Iraq's refugees increasingly unwelcome in Mideast

"Once a popular singer in his native Baghdad, he [Saad Ali] is now unemployed.. . . Outside, Ali, 35, avoids police officers and disguises his Arabic with a Jordanian dialect. He returns home before 10 p.m. to stay clear of government checkpoints. . . . Six months ago, near his home in Baghdad, two men threatened to kill him. Singing romantic songs, they said, was un-Islamic.
. . . For decades, Jordan welcomed refugees. . . . According to the United Nations, 500,000 to 700,000 Iraqi refugees live in Jordan, but aid officials say the actual number is nearer to 1 million because many Iraqis live under the radar. Jordan's tolerance has waned, however, since a group of Iraqis bombed three hotels in November 2005, killing 60 people, according to Iraqis, aid officials and human rights groups. The government fears that Iraq's mostly Sunni Arab refugees could remain in the country permanently or become recruits for Iraq's insurgency.
Now, the exodus is generating friction and anger across the region, while straining basic services in already poor countries. Iraqis are blamed for driving up prices and taking away scarce jobs. Iraq's neighbors worry the new refugees will carry in Iraq's sectarian strife."

source
Raghavan, Sudasan. (The Washington Post). February 4, 2007. War in Iraq Propelling A Massive Migration.

posted: tuesday, february 6, 2007, 9:44 AM ET

tags: iraq refugee islamist