ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than a dozen children living in orphanages in Sulaimani province remain without official identification documents, a problem officials say has become the most serious challenge facing child welfare institutions in the area.
“Our biggest issue at the moment is the children’s lack of identification and the absence of their parents,” Zhyar Jalal, director of social welfare in Sulaimani, told Rudaw, adding that “currently, 15 children do not have ID cards” in the province’s orphanages.
Sulaimani’s orphanages host children who were abandoned or whose parentage is unknown. While financial shortages continue to affect daily operations, social welfare officials say the lack of identification prevents children from accessing basic rights and complicates their futures.
Among those who grew up in the orphanages are two young men who consider each other brothers. Admitted at the ages of two and four, they are now 19 and 21 and work at the same orphanage as a service worker and a guard.
One of them, now married, said the lack of known lineage continues to affect their lives. He told Rudaw that when he went to propose, the girl’s family initially objected, saying “they don’t know his lineage or who his parents are.” He added that administrative staff from the orphanage helped convince the family.
Facing financial hardship, the young man said he has even sold the ring on his finger to afford rent.
Jalal said legal requirements often delay the issuance of identification documents for years, noting that authorities have had “cases where we spent five to six years trying to issue a single ID because we cannot fulfill the documentation requirements requested by the court.”
She added that the orphanage relies heavily on external support to meet basic needs.
“Without donors or organizations, we would be completely unable to run these homes… Even now, we still face shortages in clothing, blankets, and heating equipment,” Jalal said.
Hemin Mohammed, deputy director of the social welfare directorate in Sulaimani, said the province has five care homes housing more than 70 children. He noted that authorities have increasingly relied on foster care as an alternative to institutional care.
According to Mohammed, 22 children have been placed with foster families so far. “Any family wishing to take in a child submits an application through our directorate. If approved, a child is placed with them to take home,” he said. “This is the ‘alternative family’ system; instead of the child growing up in the orphanage, the family cares for them until the age of 18 based on a contract.”
However, Mohammed warned that the number of children who are orphaned or of unknown parentage has risen sharply. “In 2012, we had only one such child; now there are 20, and unfortunately, the number is increasing,” he said.
Arez Khalid contributed to this report from Sulaimani.