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Iraq Conference: The voices of uprooted Iraqis set tone for international meeting
An Iraqi woman and her child find shelter from the sun inside their tent in a refugee camp for displaced Sunni Muslims in Iraq. GENEVA, April 17 (UNHCR) – They were driven from their homes in Iraq, face increasing poverty as refugees or internally displaced and long for the day they can resume normal lives. The words of the victims of the violence in Iraq conveyed the human tragedy to the delegates at a conference opened on Tuesday by the UN Refugee Agency more forcefully than statistics.

"We escaped with our lives and left," says a man now living on a deserted farm in southern Iraq, describing on a short film how the families of five brothers received a written warning ordering them to leave their homes in Baghdad because they were Shiite Muslims. A bullet is still attached to the threatening note he is holding. "Can you believe five families leaving without even their clothes? Some people collected some clothes for us?"

As told repeatedly in the film, those driven from their homes have escaped death but now face dire circumstances as the last of their resources run out. An elderly man, interviewed while lined up to register with his wife at the UN refugee agency in Damascus, describes a woman surgeon selling her belongings, knowing that the alternative is to return to possible death in Baghdad.

The film was shown at the opening of a two-day international conference on the humanitarian needs of nearly 4 million refugees and displaced people in Iraq and surrounding countries that has attracted 450 participants from governments and international and non-governmental organisations. Interviews on one side of the screen – with faces blurred to protect identities – were combined with still photos on the other showing the violence, displaced people and refugees in tents, and children now forced to sleep on floors.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, chairing the conference, called for a sustained, comprehensive and coordinated international response to ease the plight of nearly four million Iraqis uprooted by the conflict. The number of displaced is rising at the rate of 40,000 to 50,000 per month.

"What caused us to leave is the deteriorating security situation in the country. They attempted to assassinate my husband and also the conditions for life for my two young sons are too bad," says a woman interviewed while lining up outside the UNHCR office in Damascus. "We are Sunnis and living in Sunni [Muslim] areas and we are persecuted in Iraq."

The woman, one of up to 1.2 million Iraqi refugees in Syria, had arrived in the country three months ago. She was seeking the help of UNHCR, knowing the organisation had provided assistance to others.

"We know that it is an international organisation and provides Iraqis with some security, some assistance and that they might help us with a visa to go some place," she says. "There isn't any country that would receive us without the help of the United Nations."

As the refugees' funds are used up, and their last belongings are sold, they face an increasingly bleak situation. A woman interviewed in a soup kitchen run by the Ibrahim Khalil Church in Damascus, explains that she has come because her family's resources have been exhausted after two years in exile.

"Whatever we brought from Iraq is finished now," she says. "This is why we came to this centre – that they might give us some help and financial aid, to help with the daily expenses because our financial situation is very bad."

The numbers forced to neighbouring countries are too large for permanent integration, while resettlement is a solution only for the most vulnerable of Iraqi refugees. The solution for most Iraqis will be their voluntary return to their homeland – once that can be done safely.

"We left Baghdad because the situation is very difficult. We were threatened with death and they took our houses and also our shops," says a man who arrived in Syria from Iraq with his family three months ago. "I had an antique shop. I had to leave it and leave all of the merchandise behind to save ourselves and the lives of our children."

He is not able to work in Syria and fears what will happen when his savings run out. He wishes he could go home but believes nowhere is safe: "You see what the situation is there – just destruction and death."

"I wish I could return tomorrow or even I would return today if they would provide us with security and our houses. Our whole life is there," he says. But his plans for the future are frozen. "The future is dark and I don't think about it."

Iraq Conference: Iraq and host countries promise to aid Iraqi refugees
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres addresses a press conference on the first day of an international conference on the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. He is flanked by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari. GENEVA, April 17 (UNHCR) – Iraq promised a US$25 million programme of support for its citizens who have fled abroad and countries hosting some 2 million Iraqi refugees promised to continue providing asylum as the UN refugee agency convened an international conference on Tuesday to address the humanitarian crisis facing those driven from their homes in Iraq.

