I actually haven’t had an Iraqi sob story in a couple of weeks. Readers may recall that the IRC (International Rescue Committee) put out a report back June in which they said they needed more money for the Iraqis who are being resettled in a big way into the US right now.
This story from 3 On Your Side in Phoenix follows the classic story model we see over and over again. It begins with this grab-your-attention line:
It was once a dream but now Iraqi refugees are finding life in America is filled with harsh pitfalls.
Then it’s followed by a sad story from an Iraqi family or two that is now struggling to survive in the US. And, by the way, some have returned to the Middle East in disgust.
We do learn some new information, the Iraqi refugee numbers will be sliced in 2010 (that fiscal year begins Oct. 1, 2009).
The family is five of the 257 Iraqi refugees settled in Phoenix last year, according to a recent report by the International Rescue Committee (IRS) [Edit, that is funny! IRC!]. That is up dramatically from just eight in 2006, and 47 in 2007. But because of the nations’ sharp economic downturn, the IRC’s Iraqi resettlement numbers are declining with even fewer expected in 2010.
IRC spokesperson Katherine Ried says that with the U.S. job pool shrinking, it is becoming more difficult to resettle refugees because they are expected to find jobs within a month of arrival.
Then comes some boiler-plate-guilt-tripping talking points.
Upon arrival, each refugee is granted a $900 stipend by the government, an amount the IRC says does not even begin to meet basic needs, like food and rent.
Aysar asks, “How do you expect a person, he came from empty pockets to pay $800 next month?” Ried adds, “So we’re seeing that people are struggling a lot more to be able to pick up where we leave off.”
[….]
Refugees can apply for some additional funding but the IRC maintains the U.S. resettlement program is still dangerously underfunded, adding that many immigrants are here for helping American troops.
“They put their own lives at risk, the lives of their families at risk and so we really need to be supporting them in coming to this country,” says Ried.
Now you should feel sufficiently guilty for the IRC to come in with their standard plea for money. They never tell you that the money likely will pass through them and to their affiliates to distribute to the downtrodden!
The IRC is calling for Congress to allocate more money for refugees facing poverty and eviction.
Suggestion to IRC, why not try modeling your program after these folks in Wisconsin instead of relying on more taxpayer funding for your corporate structure.