By Adam N. Makary First Published: February 5, 2007 AFP
CAIRO: As violence continues in Iraq, the oil-rich country’s neighbors are beginning deal with a widening refugee crisis. According to a November United Nations report, two million Iraqis were estimated to have already fled to Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Lebanon while 2,000 more leave Iraq everyday.
Some 150,000 Iraqi refugees have found haven in Cairo with the majority of displaced persons living in October City.
Iraqis who fled out of Baghdad were middle or upper middle class citizens. Those with the money have set up a new life in Cairo and other Arab cities, but not for long, they fear.
In 2003, a total of 800 Iraqi Shia refugees resided in Egypt. Since then a drastic increase of Iraqi citizens has taken shape of Egypt’s predominately Sunni population. While Arab governments fear displaced Iraqis could overwhelm public services and bring Iraq’s sectarian conflicts to their soil, the Mubarak administration has become more stringent refusing to renew residency permits.
After their arrival in Egypt, Iraqis get a one-month tourist visa and then apply for a three-month, renewable residency permit. But authorities have begun refusing to grant residency status, or are turning down those who seek to renew it.
Even if some Iraqis escape advocacy groups charge that increasing numbers are being turned back at the borders. For Iraq’s neighbors, the influx of refugees is straining resources. Jordan has made it difficult for Iraqis to receive residency permits and the numbers of Iraqis being deported from Amman is rising. Syria is about to do the same.
An Iraqi by the name of Kilth Fahid worked in an oil refinery before he was forced out of his hometown after the war started in 2003.
“Everything was unstable. Everything was dangerous. You could not go outside of your own house. Even inside your house, you could not sleep safely until morning.”
Fahid feels much safer in Cairo where he struggles to support his wife and four daughters. “Life is so difficult for us right now. We haven’t any sort of life.” He sees no possibility of returning to Baghdad. “I won’t go back to back Iraq. I can’t go back to Iraq. Going back to Iraq simply means death.”
Many Iraqis say they have to pay bribes to get or renew their permits.
"There is a price for every stamp and every signature you get on your residency," said one Iraqi, who only agreed to be identified as Abu Wael for fear of reprisal.
Government officials also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. The Interior Ministry, which handles visa and residency, issues, and a spokesman at the Foreign Ministry refused to comment.
Concerned that Iraq's Shia-Sunni split could spread to Egypt, authorities last week rejected a request by Iraqis to open a Shia mosque in Sixth of October City, a Cairo suburb where many Iraqis live, refugees said.
They also spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by Egyptian authorities.
“Of course, Arab economies can only suffer from a refugee crisis, the burden they will have to deal with in accommodating extra citizens is far too heavy for countries like Egypt. International players need to step up to the bat, without their influence, the problem will worsen,” said Gamal Gawad Soltan, AUC Professor of Political Science.
The UNHCR launched a $60 million appeal to fund its work of Iraqi refugees.
With the current exodus standing as the largest long-term population in the Middle East since the displacement of Palestinians following the creation of Israel in 1948, monies will cover UNHCR’s protection and assistance programs for Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey.
However the crisis is likely to worsen for the hundreds of thousands of refugees both inside and outside Iraq.
“Because the burden on neighboring countries in the region is so enormous, it is crucial that the international community starts taking UNHCR’s initiative seriously,” Soltan said.
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After reading the other thread about Saudi Arabia and their despicable debauchery and displays of wealth they are THE FIRST COUNTRY that should start handing over the dough to help their brethern...
Or are they just a mouthpiece...all talk and no walk?
Posts: 407 | From: USA | Registered: Jan 2007
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You can' wait for certain people and expect something. There are too many refugees worldwide who are in urgent and bitter help of need.
Posts: 30135 | From: The owner of this website killed ES....... | Registered: Feb 2004
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A diplomatic source here yesterday denied that Egypt was preventing Iraqis from entering the country as refugees.
Egypt welcomes any Iraqi fleeing from persecution or any Iraqi as an economic refugee provided that the case can be proved genuine, the source added.Tarek Maati of the refugees sector at the Foreign Ministry said that 130,000 out of the 4.8 million refugees in Egypt are Iraqis.Egypt abides by the 1951 convention on the protection of refugees as well as agreements with African countries for the same purpose.
Thats bullshit. I work at UNHCR and I can tell you that the number of refugees in Egypt is: 20 000 Africans, 50 000 Palestinians and the above number of Iraqis.
