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Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May-June 2009, pages 59-60 Human Rights The Iraqi Refugee Crisis
THE CENTER for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University presented a March 24 lecture by visiting scholar Joseph Sassoon, who discussed “The Iraqi Refugees: The New Crisis in the Middle East.” The crisis of Iraqi refugees “was not a surprise,” Dr. Sassoon asserted, since U.S. government officials were warned by humanitarian organizations months before the invasion. Because the warnings were not heeded and preparations not made, 2.7 million Iraqis have now been internally displaced, with another 2 million Iraqis having fled the country, he said. That means 15 percent, or 1 of every 6, Iraqis have been displaced, he stated, primarily as a result of “violence and lack of governmental authority.” Since 2003, Iraq has faced unprecedented rates of “exodus and brain drain,” the professor said, since U.S. occupation authorities dismantled key state functions, including providing such essential services as health care and education. While conducting his research, Dr. Sassoon found that Iraqi refugees prefer to use terms like “displaced” or “exiled” to describe their current situation. Many of the displaced are urban, educated, and middle-class Iraqis who fled to metropolitan areas, he said, making it very difficult to provide services and collect data on an “invisible refugee population.” A large population of refugees has resonating impacts for the entire surrounding region, Dr. Sassoon pointed out, shifting the balance of power among neighboring countries. Jordan and Syria have accepted the largest numbers of Iraqi refugees, he said, possibly due to convenience, prospects for peace and stability, the presence of family members, or a perceived similar sociocultural and linguistic environment. Describing some of the hardships facing Iraqi refugee populations, Dr. Sassoon explained that an illegal status combined with high levels of unemployment have catalyzed a rise in domestic violence, sexual abuse, and the exploitation of women. Another concern he cited is that Iraqi refugee children are not receiving formal education, because registering requires details that could be used for deportation. Many children have been out of the system for one to three years and they face bullying, in addition to the prohibitive costs for books, transportation, and document procurement. No more than 20 to 25 percent of Iraqi refugee children are attending schools on a regular basis in Jordan, Dr. Sassoon said, and only about 10 percent in Syria. In Jordan and Syria the professor observed indignation about Iraqi refugees. Many Jordanians believe the displaced are “well off,” and blame a contracting job market and inflation on their “guests.” Despite the already dire situation for Iraqi refugees, Dr. Sassoon noted, in Syria, where international agencies are providing food relief, individuals are forced to sell partial food rations in order to pay for rent or other expenses. In less than two years, an estimated 30 to 50 percent of doctors have fled Iraq, the professor stated, along with a total of 70 percent of all medical specialists—leaving six doctors for every 10,000 people and only 400 psychologists nationwide in a country where, due to stress and violence, 16.5 percent of the population suffers from mental disorders. Despite these statistics and the appalling situation for Iraqi refugees, Dr. Sassoon charged that the U.S. and England are pretending there is no crisis, because to admit crisis would be “to admit failure about U.S. policy toward Iraq.” —Nina Hamedani |
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