What will this situation look like in the year 2020? What will become of this lost generation?

I’m not sure. Nobody is. No one can really see beyond Iraq’s elections early next year. Certainly, the refugees don’t know. “I don’t know if I’ll even be alive,” said one 12-year-old.

But let’s look at the ingredients. Start with millions of displaced people. They are angry – and that anger is mostly directed at the US.

They are poor. They live in over-crowded dingy apartments. Most do not work. Either because it is illegal to do so, or they are afraid to go out of their homes. Or they cannot find jobs. Or, they cannot deal with the indignity of going from, say, a doctor to a ditch digger.

They are not healthy. They suffer from post traumatic stress and depression. One woman talked about committing suicide as her 5 year-old daughter sat drawing  by her side. Several have stressed-induced diabetes. They have been maimed both physically and mentally.

They are disenfranchised. Even with the ability to vote in Iraq’s upcoming elections, many will not. They are confused by different conflicting information and don’t know who to trust. Often, they have to pay bribes to get anything done.

Youths and young single men are affected the most. They are disconnected and unanchored.  They can’t assimilate – and often watch TV for 12 hours a day. Their inability to work makes it difficult for them to date and get married.

They have fallen so far behind in their new foreign schools that they often drop out. We are told by the UNHCR that the illiteracy rate is near 20%. Many get menial jobs to support their family at the age of 13. And because they have no legal status, their employees can decide not to pay them – without facing any consequences.

They are hopeless.  Desperate. “We don’t have dreams anymore,” one said.

These ingredients add up to a festering situation of our own making. These are good, hard-working people with very few places to turn.  Unfortunately, one of the few places to turn is to extremist groups, like the Taliban and al Quaeda.

Tags: children, Cost of War, Intersections International, Iraqi Refugees, Iraqi Voices Amplification Project, Refugee Story

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