The Observer, April 6, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 23
Free Speech Zone: U.S. has obligation to help Iraqi refugees
One of the most horrific unintended consequences of the American misadventure in Iraq is the ever-increasing plight of the millions of Iraqis who have fled their homes, fearing violence.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), nearly four million Iraqis have left their homes, with 1.8 million relocating within Iraq, and an additional two million fleeing to Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, and Iran. In Syria and Jordan, which have received by far the most refugees, the situation is dire as many of these refugees are essentially homeless, most are jobless, and all live in poverty as the social infrastructures of these recipient countries are having difficulty handling the large numbers of people. The issue of Iraqi refugees is the embodiment of the human tragedy of this conflict, yet it is the most ignored aspect of the war in Iraq.
As Iraq's neighbors take in hundreds of thousands of refugees who overburden their ability to provide for them, the rest of the world has turned a blind eye. As the BBC reported last month, "Jordan has earned widespread praise [for taking refugees]. The rest of the world has given virtually no help at all."
Considering all the money the United States and the United Kingdom have spent on this war, it is a moral offense of the highest degree that we refuse to give any sort of aid to the millions of people displaced by a conflict they did not choose. Even more insulting is the refusal of both the United States and the United Kingdom to take even a noticeable number of these refugees. The US accepted only 202 refugees in 2006. Washington announced last month that the U.S. would accept 7000 Iraqi refugees in 2007 – how generous. The UK has taken even less. Even the European Union nations, nearly all of which are completely disassociated from this conflict, are expected to take in 40,000 refugees between themselves in 2007.
This is really a moral issue to its very core. We went into another country, toppled their tyrannical yet stable government, and completely botched the post-war administration of Iraq from day one. The continued use of failed policies and bankrupt tactics which have incensed Iraqis, the reluctant-at-best attempt to win Iraqi "hearts and minds," and the employment of a fiery rhetoric which has alienated the rest of the world have shattered any hope of a peaceful solution in Iraq as sectarian violence continues to abound.
Now, when nearly one-sixth of Iraq's population has fled the conflict, the Coalition Forces have ignored them. We started this war, remember? We have an absolute obligation to begin taking many, many more refugees and giving aid to neighboring recipient countries, particularly Syria and Jordan. To continue to avoid this problem would only validate the world's perception of America as a soulless imperial aggressor with no regard for the people left in the wake of our conflicts.
Pieragastini is a senior History and International Studies major involved with Catalyst: Students for Social Justice, Case-ACLU, and the Philosophy Society.
