Iraqi Allies to the US
“We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.”
–Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations
Sitting here in my office at the University of Denver, I just received a DU email emergency alert: TORNADO WARNING.
Well that explains the eerie siren I heard a few minutes ago outside and the ominous dark clouds engulfing the usual blue and sunny skies. I’m a little shocked. This is the first time I’ve found myself in Tornado country! From sky and siren to email alert, I’m feeling calmly anxious…if that’s possible.
In other news, an update on our Iraqi refugee family:
Turns out the father was an ally to the US troops in Baghdad, serving as a translator for several years during this ongoing Operation Iraqi Freedom. Seems like a good enough job– his English is really quite excellent because of it. But it turns out being an Iraqi ally to the US is extremely dangerous with grave consequences. As a US ally, our friend had to take on an entirely new name and identity. His uniform consisted of a black face mask and black sunglasses. It was imperative that NO ONE find out his true identity. He and his family are incredibly fortunate to have already been resettled in the United States. Others have not been so lucky.
I am currently doing a research project for my Issues in Policy Making class, exploring US policy on refugee resettlement for Iraqi allies. Talk about a wake-up call! Allies to the US are the most hunted class in Iraq. The lethal stigma they bear as “collaborators” transcends sect or tribe, and they are being systematically targeted for assassination. Our friend had one nerve-racking encounter where he thought his identity as an ally had been realized, but was able to get his family out of Iraq before having to flee routine death threats, abduction, assassination, torture and/or extortion. As the refugee crisis has escalated, Iraq’s neighbors have closed their borders, trapping many people inside. Currently, Iraqi’s seeking asylum in the US-even those who have worked for it-are forced to apply at embassies in neighboring countries, despite the existence of the world’s largest embassy in Baghdad. Congress has mandated that the State Department begin processing applications inside Iraq, but the effort has not yet begun and it remains unclear when it will do so.
15% of Iraq’s population is in flight, either displaced internally or forced to flee across international borders. Of these millions, more than 3,000 are allies. Since the beginning of the war in 2003, only 500 allies have been safely resettled to the United States and 1,000 have already been killed. Refugee allies have not always had to navigate such a complicated process. The President of the US is the only person with the authority to accelerate the bureaucracy of refugee resettlement, as well as do away with it altogether in times of crisis. In 1975, when the North Vietnamese took Saigon and forced a wave of refugees who had either been tied to or part of the US-backed Saigon government, President Ford ordered the transport of 111,919 refugees to Guam over the course of 5 months. (111,000!! We’re talking about no more than 3,000 for Operation Iraqi Freedom!!) In Guam, they went through health, security and political screening. 1,546 of them were eventually sent back to Vietnam for political reasons, but nearly all of the rest became US citizens. More recently, in the final few months of 1996, President Clinton ordered the evacuation of 6,493 Iraqis to Guam in three airlifts. Most were Kurds, and all were under immediate threat from Saddam Hussein’s forces for having worked with American agencies. Their cases were processed at military facilities in Guam, and nearly all were granted asylum before moving to the US.
In the context of Operation Iraqi Freedom, America’s coalition allies, such as Denmark and Britian, have already begun operations similar to those described above, airlifting their Iraqi allies out of harm’s way. In 2007, the Danish government announced that it had secretly transported its Iraqi allies and their families to Denmark. In Feb 2008, Britain announced that it would begin airlifting out Iraqi allies starting in April and would continue doing so until the fall. Even Sweden, who didn’t support the war in Iraq has resettled Iraqi allies. So where is our administration?? In my research thus far, I have yet to come across even a statement pertaining to Iraqi allies from President Bush, although under both the Bush and Obama administrations, there have been policy movements. Unfortunately, these policies have done little good. I know there is a discomfort among many Americans who oppose the resettlement of Iraqi allies, labeling them as “terrorists” that will threaten US security. Even in emergency airlifts, the US goes to great lengths to process and screen refugees prior to resettlement. Do we not owe it to our allies, both in Iraq and elsewhere, to protect their livelihoods when they are at risk precisely for their affiliation with our objectives? Or are US citizens our only concern? To find out more, check out http://www.thelistproject.org/
The current US Ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill, was scheduled to be on campus last week for us students to interview. He is a Dean-candidate for the Josef Korbel School of International Studies that I am currently attending. I was very excited to meet him! Unfortunately, due to circumstances in Iraq, he has had to postpone his trip to DU. Just a fun fact: Ambassador Hill was a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, Africa in the early 1970s, prior to his career in the Foreign Service!! 
Who knows where the journey may lead!
I just hope it doesn’t lead to a tornado today.
Hana T.
