Displaced Iraqis Create Boom for Used Goods

Umm Tawfiq says she is also very disappointed with shop owners here, in the commercial district. She believes they have raised their prices intentionally in order to make the most profit from the upcoming holiday and she says they don't seem to care about the displaced here, or the low income locals, at all. “Their only concern is to make profits,” she says, her face tired and sad. “They don't have any sympathy.”

According to officials in Wasit, most of the internally displaced Iraqis living in the province come from the Tal Afar district, near the city of Mosul in Ninawa province, northern Iraq. Mosul is one of the strongholds of the Islamic State, or IS, group. Officials say there are around 870 families here as a result.

Most of them are living in a compound on the Numaniyah road, about 30 kilometres from the centre of Kut, which was built to house pilgrims as they journeyed south. Mostly these families are dependent on donations from locals or from international organisations

On the other side of this equation, sellers in the second hand markets say business is great. “Most of our customers are displaced families who don't have enough money to buy new goods,” says Ali al-Assadi, one of the second hand traders. “Add to this the high prices put on imported clothing and our business is flourishing. There is much higher demand fir used goods at the moment.”

The prices of the used goods differ, depending on quality and country of origin. For example, al-Assadi says, a piece of children's clothing may sell for as little as IQD250 (about US$0.25) while other clothing sells for much higher prices.