The Small Swedish Town

Last April,The Washington Post had a story about Södertälje, the small Swedish town that has received more refugees than the US and Canada combined since 2003. The town is in the news again, in the Arab media this time. Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, a London-based Arab newspaper, featured the town’s struggle to cope with the big number of Iraqi refugees resettled there. Following is an informal EPIC-translated excerpt of that report:

The story of Iraqi refugees and their suffering is not new; it is a continuous tragedy inside and outside Iraq. A small Swedish town gained international fame because of the tragedy.

Södertälje’s mayor, Anders Lago, addressed Congress last April, with criticism for the way it is dealing with the Iraqi refugee crisis. Södertälje, a town of 83,000, has received nearly 7000 Iraqi refugees since 2003, and Sweden in general has received 40,000 while the number of Iraqi refugees resettled in the US does not exceed six thousand. Lago renewed his appeal to the world to help Iraqi refugees. His appeal comes as the international community is congregated in Sweden’s capital, Stockholm, for an economic conference on Iraq. Lago took advantage of the presence of more than 350 journalists covering the conference and held a press conference in Södertälje, 18 miles southwest of Stockholm and home to 5% of the total number of Iraqi refugees in Europe. But Lago was not the only speaker about Iraqi refugees (10% of the town’s residents); he also had some of the refugees as participants to speak about their harsh conditions.

Lago insisted in his interview with Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that “the time has come to say no, enough, we don’t want more refugees”. Swedish refugee law does not prevent refugees from resettling in a certain area and Lago explained that he is in talks with the Swedish government to amend that law so that refugees will resettle in different areas instead of being all resettled in the same place. At the moment, Malmo, Södertälje, Stockholm and Gothenburg are the cities where most Iraqi refugees are resettled. He also added that “Sweden is in need of refugees since it is a big country with low rates of population growth. There is no problem preventing Sweden from resettling 30,000 refugees; the issue is: the majority of them are resettling in one area”. Between the years 2006-2007, Södertälje has received nearly a 100 refugees a month from Iraq and the number is not expected to decrease. That is given the fact that resettled Iraqi refugees are already applying for family reunions which means that each refugee will bring at least one family member from Iraq.

Lago also said “last year we received a number of Iraqi refugees bigger than the number received by both the US and Canada. But for this year we hope to have better balance between Södertälje and the US”. He also drew attention to the problems of resettling a huge number of refugees in Södertälje dividing them into three main parts, “first part is schools that are having difficulties absorbing the number of new students. Södertälje already has 8000 students, 500 of them need special classes to help them with the language”. He added “the second part is housing explaining that the Municipality provided refugees in need of money with homes but 2000 of them do not have housing so they are obliged to live with relatives.” The third is “employment difficulties” adding “we cannot as, a small town, create 1000 jobs a year. It is impossible” but he continued: “40% of Iraqis here are college-educated and have important experience so we have to help them by providing appropriate jobs instead of letting them be taxi drivers”. Lago also explained that “the conference is very important because it represents a new situation for Iraqis displaced inside or outside the country; he added that “[I] will ask for extra protection for Christians in addition to demanding a shared international responsibility towards Iraqi refugees”, concluding “the US started the war and a small town like Södertälje is taking the huge burden of refugees”.

Raji Al-Yousif, a refugee from Mosul with a degree in engineering, appealed to the Swedish government to help Iraqi refugees saying “there is no one to protect us”. Christian groups criticized the Iraqi government on the conference eve, asking them to protect Christian minority in Iraq which is targeted like other Iraqi ethnic groups. Protests started in the past few days in Stockholm and other Swedish cities while several Iraqi societies were preparing to meet Iraqi PM tomorrow in a series of meetings organized by the Iraqi community in Sweden.

Some of the refugees said “we demand from the Swedish government to adapt a courageous position as they did with Bosnia and Herzegovina and to grant Iraqi refugees applications”. There are fears of turning back refugees and send them back to Iraq especially the ones whose applications were denied in the past few months. The Swedish government signed a memorandum of understanding with Iraq last January; the memorandum does not consider Iraq a conflict zone which means “asylum seekers have to prove that they are under personal threat as opposed to fleeing the general violence”. This policy is resulting in “tens of denied applications a day and most of the people denied have lost everything in their country”, said some of the refugees.

