Photo Credit: Refugees International
11/07/2006

The situation for the Palestinians trapped at Al Tanf is but one of the tragedies to be found at the Iraq-Syria border. UNHCR estimates that 2,000 – 3,000 Iraqis are streaming into Syria at this crossing every day. Refugees International’s observations at the border confirm that.

Iraqis take any possessions they can with them, piling them high on American-made trucks that serve ubiquitously as taxis at the border. Many of those goods will be sold slowly once they settle in Damascus in order to pay for basic needs. Though Syria welcomes Iraqi refugees, they are not allowed to work, making selling these personal effects the main income for these families. Many of the families RI has spoken with indicate that they can survive on savings and the selling of their possessions for no more than five months after they arrive. It foretells the next humanitarian crisis facing those who flee the violence in Iraq.