Fleeing Our Responsibilities

Senators Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) are engaged in heated debate over the future of Iraq. Both candidates have outlined the steps they will take for decreasing, or even withdrawing, American troops. At Columbia University Amnesty International, we consider this debate immensely important, but feel something is missing. Given that our focus issue this semester is refugees, we would like to ask: What will happen to displaced Iraqis? Since 2003, 3 million Iraqis have been internally displaced. After being violently uprooted from their homes, they remain in Iraq, facing continued danger from their persecutors. Another 2 million languish in refugee camps in Syria, Jordan, and other Persian Gulf countries. They are forced to live in extremely inhumane conditions in the refugee camps, with no guarantee for return into a normal life.

The suffering of Iraqi refugees presents a grave moral challenge to America and the world. Yet so far, the response has been a mixture of indifference and callousness. The American people promised freedom and a better life to the Iraqi people, but we have slammed our doors to refugees seeking the American dream—fewer than 1 percent of refugees from Iraq have been granted asylum in the U.S. Alarmingly, over the past year, international response has moved from apathy to something much worse. The American and Iraqi governments have encouraged or forced refugees to return to Iraq, despite the dangers refugees would still face there. In November 2007, the government of Iraq asked Syria to close its border. At the same time, the Iraqi government promised subsidies to Iraqis who returned home.

All this was related to a plan described by the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration in which refugee returns would be used to indicate the success of U.S.-Iraqi strategies in the region. However, most returning Iraqis do not feel safe. According to recent Ipsos surveys of refugees returning to Iraq, an overwhelming majority of returning Iraqis did not wish to return. Of those who did not wish to return, 61 percent felt that they would face mortal danger in Iraq. Most Iraqis are returning not because they think they will be safe, but because they are too impoverished to remain in Syria, or because their visas have expired.

In short, the American and Iraqi governments are prodding Iraqis to return home, although it may mean their death. Neither presidential candidate has spoken forcefully about this tragic situation. At Columbia University Amnesty International, we believe this is a severe mistake. While the world has largely turned its back on displaced Iraqis, various militias, especially the anti-American Mahdi Army, have emerged as the main providers of humanitarian services. By providing desperately needed assistance, these militias have gained local support and recruits, contributing to the long-term militarization of Iraq. These trends, should they continue, will make security for Iraq and the world impossible, regardless of when or how we bring our troops home.

Shlomo Bolts is a Columbia College junior majoring in political science. Mujib Mashal is a Columbia College sophomore. The authors are both research coordinators for Columbia University Amnesty International.