01/04/2006

Hani is a 45-year-old Iraqi man who fled Iraq with his family and came to Syria in September 2005. He describes the reasons for his flight and his life in Damascus:

“I was living in Baghdad with my wife and five children and directing a company that was funded by the Americans after the fall of the regime. I was nervous about working for them because so many people are targeted by militias for any affiliation with the US, but there are few jobs in my field to be found in Baghdad, and I needed to earn money in order to support my family.

"I sometimes received anonymous telephone calls threatening me and saying that if I did not stop working for the Americans and non-believers, that my family and I would be sorry. I did not know what to do about these threats. I did not know who was making them, although I suspected they were coming from members of local militia groups, and I could not afford to leave my job.

"Then one day in July, I was walking with one of my youngest sons who had just started school to the market, and a car drove up next to us. Some men leaped out of the car and tried to force my son and me into the car. I tried to fight them, but they shot a gun in the air and beat me with their guns, leaving me there, as they drove off with my son. My hands were badly injured from the beating, and I was hospitalized for two days. They kidnapped my son and kept him from me for five days.

"During this time, they called me trying to get me to pay a ransom of $10,000. I finally found enough money to pay the ransom, and my son was returned to me. I could not believe what they had done to my child. He had been tortured and beaten and was psychologically in a very bad condition. We had to put him in the hospital immediately, and even now, he still suffers many emotional problems as a result of this kidnapping.

"We were extremely distraught at what had happened to our son and began discussing ways we could get out of that situation. I was very scared and did not know what to do to protect my family. Then in August, the worst thing that I could imagine happened. I was sitting with my wife in our house, and my baby son was playing outside. He was not old enough to start school yet. We heard gunshots, which were not unusual, but we were concerned because they sounded so close to our home.

"We went outside and found our little boy had been shot in the leg by a man in a car nearby. I did not recognize the man, but I think he was probably affiliated with the same group who had kidnapped my other son earlier. My baby was covered with blood, and I became terrified and went in the house to get my gun, but by the time I went back outside, the gunman had driven away. My little boy did not survive this shooting, and he died shortly thereafter. My wife and I still can’t believe that anyone would do this to such a small child. We are heartbroken and full of grief. My wife has suffered so much psychologically from his death that she has had to be hospitalized for psychiatric treatment.

"After we lost our son, we realized we had no choice but to flee Iraq for our own safety. I have a brother-in-law who is living here, and I thought it would be our best option. In September, we drove straight here from Baghdad and are now living in a neighborhood in Damascus, but still I have not been able to rebuild my life here.

"I cannot find any employment; I am experienced in my job and wish to find work because I feel lost without work, but work is prohibited for Iraqis in Syria. We cannot afford the medical care my wife needs for her mental condition, and the costs of sending our children to school are very high. I come from a country where there is no peace or security and I still cannot find it here in Syria. I just want to live in a country where there is peace and security and where my family can live without fear.”