Life In Iraq Before and After The Invasion

One of the major points of contention over Iraq is whether the war has improved the standard of living for the average citizen. Obviously there is much more freedom now than under the previous dictatorial regime of Saddam, and Iraq is a fledgling democracy. Being able to vote however does not provide people with food, jobs or services. A comparison of aggregate statistics from before and after the 2003 invasion actually shows a mixed bag of results for Iraq.

In the 1970s Iraq was a developing country with an increasing standard of living. Health and education were both up. Iraq instituted a mandatory primary education system, and worked on adult literacy. People from around the Arab world went to Iraq to get a college education. Infant mortality and diseases also declined. This expansion was fueled by the growth in oil prices in the 1970s. In the 1980s Saddam decided to go to war with Iran, the first of many poor foreign policy decisions, which placed a tremendous burden upon Iraq's economy, and began a steady decline in the country. The invasion of Kuwait, the Gulf War, and the international sanctions in the 1990s had an even more devastating affect upon daily life. One U.N. study found that living standards dropped 2/3 from 1988 to 1995 as a result. By the time of the U.S. invasion in 2003 Iraq was in a sorry state. The looting that took place immediately after the overthrow of Saddam along with a slow reconstruction effort appeared to make things worse. In the last couple years however, parts of Iraq's economy and services have begun to recover and grow.

Per Capita Gross Domestic Product

The rising oil prices in the 1970s boosted Iraq's per capital Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By 1980 it had risen to $3,812. The Iran-Iraq led to a dramatic drop to around $250. The Gulf War and sanctions brought per capita GDP down to its lowest level at $180 by 1994, after which it steadily improved. By 2002 on the eve of the war per capita GDP was up to $770. The invasion brought it down again to $570, but then it started increasing again. By 2007 it was at $2,848, and in 2008 it was approximately $3,100. The numbers show that Iraq's economy was slowly improving even before 2003, and that in recent years it has gotten much better. The 2008 per capita GDP however, is still not at the level that it was in 1980, one of the high points in Iraq's development.

Per Capita GDP

1980	$3,812
1988	approx. $3,700
1989	approx $250
1994	$180
2002	$770
2003	$570
2007	$2,848
2008	approx $3,100

Even with the improvements in the economy however, Iraq is nearly at the bottom compared to other countries in the region. When looking at purchasing power parity numbers for example, Iraq is second to last amongst 16 neighboring countries. Qatar was at the top with $58,004, Iraq was at $3,880, with only Yemen lower with $2,290.

Comparison Of Iraq's Purchasing Power Parity Figures With Other Countries In The Region

Qatar	$58,004
Kuwait	$40,826
United Arab Emirates	$29,063
Saudi Arabia	$23,928
Bahrain	$23,702
Oman	$23,654
Libya	$16,431
Iran	$11,748
Lebanon	$10,742
Algeria	$8,344
Tunisia	$7,894
Egypt	$5,689
Jordan	$5,051
Syria	$4,763
Morocco	$4,405
Iraq	$3,880
Yemen	$2,290

Life Expectancy

Life expectancy in Iraq has declined since the U.S. invasion. In 1987 it was an average of 65 years. By 2006 it was down to 58.2 years. The violence in Iraq may have played a role in that, but the general poor quality of services was another major factor in this change. Again, when compared to other countries in the region, Iraq is at the bottom in this category. Iraq is also the 3^rd least healthy country in the Arab world. Iraqis have a 19.4% chance of not surviving past 40 years old. Only Sudan at 26.1% and Djibouti at 28.6% were worse off.

