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Building on the Success of 2011
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 17:50Happy New Year, from all of us at Refugees International! Before we start tackling the challenges of 2012 – and there will be many – we bring you a brief wrap-up of all things RI from the year gone by.
First, "RI in 2011: By the Numbers":
16 Days: A Women Alone
Fri, 12/09/2011 - 09:22For Americans living comfortably and securely, the life of a refugee seeking safety and survival is hard to imagine. Conflict, persecution, abuse, and threats force a refugee to flee, leaving behind their home and possessions, their friends, their community, and often their family.
They flee without knowing if they will be able to return to their loved ones and communities, or if they will be accepted somewhere they can be safe. Social and gender discrimination often makes women’s search for safety even more difficult.
Potential U.S. Budget Cuts Threaten Vulnerable Iraqis
Wed, 02/09/2011 - 15:00
In a Senate Foreign Relations Hearing last Monday, top diplomat, James F. Jeffrey, defended the size and the cost of the State Department presence in Iraq after the U.S. military withdraws this year. He briefly mentioned the importance of ongoing U.S. development assistance to
promote the "continued return and resettlement of displaced persons."
Given current budget deliberations, this will be impossible if the
Migration and Refugee Assistance account that funds these critical
programs is cut and if the civilian activities of the Department of
State as well as those of the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) are reduced as planned.
What Would Sergio Say?
Mon, 01/31/2011 - 17:00
Sergio Vieira De Mello was the charismatic head of the UN's operations in Iraq until he was killed by the Canal Hotel bombing in Iraq in 2003. While traveling in Iraq, it's hard not to wonder what he would think about the UN's operations today. First and foremost, he'd clearly urge UN agencies to get out of the international zone and into the communities the UN is supposed to help serve.
If Iraq is So Safe, Why Don’t Most Europeans Leave the International Zone?
Mon, 12/20/2010 - 15:10
The UK, Sweden, and the Netherlands in particular have been actively deporting Iraqi asylum seekers to Baghdad and other parts of the country, claiming it is now safe and secure. In October the European Court of Human Rights in Stasbourg issued a temporary stay of deportations; however, a recent decision by the Court is being interpreted by many governments as a green light to resume forced repatriations.
If Iraq is so safe, why are the majority of European embassies located in the walled and highly secure and self-contained international zone? If security has improved so much, why can’t European officials travel outside of the international zone without armed escorts? Presumably, if the country is deemed unsafe for Europeans, can it be much safer for those Iraqis who faced targeted persecution and extreme violence? Probably not.
If Iraq is so safe, why are the majority of European embassies located in the walled and highly secure and self-contained international zone? If security has improved so much, why can’t European officials travel outside of the international zone without armed escorts? Presumably, if the country is deemed unsafe for Europeans, can it be much safer for those Iraqis who faced targeted persecution and extreme violence? Probably not.
Iraq Hearing: Living up to our Humanitarian Responsibilities both Ethical and Strategic
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 16:26On Thursday July 22nd, The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as The Helsinki Commission, hosted a hearing to examine the humanitarian situation for displaced and vulnerable Iraqis. The hearing was titled “No Way Home, No Way to Escape” an apt description of the plight of approximately two million Iraqis who have been forced to flee their homes in the last seven years of U.S. engagement in Iraq.
Strengthening our Humanitarian Commitment to the People of Iraq
Tue, 07/20/2010 - 15:57Next month the United States will have completed the withdrawal of half of its combat troops, bringing the number down to 50,000. According to the Status of Forces Agreement, the remaining troops should leave by the end of 2011. Most Americans have long since turned their attention away from Iraq, but as Patrick Cockburn in The Independent recently wrote, “American troops leave behind a country that is a barely floating wreck.”
Iraqi Refugees: "The Unreturned" Documentary
Wed, 06/23/2010 - 20:40Last week, Refugees International and the International Rescue Committee were co-presenters of a documentary about Iraqi refugees at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York City. The Unreturned is a powerful depiction of the lives of five Iraqis as they struggle to begin again in Syria and Jordan after fleeing violence in Iraq.
Iraq & Afghanistan: An Orderly Departure
Wed, 04/28/2010 - 15:42
Thirty-five years ago this week, Saigon fell to advancing North Vietnamese troops. Even this many years later, the images are indelible: Helicopters landing on the roof of the embassy; American sailors pushing helicopters off of the deck of a carrier as more hover alongside waiting to unload American citizens; and refugees fleeing the North Vietnamese Army's advance.
The Faili Kurds of Iraq: Thirty Years Without Nationality
Fri, 04/02/2010 - 13:13
Thirty years ago, in April 1980, between 220,000 and 300,000 Iraqi Faili Kurds were stripped of their Iraqi citizenship. Many were expelled from their homes and were forced to march across the Iranian border into decades of exile and statelessness. Others became non-citizens in their own country. Though important steps have been taken by the Government of Iraq to restore the citizenship of these people, it is estimated that roughly 100,000 still lack a nationality.
Refugees International (RI) advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.
We are an independent organization, and do not accept any government or UN funding.