FIVE YEARS: The Forgotten Ones
March 18, 2008
So here it is, five years of war based on fabricated evidence and
motivated by fear and revenge on the Israel side, and ignorance and
greed on ours.
Most reasonably intelligent people know that around one million people
have died as a result of The Big Lie. Most people who don’t
have their heads up their asses know that nearly 4000 Americans have
lost their lives and tens of thousands more maimed or otherwise injured.
But how about those who are forgotten? Anyone familiar with the term
"Refugee"?
They are millions. Average citizens of various and assorted backgrounds.
Christians, Muslims of all walks, Secular peoples. All gone.
Their homes, possessions, loved ones…all gone. Never to be found
again.
The humanitarian crises that has arisen from the ashes of the Big
Lie is one of the worst in recent history. The misery of the refugees
and the burden that has fallen upon neighboring states to care for
them has only grown in time and shows signs only of worsening.
As we remember this 5th Anniversary of the single most vile act of
international aggression in American history, hopefully we’ll
keep in our hearts, minds and prayers those who’s lives and
hopes and dreams have been shattered by the evil that men do.
Washington Post:
Not far from the Circle of the Iraqis, a traffic roundabout in
the teeming Damascus neighborhood of Sitti Zeinab, a boy called
out in the twilight the other day for passengers to fill the evening
bus to Baghdad. Tables at the Baghdadi Restaurant, a kebab and shwarma
joint, are nearly always full.
"We thank God that under the dictatorship, the conditions
for us were harsh, and are even harsher now that the Americans are
there," said Abu Jaffar Khazimi, 35, who fled the southern
Iraqi city of Najaf with his family in September. "So we have
grown used to not needing a lot of luxury."
Occupied Iraq uruknet:
Five years later, a hidden crisis:
Report of the IRC Commission on Iraqi Refugees
International Rescue Committee - March 18, 2008
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The war that was launched in Iraq five years ago has produced
one of the largest humanitarian crises of our time. Yet this crisis
is largely hidden from the public and ignored by the international
community. More than four million Iraqis of different religions,
ethnicities and backgrounds are estimated to be uprooted by horrific
violence and death and are in dire need of help. About half have
fled to Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and elsewhere in the region.
Because they are not huddled together in a camp or traveling as
a group across a windswept plain, these refugees are not receiving
the attention and help they deserve from the international community.
Much of the reporting about them has been wrong, perpetuating myths
that they are wealthy or that the crisis is over and that many are
returning to their homes in Iraq. The solutions put forward by major
donors have been wholly inadequate. Meanwhile, many of the refugees
have been severely traumatized and now lead desperate lives in foreign
cities such as Damascus, Amman, Cairo and Beirut.
This report is based on the visit of the International Rescue
Committee’s Commission on Iraqi Refugees to Jordan and Syria
in February 2008. During our visit, we met with Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials from the governments
of Syria, Jordan, Iraq and the United States. We also met with dozens
of refugees in Jordan and Syria and with U.N. representatives.
The Guardian UK - December 07 2006
Warning over spiralling Iraq refugee crisis
The surging violence in Iraq has created what is becoming the biggest refugee
crisis in the world, a humanitarian group said today.
A report (pdf) by Washington-based Refugees International said
an influx of Iraqis threatened to overwhelm other Middle Eastern
countries, particularly Syria, Jordon and Lebanon.
Last month, the UN estimated that 100,000 people were fleeing
the country each month, with the number of Iraqis now living in
other Arab countries standing at 1.8 million.
Today’s report came as George Bush and Tony Blair were due
to discuss the situation in Iraq, which the bipartisan Iraq Study
Group yesterday described as "grave and deteriorating".
Refugees International said the acceleration in the numbers fleeing
Iraq meant it could soon overtake the refugee crisis in Darfur.
"We’re not saying it’s the largest [refugee crisis],
but it’s quickly becoming the largest," spokeswoman Kristele
Younes said. "The numbers are very, very scary."
Millions of displaced, disaffected, disenfranchised, ah fuck…just
plain dissed.
What has the "surge" done for them? What has anyone really
done other than forget them?

DEMONSTRATION
AGAINST US OCCUPATION IN BAGHDAD 7 MARCH 2008
from Ablogination
http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=42165&s2=19