Life Expectance In Iraq Compared To Region 2006-2008

Country	Life Expectancy
United Arab Emirates	78.3 years
Kuwait	77.3 years
Syria	73.6 years
Saudi Arabia	72.2 years
Jordan	71.9 years
Turkey	71.4 years
Iran	70.2 years
Yemen	61.5 years
Iraq	58.2 years

Infant Deaths

Care for young children was another area that improved during the 1970s and 1980s, and has since recovered to those levels. In the 1970s there were 80 deaths per 1,000 live births. That dropped to an average of 40 deaths per 1,000 births by the 1980s. In 1984 for example, there were 30 deaths per 1,000 births. Deaths of children under five also declined during this period going from 120 deaths per 1,000 children in the late 1970s to 50 deaths per 1,000 children in 1984. The sanctions imposed in the 1990s however led to Iraq's health system falling apart. In 1990, the year of the Kuwait invasion, there were 50 deaths per 1,000 live births, which then doubled to 101 deaths per 1,000 live births by 1999. Fatalities for young children also increased from 62 deaths for children under 5 per 1,000 to 122 per 1,000 in 1999. These two areas have improved since 2003 up to what they were during the 1980s. In 2006 there were 35 deaths per 1,000 live births, and 41 deaths of children under 5 per 1,000. Again, despite the better numbers, Iraq is still worse off compared to other Arab countries. In Kuwait there are 11 deaths per 1,000 live births and 26 deaths per 1,000 live births in Saudi Arabia and Jordan in 2006.

Infant Mortality Rate/Under 5 Mortality Rate In Iraq per 1,000

	Infant Mortality Rate	Under 5 Mortality Rate
1984-1989	30	50
1990-1994	50	62
1999	101	122
2004	32	40
2006	35	41

2006 Infant Mortality Rates Iraq Compared to Arab Countries

Country	Infant Mortality Rate
Kuwait	11 per 1,000
Syria	15 per 1,000
Saudi Arabia	26 per 1,000
Jordan	26 per 1,000
Iraq	35 per 1,000

Child Malnutrition

Other statistics for children have only slightly improved since the invasion. Child malnutrition for example is only marginally better. The rate for stunting children under five declined from 22.1% in 2000 to 21.4% in 2006. That meant 1 in every 5 Iraqi children was under nourished. Iran, Syria and Jordan did better in this category, with only Yemen at 53% doing worse. Iraqis in general largely rely upon the government's food ration system, the largest in the world. This was set up during the 1990s sanctions under the Oil For Food Program. Before the war 60% of Iraqis relied upon the rations, the same amount today.

Education
One area that has seen a big improvement since the war is education. Iraq already had a reputation for a great higher education system before its series of wars. That was largely devastated beginning in the 1980s, but schooling overall has improved since 2003. A 2006 United Nations survey found 78% of Iraqis were literate, 86% for men and 70% for women. Access to education varies across the provinces from a high of 89% in Diyala to a low of 57% in Dohuk. Overall however, this is one category where Iraq is comparable to its neighbors like Jordan where 86% have access to education, and 75% in Syria. Students in Iraq's primary, secondary, prep, colleges, and post-graduate schools have all seen increases, with only those in kindergarten going slightly down since the invasion.

Education

School Level	1995/1996	2005/2006
Kindergarten	88,000	82,000
Primary (1st-6th)	2,900,000	4,100,000
Secondary (7th-12th)	861,000	1,019,000
Prep (10th-12th)	293,000	472,000
University	233,000	353,000
Post-Graduate	8,000	15,500

Inflation

Until recently inflation was a major cause for the decline in living standards in Iraq. The inflation rate for fuel and electricity from 1996 to 2002 was 18%. After the invasion in 2005 the government ended subsidies for these two products causing the inflation rate for them to skyrocket to 71.6%. Fuel and energy expenses grew 590% from 2002 to 2005 as a result. They continued to go up 129% from 2005 to 2006. In the 1980s and 1990s an average Iraqi family spent 11% of their money on fuel and energy. That went up to 35% by 2006. In the last few years Iraq's Central Bank has gotten control of the problem, and greatly decreased inflation overall. That has improved the spending power of Iraqis.

Economy Overall
Iraq's overall economy is in some ways worse off than before the invasion. It is much more dependent upon oil now than ever before because of the decline in other sectors. Oil now accounts for roughly 70% of Iraq's GDP, while services are 22%. Industry went from 9% of GDP before the war to less than 1.5% afterward. Farming went from 35% of the GDP in the 1970s to 6.5% after 2003. Oil is also not a labor-intensive industry, and only employs about 2% of the work force. That means 98% of Iraqis are employed in businesses that only contribute around 30% of the GDP. This is the reason why the government is the largest employer in the country, because not only is it safe and steady work, but it provides one of the few opportunities in Iraq since the private sector is so small. In turn, the labor market is distorted as the government starves businesses of workers.

