11/14/2007

Contacts: Kristele Younes and Jake Kurtzer

Displaced Iraqis are in desperate need of assistance and protection. Host countries do not have the resources to provide basic services to Iraqis, leaving them in dire need of education, healthcare and financial assistance. Moreover, Iraq’s neighbors, overwhelmed and concerned about their own stability, have started imposing restrictions on refugees. To improve the stability of the region and meet Iraqi refugees’ needs, the U.S. should fund all pending UN appeals at a level of 50% or more. The U.S. and other donors, including Iraq, must also provide earmarked bilateral assistance to countries hosting large numbers of Iraqis either directly or through a Trust Fund established by the UN or the Arab League.

• Syria, Lebanon and Egypt do not allow Iraqis to work. As a result, Iraqis are becoming increasingly vulnerable and needs are growing as resources are depleted. In Lebanon, single young men have become an unlikely vulnerable group, as they often come to the country alone in search of employment and do not receive assistance from NGOs who focus on women and families. In all countries, the humanitarian community is concerned by the growing numbers of children working. This, and the fact that public schools are often not open to them in Lebanon and Egypt, helps explain the small number of Iraqi children attending school. Some single mothers are also forced to resort to prostitution to feed their families.



• Many Iraqis do not seek help out of shame or fear, and it is difficult for aid agencies to identify them. As Iraqis generally come from an urban, educated environment, they find it extremely difficult and humiliating to adapt to a refugee situation. Moreover, many Iraqis have had to flee targeted persecution in Iraq because of their sectarian background or profession. Some continue to be threatened in their country of asylum by the same people or militias who targeted them in Iraq. Most do not go to the police for fear of drawing attention to themselves or being deported.



• Iraqis have very few options left when they flee for safety. 10 out of the 18 Governorates within Iraq have closed their internal borders, unable to cope with the large numbers of displaced flooding their towns. Syria was the only country left with an open door policy until it imposed visa restrictions at the Iraqi border in October - making it almost impossible for most to cross it. Now, Syria allows Iraqis in for a fee of $50 per person, making it difficult for destitute Iraqis to enter. Refugees International was also told that Syrian police officials and aid workers have advised some refugees to leave when they found their visa expired. This contributes to a climate of fear amongst refugees, making it impossible for victims of violence to start the healing process.



• Authorities in Lebanon, host of an estimated 50,000 Iraqis, have been systematically arresting and detaining those who are in Lebanon illegally since the May 2007 events in the Palestinian camp of Nahr-el-Bared. The majority of Iraqis living in Lebanon do not have valid residency papers and many had to pay smugglers to enter Lebanon illegally. According to UNHCR, at least 538 Iraqis were detained in Lebanon in October 2007, including 209 who had completed their sentences. Refugees International visited the Roumieh prison in Beirut, where over 400 Iraqis are currently detained. Of those interviewed, all had been arrested for illegal entry or an expired visa. None of them wanted to return to Iraq. One of them even said that he “would sooner move to Darfur.” Detained Iraqis in Lebanon still only have the choice between detention with common criminals and return to war-torn Iraq.