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Living
an Ordinary Life Challenging in Iraq |
Posted:
03.26.07
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As the war in Iraq enters its fifth year, aid agencies and international
relief groups have raised the alarm about the growing problems
faced by the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis forced to flee their
neighborhoods and sometimes their country.
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 Iraqis
moving from their homes both inside and outside the country are
becoming the world's fastest-growing population of refugees and
displaced persons in the world.
The United Nations estimates that about 727,000 have been displaced
within the country since the bombing of a sacred Shiite shrine
in February 2006 that set off a wave of sectarian violence.
The Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration says that 470,000
displaced persons have officially registered with them since the
fall of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein but most experts
say that number is low.
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Living fearful
lives |
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 The
flood of refugees has been fueled by the widespread and brutal
violence that have targeted both Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
"When you decide to leave your home and everything you have
built up over life, you only decide to leave it when you're really,
really scared," said Astrid Van Genderen Stort, spokesperson
for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
And relief workers warn that even after people flee, their problems
are not over.
In addition to the difficulties associated with moving, displaced
Iraqis -- many of whom are women without husbands, because the
men have been killed, went abroad to find work, or abandoned the
family -- are struggling to find jobs to support their families.
There isn't reliable health care, food is scarce and children
go without schooling.
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Sectarian
violence |
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Many people are forced to flee their neighborhoods and homes
because of sectarian violence -- that is violence by radical members
of one religion targeting believers of another.
These attacks have systematically ruined many neighborhoods in
Iraq that were at one time made up of families that were Sunni
and others that were Shiite.
But as tensions and violence between extremists in both groups
increased, neighborhoods became distinctly more Sunni or more
Shiite. Families that make up the minority group in the area have
been threatened or even killed.
 "I
always think I'm going to be a victim," Hazim Said, a Shiite
man who returned his family to a Sunni dominate neighborhood in
Baghdad and stays up all night guarding them, told the New York
Times.
"Even now," he added, "I expect to be killed by
them."
Many are worried that the new ethnic divisions in the country
will have long-term impact on Iraq's future stability.
"People are sort of losing hope for return and the re-establishment
of a multi-ethnic order," said Kathleen Newland, co-director
of the Migration Policy Institute.
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New security
plan |
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The Iraqi government, lead by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki,
has said that resettlement of displaced Iraqis is a main priority
and part of the country's new security plan. It estimates that
2,000 families have returned to homes in Baghdad since the program
began in February.
 But
experts say the program is heavily dependent on U.S. troops and
many believe the government's numbers are too high.
Despite the security and logistical challenges, many Iraqis still
feel the pull of home.
"Without this house, I have nothing. That's the only way
I can express it to you," Said told the New York Times.
As people struggle to move home or build new lives elsewhere,
aid officials are urging U.S. and U.N. agencies to do more to
help.
Refugees International said that one practical step would be
to allow Iraqis to receive food and fuel rations even if they
move to new places, the New York Times reported.
Currently the rules, started during the U.N. oil-for-food program
in the 1990s, don't allow rations to move with people.
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The refugee
problem |
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In addition to those Iraqis displaced within the country, approximately
2 million Iraqis have fled the country as refugees, according
to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. Most have crossing
the border into neighboring countries Syria and Jordan.
 About
750,000 Iraqis have fled to Jordan, a country with 6 million people
and 1 million Iraqis have gone to Syria, population 19 million.
Not many Iraqi refugees are coming to the United States, only
466 since the war began. The government has said that increased
homeland security screening is part of the problem. But in February
it announced plans to resettle 7,000 Iraqis in this country this
year.
Refugees outside Iraq face different problems, deportation being
high on the list. Getting jobs can also be difficult as not all
countries that allow refugees allow them the right to work.
And many countries wonder how long the Iraqis will stay.
"The welcome mat is not so pristine as it was," said
Andrew Harper, who does refugee work in Iraq for the United Nations.
"Neighboring countries have been extremely generous ... but
there is an increasing impatience as to how long the Iraqi population
will remain."
--Compiled
by Annie Schleicher for NewsHour Extra
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