Concerns were obvious for Iraqi refugees regarding the denial rate of their applications and fear of being sent back to Iraq. Dr. Sundus, an Iraqi refugee could not hold her tears when talking about her future “I feel pain when I talk about my future, what else one could feel when they lose country, home, job and all they had achieved?” Dr. Sundus was a professor at Baghdad University for 12 years before applying for asylum in Sweden after arriving with an expensive forged passport. She added “I came to a safe place to get a new life and settle down” but she was shocked when she arrived last December to hear that denied applications were more than the granted, she sighed saying “I don’t know about the future everything is dark, vague and news about sending refugees back scares me”.

Town’s officials stressed that there is no resentment among Södertälje’s natives towards the new arrivals; noting that forty percent of Södertälje’s population is not born in Sweden. The media attention on the small town seems to be taken its toll, though. A number of residents refused to answer Al-Sharq Al-Awsat’s questions about their opinions while students at a school welcomed journalists by throwing eggs at them. The school which is located in a poor neighborhood of Södertälje has 200 students, 15% of them attend special language classes in Swedish language for 2 years before merging into other classes. Ema Fagerstrand, an official in charge of municipal policy explained “students are tired of the media circus around them”. And as a result of the huge media attention on Södertälje, the municipality decided to appoint a special communications director.

Dr. Sundus, the university professor, said she will ask the Iraqi official delegation “where is the money that was spent on reconstructing Iraq and how do you say Iraq is reconstructed now? How many of your families live with you in Iraq now and how do you expect us to live there?

Your advocacy contributes to victory; Congress approves humanitarian measure

Thanks to your phone calls and energetic advocacy work during Iraq Action Days, the House of Representatives voted on May 15th and the Senate voted today to approve almost $1.6 billion that will address the humanitarian crisis vulnerable and displaced Iraqis endure. The measure is part of the emergency spending bill for fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Now, the bill goes back to the House for final approval as soon as tomorrow and the debate over it might extend after Memorial Day recess.

This is clearly a victory for the vulnerable Iraqis and their families and is a testament to what could be accomplished if hands and efforts are combined to achieve a common goal. EPIC is pleased that the goal in this case is assisting the vulnerable Iraqi refugees. More details to come on the bill tomorrow and we will certainly keep you updated on the final outcome.

In the meantime, please take a minute to sign our humanitarian pledge and support our efforts to advocate for vulnerable Iraqis. Your support is making a difference, so keep up the good work.

Progress on the Syrian Front

The New York Times recently reported that Syria will allow U.S. officials from the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to visit Damascus in order to screen and process Iraqis who have taken refuge in the Syrian capital.

Prior to the visit to Syria that brought on this new agreement, only the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees was allowed into Syria to process Iraqi refugees. UNHCR could then refer refugees to the U.S. for resettling, but many of these refugees were unable to reach State Department or DHS offices outside of Syria due to a severe lack of funds.

“This is obviously very good news,” said Jacob Kurtzer, a Congressional advocate for Refugees International. “We’re very happy, but it really does draw attention to the need for a continuous high-level diplomatic presence in Syria and the rest of the region.”

I agree wholeheartedly with Jacob here. Lori Scialabba, who was appointed Associate Director of Refugee, Asylum and International Operations for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services just over a year ago, and James Foley, a career diplomat, deserve praise for speaking directly with Syria. We should also praise Syria, the UNHCR and UNICEF for accommodating 100,000 Iraqi schoolchildren in Syrian schools, a three-fold increase from last year's 33,000.

These developments are small victories for all of us, most importantly for the refugees themselves. But we need to keep an eye on the numbers and stay on top of the administration on this issue. There are 150,000 Iraqi schoolchildren in Syria who still need the education every child deserves. And bear in mind that in October, the first month of fiscal year 2008, the U.S. resettled just over 450 Iraqi refugees out of an expected 12,000 for the fiscal year. Already we're behind on our projections, but continuous pressure on Congress and the administration will get us the results we want.

Caption: Iraqi school children in a cramped basement in the Damascus district of Sayyida Zainab, a hub for Iraq refugees; M. Bernard for the UNHCR

Safe, But Feeling Isolated

In a recent entry, "Success Stories and the Road Ahead", I commended Congress for beginning to address the Iraqi refugee crisis. I also argued, because many Iraqi refugees are terribly short on money and often must spend their life savings just to make it to the United States, that the U.S. must go a step further by accomodating such refugees when they do finally arrive.

When an individual is resettled in the United States via standard protocol, they are given refugee status. They are put in contact with a social service agency that provides them with food stamps and three months’ rent. Alternately, when someone enters the U.S. with a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), they are not afforded refugee status and therefore do not receive what few benefits a social service agency provides.

