Unhappy Iraqis, leaving US and going back to Syria
Posted by acorcoran on March 24, 2009
Update: The Free Lance-Star reporter, Amy Umble, has more information in an excellent blog posting on this story here.
How many times! How many times have we heard over the last year and a half that Iraqi refugees were desperate to get out of Syria? How many times did AP reporter Matthew Lee, shilling for the refugee industry, harass the Bush Administration to bring more Iraqis to the US? Now, these families, after only 6 months in the US, want to go back to the Middle East, to Syria no less!
From the Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, VA, describing the trip to Dulles airport last week:
Shamas Jawad woke up groggily in the back seat of a minivan bound for the airport.
“Are we there yet?” the sleepy 3-year-old asked in Arabic.
Awkward laughter followed. The curly-haired preschooler and her family wouldn’t reach their destination for another 36 hours. And then they could face an additional daylong journey.
When the Jawads arrive in Syria, they may find a cheap place to rent. But the government could instead deny them refuge and offer a police escort back to the Jawads’ native Iraq.
Shamas’ father, Muoafaq Jawad, thinks either option would be better than life in America.
He, his wife and five children arrived in Stafford County on Aug. 27.
[....]
They found poverty, unemployment and homelessness here.
After having had their airfare to the US paid by the American taxpayer, they had to borrow money to get back to Syria.
The Jawads were evicted from their Stafford townhouse March 12 and immediately began begging and borrowing money for airfare for all seven family members. They packed their clothes and left for Syria on Thursday.
Making reference to a story we have heard many times, these refugees were told that life in the US was going to be fabulous and that they would have things taken care of. WHO IS TELLING THEM THIS, AND WHY?
Unable to find jobs during the recession, the Jawads and another Iraqi refugee family both left Stafford on Thursday.
About 85 Iraqis resettled in the Fredericksburg area last year. Most came through Jordan and Syria where, refugees say, someone promised them jobs and aid once they got to America.
“They told us they would bring us to the United States for a better life,” Jawad said.
But he and other Iraqi refugees in America say they were better off as refugees in Syria and Jordan.
The article wraps up by mentioning that more Iraqis will come this year anyway. Duh! You would think that with all my past posts (community destabilization category) on the Alinsky method, I should have noticed. I just realized that when I wrote about Eric Schwartz’s outfit this morning, Connect US Fund, which promotes the seemingly illogical idea that inspite of our economic downturn it is still a good time to bring refugees, it never occurred to me that refugees in crisis, like these families, could serve as the catalyst to expand the public welfare part of refugee resettlement—you know, the Emanuel/Obama theme about not wasting a good crisis! We are seeing that welfare expansion already in Utah!
Please go and read the whole article from Fredericksburg, it is fascinating and the comments alone are well worth the visit. I guess you could say the common theme was Bye! Bye! And, that is one of the kinder sentiments.
12 Responses to “Unhappy Iraqis, leaving US and going back to Syria”
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An inside look at the lives of Roanoke, VA refugee volunteers « Refugee Resettlement Watch said
[...] In 2009 we also had other Iraqi refugees returning to the Middle East from Virginia, here. [...]
Fredericksburg, VA bombshell: churches say don’t send more refugees here « Refugee Resettlement Watch said
[...] visit this post from March 2009 where we learned that Iraqis unhappily resettled in Fredericksburg went back to the [...]
judyw said
I’m posting Kalid’s comment without being able to verify what he says as the website is in Arabic.
kalid said
there is websit http://www.ankawa.com keeping told iraqi go to US
for better life and they remove any mamber say thire is no job in US
Nevermind reform, just give us more money « Refugee Resettlement Watch said
[...] We have told you about RCUSA before, here. They have been lobbying, just 3 months ago, for the Obama Administration to bring 45,000 Iraq refugees to the US in this fiscal year. Frankly they are nuts! In the first 7 months of FY 2009 which began October 1, we have resettled 9,581 Iraqis and they are profoundly unhappy. Most have no work and their living conditions are deplorable, some have even returned to the Middle East. [...]
Senator Bob Casey: bring more Iraqis to the US « Refugee Resettlement Watch said
[...] Professor Al-Tikriti of Fredericksburg, VA must know about unhappy resettled Iraqis in light of the two families that left Virginia within the last two weeks to return to [...]
Obama “heartbroken” over homeless….. « Refugee Resettlement Watch said
[...] Unhappy Iraqis, leaving US and going back to Syria [...]
acorcoran said
From what I have gathered in other places in the US there are other refugees who would like to go home, but they don’t have the where-with-all to get it accomplished. Apparently the Iraqis are not shy about expressing their displeasure. I expect as these stories get out, others will follow these families back to the Middle East.
As for why the refugee industry keeps pushing for more refugees in these tough times, I think its just what I said in the post, the industry sees this as an incredible opportunity to expand welfare for refugees and more funding for themselves. Additionally they might be able to unload that troublesome requirement that refugees should work—in the same manner that the Obama administration is expanding government and using the poor economy as the excuse.
Alinsky basically taught Obama et al that in order to bring about change you must have a crisis. Contented people do not demand change. Discontented people bring about change because they demand to be relieved of the crisis or chaos. If you don’t have a crisis handy, you make one.
Lots of needy people dependent on the government makes for continued Democratic party control of government power. Except for a few dedicated individuals working in the refugee field, the leadership appears not to care about the well-being of the individual refugees. They are just pawns. I think these Iraqis are figuring that out.
mark21281 said
But what is not highly unusual is the refugee resettlement organizations insisting on increased refugee resettlement with no regard for the refugees under the current economic conditions. Why are they doing this? Is it because they stand to gain economically from increased resettlement? Assisting Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria would probably be better for the refugees, and would cost much less, but the resettlement agencies have less to gain. Or is it because increased resettlement would give the top people in the resettlement organizations increased prestige? I’d like to know the reason. It’s definitely not being done with any regard for the refugees. I just got a letter from USCRI’s Lavinia Limon asking me to write to Congress and request increased Iraqi refugee resettlement!
transitionland said
IOM needs to do better, seriously. So do resettlement agencies.
That said, these stories are making it into the news not because Iraqis returning is common, but rather because it is *highly unusual* and alarming.
mark21281 said
The agency that conducts the cultural orientation for the refugees before they arrive in the US is the same one that arranges for the refugee travel loans via the US government — the I.O.M.
Assistant Secretary for refugees job might soon be filled « Refugee Resettlement Watch said
[...] Unhappy Iraqis, leaving US and going back to Syria [...]