northwestern cornerand shares a border with Turkiye. The province spans approximately 6,550 squarekilometers, characterized by its strategic location and mountainous terrain.
Administratively,Duhok comprises several districts, including Duhok City, the provincialcapital, along with Zakho, Al-Amediya, Akre, and Simele (Sumail).
As of 2014,Duhok's population was estimated at 1.2 million, predominantly composed ofMuslim Kurds, with smaller communities of Arabs and Turkmen.
In recentdecades, the province has experienced significant population growth due tointernal migration from other parts of Iraq. This demographic expansion hasbeen further fueled by conflict-driven displacement, particularly the influx ofYazidis fleeing ISIS’s occupation of Mount Sinjar.