International Homeless

I used to like asking people what they do when a homeless man or woman begs them for money. I didn’t get a wide range of responses, and in fact most people just told me point-blank that they keep on walking by. But I remember one woman turned the question upside down and asked me to imagine what life would be like if those homeless people couldn’t ask anyone for help. “That,” she said, “is the life of a refugee.”

It turned out that this woman worked for the International Rescue Committee, and spent her days trying to aid those people who couldn’t ask her for help on the street. The story has always stuck with me, especially when I hear about a refugee crisis and realize how long these people are forced to live in such dire situations without anyone taking notice at all.

It turns out that Iraq is the scene of the largest-growing refugee population on the planet. The war in Iraq is already a contentious issue (to put it lightly), and the refugee crisis adds an additional blow. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that a little over four million persons have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the Iraq war and the continuing instability there. About 2.2 million of those refugees have left home only to resettle elsewhere in Iraq, while the other half of the refugee population has left the country entirely. Iran, Egypt, Yemen, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon have absorbed the largest number of refugees.

Unsurprisingly, life outside of Iraq does not appear to be easy for these new-comers. The last three countries listed—Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon—do not allow incoming Iraqis to work, nor were the countries a part of the 1951 Refugee Convention allowed for the UNHCR to play a more supportive role.

And even once those lucky few make it into a neighboring country, many fear deportation back to Iraq and thus do not seek international aid or register with NGOs that could offer help. Instead, relying on friends and family, Iraqi refugees struggle to survive without much external assistance at all.

The burden placed on the citizens of these host countries is enormous. The populations of Syria and Jordan have ballooned as a result of the influx of Iraqis, and because many refugees sneak in, there is a great deal of social friction between populations. Conflicts are likely to carry over across borders disrupting once peaceful communities.

America has also accepted Iraqi refugees, although significantly fewer than you might expect. Granted, travel time to America is longer than the time it takes to cross the border into neighboring countries, I’m still not sure we have any excuse for our measly effort to help alleviate the refugee crisis. The United States has accepted only 496 of the 4.2 million displaced persons in this war. And even though President Bush has promised to issue a few more visas and allow a few thousand more Iraqis in, it is clear to me that he doesn’t deserve any praise for his hospitality yet. We could be doing a lot more.

Our role in starting the war makes America somewhat responsible for the large-scale displacement, but even if we don’t accept the blame and ensure the resettlement of all Iraqis, it seems morally obvious that we should look out for those employed by the U.S. government. Iraqis working for the U.S. face increased risk of attack according to Ryan C. Crocker, U.S. ambassador in Baghdad. He warned of the dangers Iraqi staff face, and of the likelihood that they would be forced to flee the country. His warnings echo truth, as nine Iraqis have died working for the U.S. Embassy in the last three years.

Usually when the war in Iraq comes up in conversation there is so much to say, I don’t ever know where to begin. But when thinking just about this one aspect of the war, this one population affected by our war, I realize how poignant that woman’s words once were. Even if an Iraqi refugee wanted to stand on a street corner and beg for money, he or she couldn’t. The situation is much more bleak, more frightening, and more voiceless. What to do when a homeless person asks you for help, is still a valid question, but what to do when a refugee does not ask you for help is an even more important question to consider.



Megan A. Shutzer ’10 lives in Leverett House.