U.S. attempts to improve the economy have only made the situation worse. The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) tried to implement free market and free trade reforms. This led to the lifting of tariffs that opened up the country to a flood of cheap imports, which caused major problems for many small businesses and farms. The CPA also cut support for Iraq's state-owned industries that accounted for 90% of industrial capacity and employed around 500,000. Eventually the CPA decided to help some of these businesses, but by then 2/3 of them had closed. Since 2007 the U.S. has tried to bring back many of these companies to very mixed results.

Conclusion

This is only a review of a few factors in the lives of average Iraqis. They can only tell so much as there are large variations from province to province, between rural and urban areas, and between classes. What the numbers provided do show is mixed living standards before and after the invasion. Per capita GDP is better now than before 2003, but not up to the level it reached in 1980. Life expectancy and child malnutrition have declined, but infant mortality is back to what it was in the 1980s. Education and inflation have both gotten better, but the economy overall is in a worse state for those looking for work. In most of those categories, Iraq also ranks at near the bottom compared to its neighbors. Those who want to argue that the U.S. intervention has improved Iraq or not can find numbers to argue both sides. What everyone can hopefully agree upon is that Iraqis deserve much better.

SOURCES

Collier, Robert, “Imports inundate Iraq under new U.S. policy,” San Francisco Chronicle, 7/10/03

Cordesman, Anthony, “The Changing Situation in Iraq: A Progress Report,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, 4/4/09

Fairweather, Jack, “Iraqi state enterprises warily reopen,” Financial Times, 6/16/08

Government of Iraq, “Iraq National Report on the Status of Human Development 2008,” 12/31/08

Inter-Agency Information and Analysis Unit, “Iraq Labour Force Analysis 2003-2008,” United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, January 2009

McGeary, Johanna, “Looking Beyond Saddam,” Time, 3/10/03

Reuters, “Iraq must cut food rations in 2008-trade minister,” 12/6/2007

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, “Hard Lessons,” 1/22/09
- “Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,” 4/30/09
- “Quarterly Report and Semiannual Report to the United States Congress,” 7/30/09

Whitelaw, Kevin, “After The Fall,” U.S. News & World Report, 12/2/02

February 2008 UNICEF Report on Iraq

UNICEF recently released a report on Iraq. It not only focused upon the country’s children, but health, education, poverty, and the displaced. The organization said that with the reduction in violence there was greater access to Iraq’s communities. That was revealing more examples of poverty and deprivation than anyone knew about previously.

The biggest issue UNICEF reported on was a developing measles threat. It said that nine provinces had reported measles affecting 6,000 people since early 2008. The Iraqi Ministry of Health is worried that it could spread. Najaf, Sulamaniya, Irbil, Maysan, and Dohuk were endangered by this disease, while a more recent report from the United Nations’ IRIN news agency said that Salahaddin, Tamim, Anbar, Diyala, Baghdad, Babil and Dhi Qar were hit the hardest. Most victims were small children under the age of six. Government officials said that the main cause of the spread of measles was the lack of security, which kept health workers out of many areas.

The United Nations agency also went to a few schools in the northern provinces of Diyala, Irbil, and Dohuk. All of them were lacking basic services, especially access to clean water. In Dohuk the schools lacked bathrooms, while children in two villages in Irbil were suffering from water born diseases.

The displaced was another issue the report dealt with. In Tamim, 900 children were found begging on the streets of Kirkuk. 100 of them were orphans. Around half were internal refugees. All of them were trying to support their impoverished families. Internal refugees that were returning to the province lacked shelter, and access to water and sanitation. In Basra 250 squatters in an old navy had no sanitation, health care, or clean water. On the positive side 1,325 displaced families returned to the city of Mosul in Ninewa.

