Finally thinking of Iraq Refugees

photo of Iraq Refugees from Middle East Online





Among the numerous detestable sins committed by the Bush administration, one of the most tragic is the indescribable carnage brought upon the Iraqi people. It is a continuous problem, as we announce how many of our soldiers have died, we rarely mention the number of Iraqi deaths which are well over a million.

Considering what we have done to their country, it is unethical and inhumane not to allow more Iraqi immigration to the United States. At least someone is beginning to think of our ethical responsibility in all of this.


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Senators Urge Bush to Appoint Official for Iraq Refugee Policy

By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 8, 2008; A13

Two leading Democratic senators have called for the Bush administration to appoint a senior official to coordinate overall U.S. policy for the more than 2 million refugees who have fled Iraq during the war and are now in Jordan, Syria and other Middle Eastern countries.

After receiving a staff report on Iraqi refugees that found "a startling lack of American leadership in a crisis that much of the international community considers a result of our intervention in Iraq," Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), sent copies to colleagues, along with a letter calling for "appropriate action" by President Bush to create a White House position overseeing policy on refugees and persons who have been displaced within Iraq.

The senators, citing the report, concluded that "the war in Iraq has resulted in one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the post-Cold War era."

Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha, whose country has become a temporary home to 1.5 million Iraqi refugees, called the refugee crisis "the largest exodus in the history of the Middle East." Speaking Friday at a discussion in Washington sponsored by Villanova University's Law School, Moustapha said the Bush administration is "very reluctant" to address the refugee issue because it is a "loud and clear admission that their policies in Iraq have failed."

White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said yesterday that Ambassador James B. Foley and Department of Homeland Security refugee coordinator Lori Scialabba were named last year to manage U.S. efforts on Iraqi refugees. "We believe they are making important contributions and should continue to lead the efforts," Lawrimore said.

Also on the panel was Jordan's ambassador to Washington, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein, who described as "extraordinary" the influx of 500,000 Iraqi refugees into his country. "It's the equivalent of 30 million people descending or entering the United States in the space of three years," he added.

Zeid said the cost of the refugee inflow is running at $1.6 billion a year. He detailed some of the costs, including $290 million to educate about 50,000 Iraqi refugee children, $176 million for health care, $430 million for water and sanitation and $300 million for other services, including energy.

for link to WP article click the title of this post

photo: http://www.middle-east-online.com/pictures/big/_24898_Iraq_refugees.jpg

Would the U.S. Coast Guard Try to Save Iraqi Refugees?

275 Iraqi Refugees rescued off the Greek coast


Considering immigration rhetoric these days, I wonder that would have happened to these Iraqi refugees is they were in trouble of the U.S. coast.

For having destroyed their country, the U.S. has been extremely negligent in helping those that made it out of the country alive.

November 12, 2007
Greeks Save Ship With 275 Migrants
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

ATHENS, Nov. 11 — The Greek coast guard on Sunday rescued 275 people believed to be illegal migrants crammed on a Turkish cargo ship that nearly capsized in rough seas southwest of the Greek coast, a Greek coast guard spokeswoman said.

The people on the ship, including dozens of women and children from Iraq, had been traveling for 13 days, en route to Italy, when the captain of the vessel issued a distress signal that sent two Greek coast guard frigates and a tugboat to their rescue in the Ionian Sea, said the spokeswoman, Aspa Popadopoulou.

The captain, who is Turkish, and his 14-member crew were arrested by Greek authorities, and they are facing charges linked to human smuggling. The Greek news media reported that some of the immigrants said they had paid $2,000 each for their passage to Italy and $1,000 for each child.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/world/europe/12greece.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

1 Million Iraqis Die in War - U.S. Only Takes 1,600 as Refugees

Op-Ed Columnist

By ROGER COHEN
Published: September 27, 2007
New York Times
MALMO, Sweden

...When Tobias Billstrom, the migration minister, says, “Yes, of course the United States should do more,” you can feel his indignation about to erupt like milk boiling over. He notes that given the huge population difference, Sweden’s intake of Iraqis “is the equivalent of the U.S. taking in about 500,000 refugees.”

Of all the Iraq war scandals, America’s failure to do more for refugees, including thousands who put their lives at risk for the U.S., stands out for its moral bankruptcy. Last time I checked, Sweden did not invade Iraq. Its generosity shames President Bush’s fear-infused nation.

I know, the U.S. is showering aid (more than $122 million in 2007) on Iraq’s neighbors to help more than two million fleeing Iraqis. It set up a refugee task force in February and, when that faltered, appointed two refugee czars this month.

“We want people engaged in this 24/7, breaking down barriers and expeditiously helping the refugees,” Paula Dobriansky, the under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs, told me. “We have a moral obligation, and especially to those who have worked at our embassy.”

A commitment has been made to process 7,000 refugees in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. Visas for 500 Iraqis a year who worked for the U.S. have been promised. But these are velleities. Concern has been unmatched by results. Bush has never addressed the issue, an example of his Green Zone politics: shut out ugly reality and with luck it will vanish.

An aggressive American intake of refugees would suggest that their quick return to Iraq is improbable: that smacks too much of failure for Bush. Moreover, you have to scrutinize refugees from countries “infiltrated by large numbers of terrorists,” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff opined recently.

The result has been “major bottlenecks,” in the words of a leaked cable from the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker. Instead of the 7,000 Iraqi refugees supposed to get here this fiscal year, perhaps 1,600 will.

“The numbers are totally embarrassing,” says Kirk Johnson, who worked for the United States Agency for International Development in Iraq. “We can’t recognize a moral imperative any more.”

Imperative is right. People who risked their lives for America are dying or being terrorized because of craven U.S. lethargy. Others are in limbo. Bush now says “Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas.” That’s too glib; one may be waiting to be saved.

The I-told-you-so phase of the Iraq invasion is thankfully ending. What is needed now is consensus on American responsibility. That starts with a more open door to Iraqis in flight. Mr. President, say something.

Gamil lost his job when the army was disbanded. He worked sporadically as a translator. But when threats came — as a Sunni ex-officer he was an obvious target to Shiite militias — “I had to save my life and my wife’s.”

Sweden will give him a lawyer to argue his asylum case. Ekblad says the “overwhelming majority” are approved. Refugees then get a permanent resident permit leading to possible citizenship in five years. “Our costs are huge, and we’d like to see more burden-sharing,” he says.

Burden sharing! How about guts? Swedes are polite to a fault.

You are invited to comment at my blog: www.iht.com/passages.

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