In a news conference after the first day of the two-day meeting, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres announced key progress in the major challenges facing representatives of the 60 countries that had assembled – the Iraqi government assisting its citizens who are displaced inside and outside Iraq, the neighbouring countries keeping borders open to refugees and the rest of the world acknowledging the burden on the hosting states.

"I am very happy to announce that during today's session the Iraqi government has committed itself to a very meaningful programme of support for refugee communities abroad," Guterres told reporters. "This, together with the commitments to improve the work and the capacity of working together in relation to internal displacement, has been a very relevant moment in today's session."

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari – who pledged: "We will not abandon these people" – announced the Iraqi government would spent US$25 million on a programme that would include setting up offices in host countries to help Iraqi refugees. It would provide education and medical services, helping to maintain the links to their homeland.

"It is also clear that the countries of asylum have pledged that they will go on granting protection to Iraqis, that they consider to send Iraqis forcibly into the country against their will is not acceptable, is not an option," Guterres said. "Protection will be granted, hoping that in the near future voluntary return in dignity and safety will be possible."

The bordering countries have borne the brunt of the refugee crisis, especially Syria which is hosting 1.2 million Iraqis and Jordan with 750,000 Iraqi refugees. But Guterres said the conference – attended by 450 representatives of governments, international and non-governmental organisations – had shown it appreciated the burden on host countries.

"There was very clear consensus in relation to the recognition of the extremely important generosity of the host countries, namely Syria and Jordan, and of the need for the international community to be able to support not only Iraqi displaced but also the host countries that are facing a huge challenge with an enormous impact on their economies and societies," Guterres said.

The conference had opened with Guterres appealing for a sustained, comprehensive and coordinated international response to the humanitarian crisis facing millions of people uprooted by the conflict in Iraq – 2 million outside Iraq and nearly as many inside.

"The humanitarian dimension of the problem can no longer be overlooked," he said. "Almost 4 million Iraqis are watching us today. Their needs are as obvious as the moral imperative to help. All of us – representatives of governments, international organisations and civil society – are now compelled to act."

Many Iraqis were displaced prior to the fall of the previous regime in 2003. Between 2003-2005, more than 300,000 Iraqis had returned home to begin rebuilding their lives, he said. But the trend has now dramatically reversed, particularly since the Samarra bombing in February 2006. About 750,000 people are estimated to have fled their homes since that incident, with up to 50,000 more displaced each month.

"The scale of the problem speaks for itself," Guterres, who chaired the conference, said in his keynote address. "In the most significant displacement in the Middle East since the dramatic events of 1948, one in eight Iraqis has been driven from their homes."

"If this massive population movement has gone largely unnoticed, it is partly because most of those fleeing are not going to highly visible camps, but are being absorbed by host communities, in Iraq and in neighbouring states. It is the largest urban caseload UNHCR has ever dealt with," Guterres said. "But those host communities are straining under this extraordinary burden, while the suffering of the displaced grows by the day."

Guterres stressed the humanitarian focus of the meeting, but also noted that humanitarian problems are "symptoms of a disease whose cure can only be political."

"This conference is only a first step in what we hope will be a sustained dialogue and comprehensive, coordinated response to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq," he said. The humanitarian needs of the Iraqis and the challenges faced by host countries required urgent, meaningful and genuine support from an international community committed to sharing the burden, he added.

"That includes financial, economic and technical support, but also expanded resettlement opportunities for the most vulnerable," he said. "The generosity of host countries must be matched by that of the entire international community."

The High Commissioner said that given the huge numbers of uprooted Iraqis, it was evident their permanent integration in countries of asylum was not a solution. And resettlement to third countries could only be provided to the most vulnerable of the Iraqi refugees.

"Clearly, the best solution for the overwhelming majority of Iraqi refugees will be their voluntary return in safety and dignity – once conditions allow," he said, adding that in the meantime it was essential that they maintain their links with their country.

