As violence in Syria continues, the al-Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan is on pace to become the largest in the world. Amman, Jordan – Al-Zaatari refugee camp near Jordan’s northern border with Syria is the second largest refugee camp in the world. On days when violence in Syria worsens, between 2,000-4,000 Syrians flood into Zaatari,
Praying, Not Playing
DAMASCUS — In the struggle now just to stay alive, everyone has forgotten that Iraq has lost, among other things, its tradition in sports. Some of its best sportsmen are now refugees. “No one seems to care about us,” 20-year-old footballer Ali Rubai’i told IPS. Ali fled Iraq with his family to Syria like countless
Poverty Gets the Survivors
DAMASCUS — More than a million Iraqis were lucky enough to flee into Syria. But in this relatively safe haven, there is no getting away from poverty. Mohammad Saleem ran a successful supermarket in Baghdad. “I was leading a comfortable life with my family, despite the 13 years of UN sanctions,” Saleem told IPS in
Divided Arabs Deliver Little
DAMASCUS, Mar 31 (IPS) – The Arab summit held in Damascus over this weekend has convinced many Iraqis that Arab leaders do not speak for them. More than anything done or not, the very absence of many Arab leaders at the summit has left displaced Iraqis here angry.
Syria Now Home to a Million ‘Pillow Drivers’
DAMASCUS — More than a million Iraqis in Syria cannot find work. For their idleness, they have come to be called the “pillow drivers”. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says there are at least 1.5 million Iraqi refugees in Syria. If they seek work, they will lose their status as refugees.
‘Not Our Country To Return To’
DAMASCUS — More Iraqis continue to flee their country than the numbers returning, despite official claims to the contrary. Thousands fleeing say security is as bad as ever, and that to return would be to accept death. “Return to Iraq?” asks 35-year-old Ahmed Alwan, an Iraqi engineer now working at a restaurant in Damascus. “There
Refugees Bring In Some Brittle Strength
DAMASCUS — Syria’s decision to accept Iraqi refugees streaming into the country has brought the government of President Bashar Assad more power within Syria and the region, but at significant cost. The ministry of interior in Syria estimates the total number of Iraqi refugees to be around 1.5 million.
Iraqi doctors out on a limb
Al-Jazeera English Damascus, Syria — Dr Omar al-Khattab fled Iraq just over a year ago after receiving death threats. At that time, he was working at Balad General Hospital, 50km north of Baghdad. “I had to leave my home, my work and my salary so now I’m living here jobless and am just barely surviving,”
A Lot of Uninvited Guests
Inter Press Service Dahr Jamail DAMASCUS — The massive influx of Iraqi refugees into Syria has brought rising prices and overcrowding, but most Syrians seem to have accepted more than a million of the refugees happily enough.
US military saved me: Iraqi lawyer
Al-Jazeera English Damascus — Read this story published with Al-Jazeera English online We also recommend that you read the full interview with Badie Arief Izzat When the Iraqi High Court re-adjourned on April 16 for the trial of former Iraqi officials charged with participating in attacks against the Kurdish minority in the 1980s, the defence