Iraqi Volunteers Iraqi Refugees

Iraqi volunteers, Iraqi refugees: what is America's obligation?: hearing before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, first session, March 26, 2007.

Iraqi refugees are one of the largest urban populations the U.N. has been called on to assist. The U.N. reports government estimates of up to 4.8 million Iraqis displaced within the last 5 years, with 2 million fleeing, primarily to Syria and Jordan. This report examined challenges in: (1) measuring and monitoring progress in achieving U.S. goals for assisting Iraqi refugees; (2) providing humanitarian assistance to Iraqi refugees; (3) offering solutions for Iraqi refugees; and (4) developing an international strategic plan to address the Iraqi refugee situation. Charts and tables.

Due to political realities, America seems about to take steps to leave Iraq within 1 or 2 years in large numbers -- an outward surge. Yet because of the geopolitical significance of the region, vast oil reserves and the rampant terrorist activities -- wholesale retreat will not be easy and perhaps not even desirable. This book brings together important analyses dealing with the current status in Iraq as well as projecting a post-war Iraq.

During the decade that preceded Syria’s 2011 uprising and descent into violence, the country was in the midst of another crisis: the mass arrival of Iraqi migrants and a flood of humanitarian aid to handle the refugee emergency. International aid organizations, the media, and diplomats alike praised the Syrian government for keeping open borders and providing a safe haven for Iraqis fleeing the violence in Baghdad and Iraq’s southern provinces. Only a few analysts looked beneath the surface to understand how the apparent generosity toward refugees squared with the ruthless oppression that characterized the Syrian government. In this volume, Hoffmann offers a richly detailed analysis of this contradiction, shedding light on Syria’s domestic and international politics shortly before the outbreak of war. Drawing on firsthand observations and interviews, Hoffmann provides a nuanced portrait of the conditions of daily life for Iraqis living in Syria. She finds that Syria’s illiberal government does not differentiate between citizen and foreigner, while the liberal politics of international aid organizations do. Based on detailed ethnographic research, Iraqi Migrants in Syria draws a highly original comparison between the Syrian government’s and aid organizations’ approaches to Iraqi migration, throwing into question many widely held assumptions about freedom, and its absence, in authoritarian contexts.

This book considers positions refugees take relative to the state, humanitarian actors and faith-based organisations in the humanitarian field. Attention is drawn to refugee agency as they negotiate circumstances of considerable constraint demonstrating relational dimensions of religious practice and experience.