Refugee camps can cause problems, too

"Humanitarian agencies are already drawing up plans for huge refugee camps inside and around Iraq's borders, although many are concerned they will only add to the country's problems.
'When refugees and displaced persons start collecting in camps,' [Brookings Institute's Carlos] Pascual said, 'you get a vulnerable population -- and a lot of unemployed men -- who are subject to attack, recruitment and internal violence. This is where you often get further radicalization, and the camps themselves become a source of the problem.' "

source
DeYoung, Karen & Ricks, Thomas E. (The Washington Post). No U.S. Backup Strategy For Iraq. March 5, 2007.

posted: wednesday, march 7, 2007, 8:32 PM ET
update: wednesday, march 7, 2007, 8:11 PM ET

tags: iraq refugee

Mixed marriages targeted: Is mixed region a solution?

"As U.S. and Iraqi forces attempt to pacify the capital, mixed couples who symbolize Iraq's once famous tolerance are increasingly entangled by hate.
. . . 'In the absence of security, Iraqis are protecting themselves by turning to their sects and their tribes,' said Zina Abdul Rasul, a U.N. human rights worker who herself is a product of a mixed marriage. 'It is becoming normal to hear about mixed families breaking down.'
. . . While there are no official statistics, sociologists estimate that nearly a third of Iraqi marriages are unions between members of different sectarian or ethnic communities. In the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, many Iraqis argued that the prevalence of such unions showed that Iraqis cared more about their Arab or national identity than their sect, which would spare the country a civil war.
But Iraq's sectarian strife has risen sharply since the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra by Sunni militants a year ago. Since then, more than 500,000 Iraqis have fled their homes, a number that is growing by 50,000 every month, according to the United Nations. The vast majority have left mixed areas, the main battlefields of the sectarian war." [1]

Could a mixed, secular province or region be a solution? If 1 in 3 marriages are mixed marriages, then it seems that they would make up a significant number of people. If you add other possible inhabitants such as family members of the mixed marriages, non-sectarian secularists, minority groups, artistic/creative types, other targeted groups or individuals, or people who would just enjoy living in a mixed, secular area, the number would be even larger. *

Last year's federalism law is due to take effect in a little over a year. It will allow provinces to vote on whether to form semi-autonomous provinces or join with other provinces to form semi-autonomous regions. There's no reason that a mixed, secular province or region could not be formed when this law takes effect.

Of course, having a country where one could live peacefully in any location would probably be the preference. But considering all the violence over the past years, this sort of countrywide peace, if ever achieved, may be an uneasy peace at best for awhile. And even with relative peace, there is no guarantee that mixed marriages and others will not continue to be targeted. So the formation of a mixed, secular province or region with security designed especially for its inhabitants seems like it would be a desirable goal.

footnote
* Christians might also be included among these groups unless they succeed in forming their own area.

source
[1] Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). Marriages Between Sects Come Under Siege in Iraq. March 4, 2007.

posted: tuesday, march 6, 2007, 6:30 PM ET
update: saturday, march 10, 2007, 9:10 AM ET

tags: iraq federalism mixed marriage

U.S. to take in 7,000 Iraqi refugees. Many more in need.

"The United States will accelerate the resettlement of about 7,000 Iraqis referred by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and will contribute $18 million to the agency's appeal for Iraq, about one-third of the total, Undersecretary of State Paula J. Dobriansky said Wednesday." [1]

"The United Nations estimates that two million Iraqis have fled the country and that 1.7 million are displaced in Iraq. Of those, roughly 500,000 have been displaced since February 2006, with 40,000 to 50,000 additional Iraqis fleeing their homes each month.
. . . 'It’s a step we welcome,' Kristele Younes, an advocate for Refugees International, said of the new plan. 'But the numbers remain low compared to what the needs are.' " [2]

source
[1] Boustany, Nora & Partlow, Joshua. (The Washington Post). U.S. Agrees To Resettle Refugees From Iraq. February 15, 2007.
[2] Swarns, Rachel L. & Zoepf, Katherine. (The New York Times). More Iraqi Refugees Are Headed to U.S. February 14, 2007.

posted: thursday, february 15, 2007, 2:21 PM ET
update: saturday, february 17, 2007, 1:07 AM ET

tags: iraq refugee

Syria stops taking refugees from Iraq

"Syria, the last Arab country welcoming large numbers of Iraqi refugees, is now all but closing the gates and leaving 40,000 Iraqis who flee their country each month with almost no place to go.
The new rules _ imposed without any official announcement _ also strike fear of deportation into the 1 million Iraqis already here. The worsening humanitarian crisis has resulted in calls for action by members of the U.S. Congress and a plea from the United Nations for more countries to help out.
'It's not fair that the burden is not being shared effectively. A very limited number of countries is paying a very heavy price,' Antonio Guterres, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said on a recent tour of the Mideast."

