H
Harry Hope
Guest
Across the country, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) said the number of people fleeing their homes rose last month,
with 60,000 reported newly displaced in August against 50,000 in July.
"Many Iraqis are fleeing multi-ethnic areas before they are forced to
do so," said UNHCR spokeswoman Astrid van Genderen Stort.
"Children don't go to school any more, their parents often don't have
jobs. More children are wandering the streets. Child labour is rising.
You get children collecting garbage."
Bombings of UN and Red Cross compounds in 2003 and the kidnap and
murder of foreign staff left Iraq almost off-limits to relief groups,
some of whom continue to try and work through local organisations or
the Iraqi Red Crescent.
Aid workers say displacement is spread across Iraq, with much of it
taking place in the centre of the country.
From Reuters, 9/19/07:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.as...01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-296205-1&sec=Worldupdates
Iraq humanitarian crisis grows despite U.S. surge
By Peter Apps
LONDON (Reuters) -
Iraq's humanitarian crisis is getting worse and more Iraqis are
fleeing their homes despite the recent surge of U.S. troops, aid
workers say, with donors reluctant to fund support for millions of
displaced.
Last week, President George W. Bush presented a relatively upbeat
picture of conditions in Iraq and said forces could be cut by around
20,000 by next July.
He linked the reduction to improvements on the ground particularly in
Baghdad where the surge was centred and the volatile Anbar
governorate.
Most stay with host families and in inadequate accommodation such as
schools or abandoned buildings but with increasing numbers in tented
camps.
Having taken so many, Iraq's neighbours have effectively closed their
borders to new arrivals, complaining they have received little funding
to help them cope with the influx.
It remains one of the world's fastest-growing refugee crises, with
almost twice as many of people displaced as by the conflict in Sudan's
Darfur region.
"Everyday life is a nightmare for Iraqis and that is why they flee,"
said International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokeswoman
Dorothea Krimitsas.
"It is very difficult to say what will happen but it looks very bleak.
What we see is clearly a deteriorating humanitarian situation."
__________________________________________________
And all this doesn't keep George Bush and his fellow Republican thugs
from smirking.
Harry
(UNHCR) said the number of people fleeing their homes rose last month,
with 60,000 reported newly displaced in August against 50,000 in July.
"Many Iraqis are fleeing multi-ethnic areas before they are forced to
do so," said UNHCR spokeswoman Astrid van Genderen Stort.
"Children don't go to school any more, their parents often don't have
jobs. More children are wandering the streets. Child labour is rising.
You get children collecting garbage."
Bombings of UN and Red Cross compounds in 2003 and the kidnap and
murder of foreign staff left Iraq almost off-limits to relief groups,
some of whom continue to try and work through local organisations or
the Iraqi Red Crescent.
Aid workers say displacement is spread across Iraq, with much of it
taking place in the centre of the country.
From Reuters, 9/19/07:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.as...01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-296205-1&sec=Worldupdates
Iraq humanitarian crisis grows despite U.S. surge
By Peter Apps
LONDON (Reuters) -
Iraq's humanitarian crisis is getting worse and more Iraqis are
fleeing their homes despite the recent surge of U.S. troops, aid
workers say, with donors reluctant to fund support for millions of
displaced.
Last week, President George W. Bush presented a relatively upbeat
picture of conditions in Iraq and said forces could be cut by around
20,000 by next July.
He linked the reduction to improvements on the ground particularly in
Baghdad where the surge was centred and the volatile Anbar
governorate.
Most stay with host families and in inadequate accommodation such as
schools or abandoned buildings but with increasing numbers in tented
camps.
Having taken so many, Iraq's neighbours have effectively closed their
borders to new arrivals, complaining they have received little funding
to help them cope with the influx.
It remains one of the world's fastest-growing refugee crises, with
almost twice as many of people displaced as by the conflict in Sudan's
Darfur region.
"Everyday life is a nightmare for Iraqis and that is why they flee,"
said International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokeswoman
Dorothea Krimitsas.
"It is very difficult to say what will happen but it looks very bleak.
What we see is clearly a deteriorating humanitarian situation."
__________________________________________________
And all this doesn't keep George Bush and his fellow Republican thugs
from smirking.
Harry
