Unwanted Neighbors: Social Environments, Perceptions of Returnees, and Implications for Future Returns and Reintegration

The return of the pre-conflict population in Iraq by and large is seen as the priority for authorities to resolve displacement. Residents in areas of return however have more nuanced views in this regard. This brief, using Baiji in Salah al-Din as a case study, highlights that residents’ views, specifically of who have already come back, shape social environments relating to social cohesion and institutional trust in very localized ways. This in turn influences perceptions of ISIL affiliation and collective blame. Understanding these dynamics is critical to better conceptualize what durable return after conflict means and to develop reintegration strategies to help those who have just returned and those who have been back for longer as well. Such efforts lay the basis for reducing fragility and ensuring long-term peace. This is particularly important as there is an expectation that more displaced people will return to cities now as the Federal Government of Iraq has closed most of the displacement camps in the country.

Download brief in English here.

Download brief in Arabic here.