While acknowledging the difficult security environment, Guterres said humanitarian agencies must find ways to tackle specific needs inside Iraq and noted that UNHCR itself was scaling up its activities in the country as well as in neighbouring states.

"Inside Iraq, everything possible must be done to prevent further flight," he said. "We know only too well the devastating consequences of uncontrolled sectarianism. Efforts must be made now, rather than later, to prevent protracted displacement and an exile without end."

Iraq Conference: Refugees seek a new life to get over the nightmares
An Iraqi prepares samoon bread in his new bakery, one of many small Iraqi-run businesses that have opened in the 6th of October City near Cairo. CAIRO, Egypt, April 13 (UNHCR) – The brutal experiences of one Iraqi family in Baghdad, their life as refugees in Cairo and their expected resettlement to Australia provide a glimpse of the crisis as the UN refugee agency convenes an international conference on those displaced by the violence in Iraq.

"How long will the world watch our tragedy on television screens and stay silent about our suffering? Iraq is bleeding and Iraqis are suffering," said Adel*, a 48-old-Iraqi refugee who arrived in Egypt with his wife Shareefa* and their three children in 2005 after being driven out of Baghdad by sectarian violence, kidnapping and death threats.

UNHCR will host an international conference on refugees and internally displaced people in Iraq and the surrounding region next Tuesday and Wednesday, seeking a continuing global commitment to find solutions. More than 450 participants from at least 60 nations, 37 inter-governmental organisations and 64 non-governmental organisations have registered.

UNHCR and its partners estimate there are close to two million Iraqis displaced within Iraq and a similar number outside – mainly in Syria and Jordan and nearby countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Iran. While many had left before 2003, increasing numbers of Iraqis are now fleeing their homes – up to 50,000 a month.

In a modest one-bedroom apartment in the city of 6th of October on the outskirts of Cairo, where many Iraqis have now settled and live off small business, Adel tearfully described how his family became part of the refugee statistic.

"At age 48, I was at the peak of my career with a good life. I was the director of a multinational company in Iraq working in the private sector, making good money and raising a family," said Adel. "You were safe and secure if you stayed away from politics and the regime. We were Sunni, Shiite, Christian neighbours, brothers and friends but then everything suddenly changed."

Adel said the first few months after the U.S.-led invasion were relatively calm but by the middle of 2004, the situation was getting worse by the day.

"We were an easy target because my husband worked in the private sector and had name recognition in the business community," said Shareefa. Soon the family started to receive death threats written on white paper – in blood –telling them to leave the neighbourhood.

"We never paid attention to these threats in the beginning, till one night the door was banging really hard and before we knew it there were more than 100 people in our home all dressed in black with masked faces. Imagine 100 people in a two-storey home," recalled Adel. "They dragged my 16-year-old, beating him up and then took him outside to a car. They started beating me up till I passed out."

The militia men looted their home and the family's life savings before driving Adel and his son to an unknown location where they were tortured for three weeks. When they were finally released, they were warned not to go back to their home and to immediately leave Iraq.

"Our story is the story of many other Iraqis from all factions who are subject to daily threats. We immediately realised that we have no other option but to leave immediately," said Shareefa. In Cairo they are no longer in danger, but life is difficult and they still suffer from the traumas of their experience.

"We finally feel safe and secure but we are having a hard time surviving, especially with a six-year-old who is psychologically traumatised after being beaten up by the militias and seeing his father and brother tortured and kidnapped. He needs special care," said Shareefa, breaking down in tears.

"How can one forget these scenes? My five-year-old on the floor and one of the militia men standing with his shoes pressing on the child's neck and head. The boy immediately lost control and started urinating. I cannot forget these scenes."

Adel registered the family with UNHCR as soon as they arrived in Cairo. "I am not sure what we would have done without the help we received from UNHCR. We were about to be deported for overstaying our visa but the authorities granted us resident permits after UNHCR intervened," said Adel.

