News Roundup: Vietnamese Refugees, Aid in Jordan, Photography

In The Moderate Voice, Dorian De Wind writes about the contrast between the American response to Vietnamese refugees and Iraqi ones. He writes:

America and Americans opened up their hearts and arms to this “first wave” of Vietnamese refugees. (Hundreds of thousands of additional Vietnamese would be given refuge in our country during the next 10 years.) Within a few months the refugees were resettled in communities throughout the U.S. Thousands were graciously welcomed by Americans into their own homes; thousands more were “sponsored” by social and welfare organizations and provided with jobs. The vast majority would become hard-working, productive, loyal and grateful residents of our country.

A model, indeed, for what the US response to the current Iraqi refugee crisis could be.

The Christian Science Monitor has recently reported about the aid given to the Jordanian government to boost their resources to provide services to its Iraqi refugee population. According to the article, the UNHCR gave 61% of its operational budget to Jordan in 2007. For example, the UNHCR gave $10 million to the Jordanian education ministry, the European Community gave $39 million, and USAID gave $8 million to support the education of Iraqi refugees. But the article notes the following:

But for the 2007-08 school year, fewer than 20,000 Iraqi students were enrolled in the public schools. While the yearly cost of educating a student was estimated by the government at about $800 a year, Jordan received more than $2,100 in aid for every Iraqi student in 2007.

Another area where the Jordanian government has received aid for Iraqis is in the health sector. The article relates:

UNHCR gave another $10 million to Jordan's Health Ministry in 2007. Given this support, Jordan said Iraqis could get primary healthcare in public hospitals at low fees. Many of the poorest still go to nongovernmental clinics run by UNHCR's partners, where care is free.

What the article implies is that this aid that is ostensibly for Iraqi refugees is ending up benefiting the Jordanian ministries. Countries that welcome Iraqi refugees ought to be helped with the burden this population presents on the country's resources but the aid given also must be carefully monitored. Given that the UNHCR is suffering from serious shortfalls in funding from international donor countries, it ought to be very discriminate about where and how its aid is used.

Furthermore, a new photography book entitled, Silent Exodus: Portraits of Iraqi Refugees in Exile, will come out in October, 2008. The photographer, Zalmai, documented the lives of Iraqis in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon and the introduction is written by Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. A photograph from the collection is featured below.

TLP's Birthday on World Refugee Day

Today, on World Refugee Day, The List Project officially turns one year old.

Much has transpired in the world of Iraqi refugees this past year including setbacks such as forced deportations in Britain and Sweden, visa restrictions in Jordan and Syria, and the frustratingly slow pace of resettlement in the US. In countries that have been generous in accepting Iraqi refugees, entrance restrictions have been tightened.

Furthermore, news stories have detailed the exploitation of Iraqis in Syria as young girls are forced into prostitution. Barred from obtaining employment, Iraqis in Syria and Jordan spend their savings on the cost of living and have no option but to work secretly and in the underground economy.

We have also heard of the glacial pace of US admittances and the bureaucratic nature of the resettlement process fraught with multiple interviews, long waiting periods, and lack of resources. The fortunate ones who are resettled in the US often find menial jobs at restaurants and hotels meager in compensation as the lure of returning to Iraq for a bigger pay-check, at the risk of death, remains.

However, notable advancements, too, have been made that inspire hope. The Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act was enacted into law by the US government and has increased special visas for Iraqis directly working with the military forces to 5,000 a year for five years. The act has also established the much needed in-country processing procedure so Iraqis need not become exiles in Syria or Jordan or elsewhere just to apply for resettlement in the US. So far, The List Project has resettled over 90 Iraqis in the US but the list keeps growing and currently contains about 1,000 names.

