Foreign Policy Toward Iraqi Refugees Essay

In 2003, the US war in Iraq finally toppled Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial regime and freed the Iraqi people from the bondage of tyranny. However, the re-establishment of democratic processes and the road to achieving peace have led to perdition, as Islamist fundamentalism prevailed during the cultural-religious bestowal even at the time prior to Saddam’s reign of power. The victory of democracy in the installation of a new Iraqi government instilled the shadow of political unrest and extreme economic recession, in which the fall of Baghdad may have been buried in a deep grave. At present, the violence in Iraq is showing no sign of slowing down and majority of the Iraqi people continue to suffer tremendously as documented on this account : the UN estimates that 2. 6 million Iraqis have fled since 2003 ranging from 40,000 to 50,000 Iraqis leaves their homes every month; two million flees to nearby countries and about 1. 8 million of the civilian populace seek refuge in safer areas within Iraq, in which Syria and Jordan are among the countries directly helping the refugees for the past three years, and some have fled to Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran and Turkey. Meanwhile, almost daily the media reports on the desolation of Iraqi. The Refugee International has accounted for series and continuing street crimes, the prevalence of business closures, human trafficking, and kidnap-for-ransom cases. In addition, the media said that the documentation of casualties and victims of similar crimes has to be reconciled with at large proportion due inability to locate substantial witnesses and the family of the victims. Goal Positioning The goal of this paper generally seeks to discuss and examine the continuing struggle for survival in Iraq. The product of examination shall be presented through a course of study pertaining to foreign policy toward Iraqi refugees. In particular, a holistic approach will be undertaken, to: (1) identify the extent and magnitude of mass evacuation of refugees, and (2) examine the availability of foreign policies that concern Iraqi refugees. In addition, the objective of the study is to address the long debatable issue on host country refugee adoption and to answer the question â€Å"why and how Iraqi refugees could be hosted by countries like the United States of America but neither by other European countries or in Asia? † This question plainly posits the feasible means of a foreign policy that could be adopted [if there once that exists,] in which this compendium could ventilate the avenues of legislation and to the meanest effort of influencing the public interest for policy initiatives. Background of Study The background of the study focuses on the sub-human conditions of the Iraqi people and their desire to flee from their homeland in exile as refugees. The background [based on the plight of the Iraqi refugees] will also discuss derivatives of study on foreign policies that evolve the goals of this paper. The additional consideration on the need for enabling a foreign policy for Iraqi refugees could indicate and can be comparatively analyzed with the proportion of violence that links the overall unaccounted number of Iraqi casualties. Thus, the initial indicator is based on the documented report that follows: (1) US military killed in Iraq is estimated at 3,973; (2) number of US troops wounded in combat since the war began is 29,203; (3) Iraqi Security Force deaths is 7,924; (4) Iraqi civilians killed is estimated at a range from 81,632 to 1,120,000; (5) internally displaced refugees in Iraq is estimated at 3. 4 million. On the other hand, as part of the documented report , the cost of war has accounted to; $526 billion to date, with a cost per day of $275 million and being estimated at a long- term bill of $3 trillion. In addition, Iraqi unemployment has grown from 25 to 40 percent. Literature Review A brief review of similar literatures will be discussed in this section in order to: (1) present the collection of initiatives and collaboration of international entities and governments for refugees, and (2) link the relevance to the process of this paper. Canada was tasked to assume the role of â€Å"gavel-holder† of the newly established Refugee Working Group (RWG) in January of 1992 as part of the design of the general Middle East peace process (MEPP) that created the Expert and Advisory Services Fund (EASF) as a Canadian involvement to the Middle East Multilateral Peace Process . The EASF is administered by Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). The implementation of EASF for the period of March 2002-2008 works within key policy issues on refugees, in which EASF (Phase 3 IDRC) programs embark on the â€Å"compensation to Palestinian refugees as part of a comprehensive solution, challenges of repatriation and absorption, and gauging and engaging public opinion† . In a related finding, the Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service through its Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) located in Qatar and the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) in Washington jointly conducted a study in 2007 regarding this for . The study showed that Iraqis in Jordan and Syria are beneficiaries of two opposing foreign policies, one is the tradition of Arab brotherhood which comprises a political and moral responsibility in providing refuge while the other is an option of Jordan and Syria not