Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Baghdad (Agenzia Fides) - The number and needs of Iraqi refugees increase and humanitarian agencies present in Iraq, such as Caritas, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, World Food Programme and others have called on international community to give more assistance and aid to internally displaced persons and refugees who have fled from the violence in their own country.
“The needs of the internally displaced persons and refugees increase with each passing day. An enormous effort is being made by the hosting countries in the region who encounter many difficulties to assist Iraqis who have fled their country. UNHCR hopes to help the displaced persons and the hosting countries to solve these problems but Agency's activities must be part of a broader international effort" said Antonio Guterres UN High Commissioner in Geneva,
The flow of refugees from Iraq has affected the region: an estimated four million have left Iraq, some escaped the regime of Sadam Hussein and hundreds of thousands after 2003. About two million Iraqis are now in Syria and Jordan, and there are another two million internally displaced in the country. According to the United Nations Organisation today one out of seven Iraqis has been forced to abandon home, an estimated 2,000 a day. Since the beginning of 2006 some 822,000 Iraqis have left their homes in search of a safer place in their own country.
UNHCE has already registered 150,000 Iraqis hosted in bordering countries. About 9,000 particularly vulnerable people benefit from resettlement programmes in other countries: 8,000 will go to the United States. About 60,000 Iraqi children in the other countries of the region attend school lessons and every month 10,000 Iraqis use hospital structures supported by UNHCR and 10,000 receive regular food supplies.
Thousands of the Iraqis who turn to humanitarian agencies for help, are victims of torture, sexual violence, and they need urgent medical care. In Iraq most children do not go to school. The work of UNHCR focuses on five sectors: education, medical care, feeding programmes, shelter and social and juridical assistance. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 17/7/2007 righe 28 parole 282)
