.Iraq offers free returns for its Syrian refugees
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - The Iraqi embassy in Damascus is organizing free journeys for refugees who want to return from Syria - the second such project in as many years - though two days into the campaign Wednesday, there have been no takers.
A large black banner plastered on the wall of the embassy urged Iraqis to register to return home. Similar posters have been placed on religious centers and offices of Iraqi parties in Damascus.
Adnan al-Shourifi, the commercial secretary at the Iraqi embassy, said that free convoys and plane tickets would be provided for the returnees, along with about US$1,300 in cash to each family from the Iraqi government and US$500 from the U.N.
Last November, the Iraqi embassy organized similar free convoys. Hundreds of refugees went back home at the time as the situation improved amid a U.S. troop increase and Iraqi forces taking more control of tense areas.
On Tuesday, the U.N. opened a registration center in a Damascus suburb for those interested in returning to Iraq but no one showed up, officials at the center said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Rashid Abdo, 36, who came to Syria five years ago from Baghdad, said he wouldn't return. "There is no confidence in this Iraqi government. I prefer any country in the world over Iraq," he said.
Al-Shourifi, the diplomat, said no date has been set for the first free trip, but stressed that another incentive for the returnees will be an extra monthly pay of US$120 per family. He did not say for how long those sums would be paid.
The returnees would also get houses and jobs back home, he said.
"We expect a large number of refugees to return," al-Shourifi said, adding that plans include one free convoy a week once all arrangements are made.
Syria is home to hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees who fled the violence in their country after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime.
Syria says their influx has strained its education, health and housing systems, pushing the government to tighten visa requirements and to call for international assistance.
Damascus has said the cost of the Iraqi refugees' stay in Syria is estimated at US$1.6 billion a year.
MyWay
A large black banner plastered on the wall of the embassy urged Iraqis to register to return home. Similar posters have been placed on religious centers and offices of Iraqi parties in Damascus.
Adnan al-Shourifi, the commercial secretary at the Iraqi embassy, said that free convoys and plane tickets would be provided for the returnees, along with about US$1,300 in cash to each family from the Iraqi government and US$500 from the U.N.
Last November, the Iraqi embassy organized similar free convoys. Hundreds of refugees went back home at the time as the situation improved amid a U.S. troop increase and Iraqi forces taking more control of tense areas.
On Tuesday, the U.N. opened a registration center in a Damascus suburb for those interested in returning to Iraq but no one showed up, officials at the center said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Rashid Abdo, 36, who came to Syria five years ago from Baghdad, said he wouldn't return. "There is no confidence in this Iraqi government. I prefer any country in the world over Iraq," he said.
Al-Shourifi, the diplomat, said no date has been set for the first free trip, but stressed that another incentive for the returnees will be an extra monthly pay of US$120 per family. He did not say for how long those sums would be paid.
The returnees would also get houses and jobs back home, he said.
"We expect a large number of refugees to return," al-Shourifi said, adding that plans include one free convoy a week once all arrangements are made.
Syria is home to hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees who fled the violence in their country after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime.
Syria says their influx has strained its education, health and housing systems, pushing the government to tighten visa requirements and to call for international assistance.
Damascus has said the cost of the Iraqi refugees' stay in Syria is estimated at US$1.6 billion a year.
MyWay
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