In 2008 Iraq suffered a sever drought. The worst hit areas were in the north. UNICEF traveled to Irbil and Ninewa and saw the drought’s lingering effects. In two areas of Irbil there was high poverty exacerbated by the lack of water that destroyed their farms, which were also their main source of food.

Examples of impoverishment were also found in Anbar. The outskirts of the province had deep poverty. Two areas by Ramadi that suffered because of the violence are now improving because the government has started programs for children. They still lack adequate health, sanitation and other basic services however.

The last part of the report detailed the various projects UNICEF was working on in Iraq. So far, the organization has committed $8 million for humanitarian projects in 59 communities. Those have mainly focused upon water, schools, and health campaigns. The major problem is that United Nations can hardly meet its obligations. UNICEF is short 89% of the money it needs for its various programs.

UNICEF is hoping that the provincial elections will lead to more responsible local governments that will address the needs of the country’s children. They are afraid about the spread of measles. The lack of services is also a large problem across the country. Iraq’s infrastructure has not been kept up because of the violence. Even as that has declined, there is still large-scale neglect. Finally poverty is another major issue. It has led to children begging, and kept them from going to school. More and more of these cases are being discovered as attacks have declined. The lack of money for both the United Nations and the Iraqi government after the fall in oil prices will probably mean these issues will not be solved any time soon however.

SOURCES

IRIN, “IRAQ: Measles emerges in violence-hit regions,” 2/24/09

UNICEF, “UNICEF Humanitarian Action Update Iraq,” 2/17/09

Latest United Nations Report On Cholera Epidemic

The following commentary originally appeared on Musings On Iraq

On October 20, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its latest report on Iraq’s cholera outbreak. It recorded 531 confirmed cases of cholera. That was up from 479 cases on October 14, and 418 on October 5. The first case was reported on August 7, 2008 in Maysan province. Since then it has spread across 37 districts in 12 of Iraq’s 18 provinces. 56% of the cases have been children under five years old, and half of the eight deaths have been from the same age group.

Most of the cases have been in southern Iraq, but it has spread to northern and western provinces as well. After starting in Maysan, that currently has three cases, and one death, it spread to Baghdad that has 78 cases, one under investigation, and one death. On August 28, the first case was detected in Babil, which has 236 confirmed cases, with fifteen under investigation, and three deaths. As reported earlier, Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council members used expired chlorine to clean the water system there, which is responsible for the higher number of victims in that province. In September Karbala (40 cases), Anbar (8 cases), Diyala (one case), Basra (one death, 50 cases), Najaf (16 cases), Diwaniyah (two deaths, 93 cases), and Wasit (2 cases) were hit. The latest instances have been found in Muthanna (2 cases) and Irbil (2 cases). Those numbers still pale in comparison to the 2007 incident in which over 3,000 Iraqis were affected, and fourteen died.

Spread of Cholera In Iraq

• Maysan 8/7/08 first case, 1 district affected, 1 death, 3 confirmed cases
• Baghdad – 8/18/08 first case, 10 districts affected, 1 death, 1 under investigation, 78 confirmed cases, 15% of total
• Babil – 8/28/08 first case, 4 districts affected, 3 deaths, 15 under investigation, 236 confirmed cases, 44% of total
• Karbala – 9/5/08 first case, 3 districts affected, 3 under investigation, 40 confirmed cases, 8% of total
• Anbar – 9/7/08 first case, 2 districts affected, 8 confirmed cases
• Diyala – 9/9/08 first case, 1 district affected, 1 confirmed case
• Basra – 9/14/08 first case, 5 districts affected, 1 death, 2 under investigation, 50 confirmed cases, 9% of total
• Najaf – 9/17/08 first case, 3 districts affected, 5 under investigation, 16 confirmed cases
• Diwaniyah – 9/20/08 first case, 4 districts affected, 2 deaths, 22 under investigation, 93 confirmed cases, 17% of total
• Wasit – 9/30/08 first case, 1 district affected, 2 confirmed cases
• Muthanna – 10/7/08 first case, 1 district affected, 2 confirmed cases
• Irbil – 10/7/08 first case, 2 districts affected, 2 confirmed cases

