Return to one's place of origin is considered to be one of the three ‘durable solutions’ whereby the displaced can effectively end their situation of displacement. However, to consider return to the place of origin, which in many cases has been transformed by war and conflict, without considering the conditions that people have returned to is to elide a whole host of challenges facing people upon their return. In Iraq, as military actors have reclaimed territory from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), internally displaced persons (IDPs) have begun to return to their homes in these liberated areas. While the liberation of these territories from ISIS signals the beginning of the end of a conflict that has persisted for almost four years, preliminary data from an International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Georgetown University longitudinal study on displacement in Iraq reveals that the security and material conditions for returnees are precarious. Using the Inter-agency Standing Committee (IASC) Framework on Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons, which offers criteria for whether a durable solution has been accessed, our paper draws on quantitative data and qualitative interviews with returnees to explore the material and security conditions for recent returnees and the strategies returnees employ to cope with these issues.
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