Did you know? 1 in 5 Iraqis have been uprooted by violence in their homeland. Many have fled to Syria where the situation has become increasingly desperate. Since all of the young people that use this site are progressive, intelligent, and thoughtful beings, I know that you'll be interested in learning about Refugees International's new campaign urging Obama to help Iraqi refugees. Check out the press release below (or here: http://www.refugeesinternational.org/iraq-release).
The campaign features a petition urging President Obama to help Iraqi refugees in Syria as well as two candid new videos about this issue: “The View From Syria” and “Khaled's Story”.
I really hope that you'll check out the videos, sign the petition, and let your friends know about this opportunity to make a big difference in the lives of so many people!
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REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN URGING OBAMA TO HELP IRAQI REFUGEES
For Immediate Release: February 18, 2009
Washington D.C. - As President Obama works to stabilize Iraq, he must be sure to comprehensively address the Iraqi refugee crisis. Five million Iraqis have been uprooted by conflict, forced to leave everything behind. They have sought refuge within Iraq, Syria, Jordan and other neighboring countries. They are running out of resources with little opportunity for employment; access to food, heath care, education and other essential services is extremely limited. The conditions for Iraqis to return home safely do not exist, and millions of Iraqi refugees are unlikely and unwilling to return to Iraq in the foreseeable future. The U.S. administration must lead international efforts to meet the long-term needs of displaced Iraqis. Failure to assist Iraqis will have dramatic impacts on security inside Iraq.
Refugees International has launched a new campaign urging President Obama to do more to help Iraqi refugees.
The campaign features a petition urging the Obama administration to:
1. Assist Iraqi refugees.
2. Ensure a safe, voluntary return home when possible.
3. Pressure Iraq to meet its responsibilities to its own people.
4. Increase resettlement for those who can't go home.
Supporters can sign the petition here: http://www.refugeesinternational.org/iraq
The campaign also features two candid videos about the lives of Iraqi refugees in Syria, Iraqi Refugees: The View From Syria and Khaled's Story, which can both be viewed here: http://www.refugeesinternational.org/iraq-videos.
In Iraqi Refugees: the View From Syria, Kristèle Younès, Refugees International Senior Advocate says, “At this stage, what we’re looking at is millions of impoverished people who have basically joined the ranks of the urban poor, wherever they have sought refuge, and who are quickly becoming desperate.”
Please sign the petition and share with others who demand a stable Iraq.
Refugees International is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates to end refugee crises. Since November 2006, the organization has conducted seven missions to the Middle East to identify the needs of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people in Iraq. After ongoing pressure from Refugees International, the U.S. State Department increased its assistance for Iraqi refugees from $43 million in 2006 to $398 million in 2008.
My heart goes out to the Iraqi victims of Islamic fascism in their country. They are people just like us Americans and many have families, jobs, and social lives that have been threatened or destroyed due to terrorism. The only difference between the Iraqi people and the American people is the place they were born. I believe that most Iraqi's are good people who suffer at the hands of violence, intolerance and hatred - three things that all humans should have the right to live freely of. It is so sad to see the terrorists recruit all kinds of desperate people to blow themselves up and kill dozens of innocent Iraqi people all in the name of Allah. People are losing loved ones and getting injured every single day in Iraq by unnecessary violence inflicted by the most vial evil scum of the planet - Islamic terrorists. So, to add insult to injury, many good Iraqi people are seeing their religion used as a justification for the physical and emotional pain and suffering that terrorism causes for them. Upstanding Iraqi citizens start businesses only to see them destroyed by a suicide bomber along with dozens of customers. For example, one of the recent bombings that I read about, happened in a restaurant and killed over 30 people. People who should have never died were just trying to enjoy their lives and their families and live normally . It's sickening.
Anyway, helping Iraqi refugees is a very noble cause and I applaud the effort. People in America need to just think about the unimaginable suffering that good, but unfortunate, people must endure every day around the world. Americans need to realize that while they eat a plentiful, and perhaps even gluttonous, dinner for twenty minutes, hundreds of people are literally dying from malnourishment around the world. One of the things that the world needs to do is crush radical Islamic terrorists instead of appeasing them. Europeans (most, definitely not all) have fell under the spell of Islam and insist that we tolerate beheading, bombings, shootings, stoning of women, and other savage behaviors that Islamic fascism embraces and executes. Islamic fascists are the most intolerant, hate-filled, and violent people in the world and we need to wake up and fight them. Their hatred and intolerance are literally infinite leaving no terrible crime too horrible for them to carry out. In their minds the more evil and pain inducing their acts of violence are the better. Europe (particularly Britain) appeased the Nazis just seven decades ago and because of their stupidity, Hitler's army grew to enormous proportions. Because of their stupidity, Nazis could have very well have taken over Europe in its entirety. If only they would have stopped the Nazis earlier, millions and millions of lives would have been saved and billions of dollars of destruction would never have occurred. Appeasing fascism certainly didn't work for the world then and there's no reason to think it will today. Destroy Islamic fascism and the hatred and violence it inflicts on the world ... before its too late.
The conditions for Iraqis to return home safely do not exist, and millions of Iraqi refugees are unlikely and unwilling to return to Iraq in the foreseeable future.
Hasn't the violence mostly subsided? Isn't that why we are pulling out troops?
Why can't the refugees in Syria and Jordan return to Iraq?
I can see helping them if there is a good reason why they can't go back but there is a difference between unable and merely unwilling.
Something like 50 million Iraqis are living in Iraq and my understanding is that life there is getting better for them. The government has been running big budget surpluses. What makes these refugees different from the Iraqis who have remained in Iraq?"
The hope is that Iraqi refugees can return home eventually, but the key issue here is that they be able to return in safety and dignity. Those conditions do not exist right now. Currently, inside of Iraq, there are already 2.7 million Iraqis who fled their homes and sought shelter from harm in other parts of the country. They’re living in tents, squatting in abandoned buildings, scraping by without work or income and with poor access to food. The Government of Iraq isn’t doing enough to help this population, and the US must hold them accountable.
If you add to this the prospect of premature and large-scale returns of millions more refugees from Syria, Jordan, and the region, this would have disastrous consequences on the stability of Iraq. Those who have tried to return are finding destroyed homes and a devastated infrastructure (pipelines, access to water, electricity, etc.). They’ve run out of savings, have little job or education opportunities, with poor access to basic public services such as health care, food assistance, and any kind of safety net. And so what we’re seeing, according to a UNHCR survey, is that a whopping 70% of refugees who try to return home actually become displaced again.
Essentially, there isn’t much of a “home” to return to yet. And we cannot forget people like the religious minorities who believe they will never be safe in Iraq and that if they return they will be murdered. They should not be forced to return, but resettlement is not an option for so many because of the large size of their communities.
Until conditions improve, displaced Iraqis must be helped where they have sought refuge. You can read more here: http://refugeesinternational.org/policy/letter/ngo-statement-addressing-...