[Senate Hearing 110-3]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 110-3
THE PLIGHT OF IRAQI REFUGEES
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HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JANUARY 16, 2007
__________
Serial No. J-110-2
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
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COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman
EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania
JOSEPH R. BIDEN, Jr., Delaware ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
HERB KOHL, Wisconsin CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California JON KYL, Arizona
RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois JOHN CORNYN, Texas
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
Bruce A. Cohen, Chief Counsel and Staff Director
Michael O'Neill, Republican Chief Counsel and Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Page
Cornyn, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas........ 5
Feingold, Hon. Russell D., a U.S. Senator from the State of
Wisconsin, prepared statement.................................. 139
Kennedy, Hon. Edward M., a U.S. Senator from the State of
Massachusetts.................................................. 3
prepared statement........................................... 176
Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont. 1
prepared statement........................................... 180
Specter, Hon. Arlen, a U.S. Senator from the State of
Pennsylvania................................................... 2
WITNESSES
``Al-Obiedy, Sami'' (pseudonym), former translator for the U.S.
Armed Forces, Pennsylvania..................................... 19
Bacon, Ken, President, Refugees International, Washington, D.C... 32
Gabaudan, Michel, Regional Representative for the U.S. and
Caribbean, Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees,
Geneva, Switzerland............................................ 41
Iscol, Zachary J., Capt., Foreign Military Training Unit, Marine
Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina 28
``John'' (pseudonym), former truck driver (subcontractor) for the
U.S. Armed Forces, California.................................. 21
Ramaci-Vincent, Lisa, Executive Director, Steven Vincent
Foundation, New York, New York................................. 31
Sauerbrey, Ellen, Assistant Secretary of State for Population,
Refugees and Migration, Department of State, Washington, D.C... 6
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Responses of Ken Bacon to questions submitted by Senator Kennedy. 49
Responses of Michel Gabaudan to questions submitted by Senator
Kennedy........................................................ 52
Responses of Ellen Sauerbrey to questions submitted by Senators
Leahy, Kennedy, Feingold, and Cornyn........................... 55
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
Ahmed, F., M.D., letter.......................................... 97
``Al-Obiedy, Sami'' (pseudonym), former translator for the U.S.
Armed Forces, Pennsylvania, statement.......................... 102
American Jewish community organizations, joint letter............ 112
Bacon, Ken, President, Refugees International, Washington, D.C.,
statement...................................................... 115
Brookings Institution, January 4, 2007, article.................. 119
Chaldean Federation of America, Joseph T. Kassab, Executive
Director, Farmington, Michigan, statement...................... 121
Constitutional scholars, joint letter............................ 130
Dellinger, Walter, former Assistant Attorney General, Chapel
Hill, North Carolina, letter................................... 137
Gabaudan, Michel, Regional Representative for the U.S. and
Caribbean, Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees,
Geneva, Switzerland, statement................................. 140
Human rights and religious rights organizations, joint letter.... 151
Human Rights Watch, executive summary, November 2006............. 153
``John'' (pseudonym), former truck driver (subcontractor) for the
U.S. Armed Forces, California, letter.......................... 171
Keys, Arthur B., Jr., President and CEO, International Relief and
Development, statement......................................... 178
Los Angeles Times, Kirk W. Johnson, December 15, 2006, article... 183
Moshili, Farqad, former employee, Coalition Provisional
Authority, statement........................................... 186
Multi-National Force-Iraq:
October 11, 2006, article.................................... 190
December 25, 2006, article................................... 192
PEN American Center, Ron Chernow, President, and Larry Siems,
Director, Freedom to Write and International Programs, New
York, New York, statement...................................... 194
Ramaci-Vincent, Lisa, Executive Director, Steven Vincent
Foundation, New York, New York, statement...................... 199
Refugees International, Washington, D.C., January 16, 2007,
bulletin....................................................... 207
Sauerbrey, Ellen, Assistant Secretary of State for Population,
Refugees and Migration, Department of State, Washington, D.C... 209
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Felice D.
Gaer, Chair, statement and attachments......................... 213
THE PLIGHT OF IRAQI REFUGEES
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2007
U.S. Senate,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC
The Committee met, Pursuant to notice, at 2:05 p.m., in
room 226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Patrick J. Leahy
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
Also present: Senators Kennedy, Cardin, Specter, and
Cornyn.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. PATRICK J. LEAHY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM
THE STATE OF VERMONT
Chairman Leahy. Good afternoon. Today our committee will
focus its attention on the current refugee crisis caused by the
deteriorating situation in Iraq. Our hearing comes at a time
when the momentum for bipartisan reform to address this crisis
has never been stronger. It continues to grow, and I think that
is good news in this country.
I thank our witnesses for being here, two of whom are going
to be appearing at considerable personal risk. I appreciate the
cooperation of the members and the press in helping us keep
their identity hidden.
