Not just 1 million dead. 5 million displaced.

Millions of Iraqis Uprooted—Media Give Little Coverage of Major Crisis

Gary Feuerberg Epoch Times Tuesday, Sept 9, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C.-In the mainstream public debates on the merits of the military “surge,” troop withdrawal timetables, and the Iraqi political process, little is said of the 2.7 million Iraqis who fled their homes but remained in Iraq and 2.2 million Iraqi’s refugees living in neighboring countries, Syria and Jordan. These numbers represent one out of six Iraqis.

Not only the huge number of “internally displaced people” (IDP) and refugees goes largely unreported, but little is said of the tremendous loss of Iraq’s professional people, including a large loss of doctors. These are humanitarian concerns of huge proportions.

Also, very important are how these millions of displaced Iraqis will be affecting the future security of Iraq and the Middle East, according to a recently published Brookings report, “The Looming Crisis: Displacement and Security in Iraq.”


The author, Dr. Elizabeth G. Ferris, is a Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and spoke at Brookings, Aug. 22, on “Iraqi Displacement: Prospects for Returns and Resettlement.” The Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement hosted the discussion.

“If solutions aren’t found for Iraqi’s refugees and internally displaced, there can be no peace in Iraq,” warned Dr. Ferris in her report.

She is particularly concerned about the long-term effects of the “ethnic cleansing,” which is making difficult the return of Iraqis to areas where they are a minority—Shi’i to a Sunni area or Sunni to a Shi’i area, or the return of displaced minority groups: Christians, Sabean-Mandeans, Jews, Baha’is, Yazidis, Turmen, Kurds, Shabaks, and Palestinians.

Dr. Ferris also deplores the lack of media coverage on “…the massive brain drain that has taken place in Iraq, the staggeringly high unemployment rates, [and] the growing destitution of Iraqi refugees in Syria.” [...]

“About 90 percent of displaced Iraqis received direct threats to their life rather than generalized violence,” said Dr. Ferris. [...]