Damascus, Syria
June 26, 2009
Cathy Breen with Iraqi Child in SyriaDear Friends,
My time in Syria is coming to a close. Tomorrow I will head to Jordan for a couple of days and then back to the big apple on July 1st. A final session with UNHCR the other day brought a sense of closure in some ways, as I was able to discuss concerns and turn over concrete “cases” for their consideration. We spoke of the increasingly desperate situation of Iraqi refugees here, one hidden from the world by the lack of media coverage. But we also acknowledged the many small miracles and victories we continue to witness.
A young Iraqi woman (I will call her Zayneb), mother of four small children, wrote a little book about a horse with hidden wings. She wanted to honor the staff at the UNHCR here in Damascus by dedicating the book to them. “Everyone knows” she told her grandmother as a child “that horses can’t fly.” But her grandmother, still living in Baghdad, could not be persuaded otherwise. She insisted that the horse she saw could fly! But it is Zayneb’s deep sense of gratitude that leaps out from the pages.
While at the UNHCR, a colleague gave me a copy of a report which the International Rescue Committee (IRC) issued this month, IRAQI REFUGEES IN THE UNITED STATES: IN DIRE STRAITS. In February of 2008 a Commission on Iraqi refugees formed by the IRC visited Jordan and Syria to assess the condition of Iraqi refugees and then issued a comprehensive report entitled Five Years Later, A Hidden Crisis. In February of 2009 the IRC conducted a follow-up trip to the Middle East, and in April their delegations traveled to Atlanta, Georgia and Phoenix, Arizona to see firsthand how resettled Iraqis are adjusting to their new life in America.
“…most Iraqi refugees who were interviewed painted a picture of despair and frustration. Refugees [in the states] are finding it difficult to find a job and without secure income some are facing eviction from their homes. Without jobs, refugees cannot support themselves and their families on limited public assistance. Many of the Iraqis are traumatized and need additional support in the face of financial assistance, English lessons, employment counseling and access to health care.”
The report continues “Despite these difficulties, resettlement in the United States remains the only option for thousands of Iraqi refugees who are still in exile in the Middle East, primarily in Jordan and Syria.” The report concludes that “the U.S. resettlement program, likely the only safe alternative for thousands of Iraqi refugees, faces major structural challenges in its organization and funding. These challenges are exacerbated by a simultaneous global economic downturn and resettlement of a highly educated refugee population with many special needs…”
Over the last three months you may have read some of my communications. I have tried to describe something of the reality that Iraqis here and in Jordan are facing as a result of the war. I am amazed at the number of Iraqis here in Syria whom I met some years back in Jordan. Many returned to Iraq to see a sick family member, to sell a house or car, to get the “G” passport, etc., but then had to flee to Syria as the Jordanian borders were closed to them after 2006. My stories must seem anecdotal at times, and it is an ongoing struggle to try and put them in a larger political context in order to affect some concrete changes. Changes that might better their situations somehow, at least give them hope that there will be an end to their exile.
It is imperative to get Iraqi families and individuals who have family and sponsors in the U.S. reunited. This challenge seems daunting in the case of families/individuals who have been rejected resettlement by DHS, mostly on “credibility” rulings. The arbitrariness of these decisions must be acknowledged, and we must find ways to reverse them.
Yesterday I was with two families both of whom have close family members in the states, and yet both have been rejected on “credibility” grounds. I spend several hours with one family and held their severely disabled granddaughter in my arms. I basked in the love I witnessed for this child. I wrote about the grandfather, only in his 50s, who was asked by a DHS officer “Did you or did you not cook?” His military document stated that he was a cook, but in fact his military supervisor assigned him administrative duties in a cafeteria on an Air Force base when he saw that he had a degree in Hotel Management.
Their simple desire to be reunited with family in the U.S. has been denied. Is it possible that such a decision cannot be overturned? I refuse, WE must refuse, to accept this.
The other challenge of course are the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis stuck in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, etc. who are not even in the resettlement pool, so to speak, let alone in the Jacuzzi. There are fewer and fewer “slots” in terms of countries willing to take them.
Most likely this will be the last letter I will write from the Middle East. Like Zayneb, I have no words to express my own gratitude to you for your support and concern over these last months. Thank you for making this trip possible.
Cathy Breen
