IRAQ-SYRIA: Lack of money, visa problems prompting Iraqi refugees to return home

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: IRIN

DAMASCUS, 22 November 2007 (IRIN) - Lack of funds and the Syrian government’s refusal to renew their visas, more than the perception of improved security in Iraq, are prompting some Iraqi refugees in Syria to return to Iraq, according to personal refugee accounts and figures from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The Iraqi government recently announced that 46,000 refugees returned to Iraq in October, mostly from Syria, while a Syrian immigration source said that between 1 October and 19 November 60,000 people had returned to Iraq.

Some media reports and Iraqi government officials have suggested the refugees are returning because of improved security following the US military “surge” earlier this year.

However, in a report released on 22 November, the UNHCR - which interviewed 110 Iraqis in Syria this week - found that only 14 percent of respondents said they were returning to Iraq because they believed the security situation had improved, as opposed to 70 percent who cited financial and visa reasons.


Read more: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=75454

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Please, do keep this in mind when they site the return of these people as progress.

[Barrett808]

1. "Good news! It's a suppository." rec n/t

[Robbien]

2. Too bad this story will never reach US MSM until way too late

GOPers will keep using the lie to round up voter sentiment. When the truth finally reaches the shores of MSM in the US, it will be too late and GOPers will have moved on. SOP.

[ohio2007]

3. ,,,so say's the undisclosed source close to the Syrian bureau of tourism

the returning broke Iraiqs will have to run the gauntlets of highway bandits.

Should see a spike in Iraqi's killed in December....

[alfredo]

4. We will need to counter bush's lies

Write Letters and call into talk shows.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. I was wondering about sending it to our Senators and Congress people

Only the Dem ones, of course.

My thinking was that since the Republicans are attempting to use their "success" as a political issue, our Representatives may find this useful.

[alfredo]

6. The media needs to be told to tell the truth about reverse migration.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. Oh, I agree

I didn't mean for it to sound as if I was adverse to contacting the media and writing letters. I was only wondering if it could also be useful to contract or Reps with the report also. I've spoken to our elected leaders before assuming they knew about some issue only to find out they were clueless.

[alfredo]

8. Yeah. Some of us are better at calling reps, some better at letters to the

editors. We do what we can.