Day: September 21, 2007

Asst. Sec. Sauerbrey — hang tough!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

From a U.S. State Department press release today:

Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) Ellen R.
Sauerbrey has led diplomatic efforts to expand humanitarian space for UN
agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to respond to humanitarian
needs of Iraqi refugees in the region.

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By the end of 2007, the USG will have provided almost
$1 billion in humanitarian assistance for displaced Iraqis in Iraq and
neighboring states since 2003.

We should continue to care for Iraqis displaced by the war in the region, care for their needs as best we can, and plan to return them to a stabilized Iraq.    Hang in there Asst. Secretary Sauerbrey, resist the drumbeat from those seeking to undermine the war while adding to the immigrant population of America.

Iraqis heading to the West

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The United Nations said today that the number of Iraqi asylum seekers is up sharply.  The AP is reporting that 19,800 Iraqis are seeking asylum in 36 Western countries.

Sweden was the most popular destination for Iraqi asylum seekers, with nearly half of the applications filed this year in industrialized countries — 9,300 people, UNHCR said.

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“The large Iraqi community and its strong social network in Sweden might be part of the reasons for the high concentration of Iraqi asylum seekers going to that country,” spokesman Ron Redmond said.

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Greece was No. 2 with some 3,500 asylum requests, followed by Spain with 1,500 and Germany with 820. Only 385 Iraqis sought asylum in the United States.

Poor Sweden, see our earlier posts here and here.