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