Spreading the Word about Iraqi Refugees

It's Friday and here in the office we are all pretty excited about the media coverage we've gotten this week on the Iraqi refugee crisis. One columnist at the Huffington Post called our report, "The Other Iraq Study".

Why are we so excited? Because this is a story that desperately needs to be told. Nearly two million people have been forced to flee Iraq -- many because of their involvement with the U.S. forces -- and yet the US is ignoring this situation. In 2006, our government resettled a mere 202 Iraqi refugees. Of course, before you can resettle Iraqi refugees, the U.S. first has to acknowledge that they exist.

Refugees International's job is to make it harder for the U.S. and other western governments to ignore the plight of Ali in Beirut, Khalil and Dalal in Damascus, Yasir in Amman and the other two million refugees in need of help and support. These people cannot get work permits, so they cannot earn an income. Many are living in one-room apartments with few possessions and are separated from other family members. All of them, whether Sunni, Shi’a, Christian or Palestinian, had been directly victimized by armed actors in Iraq. People are targeted because of religious affiliation, economic status, and profession – many, such as doctors, teachers, and even hairdressers, are viewed as being “anti-Islamic.” All of them fled Iraq because they had genuine and credible fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

I've been asked by reporters this week why we haven't heard about this crisis sooner. It's a good question. It's partly because these people aren't living in camps -- they are an invisible population blending in with the urban poor in cities like Damascus, Amman and Beirut. But it is also partly because the US government doesn't have an interest in acknowledging that these refugees exist, because 3,000 people streaming out of the country every day is a very clear reminder that the conflict in Iraq is deteriorating and our policies aren't working.

Now, the New York Times, the Washington Post Op-Ed Page, The Guardian in London, Think Progress, and Mother Jones, are all helping us inform the public that "The United States and its allies sparked the current chaos in Iraq, but they are doing little to ease the humanitarian crisis caused by the current exodus,” as our President Ken Bacon stated. Sean and Kristele are working hard to ensure that the U.S. and other Western countries start to do more.