Iraq's terror victims face neglect over compensation claims

Scores of Iraqis fall victim to the daily violence that rips through their cities and streets.

A recent report from the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) reveals that such violence has claimed the lives of more than 700 Iraqis and injured over 1,000 in the past month alone.

Impoverished families living in unprotected neighbourhoods are the usual victims of this increasing violence, but their suffering is compounded by the government's neglect - after it failed to protect them against the violence in the first place.

"The terror victims' compensation law is being sidestepped due to the financial crisis facing the country," said Shaher al-Yaqoubi, an Iraqi lawyer.

"New regulations are forcing victims to be re-examined by medical panels to assess their injuries and level of disability, and the extended procedures are pushing victims to abandon their rightful compensation," added al-Yaqoubi.

Not only have I become a victim of terrorism but also a victim of the government's unfair laws - Ali al-Azzawi

In 2009, the Iraqi parliament ratified a law that regulated compensation payments to victims of terror attacks, combat operations and military errors, which states that victims should be paid within 60 days of completing the necessary legal procedures.

However, the mother of a child who was nearly killed in a shooting told al-Araby al-Jadeed that it took years for her family to receive compensation.

"My only child was shot multiple times in 2004 when she was only nine years old, and we did not receive compensation until 2014 - ten years after she was shot and suffered 80 percent paralysis," said the mother.

The family finally received just over $4,000 in compensation after appointing a lawyer to take up their case, as the law did not cover victims of terror attacks and military operations before 2006.

The law has finally been amended to apply to victims of violence that took place prior to that time, but the latest regulations have meant that victims are subjected to further bureaucratic hurdles in order to receive compensation.

Victims also incur expensive lawyer fees, with the standard being 15 percent of the compensation received, in addition to having to pay bribes to government departments to complete their official paperwork - therefore many victims prefer not to bother claiming.

"The law is very important for victims of terrorism, but it is also insulting to them because the military martyr is compensated with five million dinars [$4,460], however the civilian martyr is compensated with 4750,000 dinars [$3,345]," said Barween Mohammed Amin, a member of the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights.

"Furthermore, compensation varies between victims depending on the severity of their injuries. If the victim's damage was 60 percent and over, they receive a government pension, but victims whose injuries are deemed to be 59 percent or less do not receive any compensation or pension according to the law," added Amin.

Ali al-Azzawi, a displaced day labourer, was one of those victims whose injuries did not meet the seemingly arbitrary standards set by the law.

"I was struck my shrapnel in my eye due to an improvised explosive device planted in a market," said al-Azzawi.

"After a long period of suffering, I was admitted to Ibn al-Haitham hospital in Baghdad to be treated for free because I am displaced and I have five children who I can't feed," he added.

"To my surprise, the hospital asked me to pay 300,000 dinars [$270] - despite me being registered as a victim of terrorism and, now, not only have I become a victim of terrorism but also a victim of the government's unfair laws."