We have written 201 posts on the Iraqi refugee situation and still feel like we are not getting the truth, or anything near the accurate story of the supposed “crisis” with Iraqi refugees. I came across this blog the other day reporting on a first hand account of a visit to the UNHCR office in Jordan. Now I have even more questions.
First, we have been inundated by the media, especially the Associated Press, telling us how bad the Bush Administration is in admitting refugees from Jordan and Syria. However, according to this UN office in Jordan, up until sometime in 2007 the UNHCR had not registered very many refugees (the UN is the gatekeeper to refugee resettlement). As a matter of fact, the blogger here, says that when he entered the UN office he had expected to see a long line of refugees and saw none.
In 2007 UNHCR set a submission target of 7500 Iraqis, they met this target and more with 8062 Iraqis registered and processed. A cumulative total of 4,663 persons have been submitted to these 16 countries.
So, now my question is, if the refugee crisis is so great why had the UN been dragging its feet?
The blogger then reports that he asked the UN employee about the problem of Muslims who have converted to Christianity feeling threatened by revealing that information to Jordanian Muslim officials. Why haven’t we heard about this before? And, we have been told over and over again that information was not collected on the religious affiliation of refugees.
I asked about the some of the concerns of the people I have interviewed. One was concerning Muslims who had secretly converted to Christianity. That they were afraid to tell the caseworkers of their conversions, afraid of reprisals as it is illegal in the Kingdom of Jordan for a Muslim to convert. Ziad assured me that anyone giving information about their case had to be forthright and need not fear any reprisals.
The UN employee then tells the blogger that single men are not given priority in resettlement, but that doesn’t fit what we are hearing on this end. We have reported on many single Iraqi men getting into the US. So, what is the truth? Just the other day I reported on the Iraqi refugee who exposed himself and a few weeks back I wrote about two questionable Iraqi young men in the Bay area interviewed on a radio program (the volag representative even said they were resettling single men in California).
I also asked Ziad who was given resettlement priority. He replied that priority was given to; single females, the elderly, children separated from their parents or relatives, and family reunification.
Last, the blogger relates how Jordan is trying to push Iraqi refugees out of that country by imposing fines on those who stay too long. According to the blogger this has pushed “hundreds of thousands” to Syria. What the heck? How come we haven’t heard about this?
Second option: if they choose to leave the fine would be waved. *This may account for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees who have left Jordan for Syria.
Where is Matthew Lee and all the rest of the biased and lazy mainstream media?