I am going to turn the hearing over, in just a moment, to
Senator Kennedy, who will chair the Immigration Subcommittee
when the committee organizes. But I would like to say just a
couple of words.
Among the estimated 1.8 million Iraqis who have fled their
country, there are hundreds of thousands of destitute refugees
who escaped to neighboring countries with little more than they
could carry. Many have been denied refugee status. They have
been forced back into Iraq.
I am particularly concerned that we have not made
provisions or created the legal authority necessary in this
country to secure those Iraqis who have aided American efforts
there.
A lot of these are people whom we called upon to help us,
and now we are not there to help them. We should not repeat the
tragic and immoral mistake of the Vietnam era and leave friends
without a refuge and, of course, subject to very violent, and
often deadly, reprisals.
I am also concerned about Iraq's scholars. Many have been
killed or are presently targeted for assassination. Others have
gone into hiding. Iraq's best hope is its younger generation,
and if they are unable to continue their academic studies their
ability to contribute to Iraq's future will be severely
damaged.
Secretary Sauerbrey, I would like to meet with you soon to
discuss ways that we could assist those who have aided our
forces in Iraq. I want to discuss with you the special plight
of Iraq's scholars, along with the ways we could help them
resettle outside Iraq where they can safely continue their
academic research and instruction. We do not want to have such
a brain drain that we have nobody there to help if peace ever
comes to this troubled area.
I would hope that today's hearing also highlights all that
still needs to be done to help other asylum seekers and
refugees, and I believe congressional action is overdue to
prevent further injustice resulting from the material support
bar to refugee admissions.
It is an issue that is fundamental to America's role as the
leading protector of fundamental human rights. These guiding
principles and our national security are not really mutually
exclusive. Hundreds of people already in the United States are
being denied asylum, and now they face being returned for
prosecution, persecution, and possibly death.
There are many more things I can say. I will include my
full statement in the record.
I would note that the editorial boards of our Nation's
leading newspapers have spoken out strongly in recognizing the
injustice that current law is causing any of the several
hundred previously admitted refugees and asylees who are being
denied reunification with their loved ones.
It is perverse and it should be embarrassing to us as the
stewards of a country that has been known throughout our
history as a safe haven for refugees. So, I am glad many are
speaking out.
I might add, there are conservative religious activists who
have recently joined our efforts and I applaud them for doing
that and welcome than to the issue. I ask that a copy of the
January 11 letter to Senator Specter and myself from a broad
range of organizations--Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First,
Hudson Institute, Southern Baptist Convention--be included in
the record because change in the material support bar to make
it consistent with our Nation's commitment to human rights is
something that should unite us across ideological and party
lines.
It is time to bring our laws back in line with our values
and remind everybody that we are children of immigrants. In my
case, my mother is first generation. My wife is first
generation. This is the beckoning country, and we should make
it so.
[The prepared statement of Chairman Leahy appears as a
submission for the record.]
Chairman Leahy. Senator Specter?
STATEMENT OF HON. ARLEN SPECTER, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE
OF PENNSYLVANIA
Senator Specter. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I noted Senator
Kennedy's excellent op-ed in the Washington Post recently, and
am glad to see this hearing, Mr. Chairman, focus on this very
pressing issue.
Some 1,600,000 have already fled from Iraq, and another
1,800,000 are seeking refuge somewhere else. The reference that
Chairman Leahy made, that we are all children of immigrants, is
certainly true. Both of my parents were immigrants. My mother
came at the age of six with her family from Russia.
In 1911, when my father was 18, the Czar wanted to send him
to Siberia and he did not want to go to Siberia. He heard it
was cold there. He wanted to go to Kansas instead. It was a
close call, and he got to Kansas.
But our laws are explicit in granting refugee status to
people who are persecuted or have a well-founded fear of being
persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
In my parents' days, there was persecution; the Cossacks, my
father told me, would ride down the streets of his little town
looking for Jews.
The problem that is faced now in Iraq is one of gigantic
proportions. There are hundred of thousands who have gone to
neighboring countries. I recently had an opportunity to visit
Syria.
President Bashir Assad talked about the one million who
have come from Iraq to Syria. That is a factor which could be
unifying among the Arab countries to try to help the United
States reestablish order in Iraq, because their countries are
being destabilized by the tremendous flux of immigrants.
When we hear from Secretary Sauerbrey, we will get into the
issue of how many unallocated spots there are and the capacity
of the United States to take additional refugees within our
existing quotas as we take a look at the Immigration Reform
bill which will be on the docket soon.
We passed a bill out of the Senate last year, the House
passed a bill, and regrettably we were unable to conference and
come to a legislative conclusion. But when we take up this
issue again, the matter of refugees ought to be high on our
agenda to incorporate into immigration reform.
