Fallujah: Displaced families struggle to celibrate Eid in makeshift camps

Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid this week, marking the end of Ramadan. During the celebrations people feast, visit relatives and neighbours, and go shopping in the days before the festival.

But for those living in the makeshift camps in Ameriyat al-Fallujah, after being forced from their homes by Islamic State (Isis/Daesh), the reality is far from the joyous occasion that it should be.

The civilians who are living in government-run camps are currently relying on handouts from the United Nations and aid groups. The refugees makes up about a third of the total population living in Fallujah when IS took over two and a half years ago.

Living in tents in extreme weather conditions, the displaced Iraqis say everything is a struggle from finding food and water to having no electricity.

"We are living a tragedy. We have no electricity, we have to stand in a long line to get water, the weather is very dusty now and we can't close the tent because it's very hot, but thank God any way, we're not even fasting," said refugee Um Ahmed.

"We, the people of Fallujah, have been humiliated. All we hope is to go back to our houses, nothing more." said refugee Um Omar.

Many mourn loved ones who were killed in the battle between IS militants and Iraqi armed forces. The wounds are fresh, and their lives far from the ones they remember in their homes in Fallujah.

One man living at the camp said Eid had no special meaning for him and his family anymore.

"The Eid for us is no more than regular days that pass, because you know all of us are suffering. I'm suffering because of the leg I have lost, my brother is sad for his son, my other brother sad for his son-in-law that passed away. Eid has no taste anymore, it's now just like any other day," said Ahmed Omar.

More than 85,000 people fled their homes during a four-week campaign that ended last month when Iraqi authorities declared they had completely recaptured Fallujah, an hour's drive west of Baghdad. The UN said Iraqi authorities will allow displaced civilians to start returning home as early as August.