War widows are among the most vulnerable people displaced by conflict in Mosul.
As she fled her neighbourhood in western Mosul, Asmaa Mahmood, her husband and their two young daughters came under heavy fire from militant extremists. They were captured and the men and women were separated.
“They took my husband and we had to just keep going,” she says. “We escaped and we hid in abandoned houses until we made it to the camp.”
Two weeks after reaching the safety of UNHCR’s Hammam Al-Alil camp, Asmaa learned from other displaced Mosul residents that her husband had been killed. They had found his body and buried him.
Thousands of women have lost their husbands to conflict in Mosul.
Asmaa’s two-year-old daughter Bedoor sits inside their tent at Hammam al-Alil camp. Asmaa is raising two children alone with no income.
“I was shocked and I suffered from psychological trauma and grief,” she says.
In Hammam al-Alil 2 camp, households headed by widows like Asmaa make up more than a quarter of the 4,500 families who live there. Many of their husbands were murdered by armed extremists. Others were killed in air strikes, or were shot by artillery as they fled across the front lines. In many cases these husbands were the families’ sole breadwinner.
Without an income and often with children to support, Mosul’s war widows are among the most vulnerable people to have been displaced during the months of fighting for the city.
Since reaching the camp in April, Asmaa and her daughters, aged two and four, have received a tent, mattresses, blankets and items including kitchen utensils from UNHCR as part of the distribution of relief supplies given to new arrivals.
Asmaa has also received legal aid and assistance with replacing missing documents, including her government ID, which is vital to receiving benefits.
Over 570,000 people displaced by the Mosul conflict have been assisted by UNHCR and its partners since military operations to retake the city began late last year. In July, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that Mosul was back under government control.
Despite the massive damage to houses and infrastructure, some people are choosing to return home. UNHCR is providing residents with ‘sealing off’ kits that include timber, hammers, nails, wire, ropes, planks of wood and plastic sheets so that families can set up a shelter or secure a space amidst the ruins.
Asmaa plans to remain in Hammam al-Alil 2 camp until she finds a job and can support her family.
“I am so exhausted worrying about the future of my children. Now I have no-one to rely on. I don’t worry about myself. I just don’t want my daughters to feel different from any other girls who have a father.’’
Iraqi families just like Asmaa’s urgently need your help. UNHCR is on the ground protecting those most at risk, but we are critically short of funds to assist vulnerable children, women and men displaced by conflict.
Please make a donation today and give hope to a refugee family in crisis.
DONATE NOW
Asmaa is one of thousands of war widows among the estimated 900,000 people who have fled from Mosul.
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Australia for UNHCR (ABN 35 092 843 322) respects the importance of privacy and security of your personal information. This privacy policy sets out the way we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information and underpins our commitment to protecting your right to privacy. This policy reflects Australia for UNHCR’s obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (including the National Privacy Principles) (the Privacy Act). Australia for UNHCR embraces the National Privacy Principles and is committed to safeguarding your personal data. As members of the following bodies, we adhere to additional codes of conduct and ethical fundraising practices:
We may revise this Privacy Policy or any part of it from time to time. You will find the most current version on our website or obtain a copy from our Donor Care Team; contact details are included at the bottom of this policy.
Collection of Personal Information
Australia for UNHCR follows the Australian Privacy Principles in handling personal information; we collect personal information about individuals including supporters, employees, contractors, volunteers, special representatives/delegates and job applicants. This information is collected directly from you, in person, by phone or email, on hard copy donation forms or via our website. We may also collect your personal information from publically available sources or third parties.
Use of Personal Data
The information we collect and hold generally includes contact details (name, address, email), personal details including date of birth, and credit card or bank accounts details.
We use the personal information you provide us with for the purpose for which it was provided to us, other related purposes or as permitted or required by law. Generally we collect and use your personal information for:
We also use your information in our marketing and fundraising activities, keeping you informed of our latest news, campaigns and appeals or about campaigns and appeals which may be of interest to you, and offer you the opportunity to subscribe to them. We may also offer you the opportunity to participate in surveys carried out by Australia for UNHCR or its agents.
