A catastrophe that will get worse is how the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees describes the refugee situation in Iraq fours year after the invasion.
The figures prove that this is no exaggeration. There are at least two million Iraqis who have fled the country, mostly living in Syria and Jordan. Another two million are refugees in Iraq. No one expects these numbers to decline in the near future; if anything they are going to increase.
It is nothing less than a tide of human misery which is straining the resources of the host countries. The UNHCR has appealed for $60 million to help deal with this deluge.
It is pitifully small but even that amount of money has not been raised by the international community. About $35 million has been given. To put this into perspective, the official cost of the Iraq war is more than $400 billion.
The refugees lack basic medical facilities, education and food. Syria and Jordan are trying desperately to cope but without adequate help or finance from the international community, their own resources are being strained.
It is important to note that they are not economic refugees, they are people who fled Iraq because of legitimate fears for their safety. It is betrayal heaped upon betrayal.
Too dangerous to live in Iraq, no life outside it. There is a moral obligation on behalf of the countries who invaded Iraq to at least ease the suffering of those who paid the consequences of their rash decision.
Money alone will not solve the problems refugees face but it would go some way towards giving them basic care. That, surely, is not too much to ask. If the international community cannot get to grips with the refugees then how can they inspire confidence of getting to grips with the bigger issue of Iraq?