There is only 8.5 M refugees in the world, 25% of which are in Pakistan and Iran (coming from Afghanistan).
he is mistaken!!
-------------------- "Whashing One's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral" -Freire- Posts: 370 | From: Montreal, Canada + World expat | Registered: Apr 2004
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Iraqi refugees still await UNHCR assistance
By Adam N. Makary First Published: February 13, 2007
CAIRO: Iraqi refugees in Cairo continue to wait outside the United Nations High Commission for Refugees’ (UNHCR) office in Mohandiseen to register their refugee status.
Among them is Salwan Jumeil Awda. He moved to Cairo four months ago after a series of attacks on his communications company in Baghdad.
"In May 2006 we were attacked by the Interior Ministry. I could tell from their uniforms and cars. They thought there was a lot of money in my company."
Later he says 35 of his employees were kidnapped.
"I was so scared I shut down my company and decided to leave Baghdad. I moved to another house for a while, and then came to Egypt."
Even though he hasn't found work yet, he considers himself lucky that he managed to escape.
"My friends call me and tell me they want to leave Iraq, but as you know, it’s a problem now because it's not easy for Iraqis to move around anymore. Every border is difficult one to cross."
According to Nasreen Rubaian, Protection Service officer at the UNHCR, many of the refugees don't have a lot enough money to live on.
"That's what worries us because where originally we saw people coming in with their Mercedes cars and bringing money along, now we're seeing average people, poor people leaving Iraq and coming into Egypt. They don't have enough resources to subsist."
Thus far, Rubaian says, there are no camps set up for the refugees, but that could change.
"How much longer countries like Egypt, Syria and Jordan can continue to absorb such large numbers of people is questionable and we know now that there are a lot of vulnerable people.”
She explains how the increase in female headed households, for example, where husbands have been killed in the violence, is forcing the UNCHR to shift its focus from repatriation and reintegration inside Iraq, to concentrating on these susceptible groups who are fleeing in large numbers.
The UN estimates that half a million Iraqis have settled in Syria; 700,000 in Jordan; 150,000 in Cairo. Rubaian says the numbers will only go up since about a thousand refugees a day flee into each country.
"The strain on the infrastructure is enormous, the strain on the economy is enormous, and also in terms of demography, you're talking about newcomers who are one fifth of the population," said Essam Sheha, executive director of Amera (Africa and Middle East Refugees Assistance). "However, they are our neighbours and Egypt needs to find ways to help."
Egypt has dealt with large numbers of refugees before, notably the Palestinians and the Sudanese, and now the large Iraqi population is the potentially destabilizing faction, according to Steven Simon, a Middle Eastern Studies fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
"What these hosting countries need now more than anything is the help of other countries in dealing with this flood of Iraqi refugees."
That means adherence to UNHCR's $60 million appeal.
"This money will benefit Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Jordan. We're still waiting for confirmation from the United States, but we're staying optimistic," Rubaian said.
All these issues are likely to come up this week when US President George W. Bush meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and with Jordan's King Abdullah.
Concern from tensions throughout the Middle East is building. With the strong potential of three civil wars likely to occur between the Palestinians, Lebanon or with Iraq, Egypt remains a safe haven for Salwan Jumeil Awda and what is left of his family.
Tragedy struck in August when his 17-year-old son returned to Baghdad to get school records he needed to attend university.
"Some people started firing in the street. And my son was killed. He was hit in the head with one bullet. I have brothers and sisters there and they say the situation is terrible there right now. No one even knows who the killer is, or why he did this. No one knows."
Of the 150,000 refugees in Egypt, UNHCR has only registered 4,967 Iraqis yet.
Rubaian told a pool of Arab journalists at a conference given at the American University in Cairo that "the number is still rising."
Titled "Iraqi Refugees with Special Reference to Egypt", the conference was attended by Nir Rosen, a freelance writer, photographer and filmmaker known for his work in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia.
"I've been to Syria and Jordan to cover the treatment of these refugees. It's overwhelming,” he said.
Concerning the effect of such a refugee crisis on Arab regimes, Rosen told The Daily Star Egypt that "it can only lead to a government collapse. This isn't something Arab regimes can endure."
According to a UNHCR press release "Being recognized as a refugee means that UNHCR and the Government of Egypt recognized that you fled your country of origin because of an individual fear. It enables you to stay safely in Egypt without the risk of being forcibly returned to your country."
Awda plans on staying in Egypt for a few years, granted that the government allows him, until he decides if it is safe to return home.
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