Refugees in the Middle East

Refugees International has observed extreme vulnerabilities among the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees living in Syria, Jordan, and other parts of the region, as well as the millions of internally displaced persons within Iraq, over 500,000 of whom live as squatters in slum areas with no assistance or legal right to the properties they occupy. Most refugees cannot work legally, making it increasingly difficult for them to pay rent and afford school fees for their children. Consequently, some are forced to return to an insecure and unstable Iraq and often find themselves displaced within the country.

With its financial reserves at zero, the United Nations refugee agency is facing an “unprecedented” combination of crises, its top official warned today as he appealed to the international community to provide the necessary financial support. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, stated that his agency, known by the acronym UNHCR, is currently dealing with four acute crises as it tries to protect and assist 700,000 people who had fled conflict in Syria, Mali, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by the end of September, on top of last year’s record exodus of 800,000 refugees worldwide.

The current issue had no way of ending anytime soon. Especially with the on going wars that keep happening. The UN is doing their best to help those that they can.