Refugees of Iraq
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Throughout the past 30 years, their has been a growing number of refugees fleeing Iraq and settling throughout the world, peaking recently with the latest Iraq war. The United Nations estimates that nearly 2 million have fled the country since 2003. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Second Gulf War
| The Iraq War |
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| Prior to the war |
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Iraq disarmament crisis |
| Invasion and occupation |
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2003 invasion of Iraq |
| Aftermath to present |
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Coalition Provisional Authority |
| Opinion |
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Views on the War |
| Related |
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Years: '03 • '04 • '05 • '06 • '07 |
Refugees from Iraq have increased in number since the US-led entry into Iraq in March 2003. An estimated 1.6-2.0 million people have fled the country. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated in a report released in November 2006 that more than 1.6 million Iraqis had left since March 2003, nearly 7 percent of the total population. The BBC on 22 January 2007 placed the refugee figure at 2 million. By 16 February 2007, António Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said that the external refugee number reached 2 million and that within Iraq there are an estimated 1.7 million internally displaced people. The refugee traffic out of the country has increased since the intensification of civil war. [4] [2]
Most ventured to Jordan and Syria, creating demographic shifts that have worried both governments. A fear persisted in both countries, and others hosting sizable Iraqi refugee populations, that sectarian tensions would spill over amongst the exiles. These refugees were estimated to have been leaving Iraq at a rate of 3000-per-day by December 2006.
Refugees are mired in poverty as they are generally barred from working in their host countries.[5]
[edit] Host countries
[edit] Jordan
Jordan had taken in roughly 750,000 Iraqi refugees since the war began by December 2006. Jordan had been criticized by human rights organizations for not classifying the newcomers by the title "refugee" and instead labeled them "visitors," disinclining the Jordanian government from extending to the Iraqis the same benefits enjoyed by 1.5 million Palestinian refugees residing in Jordan.
Jordanians expressed resentment to the newcomers, built up since the influx of refugees during and following the Persian Gulf War in 1990-1991. Then, affluent Iraqis arrived and invested in the Jordanian economy, sending prices soaring too high for many working class or lower class Jordanians. Following the 2003 war and subsequent reconstruction, the arrival of mostly poor Iraqis compounded problems, increasing demand and applying more pressure on the Jordanian economy.
The government had also been accused of cracking down on Shiite activities in the country while allowing Sunni Iraqis to carry on their lives without harassment from the government. The authorities denied any discrimination, claiming it treated any illicit activity by Sunnis or Shiites from Iraq equally.
[edit] Syria
Syria had taken in roughly a million refugees by December 2006, with it possible as many as half of them were Iraqi Christians. Most of them had settled in and around the city and suburbs of Damascus. The reason for its large refugee population can be attributed to more than just geography. Syria maintained an open-door policy to Iraqis fleeing the war-ravaged country.
Syrian authorities worried that the new influx of refugees would limit the country's resources. Sources like oil, heat, water and electricity were said to be becoming more scarce as demand had gone up.
[edit] Egypt
Egypt, which does not border Iraq, became a major destination for Iraqi refugees in 2006. As of December, the refugee population was approaching 150,000, 50 percent more than early October. Only 800 refugees were in Egypt in 2003.[3]
[edit] Minorities
[edit] Christians
Perhaps as many as half a million Iraqi Christians Assyrians are thought to have fled the sectarian fighting in Iraq, with Christians bearing the brunt of animosity toward a perceived "crusade" by the United States in Iraq. Most chose to go to Syria due to the cultural similarities between the two countries, Syria's open-door policy to Iraqis, and the large population of Assyrians and other Christians in the country which perhaps totals as high as 2 million. The large influx of Iraqis may tip the demographic scale in a country with a diverse population.[4][5]
[edit] Sabeans
Sabeans, also known as Mandeans, are part of an ancient ethnoreligious group in southern Iraq. They are known to be the last practicing gnostic sect in the Middle East. They are thought to have numbered about 40,000 in the country prior to the US-led invasion. As a non-Muslim group, they received a lot of the abuse sectarian militias were bearing down onto other ethnic groups in the country. Many are said to have fled to Iran and to various other destinations. Mandean diaspora organizations are reportedly focusing all their resources on evacuating all the remaining Mandeans in Iraq.
[edit] Palestinians
A small Palestinian population of about 38,000 also faced pressure, with many living in the Baghdadi neighborhood of al-Baladiya.
Denied access by Syria, more than 350 Palestinians remained in "inhumane conditions" on the Syrian border until finally being allowed into the country. They face more uncertain conditions because most Palestinians do not hold Iraqi citizenship and consequently do not hold passports. The UNHCR appealed to Israel to allow this particular group of refugees admission into the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank. The agency said that from resettlement countries, only Canada and Syria had taken Palestinians from Iraq in the past.
On January 28, 2007, Iraqi militias killed two Palestinian refugees in Baghdad. [6]
[edit] Refugee settlement beyond the Middle East
In early February 2007 the United States and the United Nations developed a plan to settle several thousand refugees in the United States. In an initial step, refugees would apply for applicant status. The UN aims to register 135,000 to 200,000 to determine which people had fled persecution and would thus qualify for refugee status. [7]
The US aims to settle at least 5,000 of this group in the US by the end of 2007. Since the 2003 invasion, the US has settled 466 Iraqi refugees. The first group of anticipated refugees are presently in Turkey, and had fled during the rule of Saddam Hussein. Subsequently, refugees would be accepted from Syria, and then from Jordan. Kristele Younes of Refugees International supported these moves towards resettlement, but she said that "the numbers remain low compared to what the needs are.” [8]
Of the refugees' status, US Senator Edward M. Kennedy (Massachusetts) said, “We can’t solve the problem alone, but we obviously bear a heavy responsibility for the crisis.” [9]
[edit] The United Nations and the appeal for aid
The UN has appealed for $60 million to assist displaced Iraqis. [10]
[edit] See Also
- Human Rights in the Middle East
- Human rights in Iraq
- Human rights in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq
- Sectarianism
- Religious war
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.milforddailynews.com/opinion/8998973966395637759
- ^ Interview with António Guterres, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, 16 February 2007, Weekend Edition-Saturday, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7466089
- ^ SALAH NASRAWI, "Refugees protest restrictions in Mideast," Associated Press, Dec. 04, 2006
- ^ Many Christians Flee Iraq
- ^ Iraq's Christians Flee as Extremist Threat Worsens
- ^ http://wafa.ps/english/body.asp?id=9107
- ^ RACHEL L. SWARNS and KATHERINE ZOEPF, More Refugees are Headed to U.S.," "New York Times," 14 February 2007
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
[edit] External Links
- Uneasy Havens Await Those who Flee Iraq
- U.N.: Iraqi civilian death toll reaches new monthly high
- Palestinians in Iraq Pay the Cost of Being 'Saddam's People'
- UN: Palestinians in Iraq threatened
- 106 page Human Rights Watch November 2006 report on the refugee crisis
- November 30, 2006 Human Rights Watch statement on the West's silence on the refugee crisis
- January 19, 2007 Human Rights Tribune on the refugee crisis
- January 22, 2007 BBC report on the refugee crisis
