Read the Amnesty press release here.“More than two million Iraqis have now fled the sectarian violence raging in their country and almost two million others are internally displaced,” said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. “This is threatening to create an humanitarian crisis that could engulf the region unless concerted international action is taken now.”
Humanitarian assistance reaches a very small minority of Iraqi refugees in Syria. Many refugees interviewed by Amnesty International during a recent visit to Syria said they received no food and that their savings had dried up.
Some Iraqi families have even resorted to forcing their daughters into prostitution to survive. Child prostitution and trafficking of Iraqi children is also said to be on the increase.
“The situation of Iraqi refugees is dire and worsening by the day, despite the efforts of the Syrian authorities and local and international humanitarian organizations,” said Malcolm Smart. “The response of the international community must go beyond accepting token numbers of refugees from Iraq.”
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Iraq refugee crisis nears breaking point
From Amnesty International:
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1 comment:
This is so sad :( I think it's even worse that the US is so slow to accept any more refugees even though this is OUR WAR! We vowed to accept 7000 refugees this year, but have only gotten around to 133 thus far. For a grand total of 831 refugees since the start of the war. Pitiful.
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