More needs to be done and the most immediate, beneficial, and obvious solution for the Iraqi allies problem is a humanitarian airlift. Denmark has airlifted its Iraqi allies and Britain proposed to do the same. At the end of the Vietnam War, the US resettled over 100,000 Vietnamese refugees; and the 1990s saw the airlift of thousands of Kurdish allies and Kosovar refugees. Despite talk about increased rates per month of Iraqi resettlement, the US can airlift its allies in immediate danger at very little cost compared with the entire Iraqi venture in total. If only there was motivation from the administration to do so.

News Roundup: 5/5/08

According to the UN news agency, IRIN, the UNHCR is facing a funding shortfall for its financial request for Iraqi refugees:

At present, some 12,000 people (mostly heads of families) receive monthly financial assistance of US$100-$200 to meet their most urgent needs. Their position will be dire should the funds not materialise.

Wilkes said that while in September 2007, some 33,000 people needed food aid, the number had now risen to over 110,000. "By the end of the year that would increase by tens of thousands," she said.

The spiking costs of food on the global market, such as wheat and grain, will only exacerbate the situation of the desperate. In addition to staggering oil costs, aid agencies will find it ever more costly to deliver aid and may find other nations less willing to contribute funds towards the effort.

The AFP reports that Jordan has imposed new restrictions on Iraqi refugee admittances. The new law, effective since May 1st, requires Iraqi refugees to obtain visas to enter Jordan. Visas are obtainable through Jordanian embassies or courier services.

Vice magazine has a disturbing first hand account of Syrian prostitution clubs, many of which are populated by young Iraqi refugee girls. The author relates:

On the following Friday evening, I went—this time with an Arab friend—to the discotheque in the basement of the Hotel Meridien. After my friend had met a few of the girls there, he confirmed that they were all Iraqi refugees. Some had been prostitutes under Saddam’s regime, and some were there following the very dark, violent, inconceivable cataclysms that the war had brought into their lives. All of them were drunk to the point of staggering up and down the carpeted stairs under the weak, cheap disco lights.

Refugee Stories

The following video podcast, via Our Man Inside, explores what life is like for Iraqi refugees in Jordan.



Also, check out this blog, named Baghdad Burning, written by an Iraqi refugee in Syria. An excerpt:

By the time we had reentered the Syrian border and were headed back to the cab ready to take us into Kameshli, I had resigned myself to the fact that we were refugees. I read about refugees on the Internet daily… in the newspapers… hear about them on TV. I hear about the estimated 1.5 million plus Iraqi refugees in Syria and shake my head, never really considering myself or my family as one of them. After all, refugees are people who sleep in tents and have no potable water or plumbing, right? Refugees carry their belongings in bags instead of suitcases and they don’t have cell phones or Internet access, right? Grasping my passport in my hand like my life depended on it, with two extra months in Syria stamped inside, it hit me how wrong I was. We were all refugees. I was suddenly a number. No matter how wealthy or educated or comfortable, a refugee is a refugee. A refugee is someone who isn’t really welcome in any country- including their own... especially their own.

Hat tip: The Ground Truth in Iraq blog.

News: The Jordanian Red Crescent and Iraqi Refugee Health

Emily Stivers has posted an excellent report on The Ground Truth in Iraq blog of her visit to a Jordanian Red Crescent medical center:

Iraqi refugees are believed to have extremely high rates of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease, owing to their increasing levels of stress and inability to afford decent food. Yet this clinic has no X-rays, no blood-glucose meters, no equipment for radiation or chemotherapy, and very little medication. Just a crude heart monitor, a small oxygen tank and one of those arm bands for taking blood pressure. The doctors find they can do very little for many of the patients who come in.

News Roundup: 3/14/2008

War News Radio has recently reported on the dire conditions of Iraqi refugees living in Syria and Jordan. With interviews with refugees, the piece emphasizes the hardships Iraqi refugees have to face due to decreasing personal funds. The broadcast also mentions the crucial role Jordan's non-refugee employment policy plays in rising poverty and Jordan's power to deport any Iraqi refugee who obtains employment. Consequently, many refugees are forced into menial jobs and employment within the black market. However, there are charitable organizations that ameliorate some of the hardships.

