Iraq: Don't Forget Displaced Women
By Dawn Calabia Wed, 07/15/2009 - 01:00As a humanitarian talking with displaced Iraqis be prepared for a lot of anger. “You destroyed my country,” said one woman. “Those ruling have no place for us. What will you do?” Millions of people have been displaced inside and outside the country. Small numbers have returned home. For others, insecurity, plus the absence of the rule of law, infrastructure, employment prospects, or basic services like water, sanitation, education or health care prevent them from returning home.
Iraq: Finding a Future for the Iraqi Palestinians
By Melanie Teff Mon, 06/15/2009 - 18:23
I watched President Obama’s Cairo speech about US relations with the Muslim world while in the “no man’s land” between the Syrian and Iraqi border-posts. Seven hundred and eighty Iraqi Palestinian refugees are currently forced to stay in this inhospitable stretch of desert known as Al-Tanf camp. They are confined to this small area – in effect living in a prison camp.
President’s Corner: Obama’s speech and displacement in the Muslim World
By Kenneth Bacon Mon, 06/08/2009 - 18:11
President Obama’s speech to the Muslim World in Cairo was a complete home run.
He highlighted the shared religious values of peace and justice that unify the People of the Book--Jews, Christians and Muslims who live by their Holy texts, the Talmud, the Bible and the Koran. He addressed the differences that currently divide the faiths, and he proposed paths for dialogue, partnership and peace in the future.
President’s Corner: Obama Focuses on Iraqi Displacement
By Kenneth Bacon Mon, 04/13/2009 - 01:00
When President Obama met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki in Baghdad last week, he mentioned the U.S. interest in helping displaced Iraqis return home. Currently, 20% of Iraq’s population is displaced—almost five million people—and it is increasingly clear that neither Iraq nor the region as a whole can be stable and secure as long as this large-scale displacement continues.
Iraq: "Would you return?"
By Kristele Younes Fri, 04/10/2009 - 01:00Last month, my colleagues and I travelled around the center of Iraq -- formerly the most violent part of the country -- and visited infamous places such as Eskanderia, in the so-called "Sunni triangle of death" and Fallujah, in Anbar province. Everywhere we went, we met with aid workers, local and central government officials, and of course with displaced Iraqis or families who recently returned to their homes. We spent two weeks trying to find an answer to the key question all displaced Iraqis ask themselves: Can they return home?
President’s Corner: The View from Inside Iraq
By Kenneth Bacon Mon, 03/16/2009 - 18:41
Sunday, March 8th
I have just arrived in Iraq with two colleagues to study ways in which the U.S., The United Nations and the government of Iraq can work better together to help millions of displaced Iraqis return home. Everybody--Iraqis, U.S. and international officials--agrees that security in Iraq has improved dramatically in the last few months, although there are still acts of violence and other security challenges.
I have just arrived in Iraq with two colleagues to study ways in which the U.S., The United Nations and the government of Iraq can work better together to help millions of displaced Iraqis return home. Everybody--Iraqis, U.S. and international officials--agrees that security in Iraq has improved dramatically in the last few months, although there are still acts of violence and other security challenges.
President’s Corner: Obama Pledges To Help Millions of Displaced Iraqis Return Home
By Kenneth Bacon Mon, 03/02/2009 - 02:00
President Obama’s speech on U.S. policy in Iraq Friday was significant for two reasons. First, he announced that “by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end” and that “I intend to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.” Second, he said that the U.S. will work with Iraq and other countries in the region “to help the millions of displaced Iraqis.”
President’s Corner: Addressing the Challenge of Iraqi Displacement
By Kenneth Bacon Mon, 02/23/2009 - 02:00
Three years ago the bombing of the Al-Askari Mosque, a Shi’ah holy site in Samarra, triggered a wave of sectarian violence in Iraq that led to massive displacement. At one point five million Iraqis - 20% of the population - was displaced by violence between Sunni and Shi’ah Muslims.
Recently, the displacement has slowed, and in some cases it is reversing. "Some Iraqis are returning, but their conditions in places of return are extremely difficult," The International Organization for Migration reported in its most recent Emergency Needs Assessment. "Many returnees are coming back to find destroyed homes and infrastructure in disrepair. Buildings, pipe and electrical networks, and basic public services such as health care centers are all in need of rehabilitation to meet the needs of returning IDP (internally displaced persons) and refugee families."
Refugees International Goes to London
By Elaine Martyn Thu, 02/19/2009 - 19:33
On February 5th, a remarkable group of 60 friends of Refugees International gathered at a London reception hosted by Lord and Lady Malloch-Brown, two people who have been key supporters of Refugees International’s work throughout our 30 years.
London is full of hard-to-believe history. I remember the first flat I lived in when I moved there in 1998 was over 300 years old! All this history made me believe it would have been awe inspiring to hold RI’s first ever European event at Admiralty House-- the site of Winston Churchill’s former home and the location which played host to President Kennedy’s 1962 visit to the UK. And it really was. It seemed fitting in Refugees International’s 30th anniversary year to be surrounded by some of the great men and women of modern British politics, media, film, philanthropy, and business.
Guest Blogger: Senator Edward M. Kennedy on Iraqi Refugees
By Senator Edward M. Kennedy Mon, 02/09/2009 - 17:27
After the bombing of the Samarra mosque northwest of Baghdad in 2006, a massive exodus and displacement of Iraqis began. Refugees International called it, “the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis.” Millions of Iraqi men, women and children fled their homes and country to escape the violence in a nation increasingly at war with itself. They had no refugee camps to go to, where stark television images might have alerted the world to their plight; they were hiding in the slums of urban areas, nearly invisible.
The U.S. couldn’t have solved this problem alone, but we had a responsibility to do more than we did to prevent further destabilization of the region, relieve suffering and save lives.
Many of us tried to do more. We organized a hearing to bring Iraqis before Congress. They told chilling stories about being targeted by sectarian death squads because of their faith or their association with the United States. We passed the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act to increase the number of Iraqis who could be resettled in this country. We also provided hundreds of millions of dollars to help Iraqi refugees obtain food, education, shelter and health care.
The U.S. couldn’t have solved this problem alone, but we had a responsibility to do more than we did to prevent further destabilization of the region, relieve suffering and save lives.
Many of us tried to do more. We organized a hearing to bring Iraqis before Congress. They told chilling stories about being targeted by sectarian death squads because of their faith or their association with the United States. We passed the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act to increase the number of Iraqis who could be resettled in this country. We also provided hundreds of millions of dollars to help Iraqi refugees obtain food, education, shelter and health care.
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Refugees International (RI) advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.