Montag
03-23-2008, 12:44 PM
Report: World ignoring Iraqi refugee crisis
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/20/iraq.main/index.html
excerpt:
(CNN) -- "Mr. B" and his family dodged militias by moving from house to house in Baghdad -- but they couldn't escape being Sunni or the fact that Mr. B had served in Saddam Hussein's military.
Their home eventually was bombed, injuring Mr. B's second youngest son, who now bears a scar from belly to breastbone. Friends and neighbors were kidnapped, some killed. A friend's brother was tortured, his mutilated corpse dumped in the neighborhood, Mr. B told an aid group.
Mr. B, his wife and five children finally fled for Syria in 2006, according to the International Rescue Committee, which issued a report this week detailing the plight of Iraqi refugees on the five-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
"How can we go back and live there after what we have seen?" Mr. B asked.
Like the other refugees interviewed for the report, Mr. B asked that his real name not be used, for fear of retribution.
Mr. B and his family now live in a two-room apartment, bare but for two tattered divans, a small TV and thin mats on the floor, the IRC reported. Two of his children have heart problems. Another has diabetes. The son injured in the blast still suffers from trauma.
Mr. B fears letting his children, ages 4 to 12, play outdoors, he told the agency. He is supporting the family on a daily wage of about $4, which he musters by peddling gum and cigarettes on 11- to 12-hour shifts.
The story of Mr. B is hardly anomalous, according to the IRC. The group's report, "Five Years Later, a Hidden Crisis: Report of the IRC Commission on Iraqi Refugees," said more than 4 million Iraqis have been uprooted by the violence that has wracked their nation.
Many fled Iraq after their friends or family members were kidnapped, raped, tortured or murdered, the report said. There are also large numbers suffering from anxiety and depression; others are struggling to find ways to pay for food, basic services and health care.
The report accuses the international community, especially the United States, of ignoring "one of the largest humanitarian crises of our time."
"We believe the United States has a special responsibility to Iraqi refugees, if only to restore its credibility. The violence they flee is an unplanned-for byproduct of the American invasion of Iraq, and its chaotic aftermath," the report said.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has said the Iraqi refugee crisis is the most significant population displacement in the Middle East since Israel was established in 1948.
The Iraqi refugee population is the third largest in the world, the IRC says, topped only by the Afghan and Palestinian refugee populations. About 2 million Iraqis have fled, mostly to Syria and Jordan, and about 2.5 million more are displaced inside Iraq.
"Neither the U.S. nor the rest of the world is paying sufficient heed: External help provided by regional countries and major international donors has been half-hearted and woefully insufficient," according to an IRC statement.
The report calls for countries -- particularly European nations and the U.S. -- to grant asylum to thousands of refugees and asks that the United Nations hold a conference with government officials and international donors to assess the crisis.
It also suggests that the international community provide billions of dollars in aid, while working to improve conditions in Iraq so refugees can return.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/20/iraq.main/index.html
excerpt:
(CNN) -- "Mr. B" and his family dodged militias by moving from house to house in Baghdad -- but they couldn't escape being Sunni or the fact that Mr. B had served in Saddam Hussein's military.
Their home eventually was bombed, injuring Mr. B's second youngest son, who now bears a scar from belly to breastbone. Friends and neighbors were kidnapped, some killed. A friend's brother was tortured, his mutilated corpse dumped in the neighborhood, Mr. B told an aid group.
Mr. B, his wife and five children finally fled for Syria in 2006, according to the International Rescue Committee, which issued a report this week detailing the plight of Iraqi refugees on the five-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
"How can we go back and live there after what we have seen?" Mr. B asked.
Like the other refugees interviewed for the report, Mr. B asked that his real name not be used, for fear of retribution.
Mr. B and his family now live in a two-room apartment, bare but for two tattered divans, a small TV and thin mats on the floor, the IRC reported. Two of his children have heart problems. Another has diabetes. The son injured in the blast still suffers from trauma.
Mr. B fears letting his children, ages 4 to 12, play outdoors, he told the agency. He is supporting the family on a daily wage of about $4, which he musters by peddling gum and cigarettes on 11- to 12-hour shifts.
The story of Mr. B is hardly anomalous, according to the IRC. The group's report, "Five Years Later, a Hidden Crisis: Report of the IRC Commission on Iraqi Refugees," said more than 4 million Iraqis have been uprooted by the violence that has wracked their nation.
Many fled Iraq after their friends or family members were kidnapped, raped, tortured or murdered, the report said. There are also large numbers suffering from anxiety and depression; others are struggling to find ways to pay for food, basic services and health care.
The report accuses the international community, especially the United States, of ignoring "one of the largest humanitarian crises of our time."
"We believe the United States has a special responsibility to Iraqi refugees, if only to restore its credibility. The violence they flee is an unplanned-for byproduct of the American invasion of Iraq, and its chaotic aftermath," the report said.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has said the Iraqi refugee crisis is the most significant population displacement in the Middle East since Israel was established in 1948.
The Iraqi refugee population is the third largest in the world, the IRC says, topped only by the Afghan and Palestinian refugee populations. About 2 million Iraqis have fled, mostly to Syria and Jordan, and about 2.5 million more are displaced inside Iraq.
"Neither the U.S. nor the rest of the world is paying sufficient heed: External help provided by regional countries and major international donors has been half-hearted and woefully insufficient," according to an IRC statement.
The report calls for countries -- particularly European nations and the U.S. -- to grant asylum to thousands of refugees and asks that the United Nations hold a conference with government officials and international donors to assess the crisis.
It also suggests that the international community provide billions of dollars in aid, while working to improve conditions in Iraq so refugees can return.