Mercy Corps, an international NGO, has helped deliver aid and social services to refugees in Jordan:

In September, 523 families received a month's worth of dry food delivered to their homes. During the month of Ramadan, which ended October 13, three Iftar tents serving hot meals welcomed an estimated 150 to 200 Iraqis a day. A soup kitchen in Amman serves roughly 300 a day, most of whom are Iraqi refugees.
We've also assisted Iraqi families in registering their children for formal schooling and helped Iraqis gain access to neighborhood social services like psychosocial counseling, youth activities and job-skills training. The agency recently forged an agreement with an operator of three community centers in East Amman to extend their services to 300 Iraqi families living nearby.

In other news, The Department of Homeland Security has recently issued a press release stating:

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) have been committed to streamlining the process for admitting Iraqi refugees to the U.S. while at the same time ensuring the highest level of security.

The DHS issued the press release the same day a committee in the House of Representatives held a hearing on the Iraqi refugee issue; a hearing that this AFP article summarizes.

News Roundup: 2/19/08

In what could be a model for future American policy, ThisIsLondon reports that Britain will soon be enacting a lite version of the so-called “Guam Option” – airlifting Iraqi allies to a military base and processing their asylum applications there:

Up to 1,500 Iraqis are to be airlifted to Britain after ministers agreed to grant sanctuary to the interpreters who worked for [British] forces. In a multi-million pound operation starting in April, the translators and their families will be flown here in groups of 100 every fortnight until the autumn. They will be transported in military planes to an RAF base in the South-East where they will be processed by immigration officials.

Sweden and Iraq have signed an agreement that “allows Sweden to send back Iraqi nationals whose asylum applications have been rejected”.

“…'some 400 Iraq nationals were immediately affected' by the agreement inked in Iraq. The deal means that failed asylum seekers will no longer remain 'in limbo,' [Migration and Asylum Policy Minister Tobia] Billstrom told Swedish radio news...

AFP reports on a Swedish town adapting to the heavy influx of refugees.

Jordan has announced it will waive overstay fees for Iraqis who want to leave the country. Alertnet reports:

Most refugees have overstayed their visas by several years, reported the Interior Ministry, amassing fines of thousands of dollars each. There is a fee of 1.50 Jordan Dinar (US$ 2) for each day of overstay... Only those Iraqis who return home or leave to a third country are exempt from the fines. Those wishing to stay in the Kingdom have only two months to pay 50 per cent of their dues if they are to avoid becoming permanently ineligible to be considered for residency status in the future.

Meanwhile, the European Union has just pledged 9 million euros (13.2 million USD) for new health aid for Iraqi refugees.

UNHCR calls for more aid to Jordan and Syria to support refugees

The UN High Commission on Refugees is calling on the global community to give more aid and support to Jordan and Syria, two countries who have had a massive influx of Iraqi refugees, which have taxed both governments ability to alleviate the strains on their economies. Antonio Guterres urged increased efforts, stating "We know the heavy price that they have been paying (Jordan and Syria) in order to accommodate such a large number of Iraqis with a heavy impact on the economy and society" He also stated that Jordan and Syria have reiterated their support of Iraqi refugees and pledged that they would not send Iraqis back to their war torn country.

It will be interesting to see where this leads, and weather the governments of Jordan and Syria are sincere in their commitments. I say this because it is becoming increasingly difficult, as mentioned earlier for these governments to cope with the influx. Jordan for instance has recently ended subsidies) on fuel and many other goods forcing prices on some products to surge by as much or more than 100% of their previous rates. This was not instituted because of the refugee problem obviously, but in order to curb a large deficit. This is a burden which not only Iraqi refugees in Jordan, but also Jordanians themselves have to shoulder, and many will have a hard time doing it. Increased aid will ease the burden on refugees and the governments, so they will not have to resort to radical methods.

