Letter to Constituents
Letter
Letter to Constituents
I have just returned from a week-long trip to Jordan and Syria to assess the plight of Iraqi refugees in these countries.
Jordan has seen an influx of 500,000 - 700,000 refugees since the start of the Iraq war, while between 1.2 and 1.5 million have fled to Syria. Hundreds of thousands more are scattered through other neighboring countries in the Middle East. Even within Iraq, an estimated two million Iraqis are "internally displaced," still in the country but without homes or stable lives. And Palestinian, Sudanese, and Iranian refugees that fled to Iraq before the war are now stuck in limbo.
On my visit, I saw the challenges posed by these enormous displaced populations firsthand. Jordan and Syria are making strong efforts at accommodation, but already-limited resources like water are being stretched even thinner by millions of refugees. Housing is overflowing and hospitals are operating at capacity around the clock.
Many refugee families told me that they were middle-class when they left Iraq, but now their savings are running out and they face desperate poverty. Some are taking a chance and returning to Iraq, but unfortunately, this has much more to do with the lack of opportunities in Syria or Jordan than with improved security back home. Almost everyone I spoke to on my trip said that the Iraqi government has no effective plan to accommodate or ensure the safety of returning refugees. In fact, a program to return refugees from Syria to Iraq which received much high-profile news coverage last week has now been placed on hold.
The longer the plight of displaced Iraqis goes unaddressed, the more volatile the situation becomes. Millions of people without homes, resources or hope for the future pose a grave threat to regional stability and even to America's national security. The U.S., which started the pre-emptive war in Iraq that created this crisis, must partner with both governments and aid organizations in the region to provide short-term security and long-term stability for these vulnerable refugees.
Sincerely,
Congresswoman Betty McCollum
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