Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project

When was the last time you heard something in the news about Iraqi refugees? Sadly, the ongoing crisis–one of the largest refugee crises in history–has left the media spotlight. Yet millions of Iraqis remain displaced, with no home and an uncertain future.

Consider the following (from the website of The Unreturned):

• 4.7 million Iraqis were displaced by the Iraq War (Source: UNHCR, Refugees International)
• By 2010, only nine percent of the displaced had returned (Source: Refugees International)
• Forty percent of Iraq’s middle class has fled to neighboring Syria and Jordan (Source: UNHCR, San Francisco Chronicle)
• The US has committed to admitting a total of 50,000 Iraqi refugees by 2011 (Source: Human Rights First, Reuters)
• If this target is met, the United States will have accepted just 1% of the total Iraqi displaced (Source: 50000/4274000=0.0117; 4274000 = 4700000 displaced – 426000 returnees)
• Today, there are half as many health care workers in Iraq as there were in 2000 (Source: Refugees International, The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children)

Many Americans, including the leading Catholic bishop in the U.S., agree that the U.S. holds at least some degree of responsibility toward Iraqis and Iraq’s future.  If you would like to learn more about the Iraqi refugee crisis, here are a few places to check out:

• The Unreturned, an award-winning documentary film that follows the lives of five middle-class Iraqi refugee families.
• The Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), which organizes law students and attorneys to provide legal representation to Iraqi refugees and helps them navigate the rules and processes of resettlement in the US. IRAP “was started by graduate students at Yale Law School to provide legal representation and policy advocacy on behalf of Iraqi refugees seeking resettlement, and to assist those who have resettled. Eight other law schools and several hundred volunteers including students, lawyers and advocates have joined the effort to deal with this humanitarian crisis.”
• The List Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies “maintains the single largest list of Iraqis who are imperiled because they helped America.”

The Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project is beginning to work with these and other organizations that provide aid and support to Iraqi refugees.

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Nate Fisher, IARP volunteer and Director of “The Unreturned,” was recently interviewed on War News Radio. To listen to the interview, click here.

The Unreturned, directed by IARP volunteer Nate Fisher, was selected for the 5th UNHCR Refugee Film Festival in Tokyo in October 2010.

The Unreturned follows five Iraqis and their families who are among the 40 percent of the country’s middle class who have fled the country since 2003. Without them, Iraq still lacks reliable electricity, clean water, sanitation, and health-care services. This is an unmitigated disaster for Iraq, a shattered nation that desperately needs its native professional class to return and help itself rebuild.

The UNHCR Refugee Film Festival raises awareness of the world’s 43 million refugees and internally displaced persons who are forced to flee due to persecution and conflict. The 5th edition of the festival will present about 20 films from all over the world, with numerous filmmakers and special guests in attendance.

Please click below to donate to IARP and support Iraqi refugees and the rebuilding of Iraq.