News: Iraqi refugee children still struggling with Jordanian education system

The Guardian reports that Iraqi children are still struggling with the Jordanian education system, despite the Jordanian government’s decision last year to allow them to attend state schools:

Around 30,000 Iraqi children have now registered for a place at a state school. But thousands who should be in school are not… Finding a school place is not easy, as overcrowding is rife… Tension has risen in the Jordanian population - people are not keen on giving up precious places to the Iraqis… Children must have their school records from Iraq to be able to register in Jordan. Many do not have them because they left in a rush to escape the war. Although fees for state school are far less than for private school, parents say it is still difficult to find the money when they also have to pay for books. In contrast, Jordanian children pay only £3.50 per term, and their books are free… Iraqi children who have spent more than three years out of school are still excluded…

News: More refugees leaving Iraq than returning

A glut of stories have recenlty described how despite Bush Administration claims to the contrary, Iraq is still by no means safe for refugee return. Though Iraq’s minister of migration insists that exact numbers are difficult to track, it is clear that more Iraqis are heading to Syria than returning home. Reuters notes: “Better security not why most Iraqis go home”. The BBC ran a story with the blunt headline “We Can’t Return”. Ironically, for the minority who do want to return, Jordan – which has made it clear that it does not want these refugees – is imposing an expensive levy on those who have over-stayed their visas, preventing them from leaving. Returns home for internally displaced refugees are also on the wane.

To top things off, an historically drastic winter is making life near impossible for many refugees.

News: Iraqi Refugees Struggle in Jordan and Lebanon

Recent news coverage has slowly begun to focus on the deteriorating situation for Iraqi refugees in neighboring Syria. Nevertheless, two new reports should remind us that their plight outside of Iraq is widespread. As reported in IRIN, the UN's news website aimed at raising awareness on humanitarian issues:

Many Iraqi asylum-seekers in Jordan have fallen victim to resettlement scams in which they are approached by individuals claiming to guarantee their resettlement in a third country with the help of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), according to UN officials and Iraqi residents.

It is unclear how many Iraqis have fallen victim to resettlement scams, but the UN estimates the number to be in the thousands. While Jordan is currently hosting an estimated 500,000 Iraqi refugees, roughly 50,000 have fled to Lebanon. Although this may seem like a relatively small amount, it places a great deal of pressure on a country of 4 million that already hosts a Palestinian refugee population of up to 300,000. The consequences are outlined by a report released this week by Human Rights Watch:

Lebanese authorities treat as illegal immigrants Iraqis who enter Lebanon illegally or enter legally but then overstay their visas, regardless of their intent to seek asylum. Iraqi refugees are then subject to arrest, fines and detention by the Lebanese authorities.

Click here to read the IRIN report. To read more about the Human Rights Watch report, click here.

Washington Post on Iraqis with US ties

On Saturday, November 17, the Washington Post featured a front page article on Iraqi refugees with US ties who are trying to get asylum . Sudarsan Raghavan describes a visit to refugee camps in Jordan, where Iraqis who have worked for the US government or contractors wait, hoping to be recognized by those for whom they have risked everything:

At every opportunity, the Iraqis pull out photos of themselves side by side with U.S. soldiers, photos they feared to share inside their country. They offer up laminated notes of appreciation from American commanders. They flash expired U.S. Embassy badges they still keep in their wallets. Thousands of Iraqi employees of U.S. contractors, forced to flee to this capital out of fear, are desperately trying to leverage their American ties into entry to the United States. But most languish for months in a bureaucratic and psychological limbo, their status as uncertain as their future. "We are here only because of our work with the Americans," said Intisar Ibrahim, 53, a tall, solemn engineer who left Iraq two years ago. "They have an obligation to help us, but until now we have not seen any help."

The article goes on to describe the danger that many of the Iraqis face at home if it becomes known that they are working for the US government, or, more commonly, for contractors, and mentions the List Project as one of the few "hopes" that Iraqis have for getting resettled in the United States.