SOURCES
IRIN, “Cholera deaths rise to eight as disease spreads,” 10/15/08
- “Over 400 confirmed cholera cases so far,” 10/6/08
- “Two more cholera cases confirmed,” 9/8/08
World Health Organization, “Situation report on diarrhoea and cholera in Iraq, 20 Oct 2008,” 10/20/08

Political Intrigue and the Cholera Outbreak

The following commentary originally appeared on Musings On Iraq
There have been 230 cholera cases in Babil (10), 73 in Baghdad (1), 61 in Diwaniya (9), 50 in Basra (6), 39 in Karbala (11), 9 in Najaf (12), 8 in Anbar (13), 3 in Maysan (5), 2 in Irbil (16), 2 in Muthanna (8), 1 in Wasit (4), 1 in Diyala (3)

As of October 14, 2008, there have been 479 confirmed cases of Cholera in Iraq. That is up from 418 on October 5. The worst hit province has been Babil with 230 cases, followed by 73 in Baghdad, 61 in Diwaniyah, 50 in Basra, 39 in Karbala, nine in Najaf, eight in Anbar, three in Maysan, two in Irbil, two in Muthanna, one in Wasit, and one in Diyala. The outbreak has been concentrated in the south, but has recently spread west to Anbar and north to Irbil. The first cases were reported in August 2008. There have been a total of eight deaths so far.

Babil has been at the center of the outbreak since the beginning. The blame seems to be due to the actions of several Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) officials in the province. The Health Ministry bought $11 million worth of chlorine from Iran to purify the water in Diwaniyah, Karbala, and Babil to prevent cholera. Officials in Diwaniyah and Karbala noticed that the expiration dates had passed, so they did not use the chlorine. SIIC officials in Babil did anyway. Hence, the most cases have been found there.

Police moved in and arrested several officials in Babil as a result who were members of the SIIC’s Badr Brigade militia. The SIIC demanded their release, but Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki refused. Frustrated, members of the Badr Brigade then forced local police in Babil to release one of the SIIC officials.

This is not the first, nor worst cholera outbreak in Iraq, but it does show the continued power of the political parties over law and order. In 2007, Iraq had a much worse cholera situation that affected over 3,000 people. Although more widespread this time, the 2008 outbreak has not affected nearly as many. More important is the fact that it has spread in Babil due to the incompetence of local SIIC officials. To make things worse, the Badr Brigade then intimidated the police into releasing one of their arrested brethren. After the 2005 elections, the victorious parties doled out government positions to their followers, creating a vast patronage system. Many officials were chosen for their connections rather than capabilities, and the councils and ministries were treated like personal fiefs. The SIIC-Babil incident shows that some parties still see themselves as above the government, and feel like they have the right to set their own rules and ignore laws and procedures when they see fit.

SOURCES
Babylon & Beyond Blog, “IRAQ: Lots of rivers, not enough water,” Los Angeles Times, 9/7/08
Cockburn, Patrick, “Corruption blamed as cholera rips through Iraq,” Independent, 10/10/08
IRIN, “Cholera deaths rise to eight as disease spreads,” 10/15/08
- “Over 400 confirmed cholera cases so far,” 10/6/08
- “Two more cholera cases confirmed,” 9/8/08
Ucko, David, “Militias, tribes and insurgents: The challenge of political reintegration in Iraq,” Conflict, Security & Development, October 2008
World Health Organization, “Cholera in Iraq - Update,” 9/29/08
Xinhua, “Iraq reports more than 400 cholera cases,” 10/6/08

The State of Iraq's Public Health: a Ground's Eye View from Baghdad

On July 24, EPIC had the pleasure of hosting a discussion with Doctor Kadum Al Hilfy, an Iraqi physician visiting the United States for two months (he returned to Iraq in late July). The gathering was an intimate group NGO community at Amnesty International USA. Dr. Al Hilfy, the 2006 Middle East Doctor of the Year, presented the findings of the World Health Organization’s Iraq Family Health Survey (2007) and shared his firsthand perspective on the state of public health in Iraq.

