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| Internally Displaced: Desperate life behind borders |
| Thousands remembered refugee children for the holiday season |
| Iraq: 14% of the population displaced |
| In Action: Emergency Response Teams hit the ground |
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Tim Irwin , Public Infor-mation Officer, USA
There are hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people affected by the conflict in Iraq. About one out of every eight Iraqis is now displaced. UNHCR is there, helping those who have fled, and preparing for more who are now fleeing escalating sectarian, ethnic and generalised violence.
"The longer this conflict goes on, the more difficult it becomes for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced and the communities that are trying to help them – both inside and outside Iraq. The burden on host communities and governments in the region is enormous. It is essential that the international community support humanitarian efforts to help the most vulnerable people."
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres
A significant proportion of the displaced Iraqis has run out of resources or will soon do so, leaving them and their host communities increasingly vulnerable. Thereare increasing reports of women forced to resort to prostitution, as well as growing child labour problems.
UNHCR and its partners estimate that out of a total population of 26 million, some 1.7 million Iraqis are currently displaced internally and up to 2 million others have fled to nearby countries. In 2006 alone, UNHCR estimates that nearly 500,000 Iraqis fled to other areas inside the country and that 40,000 to 50,000 continue to flee their homes every month.
UNHCR has appealed to all donors – governments, corporations, and individuals – to help fund the extraordinary work being done by UNHCR for Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey, as well as non-Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people within Iraq itself. UNHCR has been in Iraq throughout the hostilities, despite having lost 18 colleagues to an attack that targeted the UN complex in 2003. With a regional and a local presence, UNHCR is able to identify the most vulnerable among the displaced and provide them with shelter, water, medical attention, protection and the other vital support they need.
UNHCR will also reinforce its emergency stockpiles in the region to be prepared for as many as 200,000 expected to flee to neighbouring countries that are already struggling to provide for the needs of thousands of Iraqi refugees.
Funding for Iraqi refugees: We need only CAN$18 per refugee
Based upon estimates that there are 3.7 million in need of UNHCR assistance in Iraq and the surrounding countries, UNHCR is appealing for CAN$67 million from the international community. These funds will be used for food, shelter, transport, household supplies, water, sanitation, health and nutrition, education, and legal support and coordination.
Please consider supporting five refugees of the 3.7 million in need with a donation of only $90, or donate $18 each month to support our Emergency Response Team, active in the region.
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A chance to be on the frontline As refugees stagger across borders, exhausted and destitute from fleeing violence at home, often the first people they meet holding out assistance is the UN Refugee Agency’s Emergency Response Team. Now you can join the ERTeam putting emergency tents, blankets, food, cooking fuel and sleeping mats into people’s hands. And you can do it without leaving home. Visit www.unhcr.ca/ert
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Top Left: Registration of Iraqi refugees will allow UNHCR to identify the most vulnerable and ensure that they have access to adequate food, shelter and other help.
© UNHCR/P.Sands/December 2006
