UN and Syria will count all Iraqi refugees

The United Nations Development Program and Syria signed an agreement on Sunday to count displaced Iraqi citizens who are residing in Syria, and to determine what socioeconomic effects they may be having on the country. It is rumored that up to 1.5 million Iraqi refugees are living in Syria, more than any other country.

Syrian citizens have complained that the Iraqis are driving up food, electric, gasoline and real estate costs. The Syrian government has asked for assistance from the international community in the past to help deal with the humanitarian crisis.

The UN Development Program project is expected to last about seven months and is jointly financed by Denmark.

Riverbend: An Iraqi Refugee in Syria tells her story

Riverbend is an Iraqi female blogger who has kept an online account of her life in Iraq since the American invasion.  She and her family have become one of 1.5 million people to take refuge in Syria.  She wrote eloquently about her life as a refugee in a foreign country just yesterday.  Here is an excerpt:

 By the time we had reentered the Syrian border and were headed back to the cab ready to take us into Kameshli, I had resigned myself to the fact that we were refugees. I read about refugees on the Internet daily… in the newspapers… hear about them on TV. I hear about the estimated 1.5 million plus Iraqi refugees in Syria and shake my head, never really considering myself or my family as one of them. After all, refugees are people who sleep in tents and have no potable water or plumbing, right? Refugees carry their belongings in bags instead of suitcases and they don’t have cell phones or Internet access, right? Grasping my passport in my hand like my life depended on it, with two extra months in Syria stamped inside, it hit me how wrong I was. We were all refugees. I was suddenly a number. No matter how wealthy or educated or comfortable, a refugee is a refugee. A refugee is someone who isn’t really welcome in any country- including their own… especially their own.

Read the full excerpt here.

Broke Iraqi refugees leave safety of Syria, return to uncertainty in Iraq

The belief that Iraqi refugees have money seems a  prevalent idea in Syria.  One man even confided to me his theory that many Iraqis in Syria were looters that had brought platinum bars into Syria which they use to live very nice lifestyles in Damascus.

The truth is that most Iraqis are not wealthy.  They are living on savings and are charged exorbitant fees for housing, food, and even taxi rides.  Some have exhausted their resources, and, unable to work legally in Syria–are being forced to return to Iraq.

Syria Shuts Main Exit From War For Iraqis

Syria hosts the largest number of Iraqi refugees, but stringent new visa requirements have all but barred most Iraqis from fleeing the violence at home. The only Iraqi citizens that will be issued Syrian visas are those on official business or truck and taxi drivers. The New York Times reports.