Iraqi Refugees to Government's Return Offer: "No, Thanks"

Since 2003, one in five Iraqis has been displaced. Two million of them have fled to neighboring countries, mainly Jordan and Syria.

Hoping to lure them home (and perhaps also present the image of a more stable and successful post-surge Iraq) the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has taken to desperate measures.

They're currently offering one million Iraqi dinars, the equivalent of $850 USD, and free plane tickets to any refugee family wishing to go back - this despite the fact that the UN Refugee Agency maintains that the situation is still not stable enough for refugees to return.

In fact, according to the International Organization for Migration, there were several episodes of violence targeting Baghdad returnees during the month of October, including murders of entire returnee families.

Is it any wonder that less than 400 people have accepted the offer?

When the day comes that Iraq is stable enough for its citizens to return, what will the concept of "home" mean when any positive memories of it have been shattered?

Having spent eight months interviewing Iraqi refugees living in exile, my thoughts go beyond the safety situation in Iraq to the emotional scars that the past 5 ½ years of warfare have left on much of the population.

How hard is it to go home after you've been through something as traumatic as 19 year-old Hind, whose Sabean father was kidnapped by a Shiite militia in 2005, and then brutally murdered after refusing to convert to Islam.

When I interviewed her in Amman, Jordan, members of Hind's family were keeping a constant vigil over her. The death of her father left her with severe psychological problems, and she attempted suicide three times. "When I lost my dad...I lost my future."

View more stories like these by visiting Iraqi Refugee Stories.

Comments

[motown67]

Iraqis are slowly trickling back. 90% of them are internally displaced. The last UN count was over 28,000 families, which is just under 200,000 people. It's a small fraction of the just under 4 million refugees, but it has started. The major reasons why they are moving back is the improved security and running out of money. The government's refugee program and cash incentives are just window dressing. They will not have a big effect on the refugee flow. For a run down of the latest UN report on Iraq see: http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2008/11/united-nations-humanitarian-report-on_21.html

[barkingcat]

You mean "so far FEWER than 400 people" have accepted the offer, not "LESS THAN 400 people."

"Four hundred" in this case is a number, not an amount.

[nefertiti]

the New Free Iraq is full of thieves , whose families live comfortably in London , Paris , Amman or Dubai . the new Free Iraq is full of fanatics and extremists who no longer protect the rights of the Christian community or the Chaldeans like saddam Hussein did for decades . the New Iraq is a total Mess and i feel sorry for ALL the Iraqis and the trauma they are going through . i wish the International courts punished those who invaded Iraq when there were no WMDS . because the Invasion was supposed to go after the deadly weapons . Unfortunately there is no Justice in this world . justice is in the hands of the agressors and the bullies who control the UN and the IAEA .

[Colmore]

However, Bush just announced that he is "pleased" with how the Iraq invasion turned out. Getting Saddam out of power was "the right thing to do" . Does this man ever read a newspaper, or surf the web, that he can be so clueless? The misery he has caused is disgusting, yet he continues on with his mindless blathering. Worthless as a president, and even maybe as a human being. No qualms about sending people to their deaths. No wonder the entire world hates the US, having this president represent us is despicable.