On the road again!

We are wrapping up what has proven to be 4 very fruitful days in Damascus. I continue to be grateful for the access we have been getting. Yesterday we had some more conversations with the United nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), met with one of the leading economists in Syria to discuss the economic impact the Iraqi refugee situation is having on the Syrian government/people, and then spent a significant amount of time with 2 representatives from the State Department who work in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM). 

Later this morning we will be heading out into the field to UNHCR's refugee registration center so that we can see first hand the process of getting refugees registered. Being registered essentially enters people into the system so that they then become eligible for the variety of services provided by the UNHCR, of which resettlement is one service.

Then this afternoon we will be driving back to Amman, Jordan, where we will be reunited with our colleague who was denied entrance into Syria. Then it will be three final days of meetings with people serving in similar roles in Jordan as those we have been meeting with here in Syria. We will also have a day or so to visit the eastern part of Amman where the large pockets of Iraqi refugees are living.

So many observations...so little time! It seems that each day I sit down to write this blog I find myself thinking there are 100 others entries I could make! For instance:

• When do I [and how do I?!] capture the conversations I am having with my colleagues about the Muslim faith and the history of Islam? 
  
• When will have the time to share all that I am learning about the Arab world, its history and how the social/political/cultural dynamics we are currently experiencing came into being?
  
• When do I talk about the perception the Arab world and the Middle East have of the United States and share the things that have shaped that perception? 
  
• What are people's feelings about the war in Iraq and the role the United States is currently playing in its humanitarian aid?
  

Perhaps I have my outline for my first Adult Learning class when I get back! Karin-we'll talk :-) [By the way, I am not at all trying to tease people with these bullet points. I have learned a great deal about each of them and genuinely will be looking for ways to share what I am learning with those of you who are interested in listening when I get back. I am just so aware of how much there is to share...a massive amount...and feeling almost like the "Star Thrower" (www.webtree.ca/inspiration/thestarthrower.html) every time I sit down at my computer.]

I'll end with a thought though about one of the other questions that has made its way to me, and that is:

If most of the refugees are Muslim then why don't Muslim countries help them? 

The answer is that there are and they do! To put things into a bit of perspective, the United States has stated that it will resettle 12,000 Iraqi refugees into the US [The US is very far off of that pace currently and has not reached its number/goal since 2001]. Other countries are resettling what amounts to be a few thousand refugees per year meaning that essentially 1.5-3 million people have flooded into primarily Syria & Jordan. Everyone we have talked with has said that these countries have gone above and beyond in their willingness to welcome and take on the burden of these millions of people. For example the economist we spoke with yesterday spoke about the impact the refugees are having on social services, health care system, increased costs of security and processing. The Syrian government has assumed this cost largely on their own.

One thing (among many) that has become crystal clear to me as I spend time out here is that this region in general, and the countries we are visiting in particular, are feeling the affects of the current Iraqi refugee crisis profoundly and are supporting/caring for their Arab brothers and sisters in significant ways at significant costs.