The Arab Spring's looming refugee crisis

Posted By Chris Ulack Thursday, June 23, 2011 - 6:09 PM

The trajectory of peaceful demonstrations in Libya and Syria has been impacted by regime violence. The result: large populations of internally displaced peoples (IDP's) have been created inside of those countries as well as great numbers of refugees fleeing to bordering countries. Furthermore, the revolutions of the Arab Spring have serious ramifications for already existing refugee populations, notably the more than one million Iraqi refugees that have settled in Syria since 2006. The possibility of increased large-scale refugee movement from Libya and Syria will not only spur a devastating humanitarian crisis, but could also further destabilize the region.

Considering that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is already working with insufficient funds, Western policymakers should pay attention to these imminent crises. One need only look at the social and economic repercussions of the still unresolved predicament of Iraqi refugees to see the urgency of keeping the current situations from escalating into another protracted refugee crisis. The consequences of a prolonged refugee situation could be dire, especially as many of the countries to which the people are fleeing allow few -- if any -- rights, benefits, or protection for refugees.

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EXPLORE:AFRICA, ARAB WORLD, MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, NORTH AMERICA, HUMAN RIGHTS, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, IRAQ, LAW, LIBYA, MIGRATION/IMMIGRATION, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, OBAMA'S LIBYA SPEECH, STATE DEPARTMENT, SYRIA, TURKEY, U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

Will the kids be alright? Deportations, conscience, and Israel

Posted By Hadas Cohen Thursday, October 7, 2010 - 5:59 PM

Over the past six months Israel has been raging over the fate of 400 children of migrant guest workers that have been scheduled to be deported from the country along with their parents. The children's deportation was originally scheduled to take place on the eve of the Jewish New Year, at the beginning of September, and has been postponed to follow the Sukkot holiday, which ended last week. Israeli authorities have set up special facilities to hold the families once they are rounded up, yet to this date the deportation has not begun. On the ground, Israeli kindergartens are empty of migrant children who are kept home by their parents for fear of the immigration police, and a few kibbutzim have even volunteered to hide the children about to be sent away.

The children's deportation, should it take place, will happen despite months of loud public opposition that has united almost all fractions of secular Israeli society. The few supporters of the deportation consist mainly of the orthodox and ultra-orthodox, and are led by Interior Minister Eli Yishai, the head of Shas, Israel's largest ultra-orthodox party.

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EXPLORE:MIDDLE EAST, MIDDLE EAST, HUMAN RIGHTS, ISRAEL/PALESTINE, JUSTICE, MIGRATION/IMMIGRATION

Impossible choices for Iraqi refugees in Lebanon

Posted By Nadim Houry Wednesday, March 24, 2010 - 5:13 PM

Iraqis are awaiting the outcome of this month's hotly contested parliamentary election with the hope that it will signal the start of a new phase for their country. The stakes are particularly high for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who sought refuge over the last few years in neighboring countries, like Syria, Jordan, or Lebanon.

Time is running out for them, as their savings have dwindled, host countries have grown tired of hosting them, and the world's attention has shifted to other conflicts and new displaced populations. No group is perhaps as anxious for the situation to improve as the Iraqis detained in Lebanon for illegal entry. Many of them have finished serving their sentences but remain in jail because the authorities here won't release them in Lebanon and it remains too dangerous for them to return to Iraq.

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EXPLORE:MIDDLE EAST, MIDDLE EAST, HUMAN RIGHTS, IRAQ, LAW, LEBANON, MIGRATION/IMMIGRATION

Dancing for their lives

Posted By Deborah Amos Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - 7:31 PM

In her forthcoming book, Eclipse of the Sunnis: Power, Exile, and Upheaval in the Middle East, Deborah Amos explores lives of the refugees forced into limbo by the Iraq war -- and the sacrifices, both financial and moral, that they are often forced to make.