Iraqi refugees face 'deteriorating circumstances'

Iraqi refugees in Syria are facing a crisis, with prostitution and child labor increasing among the rapidly swelling community. But more than three years into the US-led war in Iraq, the international community has continued to turn a blind eye to their plight, say Damascus-based aid agencies. "With the extreme political sensitivity of the situation in Iraq, the international community continues to say that things aren't that bad," said Ann Maymann, protection officer at the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Damascus. "Who wants to admit that the US-led war created the conditions for this crisis?" According to the first comprehensive report by international aid agencies into the plight of Iraqi refugees in Syria since the start of the war in March 2003, an estimated 450,000 Iraqis in Syria "are facing aggravated difficulties" as a result of their "ambiguous legal status and unsustainable income." The survey–jointly conducted by the UNHCR, UN children's agency UNICEF and the UN World Food Program–highlighted "extremely worrying" statistics indicating that a majority of Iraqis in Syria hoped to resettle in third countries. The report went on to warn of a possible "huge secondary movement" of Iraqis to Europe. Abdel Hamid al-Ouali, a UNHCR representative in Syria, noted that the problem "poses a tremendous challenge for the international community, which must give the situation urgent attention, planning and action in order to avoid a new exodus." Local non-governmental agencies (NGOs) put the number of Iraqis in Syria at about 800,000, the majority of whom live in the suburbs of Damascus in deteriorating socio-economic conditions. Before the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, their numbers were estimated at only 100,000. The report further noted that prostitution among young Iraqi women, some as young as 12 years old, "may become more widespread, since the economic situation of Iraqi families is deteriorating." "Organized networks dealing in the sex trade were reported," it noted, citing evidence that "girls and women were trafficked by organized networks or family members." Rising child labor was also cited as a worrying trend. According to Marc Lucet, program officer at UNICEF, minors represent almost four percent of the current workforce. "NGOs have told us about an increasing number of children taking on sometimes hazardous jobs for wages as low as roughly $1 per day, just to support their families," said Lucet. The general health of most Iraqi refugees was found to be "satisfactory," with the large majority of households enjoying access to "adequate food consumption." Nevertheless, the report estimated that at least 1,500 families–roughly 7,500 people–face "very difficult conditions," including "poverty, expired legal documents and trauma." "Malnutrition, low school enrollment, child labor and child prostitution are likely to increase among these families," the report went on to warn. "Efforts need to be sustained–and increased–to support those in need of direct humanitarian support." Both the UNHCR and UNICEF are currently working with a number of ministries, including health and education, to improve living standards among the refugee community. This has included coordination with local NGOs in order to tackle the problem of child labor and prostitution. "We can't leave Syria alone on this issue," said Dietrun Günther, senior protection officer at the UNHCR in Damascus. "If the West really wants to help Syria in this matter, it must negotiate new terms for its support of refugees."