Four Million Have Fled War, Kidnappings and Sectarian Strife

By Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

Nearly four million Iraqis have been displaced within their own country or have fled abroad in the four years since the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The exodus continues at a staggering pace, with another 50,000 Iraqis leaving every month in what the UNHCR is calling the largest population migration in the Middle East since 1948, when Palestinians fled their homes in the wake of the creation of Israel.

Threatened by daily violence and pessimistic about the future of their country, most Iraqi refugees are fleeing to Jordan and Syria. The UNHCR estimates each of those countries now hosts between 700,000 and 1 million Iraqi refugees, whose presence strains public services and exacerbates sectarian tensions throughout the region. Another 120,000 Iraqis have fled to Egypt, according to UNHCR estimates, and approximately 40,000 have sought refuge in Lebanon.

Up to now, both the Jordanian and Syrian governments have allowed the refugee influx.

“We consider them brothers and sisters,” Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, said in an interview. “People are running to save their own lives and the lives of their children, so how could you close and shut down your doors in front of these guys?”

But Syria and Jordan grant the Iraqis only temporary visitor status, allowing them to stay for a few weeks or months with no promise of long-term shelter. Refugee advocates fear that both countries could tighten their borders, as the rising population of refugees puts heavy pressure on local economies.

“It has been a tremendous burden on their social infrastructure, on health facilities and education,” said UNHCR senior policy adviser Emmy Takahashi. “The property prices have quadrupled in some cases.”

Getting aid to the refugees, who settle in urban centers such as Damascus and Amman, the Syrian and Jordanian capitals, is extremely difficult, said Takahashi. “People are not gathering in some places in the countryside where we can set up camps and set up services,” she said.

Refugees may also seek to keep a low profile out of fear of deportation once their temporary visas expire, according to refugee advocates. The international community has criticized Syria and Jordan for tightening visa policies. Both countries have imposed new restrictions in recent months, including a Jordanian policy that prohibits entry by Iraqi men between the ages of 17 and 35.

Jordan’s ban came in the wake of the 2005 suicide bombings in three Amman hotels, which killed dozens and were carried out by Iraqi nationals.

While Jordan has legitimate security concerns, its blanket ban on young Iraqi men is “violating the bedrock principle of refugee protection,” said Bill Frelick, refugee policy director for Human Rights Watch.

With no sign of a decrease in violence, which intensified into sectarian warfare after last year’s bombing of the Al-Askariya shrine in Samarra,  Iraqis are likely to continue their exodus. Refugee advocates say it is imperative that the international community significantly step up assistance to Syria, Jordan, and other Middle Eastern countries that feel the strain of hosting the Iraqis.

“The refugee population hasn’t been noticed by the world particularly, but it has been there,” said Frelick. “This is a problem that simply can’t be ignored any longer.”

One form of help, said Frelick, would be a boost in refugee funding. The United States recently pledged $18 million to aid relief efforts in Syria and Jordan. Takahashi, the UNHCR official, said her agency appreciated the American pledge. But Frelick characterized the U.S. funding as “a pittance.” UNHCR’s entire $60 million budget for Iraqi refugee relief is “how much the U.S. spends in five hours to fight the war inside Iraq,” he said.

Refugee advocates have also pressured the U.S. to accept more Iraqi exiles, particularly some of the thousands who have worked for the U.S. Army and other American institutions in Iraq. These employees are especially vulnerable to threats of violence. Last year, the U.S. accepted only 202 Iraqi refugees, though the Bush Administration has now pledged to take another 7,000.

That promise has caused huge lines of refugees to come forward to register with UNHCR in Syria, in hopes that they might gain one of the precious spots for resettlement in the United States. However, permanent resettlement will likely never be offered to the vast majority of the two million Iraqis now living outside their homeland.

“We are hoping that most people are fleeing the particular dangers that happen when a country is at war,” said Frelick, and that eventually “they will feel safe enough to go back, and that the situation will hopefully improve.”

Jaafari, the Syrian ambassador, said he does not believe that can happen until the United States sets a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. In the meantime, he says, “We need help to regulate the entrance of the Iraqi refugees in Syria through opening up other countries receiving – not only Syria and Jordan,” he said. “There should be someone else.”