In September of 2007, it was approximated that each month about 60,000 Iraqis are fleeing their homes to avoid the war. While 2.2 have been forcibly displaced within Iraq, over 2.5 million have left for neighboring countries, especially Jordan and Syria. In Syria, over the course of just two years, a million refugees have entered the country (a staggering amount, considering that Syria's population is 19 million). This would be the equivalent of 15 million Iraqis coming to the United States.
Yet the United States has accepted far, far fewer than 15 million Iraqi refugees. In 2006, only 535 Iraqis were granted entry into the country, whereas before the war (in 2000), the U.S. admitted 3,145. Since the war began, only about 1,700 Iraqis have been resettled in America.
Iraqi refugees now have another challenge other than finding a place to reside: remaining in their new location . A U.N. refugee official warned of the possibility that Iraqi refugees might be expelled from the countries they have moved to unless the U.S. and Iraq help the refugees.
L. Craig Johnstone, deputy to the U.N. High Commission of Refugees, testified before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, mentioning that a "window of opportunity" now exists to help the refuges, a window created by the increased security in Iraq since the surge.
Johnstone warned that the "window of opportunity" should not be dismissed lightly, since he is uncertain "how long the generosity and tolerance of Iraq's neighbors, particularly Syria and Jordan, will last."
Johnstone also said that whether the "window of opportunity" shall remain "will largely depend on the leadership of the Iraqi government...". Representative William Delahunt called on America to assist as well, saying "It is believed by many that this is an American-made crisis. Our response must therefore by timely, decisive, and fully resourced--not simply because it is right and reflects our values, but because it will prevent further erosion of how we are viewed in the region."
Johnstone also warned "The lack of assistance to refugees and host communities in neighboring states could also lead to a mass (coerced) return to Iraq as the ability of host governments to provide assistance, as well as the coping mechanisms of refugees, incrementally fail."
To read more about the UN's desire to assist the refugees, click here.
To read more about the U.S. denying access to refugees, click here.
What do you think about the fact that the U.S. has admitted so few refugees in comparison to Syria?
How can the U.S. and Iraq help the refugees? How successful will these countries be with assisting the refugees?
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2 comments:
First of all I think it is awful that we are not helping the people whose country we are ravenging. But, it is not surprising to me that our country is not allowing many Iraqi's into the country. With all the racial generalizations that are present everywhere, especially airports, it is logical that the trend would spread to the government.
I think that we should be helping these people to rebuild their lives that have been so torn apart by war. The first step might be to get out of their country!
Although it is apparent that there are many refugees, it is impossible to help them all. The only way to help refugees would be to spend a large amount of money of which the US does not have at this time.
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