More Than 2 Million Iraqi Refugees Trapped in Poverty and Fear

http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/April2007/16/c5350.html

Iraqi refugee children trapped in poverty and fear

World Vision calls for urgent action

MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 16 /CNW/ - More than two million Iraqi refugees
are trapped in a cycle of poverty and fear. More than half a million of these
are school-age children, many with no access to education or psychological
support, according to research by World Vision.

As leaders convene at the UN High Commission for Refugees conference in
Geneva, April 17-18, World Vision joins with organizations across the world
calling for a way forward for refugees in host countries such as Jordan, Syria
and Lebanon. During the conference, World Vision will launch a preliminary report on
the situation of Iraqi children in Jordan. The report Trapped! Unlocking the
future of Iraqi refugee children - the result of interviews with more than 100
families in Amman - highlights what it calls "a devastated and scattered
generation trapped with little hope for the future."

Refugee children told World Vision researchers terrifying personal
accounts of their lives in Iraq. They spoke of violence, kidnappings, murder
and bombings that have wrought untold psychological damage.

"These findings expose the harsh reality that children and refugee
families are facing," said Ashley Clements, emergency advocacy specialist for
World Vision and author of the report. The trauma experienced by these children has come to the attention of local organizations but without adequate resources too little is being done for them.

"The plight of Iraqi refugee children is still largely a hidden crisis,
but we want to help change that," says Dirk Booy, executive vice-president for
World Vision Canada. "World Vision is calling on the international community
to ensure adequate shelter, health, education and other critical services for
these children, whose families are struggling to meet basic needs."


<snip>


Copies of the report, stories and video clips are available at:
www.iraqichildrentrapped.org

and their culture.