Ammar Ibrahim, a Shiite, lived in the Sunni-dominated Baghdad neighborhood of
Adhamiyah, but his biggest fear was not sectarian strife. He worked at a Baghdad power plant operated by General Electric. "There is no difference between Sunni and Shia when you work for the Americans," Ammar said. "Both sides want to kill you." He didn't trust anyone. He hired relatives of employees to avoid meeting strangers. Each day, he traveled a different route to and from the plant to avoid suffering the same fate as his aunt's bodyguard. He always hid his GE identification card in case he was stopped. "Even my closest friends didn't know I worked with the Americans," he said.

Almost as an aside, the article also gives a neat roundup of the statistics:

Between Oct. 1, 2006, and Oct. 15 of this year, 1,636 Iraqis were resettled in the United States at a time when as many as 3,000 a day were fleeing Iraq. Last month, the United States announced it would accept 12,000 Iraqis over the next year. But with 2.2 million Iraqis displaced abroad, human rights groups and some members of Congress have criticized the overture as a token gesture. In comparison, the United States has taken in 1 million refugees from Vietnam, 600,000 from the former Soviet Union and 157,000 from Kosovo and Bosnia.

It is good news that the Iraqi allies issue is getting front page stories in major newspapers - hopefully those in a position to do something will start to feel some pressure.

Article Roundup

George Packer continues to conscientiously write about the travails of Iraqi refugees and has mentioned The List Project’s very own Kirk Johnson in a recent blog post:

A few evenings ago, my friend Kirk Johnson stopped by with a man I’ll call Ibrahim, an Iraqi in his early thirties who had arrived in the U.S. earlier this month. Ibrahim’s story keeps getting worse before it gets better.
Toward the end of last year, while working for an American contractor, Ibrahim received a death threat from a co-worker who belonged to the Mahdi Army, and he decided to flee the country. Iraqis are less and less welcome in the Arab world, so he chose a dangerous, though increasingly common, way out: he paid a Swedish-Iraqi smuggler six thousand dollars up front to get him into Stockholm, where a cousin lives.
On the phone, Ibrahim sounded furious, bewildered, despairing—and determined. “Is it possible, is it possible?” he said over the static-filled connection. “I used to be manager of a procurement office of USAID. I am nothing now, and why? Because I trusted the U.S. When you are a refugee, it’s a very terrible feeling. You feel nobody knows about you, nobody cares about you.”

Packer had indicated that he will continue Ibrahim's story on his blog so keep an eye out for that. Furthermore, in a recent spate of articles on Iraqi refugees and U.S. policy towards them, Slate has another article arguing that not only does the U.S. have a moral responsibility to admit thousands of Iraqi refugees into the country, but that robust resettlement will also aid America’s strategic interests:

As with the Palestinian problem, Iraq's refugees could generate numerous regional crises. Large refugee flows can overstrain the economies and even change the demographic makeup of small or weak states, upsetting what is already a delicate political balance. One million Iraqi refugees is a substantial addition to Jordan's population of less than 6 million.

Not only, this, but another interesting piece relates of growing class and economic tensions in Jordan due to the presence of Iraqi refugees:

Hostility towards them easily translates into a general dislike of all Iraqis in Jordan, regardless of whether they are wealthy or not. "I'll give you an example — if an Iraqi comes to my stall he won't ask the price, he'll just start filling his bag," says Mohammed Ro'ud, a greengrocer in Amman's Boukari street market. "This is why the prices of flats are also going up: they don't bargain, they just pay cash right away, and ordinary Jordanians can't afford to do that."

The article also states that while poor Iraqis also constitute part of the refugee population in Jordan, most poor refugees have settled in Syria where the economy is straining under the added weight of approximately 1.5 million Iraqi refugees. The Economist comments on the situation and also explains new Syrian regulations limiting refugee admittances:

The UNHCR has managed to register only 135,000 refugees, a fraction of those who have arrived. And they are still trickling in, despite new rules that have in effect closed the border. Only certain favoured categories of applicants, such as lorry drivers, businessmen, academics and engineers, are now being allowed in, with occasional exceptions for the sick.