DAMASCUS — Refugees from Baquba city who have now found shelter in Damascus describe their hometown as a “dead city” where armed men roam the streets and al-Qaeda reigns. Baquba, capital city of Iraq’s Diyala province is located 50km northeast of Baghdad on the Diyala river. In 2002 the estimated population was 280,000. The city
Refugees Speak of Escape from Hell
Inter Press Service Dahr Jamail DAMASCUS — Refugees from Iraq scattered around Damascus describe hellish conditions in the country they managed to leave behind. “I used to work with the Americans near Kut (in the south),” Sa’ad Hussein, a 34-year-old electrical engineer told IPS. “I worked for Kellogg, Brown & Root in construction of an
And These Refugees Are Lucky
Inter Press Service Dahr Jamail DAMASCUS — Salim Hamad, 33, glances at the sprawling buildings of the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus and sees business. He has set up a small tea shop at the camp. “I left everything behind,” he told IPS. “I have no idea what became of my house.”