PAUL BURKHARDT
03/22/2007
Associated Press

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The failure of the United States, the United Nations and the Iraqi government to help Iraqis who flee their homes to escape violence is compounding what has already become "the world's fastest growing displacement crisis," a refugee advocacy group said in a report Thursday.

The report by Refugees International found a growing number of internally displaced persons in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, where many Iraqis have fled, are not receiving adequate help to find food or education if they reach the more secure area.

More than 1.9 million Iraqis have become homeless within the country, with one million more expected to follow this year, the report said, citing numbers from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

"The U.N. and U.S. and Iraqi governments are still in denial about the crisis on the ground in Iraq," said the report's author, Kristele Younes, of the Washington-based group.

She said methods of providing food and education have not been adapted to accommodate the growing number of Iraqis repelled by violence in their country.

"They expect people to use food (ration) cards, even though those cards are nearly impossible to transfer outside of your area of permanent residence," Younes said.

The report said the cards also serve as part of a voter registration system for post-war Iraqi elections.

"They expect families to send their kids to school, even though there aren't enough Arabic-language schools for the children now in the Kurdish region," it said.

While the Kurdish region is protected by its own security forces and less susceptible to the violence throughout the country, "getting in is not easy," the report said.

In one example, it said Kurds from areas whose status has yet to be settled "are systematically discouraged or prevented from moving into Kurdish governates" and forced to turn back to dangerous areas.

The report also found Iraqis demoralized by the absence of the United Nations.

"The Iraqi people are frustrated that they don't see the U.N. anywhere," Younes said.

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The report said that relief agencies, such as the Iraqi Red Crescent Society, "continue to function at a national level, albeit in a fragile way."

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