source
Mroue, Bassem. (The Associated Press). Syria Bars Iraq Refugees, Crisis Worsens. February 12, 2007.

posted: tuesday, february 13, 2007, 7:17 PM ET

tags: iraq refugee syria

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

Iraq refugee hearing at Senate Judiciary Committee

"At a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee . . . Democratic lawmakers and advocates for refugees called for increased U.S. funding and other initiatives to help the fleeing Iraqis, and in particular those who have risked their lives working with American forces."

source
The Washington Post. Iraqi Refugee Crisis Seen Deepening. January 17, 2007.

posted: saturday, january 20, 2007, 5:48 PM ET
update: saturday, january 20, 2007, 5:51 PM ET

tags: iraq refugee

Iraq's refugees: U.S. must do more

"Today, within Iraq, 1.6 million people have already fled or been expelled from their homes. An additional 1.8 million, fleeing sectarian violence, kidnappings, extortion, death threats and carnage, have sought refuge in neighboring countries. At least 700,000 are in Jordan, 600,000 in Syria, 100,000 in Egypt, 54,000 in Iran and 20,000 in Lebanon.
. . . Last year, however, America accepted only 202 Iraqi refugees, and next year we plan to accept approximately the same number.
. . . Thousands of these refugees are fleeing because they have been affiliated in some way with the United States.
. . . America needs to lead, but we cannot adequately respond to this overwhelming crisis alone. Because of the magnitude of the problem, we also need action by Iraq's neighbors and the rest of the world. An essential first step could be to hold an international conference on the issue -- ideally sponsored by the countries in the region and the United Nations -- to begin to deal with the growing number and needs of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons."

Op-Ed by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, "incoming chairman of the Senate immigration, border security and refugee subcommittee." [1]

"There is no legal requirement for the United States to rely on the United Nations. It has run its own programs in the past, notably in Southeast Asia. Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese were ultimately resettled in the United States after the American withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975.
. . . The United States has even run similar programs in Iraq, helping to resettle about 40,000 Iraqi refugees in the United States and other countries after a failed uprising against Saddam Hussein in 1991. In 1996, about 6,500 Iraqis who had links to an American-sponsored coup attempt against Mr. Hussein were granted asylum.
. . . The State Department has made it clear that it is deeply concerned about the fate of Iraq’s religious minorities, including Christians.
. . . State Department officials and some advocates for refugees agree that the United States is not likely to begin resettling large numbers of Iraqis anytime soon.
. . . A State Department refugee official said that any American resettlement effort would deal with only a small part of the overall refugee problem in the region." [2]

source
[1] The Washington Post. We Can't Ignore Iraq's Refugees. December 30, 2006.
[2] The New York Times. Few Iraqis Are Gaining U.S. Sanctuary. January 2, 2007.

share
digg

posted: sunday, december 31, 2006, 11:51 PM ET
update: wednesday, january 3, 2006, 9:19 AM ET

tags: iraq refugee

Some want Iraqi Christian region as haven from violence; others want more visas

"Expatriate Iraqi Christians living in the United States disagree about how best to help their families in the Middle East, where they live under constant threat of sectarian violence.
. . . Some would like to see visa restrictions relaxed so their relatives can join them. Others hope for the creation of an independent administrative zone in the northern Nineveh area, the ancestral homeland of Iraq's Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians.
"As a people, we survived the Mongols, the Turks and the Arabs," said John Michael, a Chicago ophthalmologist whose cousins recently left for Syria.
. . . Christians have been targeted by militias for murder and kidnapping.
. . . About 40 percent of [about 3,000 people leaving daily] . . . are Christian, according to estimates from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Christians account for just 3 percent of Iraq's 26 million people.
. . . One Washington group, the Iraq Sustainable Democracy Project, is using the crisis to revive a proposal for creating an autonomous zone for Christians in the Nineveh plain, near Mosul, like that of the Kurds _ a dream long held by ethnic Chaldean and Assyrian politicians."

source
The Associated Press. U.S. Iraqi Christians Seek Help. December 15, 2006.

semi-related song
A history of Iraq

posted: monday, december 18, 2006, 1:53 AM ET

iraq christian federalism ninevah refugee united nations