Donate Now David Enders, for the Pulitzer Center
Iraq
Resettlement has been described by UN officials as the only "durable" solution for the Iraqi refugee problem.
Since Syria is one place that foreign journalists can work and interact with Iraqis, the problem has received coverage. Nonetheless, the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen.
In Damascus, I'm staying with S. and A., who left Baghdad less than a month ago after their house was raided by militiamen because S. worked as an accountant for the Iraqi government inside the green zone. He decided to take a leave from his job after that, but it seems unlikely he will return — he was also threatened by a different group after filing a report that implicated members of an Iraqi political party of embezzlement.
Perhaps their six-month old son, Hamoudi, will not grow up in Baghdad. He will have a lot of company.
The lights suddenly go out. Damascus now has rolling blackouts, a function of the sprawl that is driven in large part by Iraqis. The hospitals, schools and other infrastructure, in a country that already suffers from problematic unemployment, are being further taxed.
Iraqis here wonder how long Syria, the only country that still keeps its borders open to them, will do so.
These are the Iraqis that can get passports and can afford to leave, and even they are discovering themselves to be increasingly poor. Syrian landlords require six months rent up front. Iraqis are not allowed to work in Syria, and so most are living on their savings.
I don't know what S. and A. will do. S. has gone to register with the UNHCR, but he will not even have an interview until January. Five countries — the US, UK, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Sweden — have agreed to take approximately 10,000 applications for asylum this year. So far this year, 47 people have been resettled. The UNHCR office in charge of resettlement referrals says that this will increase toward the end of the year, but no matter how one looks at it, even if the total number of commitments were filled, it's less than 1 percent of the people who have fled the country.
In Damascus, I'm staying with S. and A., who left Baghdad less than a month ago after their house was raided by militiamen because S. worked as an accountant for the Iraqi government inside the green zone. He decided to take a leave from his job after that, but it seems unlikely he will return — he was also threatened by a different group after filing a report that implicated members of an Iraqi political party of embezzlement.
Perhaps their six-month old son, Hamoudi, will not grow up in Baghdad. He will have a lot of company.
The lights suddenly go out. Damascus now has rolling blackouts, a function of the sprawl that is driven in large part by Iraqis. The hospitals, schools and other infrastructure, in a country that already suffers from problematic unemployment, are being further taxed.
Iraqis here wonder how long Syria, the only country that still keeps its borders open to them, will do so.
These are the Iraqis that can get passports and can afford to leave, and even they are discovering themselves to be increasingly poor. Syrian landlords require six months rent up front. Iraqis are not allowed to work in Syria, and so most are living on their savings.
I don't know what S. and A. will do. S. has gone to register with the UNHCR, but he will not even have an interview until January. Five countries — the US, UK, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Sweden — have agreed to take approximately 10,000 applications for asylum this year. So far this year, 47 people have been resettled. The UNHCR office in charge of resettlement referrals says that this will increase toward the end of the year, but no matter how one looks at it, even if the total number of commitments were filled, it's less than 1 percent of the people who have fled the country.