Friday, December 14, 2007

Helping the People of Iraq

Some good news from the Iraq operations of the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR this week:

  • Earlier this week they announced that over 20,000 Iraqi Refugees have been resettled this year. While it is horrible that these individuals have suffered trauma and have had to leave their homes, UNHCR is working hard to make sure that these people have the chance at a normal life in their new nations. For a sense of what this entails, check out this story on UNHCR's website.
  • For the most desperate of the 2.2 million Iraqi refugees that are still in refugee camps on in Syria and Jordan, on Sunday UNHCR will begin providing finanical assistance via ATM cards with $100-200/month. Cash assistance helps families to purchase necessities when they need them. It is expected that 7,000 families will initially benefit from this emergency relief.
  • To top it off, UNHCR is helping the Iraqi Government to help 5,000 families (about 30,000 individuals) who wish to return to their homes by providing them support packages and repair kits.