to integrate the Iraqis’ permanency . However, the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) considers the Iraqis as â€Å"prima facie refugees† (being registered refugees) who were issued with â€Å"asylum seeker cards† in Jordan and refugee cards in Syria. The UN agencies and NGOs have provided immediate support to lessen the misery. Furthermore, the study team stated that â€Å"the war in Iraq is not limited to Iraq since it has intensely affected the Middle East region . However, according to a statement of a UK-based NGO, many refugees are denied asylum status, being degraded and are even called as â€Å"welfare scroungers† or â€Å"fake refugees† when they come to the UK . It is obvious that the US and UK’s â€Å"War on Terror† is marginalizing refugees still further as numerous legitimate political movements are labeled â€Å"terrorist† . In addition, based on the statement, the UK has curved entire migrant communities as terrorist suspects [in which the anti-terrorism laws have widened the classification of terrorism] encompassed with political activities even on those who are against oppressive regimes overseas . Moreover, the US government has recently released a press statement disclosing that about 12,000 Iraqi refugees will be admitted to US before the end of 2008. According to State Department’s Senior Adviser James Foley, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs’ Tony Edison and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Senior Adviser on Iraqi Refugee Issues’ Lori Scialabba, Iraqis were identified as potential candidates for emigration to the United States. After a year of redoubled efforts, all of the organizations involved in the process are working together to build a more effective refugee screening program . The three US officials further stated that the US has poured in $171 million in humanitarian assistance to displaced Iraqis both in and outside the country in 2007. However, the UN has appealed for $123 million in 2007 to $261 million for 2008 . Scope and Limitation The scope of work will be composed of a 2-prong method which are: (1) on-field and out- field research; within the scope of finding available and adequate materials as derivatives in the conduct of evaluation and the actual field validation of data and (2) study review in areas of fitting in the study parameters in view of legislative policy agenda for refugees in order to re-examine the gaps and further conduct of study. Considerably, the aspect of out-filed research may be limited only to accessing the available data sources, such as on-site interviews to various individuals or personalities and gathering of other data materials that are readily available. Perspectives It has been a glaring and presently debatable issue that Iraqi refugees pose a challenge to global governments and communities of progressive people. The parameters of the study believe that Iraq has not yet overcome the war. While it is true that Iraq was once a captive of political and religious dogmas, the country must still be retained to its sovereign people. The Iraqi refugees is a shame to the least part of developed and even underdeveloped world from Africa to Asian continents because in that part of Middle East lies a bleeding country characterized by the plagues of war. It is in this regard, the study envisions a perspective that would create and supplant the bondage and stigma of war from the life of the Iraqi people. The study also aims to map out the road to recovery, and through that, a foreign policy for Iraqi refugees may guide the ascendancy of moral values and responsibility in order to achieve peace in Middle East and the rest of the world. Conclusion It is clear the Iraqi people continue to walk on the road to perdition due to their long struggle of tyranny. It could be described that the misery after the fall of Baghdad has a continuum in despicable plight. The global partnership in restoring and retaining the democratic processes in Iraq may be a long process and difficult due to the intensely adverse cultural-religious entanglement. Nevertheless, it is necessary to first restore the people’s lives, specifically women, and children. Once this is achieved, it will be no longer hard to once again see the flourishing city of Baghdad where people co-exist in abundant life amidst the barren lands. Bibliography America. Gov, â€Å"United States to Welcome 12,000 More Iraqi Refugees in 2008† (February 06, 2008) [http://www. america. gov/st/peacesec- english/2008/February/20080206160027idybeekcm0. 824032. html] Erik Leaver and Jenny Shin, â€Å"The Iraq Quagmire†, Foreign Policy in Focus, Institute of Foreign Policy, Washington DC 20036. (March 4, 2008). [http://www. fpif. org/fpiftxt/5036] International Development Research Centre (IDRC), â€Å"Middle East Expert and Advisory Services Fund†, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (2008). [ http://www. idrc. ca/uploads/user-S/12060300201Microsoft_Word_- _EASF_Program_Profile__3__final. pdf] Kristele Younes, â€Å"The Iraqi Refugee Crisis†, Foreign Policy in Focus, Institute of Foreign Policy, Washington DC 20036 (March 14, 07). [http://www. fpif. org/fpiftxt/4059] Patricia Weiss Fagen, Iraqi Refugees: â€Å"Seeking Stability in Syria and Jordan†, Georgetown University Institute for the Study of International Migration (2007). [http://www12. georgetown. edu/sfs/isim/Publications/PatPubs/Iraqi%20Refugees. pdf] The Refugee Project, 44 Ainger Road, London, NW3 3AT (2008). [http://www. therefugeeproject. org/]