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.

Syria meets with North Korean official

Admidst the speculation surrounding the Sept. 6 airstrike on a military facility in northeastern Syria, Syrians officials met with a North Korean official as planned.  Both countries say they are meeting to discuss ways of furthering the relationship between the two countries. Many countries suspect that North Korea may be assisting Syria in developing nuclear capabilities. North Korea has provided military technology to the country in the past.

UN Agency investigates satellite photos of Syrian site

UN experts admitted to the AP that they received satellite photos of the Syrian military facility that was attacked on Sept. 6, and are investigating the photos for signs that it is a nuclear facility.

The Washington Post on Friday cited anonymous American officials as saying the site in Syria’s eastern desert near the Euphrates River had characteristics of a small but substantial nuclear reactor similar to North Korea’s facility.

Other news outlets report another theory. The Raw Story reported other American officials as indicating that the target was not a nuclear facility as Israel claims, but a stockpile of North Korean missiles.

Nuclear or not? Rumours swirl about Syrian site

Another week is gone, and rumors continue to swirl around the globe as to what, exactly, the Israelis hit in a Sept. 6 airstrike on Syrian soil. The Israelis maintain that it is a nuclear facility, and are reporting that Syria is now dismantling the site. The Syrian government continues to deny all accusations–with the Syrian ambassador to the U.S. reiterating the denials to an audience in Texas this week.

Meanwhile, a U.N. interpretor mistranslated the words of Bassam Darwish, a Syrian representative, seemingly confirming to the U.N. that the site was a nuclear project.  A flurry of damaging media reports emerged, heightening concerns around the region and the world that Syria has nuclear ambitions.

Soon after, it was revealed that the interpretor had been mistaken. The same interpretor will now face disciplinary action.

The mystery remains.

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.

This week in Syrian/Lebanese developments

Lebanon asked the UN to stop Syria from shipping illegal arms into Lebanon:

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hP1nzvAyhwFBGWaFNv2Bl7huxn7w

A UN tribunal of the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri could be in the works:

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=85920

The son of a slain anti-Syrian leader calls to China and Russia to help prevent interference in Lebanese presidential election:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/09/news/UN-GEN-UN-Lebanon.php

North Korean official will visit Syria

A North Korean official is leaving for meetings with Syria and Italy, adding fuel to the fire in the international community that the two are partners in nuclear development inside Syria.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/13/asia/AS-GEN-NKorea-Syria.php

Syria won’t attend US Mid-East peace conference

Several leading US analysts think Syria should attend the Mid-East peace conference which will be held in Annapolis, Maryland in November:

http://www.prospectsforpeace.com/2007/10/bipartisan_foreign_policy_lead.html
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/121764.html

Syria says it won’t go unless the discussion involves the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 war:

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/104610.html

Meanwhile, Syrians living in the Golan Heights cannot see their family members living in Syria:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/1f3234e3df63d876504d22cdbea6dda1.htm 

Syria is world’s biggest host of Iraqi refugees; US promise to host 12,000 called “token gesture” by refugee groups

I visited Syria in September 2007. The streets of Damascus were improbably full at all hours, finding a taxi was as difficult as hailing one in Manhattan, and budget hotels were booked. In 8 days, I stayed in 4 different hotels.

Why?

Iraqi refugees.

Syria hosts the largest number of Iraqi refugees of any country. Up to 1.5 million, and the country is feeling the squeeze.

The influx in such a short amount of time has driven up food, gas and real estate prices. People say that there is not enough food being grown to feed everyone in the country. Electricity and water supplies are taxed.

I visited one Syrian family, and they did not have running water. It is turned off every evening until morning, the government’s attempt at dealing with shortages.

While Syria is hosting nearly one and a half million refugees, the United States has promised to host 12,000 by the end of next year. Refugee groups are highly critical:

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hysZ8Us4hibA1Euv6zKbNotfRHPg