AP
U.N. seeks $1.7M to feed Iraqi refugees
By SARAH DiLORENZO, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 15, 1:56 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS - The World Food Program has launched an appeal for $1.7 million to help feed tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees who are continue to arrive in
Syria and increasingly without the resources to sustain themselves.
Worsening violence in
Iraq has forced many more Iraqis into neighboring countries, the U.N. body said, and many leave before they have time to make financial arrangements.
"Up to mid-2006, many Iraqi refugees entering Syria had adequate resources to cover their needs," the agency said in a statement Tuesday asking for donations. "As targeted violence continues in Iraq, the number of those fleeing and arriving unable to sustain themselves is rapidly increasing."
While the majority of refugees rely on extended family networks and savings to support themselves, the agency noted, many in the recent wave have no such support and have not even had time to sell their belongings before fleeing.
"Many of these are people who don't have financial reserves to meet the daily needs of their families, including the schooling of their children," said Pippa Bradford, WFP's representative in Syria.
Bradford added that as refugees have flooded into Syria, where they already number 1 million, the competition for jobs and work permits has become increasingly stiff, forcing many Iraqis into illegal and exploitative jobs.
The agency currently provides food assistance to 7,000 people and plans to help 2,500 more each month until the end of the year.
Last month, the Damascus office of the U.N. refugee agency said about 40,000 Iraqis arrive in Syria each month, almost double the rate from only a few months ago. The refugees have placed a strain on Syria, causing a rise in the prices of housing and goods and overcrowding the country's schools.
Syria's Interior Ministry said in December that the country has admitted more than 800,000 Iraqis fleeing the raging violence. An estimated 1.8 million Iraqi refugees are scattered throughout the Middle East, according to U.N. figures.