Iraqi refugees

The situation of refugees escaping the Iraq disaster is becoming clearer. The Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog links to several information sources. It is a bleak picture, which will continue to deteriorate.

At some stage Australia will be looking at a major influx of these refugees as part compensation for our culpability in prosecuting this illegal war. All of the grand rhetoric about bringing democracy and freedom to the Iraqi people will be exposed for the cant and hypocrisy it truly is. Of course the main perpetrators will be in retirement by this stage, but their role will be up in neon lights, helped along by those who have documented this egregious episode in international affairs.

On 16 January campaign group Human Rights Watch called upon the Bush administration to share the responsibility of protecting up to two million civilians fleeing war-stricken Iraq. The United States government should significantly increase the number of Iraqi refugees it will resettle this year and "contribute quickly and generously" to the UN refugee agency’s appeal for financial assistance, said HWR. The Howard Government should be required to shoulder some of this burden.

Click here to access the HRW World Report 2007.


Bleak in The Australian