After the Exodus

After the Exodus Every month, another 100,000 desperate Iraqis flee into exile. But Iraq's neighbours don't want them. Many live an underground existence, fearful of going outside in case they're deported.
Umm Kassem lives in a dank hole in Amman. "The rain came pouring in last night. We are still alive. But only just". She fled to Jordan with her family seeking medical treatment for her grandson after a mortar exploded outside their house. Now her son is too afraid to step outside in case he is forcibly deported. Her grandson still hasn't received any treatment. In the past three years, Amman's population has doubled, swollen by Iraqi refugees. The country now refuses to accept any more young Iraqi men and reports of forced deportations are ever more frequent. "It's really difficult. Iraqis aren't allowed work permits and we don't have residency either", complains one refugee. There's growing outrage that Britain and America has washed its hands of the problem. "It's the height of hypocrisy", complains Joost Hiltermann from the International Crisis Group. "Through their botch-ups, they created this chaos and now they are refusing to accept refugees from Iraq."
FULL SYNOPSIS

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