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We use your personal details to assist in the cost-effective development of our marketing and fundraising activities by sending you information by post, email or telephone. As we have a large number of supporters, at times we use external providers to assist with our telemarketing and mailing. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that our contracts with third parties include requirements for third parties to comply with the Use and Disclosure requirements of the Privacy Act.
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Disclosure and Sharing of Personal Data
We occasionally invite other like-minded and trusted organisations in Australia to contact you with information that may be of interest. This allows Australia for UNHCR to increase its base of supporters and reach more people with our vital message.
Any personal contact information you provide to us may be disclosed, if appropriate, to third parties who provide services on our behalf. We may also disclose your personal information to our volunteers who assist with many of our tasks.
Strict confidentiality agreements are in place with our service providers and external agencies, and with staff and volunteers who handle your personal information. We will only disclose your personal information for the purposes for which it was initially collected, other directly related purposes or purposes to which you otherwise consent.
Other than as stated above, we will we not share your personal information. However, it is possible, though unlikely, that we might be forced to disclose personal information in response to legal processes or when we believe in good faith that the law requires it, for example, in response to a court order, subpoena or a law enforcement agency's request.
If you do not wish Australia for UNHCR to share your personal information with like-minded and trusted organisations in Australia, you may opt out by ticking the appropriate box on the donation or pledge form or contact our Donor Care team, with contact details at the bottom of this policy. If you have any questions about privacy please contact our Donor Care Team (see contact details at the bottom of this policy).
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Australia for UNHCR will correct its records containing Personal Information as soon as practically possible at the request of the individual concerned in accordance with the Privacy Act. We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information that we collect and hold is accurate, complete and up-to-date. However, we rely on you to advise us of any changes to your personal information to help us maintain accurate, complete and up-to-date information.
We will, on request, provide you with access to the personal information we hold about you unless otherwise required or permitted by law. We will notify you of the basis for any denial of access to your personal information.
Individuals wishing to lodge a request to access and/or correct their Personal Information should do so by contacting our Donor Care Team; contact details are included at the bottom of this document.
Quality of Personal Information
Australia for UNHCR will review, on a regular and ongoing basis, its collection and storage practices to ascertain how improvements to accuracy can be achieved. We may utilise the services of third parties in order to maintain accurate personal information. Where such disclosure is made, we take reasonable steps to require these organisations comply with the National Privacy Principles.
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We strive to protect your personal information, that it is protected from misuse, loss, interference and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. For example, whenever we ask for your financial details online, we use security-encrypted response forms.
No data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, Australia for UNHCR cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us over the internet, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best effort to try and ensure its security both on our systems and while in transit between our systems and the companies who provide us with various services. If you do not wish to make your financial contribution online, please contact us to receive a hard copy form; contact details are included at the bottom of this policy.
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If you wish to make a complaint about a breach of this privacy policy or the privacy principles of the Privacy Act 1988 you can contact us using the contact details at the bottom of this policy. You will need to provide us with sufficient details regarding your complaint as well as any supporting evidence and/or information.
We will refer your complaint to our Privacy Officer who will investigate the issue and determine the steps that we will undertake to resolve your complaint. We will contact you if we require any additional information from you and will notify you in writing of the outcome of the investigation. If you are not satisfied with our determination, you can contact us to discuss your concerns. If your complaint is about the way we handle your personal information, you may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by calling 1300 363 992, online at www.oaic.gov.au or writing to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001.
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Australia for UNHCR sometimes embeds photos and video content from websites such as YouTube. Pages with this embedded content may present cookies from these websites. Similarly, when you use one of the share buttons on our website, a cookie may be set by the service you have chosen to share content through. We do not control the dissemination of these cookies; you should check the relevant third party website for more information about these.
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Contact Us
You will find the most current version of our Privacy Policy on our website at privacy-policy.
If you have any questions about your privacy, wish to access or change your details, how to lodge a complaint regarding the handling of your information and how that complaint will be handled by Australia for UNHCR, please contact our
Donor Care Team:
