More than 4 million Iraqis displaced since U.S.-led invasion

Chicago Tribune
Tuesday November 13, 2007

When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, Yaghdan Hamied, like many Iraqis, took a job with the coalition.

Hamied worked with Americans rehabilitating schools in and around Baghdad--but always kept this a secret from his friends, family, and neighbors.

"We destroyed anything related to the U.S. work--deleted numbers from our computer and from our telephones," said Hamied, who took detours and extra buses to avoid being followed from his home to the U.S. embassy complex.

Still, one morning in October 2006, Hamied found a note pinned to his front doormat that read: "We will cut your head and your throat and throw it in the garbage." He then found a severed puppy head in his garden.

(Article continues below)

Hamied said he felt lucky for the warning. And when U.S. embassy officials could not help, he and his wife packed a few suitcases and fled--first to the United Arab Emirates, and then Syria, where they applied for asylum in the United States.

This summer, he became one of a tiny number of Iraqi refugees to make it to Chicago--barely 100 since the war began.

According to UN estimates, more than 4 million Iraqis have been displaced since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Refugees' advocates call it the fastest-growing humanitarian crisis on the planet, deteriorating more quickly than Myanmar (also known as Burma) or Darfur.

Full article here.

Click here to discuss this story in our forum Yahoo! MyWeb Del.icio.us Digg Reddit Print Email This Page to: