No work forces refugees into risky return

It takes courage - or desperation - for an Iraqi refugee to return home, given the levels of violence in the country. But unable to support their families abroad, some are taking that decision. The risks are substantial: According to a survey by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 61 percent of Iraqi asylum-seekers who have returned home have regretted it, citing the astonishing levels of insecurity. Umm Hassan (not her real name) fled to Amman, Jordan with her children to escape the war, but unable to support her family, returned home last year. She was back in Amman nine months later . "The situation was unbearable in Baghdad. It was so dangerous, there were explosions, and we had no source of income there either. We stayed at various relatives' houses while I had no way to provide for my children. In the end we decided to come back to Jordan again, though we knew things would be hard," she told IRIN in a telephone interview. UNHCR estimates there are 1.78 million Iraqi refugees - the second-largest refugee group in the world - and has registered 207,639. The overwhelming majority have sought refuge in neighbouring Syria and Jordan, with a significant proportion in Lebanon and Egypt.