To collect data, the survey was administered to 9,345 households, including surveying 14,675 women of reproductive age, in over 1,000 neighborhoods and villages in Iraq between 2006 and 2007. It is the first family Health survey to cover all governorates in Iraq by regions and by urban and rural residence.

View Dr. Al Hilfy's PowerPoint Presentation (PowerPoint 5.6MB)

The IFHS was conducted to update and expand the Iraqi national health database through health indicators, such as women’s morbidity and mortality; and measures of disparities in health. The major concern that Dr. Al Hilfy communicated to the group was the accessibility of healthcare, which is strongly influenced by the security situation. According to the doctor, “the main health indicators will deteriorate if the security situation does not improve in the near future…the use of health facilities will decrease as the security situation gets worse, preventing access to preventative and curative healthcare.” It is important to keep in mind that this survey was first administered in 2006, before we started seeing security improvements. However, as the doctor reiterated, access to healthcare remains a huge concern.

How do Iraqis pay for healthcare? The report finds that about one third, 29.8%, said that they had to borrow the money from relatives, friends, or from other sources, while 7.6% relied on selling items and 5.5% used savings to pay for health services. In Kurdistan, the numbers are similar: 24.9% borrowed from relatives or friends, 12.3% used savings, and 5.4% depend on selling items.

A household becomes impoverished when a high proportion of its money is allocated for healthcare payments. The IFHS survey shows that this process occurred in 7.6% of households. Furthermore, about 10% of the non-poor households will become impoverished because of healthcare payments. More often those living in rural areas are impoverished because of healthcare payment (9.2%) than those living in urban areas (6.8%). Dr. Al Hilfy also spoke about the prevalence of domestic violence in Iraq and the difficulties faced in determining the true level that exists:

Collection of data on domestic violence is challenging due to a culture of silence that surrounds the topic. Asking about violence, especially in households where the perpetrator may be present at the time of the interview, also carries the risk of further violence. The IFHS therefore adhered to rigorous ethical and safety standards related to the investigation of domestic violence. It was possible to obtain privacy in 95.6% of the interviews conducted. In the remaining 4.4% of the interviews privacy could not be secured.

In total, 33.4% of women report at least one form of emotional violence. The acts of emotional violence reported by the greatest number of women are the husband belittling or insulting her (22.3%), humiliating her in front of others (21.7%), and scaring or intimidating her (18.3%). The youngest age group report the lowest levels of emotional violence, with 29.2% of 15 to 24 year olds reporting at lest one act of emotional violence. The age group with the highest percentage of women who report having experienced at least one or more attack of emotional violence is the oldest age group, with 26.8% reporting at least one act.

For more information on women’s health I explored Women for Women’s 2008 Stronger Women Stronger Nations report. According to the report, “63.9% of respondents stated that violence against women in general was increasing. In central Iraq and Baghdad, this number jumps to 91.9% and 72.0%, respectively.”

Dr. Al Hilfy also discussed mental health in Iraq, which is a serious concern: roughly 40% of males and 30% of females report high emotional distress. However, Dr. Al Hilfy noted that there is an increasing emphasis in the health community on mental health, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is defined by the American Psychological Association as a psychological condition experienced by a person who had faced a traumatic event which caused a catastrophic stressor outside the range of usual human experience (an event such as war, torture, rape, or natural disaster). Due to the conditions in Iraq, many citizens have been exposed to conditions that are completely beyond the scope of average life. The intense changes made to their society coupled with the breakdown of structure and peace in communities has greatly impacted the mental and physical health of Iraqi populations.

Over half of the respondents had felt nervous, tense or worried in the previous 30 days. A large proration of the respondents also indicate that they are easily tired, often have headaches, and also feel tired all the time. 3.5% of the respondents stated that they thought of ending their own life, while 7.8% thought that they were a worthless person at some point in the month before the survey.

We would like to thank Dr. Al Hilfy for sharing his expertise and unique perspective of the public health sector in Iraq with us and commend him for his efforts to improve healthcare for all Iraqis.