There are more than 100,000 Iraqis in Egypt. The UN refugee agency has registered 6,400 Iraqis, with another 6,200 registration interviews scheduled. The total is large, but dwarfed by the estimated 1.2 million Iraqis now in Syria and 750,000 in Jordan. In addition there are up to 40,000 Iraqis in Lebanon, 54,000 in Iran and 10,000 in Turkey.

The family awaits a new life in Australia, reporting that they have been accepted by the government under a special humanitarian programme outside the resettlement programme operated by UNHCR.

"We are vulnerable, demoralised and have lost interest in everything in life. We hope that we can start a new life and forget the wounds and scars that we will carry along for many years to come," said Mahmoud*, the 16-year-old son. "I can't ever go back to Iraq. I get nightmares every time I put my head on the pillow."


 * Name changed for protection reasons

Iraqi boy, far from home, gets a chance for a taller future
Things are looking up. Melaad Saeed Habib does stretching exercises with his Aunt Maisoon in the garden of their Bangkok residence. © BANGKOK, Thailand, March 20 (UNHCR) – When little Melaad Saeed Habib asks when he will grow up, it's not just the impatience of a 10-year-old itching to be a teenager. He means it quite literally – Melaad has a hormone deficiency that has left him weighing just 18 kilogrammes and as short as his five-year-old brother.

In search of the medicine he needs to be able to grow normally, his mother took him on a daring trip last year from their home in Iraq to Thailand, where two of his aunts live as asylum seekers.

On Tuesday, the gamble paid off when Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals donated a six-month supply of the growth hormone Genotropin to Melaad, who will need to continue the medication for five years.

"It's a miracle," said Melaad's sobbing aunt, Jacklen Yakeen Bahho, as Pfizer (Thailand) Ltd.'s Public Affairs Director Anutra Sinchaipanich handed over the medicine to UNHCR on behalf of the family.

"Thank God, thank God, thank God," echoed his other aunt, Maisoon Yakeen Bahho, also in tears. "When you have no hope and then there's a tiny bit of hope, you feel very good." Melaad just smiled shyly at being the centre of attention in Pfizer's Bangkok offices.

Melaad, who is under the temporary protection of UNHCR, received a scholarship to an international school in Bangkok, where he takes special English lessons and studies regular third grade subjects. "My friends are the same height as me," he said, "but a different age. They are [two years] younger than me."

Though Melaad is beginning to speak English, his Aunt Maisoon does most of the talking for him, telling of the cruelty he suffered at the hands of his much bigger contemporaries in Iraq.

For several years, Melaad's parents, Iraqi Christians from the Assyrian minority, had been concerned that he was not growing properly, but they could not get a scientific diagnosis of his problem in Iraq. Having heard of Thailand's growing reputation for excellent medical care, they arranged an invitation to the country from Bumrungrad International Hospital.

Braving many obstacles for a woman travelling without a male chaperone, and speaking neither Arabic nor English, Melaad's mother, Aflen, made it to Bangkok last July. But she was able to stay only two weeks because her husband is disabled and her youngest son had been hit by a car and was in a coma.

"It was a terrible choice for her," said Maisoon, "to go back and suffer with her children or stay here and wait for the UN." In other words, to hope she would be granted refugee status, an uncertain and time-consuming process.

"She said, 'I can't sleep at night, I always hear my kids [Melaad's two brothers] crying,'" Maisoon related, adding that Aflen was thrown in prison for three days without food or water on her return to Iraq.

That left Melaad alone in Bangkok with Aflen's sisters, his aunts, who quickly found that the long-sought-after medicine was beyond their means. Enter Jennifer Westfall, a public health nurse and consultant to several refugee organisations, who took up their case and persuaded Pfizer to help.

Although they clearly dote on Melaad, Maisoon and Jacklen admit they can't replace his parents. "He's always asking, 'When will I grow, when will I see my family?'," Maisoon said.

For now, at least, the first part of the question is answered. Doctors say his height should increase by one centimetre a month for the next year, and a bit less in the years after that if he continues treatment.

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