More Iraqis heading to Syria than returning home: UN

[Barrett808]

Source: AFP

Iraqis are once again leaving Iraq for Syria in greater numbers than are returning, despite the lower level of bloodshed in their homeland, the UN refugee agency said on Wednesday.

A report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, citing Syrian immigration officials, said that in late January an average of 1,200 Iraqis entered Syria every day compared with around 700 who returned.

Most of those Iraqis who return say they are doing so because their Syrian visas have expired or because they have run out of money, rather than because conditions in their homeland have improved, the report said.

"The UNHCR has observed that the return movement to Iraq that increased immediately after the imposition of new visa regulations appears to have subsided," the report, which was sent to AFP in Baghdad, concluded.

The figures angered Iraqi officials, who have pointed to a number of high-profile convoys of returning refugees as evidence that safety is being restored to their war-torn cities after a year of battles with insurgents.

Read more: http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=213979

[LynnTheDem]

1. More "success" of bush's "surge".

es-kah-LAY-shun

[louis-t]

2. Funny how repugs I know keep saying

"They're returning to Iraq by the thousands. Surge is working. Iraq is more secure." They forget to tell you that more are leaving than are coming back. The ones coming back are out of money, there are no jobs for them in Syria, visas have expired. Seems only 14% say they are coming back because security is better. I'll try to find a linky for that figure.

[Barrett808]

4. "Only 14 percent said they were returning because they had heard about improved security"

Tomgram: Michael Schwartz, Why Bush Won't Leave Iraq

...

Those relatively modest returnee numbers turn out to include anyone who crossed the Syrian border heading east, including suspected insurgents and Iraqi employees of the New York Times on their way back from visits to relatives in exile in Syria. According to a UN survey of 110 families returning, "46 percent were leaving because they could not afford to stay; 25 percent said they fell victim to a stricter Syrian visa policy; and only 14 percent said they were returning because they had heard about improved security." And that's but one warning sign on the nature of the story under the story.

(more)

http://tomdispatch.com/post/174868/michael_schwartz_why_bush_won_t_leave_iraq

[louis-t]

5. Thanks for finding that link.

"they had HEARD about increased security."

[Supersedeas]

6. Syria - a beacon of middle east hope in comparison to Bushist reality

[High Plains]

3. The Iraqis are surging toward Syria.

[ronnie624]

7. So?

We live in a comparative lap of luxury. We're still a bastion of human rights. We're still "free" to express our opinions. Isn't that all that matters? As long as our government is causing violence, oppression and chaos "over there", instead of over here, we don't really have anything to worry about.










Oh, oops.

:sarcasm: