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Iraqis Flee to Kurdistan region in Search
of Safety
7.6.2007
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June
7, 2007
Erbil, Kurdistan region (Iraq), -- The U.N.
refugee agency reported this week that some 4
million Iraqis have been displaced by the war and
more than half of those have left the country. The
rest are looking for a safe haven in Iraq, and some
of those have found it in Iraq's Kurdish north.
VOA's Barry Newhouse visited an office keeping track
of the displaced Iraqis and has this report.
A worker in the residency office for the Kurdistan
Regional Government stamps documents for newly
arrived Iraqis in a crowded waiting room. Most of
the people here are Sunni Arabs who have come from
Baghdad, Mosul and Ramadi.
Many of them refuse to talk about their plight.
One man says the situation in Baghdad has become so
dire, that despite the ongoing security operation,
this week he finally decided to leave.
He says he faced many problems in Baghdad from
terrorist gangs and from Iraqi security forces that
have sectarian agendas. He says the dangers and the
economic situation became so bad that he had to
flee.
This office issues permits for one of Iraq's three
Kurdish-controlled provinces. Since 2005, it has
granted temporary residency permits to nearly 30,000
people - a small fraction of those in need.
U.N. refugee agency officials say fleeing Iraqis
have overwhelmed local governments in some areas of
the country. But U.N. officials also have criticized
regions that turn away people who need assistance.
Kurdish security forces restrict entrance to fleeing
Iraqis at tightly controlled checkpoints, denying
entry to people considered security risks. In
general, Kurdish officials say they let in
professional workers, such as doctors and engineers,
or those who can have a local resident vouch for
them.
Recently arrived Arabs in Kurdistan say they
understand the need for controlling access.
This man says that he is not disturbed by the
practice, because there are some
Iraqis who work with terrorist gangs, and the
Kurdish forces must protect the region.
Those Iraqis who qualify for entry say staying in
Iraqi Kurdistan is much better option than fleeing
to Syria or Jordan.
This businessman from Baghdad says in Syria, Iraqi
refugees live in a legal limbo, in constant threat
of deportation.
He says many families sell their homes and their
possessions and go to Syria. But there, even if they
have the permit from the U.N. refugee office, they
will spend all of their savings, because there are
no jobs. He says life there is expensive. In
Kurdistan, he says, you can work.
But the influx of wealthy Iraqis has pushed up the
cost of living for Erbil residents as well. This
Iraqi man, who has arrived recently, says he
understands the locals are getting upset.
He says we know that rents are getting high, and it
is bad for the poorest people here. But, he says,
"We don't have a choice."
U.N. officials say the plight of Iraqis fleeing
violence is getting worse, yet calls for
international help have brought few results.
In Erbil's residency office, several Iraqis said
they were not looking for handouts, but merely a
chance to start over after losing everything.
voanews com
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