Photo Caption: Dr. Thamer Kadum Yousif Al Hilfy discusses the current state of the public health sector in Iraq.

Life of a Refugee:

Here is the second entry by an Iraqi refugee living in Jordan:

Iraqis in Jordan face all kinds of difficulties, from aggressive attitudes of Jordanians to unemployment, to an unstable and illegal existence.

The uncertain future for most Iraqis could be seen in their eyes. The impact of it is so severe that they are ready to consider going back to danger with no regret rather than staying and suffering from all the difficulties in Jordan. For me, Iraqi refugees in Jordan need serious attention and assistance programs that could at least provide them with the minimum support and care they need. Here is why Iraqi refugees need the support of the international community.

In my personal experience, difficulties started from entering Jordan until one arrives to the decision of going back and facing death instead of staying and struggling without even knowing the reason why? At some point, the harsh conditions force you to self-pose a series of questions: why do Iraqis get this kind of treatment? Do they deserve it? Why? For Jordanians, Iraqis are traitors who deal with the Americans and they are followers of Iran. Still, why?

One can only see all those accusations popping up in the head of any Jordanian once they recognize the Iraqi accent. It made me feel guilty, it made me want to defend myself and forget all about me being the real victim of all that happened. During my stay in Jordan, I met a lot of Iraqis, acquaintances, friends in addition to lots of relatives. We all shared the feeling of isolation, abandonment and of hopelessness. Doors are never open to us.

For example, it is not easy to get medical treatment when one is sick. Iraqis have limited or no access to even the most basic health care. The cost of health care is beyond the reach of most refugees. There were only two clinics providing free or subsidized health care to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees. The barriers to affordable health care have dire implications for Iraqis. They are not getting the treatment they need for chronic diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer. Women and girls are not receiving critical reproductive health attention. The longer this endures, the greater the number of lives at risk.

Schools are overcrowded and it is not easy to deal with the system. But the main problem remains to be finding employment.

Living in Jordan is not easy, you must have a fairly high income to keep a decent standard of living. At this point, one comes to think about finding a job that will provide. Even if you found a job, salaries in Amman or other cities are not enough to cover all expenses but it’s better than nothing.

Still, if you are an Iraqi looking for a job, you might as well dream of going to the moon instead. A hopeless quest, you will end up spending all that you have on transportation to go to interviews ,that is, if you had even heard from the places which you applied to. Jordanians will prefer to hire a fellow citizen than going through lots of problems with the government because of employing Iraqis. Besides, the Jordanian government has restrictions over hiring non-citizens. In order to get employment, you have to be a legal resident and issued a special work permit. If you don’t have a legal residency status; you will not be issued a work permit and as a result you will not find a job. Simply, the suffering goes on.

While those of us who fled from Iraq might be safer than those who didn't, we still face many hardships.

Solid Figures on Jordan

Earlier this year, Jordan commissioned the Fafo Institute to help determine the population of Iraqi refugees in the Hashemite kingdom. Rumors hit Washington this summer that the numbers they were coming up with were far lower than those Jordan had long quoted. Now the report is finally out and the numbers are indeed lower, but not drastically so.

Fafo and the Jordan Ministry of Statistics say there were "between 450,000-500,000 Iraqi residents in Jordan as of May 2007", whereas Jordan had previously maintained that there were about 750,000 Iraqis.

Whether the number is 450,000 or 750,000, it's staggering. With Jordan's estimated population of just under 6 million, it means that either 1 in 9 people in Jordan is a refugee from Iraq or 1 in 14. Either way, it represents a huge burden on Jordan's infrastructure and economy. Imagine comparable numbers here in the U.S. of between 23 to 38 million refugees!

In short, Jordan needs the help of the international community to meet the needs of so many refugees. Food and water security, job opportunities, and access to health care are severely lacking and must be addressed now. Women, children and the elderly are particularly at risk because in many cases their fathers and brothers were killed in Iraq, forcing their families to flee in the first place. Women and young girls are often forced into survival sex and prostitution to support their families. See a new report from the Women's Commission on the state of health care for Iraqi women in Jordan here.