Working with Iraqi Refugees

About The Program

Since 2003, Iraq has experienced the most underreported humanitarian crises in recent history. Stemming from the allied military intervention that year and the violence that has ensued, almost 5 million Iraqi nationals have been displaced. Intersections already has created a social support for this refugee crisis and now is creating an advocacy campaign to keep this situation on the agenda of American policy-makers.

As reported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Iraq’s almost 5 million refugees have been either displaced as a result of horrific violence and fled to neighboring countries or still remain in Iraq displaced from their homes. The bulk of the exodus are Iraq’s educated, secular, and professional class who must now live as illegal migrants in unstable situations –– without work, access to health care, or the ability to obtain an education for their children. And although Iraqis are welcomed –– to a certain extent –– in such neighboring countries as Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, these governments do not have provisions to define them as “refugees,” making the options they would have if considered refugees under international law limited.

Intersections has made a commitment to advocate for national and international support in this humanitarian crisis. In October 2008, Intersections initiated an ongoing broad conversation with Iraqi refugees, international organizations, and civil society that work with refugees in the region. These collaborations formed the foundation for our ongoing efforts to keep awareness of this crisis at the forefront of the policy arena.

Both the Iraqi Voices Amplification Project (IVAP) and the No Place Called Home intiative obtained the support we were looking for in the public arena; now, we are looking to strengthen our advocacy for the millions of Iraqi refugees whose voices have yet to be heard. 

The ideal solution is the return of displaced Iraqis to their homes and their homeland; though much still needs to be done to guarantee this can be done in a safe and dignified manner, this goal is attainable with the support of the United States government, Iraqi government, and other state actors. We have presented testimony and policy recommendations to the United States Commission of Security and Cooperation in Europe and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and will continue our efforts at achieving an end to the largest unreported humanitarian crisis of the new millennium.

Learn more about the cost of the war in Iraq.