Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq began, an estimated 4.7 million Iraqis have fled their homes in hopes to saves their lives and those of their families. The numbers of refugees are staggering and the situation stands today as the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world with 2 million Iraqis internally displaced and over 2.2 million having fled the country. This number is not constant and continues to grow exponentially with an estimate of 3,000 more fleeing the Iraq border every day and a total of 100,000 people becoming displaced every month. The Iraqi people have been left unprotected, unacknowledged, and faced with the constant threat of resettlement, deportation, discrimination, and death. Many Iraqis fled their homes with little or no belongings and now face increasing impoverishment due to their inability to work in their host countries. Due to the unstable and precarious security situation the majority of humanitarian workers has left the region leaving the remaining civilians with little, if not no hope or sense, of security and relieve.
Among these millions are many who have worked with westerns and US owned companies in Iraq. Because of their affiliation with such foreign influences they have subsequently received death threats towards them and their families leaving them with no other option but to flee their home country. These same people have received little or no help from their previous employers or the US government and are being denied visas to the US, Britain, and other countries. With the US promising to admit 7,000 refugees between October 1, 2006 and September 30, 2007 only 719 have been granted that permission.
The problem most unsettling to Iraqi parents, despite that of their children’s safety, is that of their education, which is at a staggering low since the invasion in 2003. Only 10% of the 200,000 Iraqi children in Jordan have registered to attend school in the 2006-07 academic year and from that number over 1/3rd of those children have failed to complete their schooling with no prospect of returning. A similar situation is held in Syria where only 33,000 children are reported to attend school, which is less than 10% of the estimated amount of Iraqi children in the country. In Lebanon, only 900 children are reported to attend school out of the estimated 40,000.
But, for those who remain in school it is not always for the best. The school’s resources within the host countries are being stretched to their limits. Classrooms are exponentially growing from what was once a classroom of around 16 to that of around 100 students. On top of this, the Iraqi education system differs greatly from those of the host countries, in particular Syria. Many of the children face grave difficulties adjusting to the new systems and are left to struggle while receiving little or no help from their professors or schools. Students who have reported to have received high grades in their previous schools in Iraq are now either dropping out completely or struggling just to stay in. At the precipice of all these tribulations the students are faced with repeated discrimination and humiliation outside and within the classroom from both their colleagues and their professors, which has been much of the reason for their leaving.
Not only are the resources within the schools of the host countries being stretched to their limits but also within the counties economy, medical systems, water supplies, housing, and sanitation infrastructure. Such an influx in population will and is currently holding serious regional ramifications. If the situation continues to persist in its current state the economies of these host countries could fall into collapse and the governments will be face with severe political unrest.
Because of the serious and grave strain on Syria’s economy and infrastructure, the country now requires that incoming Iraqis must obtain visas before crossing the border. This has proven to be an immense setback for the approximate 3,000 Iraqis seeking refuge everyday from the unduly violence back home. Not only does it restrict their options for finding safe havens from persecution but also forces them to subject themselves to further danger. The place for obtaining Syrian visas lies in the district of Al Mansour, an area reportedly noted for its repeated sectarian violence. The US, as well as the international community, must immediately provide Iraqi refugees – internally and externally from Iraq – and their host countries with an ample and solid bilateral assistance program which will ensure the needs of every refugee. So far, the international and particularly the US response to this crisis has been negligent, weak, and implausibly and utterly reprehensible. The US administration has planned to spend a meager 17 million dollars for internal refugee aid contrasting greatly to their 10 billion dollars a month on military spending in Iraq and Afghanistan. This amount will allot a little more than three dollars a year per each individual refugee assuming that the amount of refugees remains the same, which unfortunately is not the case seeing that the number of displaced people inside and out of Iraq is increasing by 100,000 a month.