In fiscal year 07, 820 Iraqis entered the United States with SIV’s. That means over half of the 1,608 Iraqis who came into the U.S. last year are not receiving the benefits afforded with refugee status.

The Washington Post ran an article today on the discomfort, isolation and utter lack of resources Iraqis face when they arrive in the States. Most of the refugees interviewed were resettled via standard procedures. But three months' rent does little in the way of financial help and does nothing in the way of adjusting Iraqis to American culture.

Hakee Ismael was helping U.S. troops in Baghdad when they were ambushed. The attack left him blind. He came to the States with his wife, Zainab, and their three-year-old son, Sodiq. Nadhum Ali al-Hasnawi was a Shiite upholsterer in the predominantly Sunni city of Taji, north of Baghdad. It wasn't long before a death threat came to his family's home in the form of a hail of gunfire. These Iraqis are part of a small group of 38 who were resettled in the Tucson area. They have each other for company and support, but little else.

Iraqis are often left traumatized by their conflict at home, and here in the U.S. they feel disoriented and alone. According to the Washington Post, the social service agencies designated to help refugees are often unable to do so. The U.S. must act responsibly by taking care of the most vulnerable Iraqis not only by resettling them in the United States, but also by appropriating funds to help them through the adjustment period. Sen. Cardin (D-MD) has introduced legislation (currently a provision in the Labor-HHS appropriations bill) that would provide Iraqis who come to the U.S. with SIV's the same benefits that come with refugee status. It's a start, and we must see it through.

At this point, the U.S. is doing only what I've described above, but there are some Americans who are stepping up where the administration is falling short. I've previously written about American servicemen and women helping Iraqis who helped us. Erin Simpson and Christy Voelkel are two Tucson residents who organized a community collection effort to help locally resettled Iraqis. They have raised money with their community and have personally delivered kitchen equipment, clothes, pillows and children's toys to Iraqis.

We can show our true colors as Americans by stepping up and taking the initiative to help our Iraqi friends. EPIC is in the process of compiling a list of resettlement agencies across the country so that you may get involved. If you live in the Arizona region and want to help right now, you can contact Erin Simpson.

Caption: Fawzi al-Khazraji, 42, in his new Tucson home; David Sanders for the Washington Post 11/2007

The Iraq Crisis in Numbers: An Update

Recently, the Baltimore Sun ran an article on the refugee crisis. I was happy to see a local newspaper tackling the issue; I take it (with a heavy dose of optimism) as an indication that more and more people are paying attention to the crisis.

The article focused on one of the six Iraqis resettled in Maryland in fiscal year 2007, a woman named Ban Saadi Abdallattif, who came to the States with her nine-year-old son Sajad Mokhalad Bashar. Ms. Abdallattif was a teacher when she lived in Diyala. But the February, 2006 Samarra bombing of Al-Shi'a Al-Askari mosque marked a dramatic spike in violence that took the lives of her uncle and cousin, and which nearly led to her brother's kidnapping. Theirs is a mixed Shi'a and Sunni family, making them targets for both sides of the conflict. She fled to Syria with her entire family just over a year ago and arrived in Laurel, Maryland, this September.

Ban Saadi Abdallattif is awaiting a Social Security number so that she can begin work. Her son is in school in Laurel. She is relieved to be in the safety of the U.S. and does not plan to return to Iraq.

Sadly, Ban Saadi Abdallattif and her son represent only a fraction of the displacement crisis, and a remarkably lucky fraction at that. This fact is starkly indicated by the following stats, which clearly demonstrate the concerted effort that is required to address the crisis:

Internally Displaced Persons in Iraq: 2.3 million (UN High Commissioner for Refugees)

Refugees outside of Iraq: 2.4 million (UNHCR)

Total number displaced: 4.7 million (UNHCR)

UNHCR referrals to the United States as of Oct 5: 11,911 (Baltimore Sun)

Total number of Iraqi refugees admitted in the 2007 fiscal year: 1,608 (Human Rights First)

Of these, number referred by the UNHCR in FY07: 1,510 (HRF)

Number referred by a U.S. embassy program for Iraqi employees in FY07: 98 (HRF)

Special immigrant visas issued to translators and their family members in FY07: 820 (HRF)

Iraqi governorates with restrictions on internal movement: at least 11 of 18 (UNHCR)

UNHCR Syria: 1.4 million Iraqi refugees; 128,000 registered, nearly 36 percent with specific needs (UNHCR)

UNHCR Jordan: 1 million Iraqi refugees; 48,833 registered, 14.4 percent with specific needs (UNHCR)