In Need of Home and Country

Umm Fatin is seen in her tent at the refugee camp she has called home for the last year in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, July 23, 2007. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani, File)

There are approximately 34.5 million people worldwide who have been displaced from their homes because of persecution and war. Of these, 11 million don’t have an official home country and enjoy neither the rights nor protection that would be afforded to them by citizenship.

Largely because of the U.S. invasion in 2003, Iraq is one country with a large number of displaced refugees. Today, one in five Iraqis currently qualifies as a refugee, bringing the total number of displaced Iraqis to 2.8 million. Many now reside in countries like Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon. One Iraqi journalist said that Iraqis who cannot flee to other countries risk death in Iraq today thanks to remaining sectarian violence.

Refugees International (RI), a Washington D.C.-based non-governmental organization, attempts to give these people protection, humanitarian aid, and other assistance. By conducting 20 to 25 field missions annually, RI catalogues individuals’ situations and tries to understand what caused their flights from home. From there, RI works with governments, other NGOs, and international agencies to design solutions that help those who have been displaced by violence.

Kristèle Younès is a senior advocate for Refugees International. Her work for RI includes conducting assessments on displaced Iraqis in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. Before coming to RI, Younès was a legal officer with the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. She also has extensive experience with aid combating the plight of people from Darfur, Chad, and the Congo. She has also worked on setting up fair judicial systems with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in post-war Bosnia.

Campus Progress talked with Younès about the current state of Iraqi refugees, their humanitarian needs, and the roles other countries play in dealing with the refugee crisis.

Aaron Ludensky is an Editorial Intern at Campus Progress and a senior at University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

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