This is a very important hearing and it is good to focus
attention on it. I look forward to the presentation of the
witnesses, especially to the individuals who will testify here
today, one of whom is a Pennsylvanian and one of whom had been
a Pennsylvanian, who will testify incognito.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Leahy. Thank you.
Senator Kennedy?
STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD M. KENNEDY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE
STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS
Senator Kennedy. Thank you very much, Senator Leahy, for
scheduling the hearing.
Senator Specter, Senator Cornyn, who is our Ranking Member
on the Immigration, Border Security and Refugee Committee, and
it is good to see Senator Cardin here as well.
Five years ago, Arthur Helton, perhaps this country's
staunchest advocate for the rights of refugees, wrote,
``Refugees matter for a wide variety of reasons. Refugees are a
product of humanity's worst instincts--the willingness of some
persons to oppress others--as well as some of its best
instincts--the willingness of many to assist and protect the
helpless. In personal terms, we care about the refugees because
of the seed of fear that lurks in all of us that can be stated
so simply: it could be me.''
A year later, Arthur Helton gave his life for his beliefs.
He was killed in Baghdad in 2003 while meeting with the U.N.
Special Envoy Sergio Vieira De Mello when a terrorist bomb
destroyed the U.N. Headquarters in Iraq.
But his words resonate today, especially as we consider the
very human cost of the war in Iraq and its tragic effect on the
millions of Iraqis--men, women and children--who have fled
their homes and their country to escape the violence of a
Nation increasingly at war with itself.
Today in Iraq, according to the High Commissioner for
Refugees, 1.7 million people have been driven from their homes;
up to 2 million have sought refuge in neighboring countries, at
least 700,000 in Jordan, 600,000 in Syria, 80,000 in Egypt,
54,000 in Iran, 20,000 in Lebanon.
Thousands more are on the move daily. More than 10 percent
of the people of Iraq are refugees. We will see increasing
numbers as sectarian, ethnic, and generalized violence
continues unabated.
Like other aspects of the war, we bear a heavy
responsibility for their plight. As the Iraq Study Group
states, ``Events in Iraq have been set in motion by American
decisions and actions.'' The study group concluded that ``if
this refugee situation is not addressed, Iraq and the region
could further be destabilized and humanitarian suffering could
be severe. America must respond.''
Last year, however, the United States admitted only 202
Iraqi refugees. A special immigrant visa program for U.S.
military Iraq and Afghan translators currently has a 6-year
waiting list. We can do better than that.
The answer, of course, is not to bring every Iraqi refugee
to the United States, but we do have a special obligation to
keep faith with the Iraqis who have bravely worked for us, and
often paid a terrible price for it by providing them with safe
refuge in the United States. I hope this hearing will inform us
all about how we might better assist Iraqi refugees and enable
us to deal with it fairly and quickly.
We should work urgently with Iraq's neighbors, especially
Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, who are bearing the greatest
refugee burden. Prompt action is essential to prevent
destabilization of the region and to relieve suffering and save
lives.
An international conference sponsored by the countries in
the region and the United Nations could be a first step in
addressing the growing needs of Iraqi refugees and internally
displaced people.
Our Nation is spending $8 billion a month to wage the war
in Iraq, yet to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the
refugees who have fled the war, the State Department plans to
spend only $20 million in the current fiscal year.
The U.N. High Commissioner has issued a $60 million appeal
to fund its work with Iraqis for the next 12 months. Clearly,
the United States should fund its share of that amount and take
other steps to ease the burden on countries hosting large
numbers of these refugees.
Our witnesses today will testify about personal stories of
courage, loyalty, heroism, and tragedy. They represent only a
small number of countless stories of human indignity and
suffering.
Others have been criticized as traitors, infidels, and
agents of the occupier. Some among them, such as the Chaldean
Christians, have long been persecuted for their religious
beliefs.
We owe a special duty to protect all of them and their
loved ones who are being targeted by insurgents and sectarian
death squads because of their faith or their association with
the United States.
I thank Assistant Secretary Sauerbrey and the Office of the
United Nation's High Commissioner for Refugees for being here
and look forward to their plans for dealing with this
extraordinary human tragedy.
We thank the other witnesses for sharing their stories of
fear, cruelty, and triumph. You are the human faces of this
global problem.
If Senator Cornyn wants to make a comment, we would be glad
to hear it.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN CORNYN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF
TEXAS
Senator Cornyn. America has a proud tradition of providing
refuge and comfort to those desperately wishing to escape wars.
America's shores are often the last best safe haven. Our
tradition of opens arms dates back to the founding of this
great Nation.
We should all be proud of the fact that the United States
welcomes more refugees than any other country in the world.
America's refugee resettlement program is consistent with the
values of a Nation committed to compassion. Our refugee policy
also advances America's democratic values, while safeguarding
our national interests. Most importantly, it saves lives.
Today's hearing is an important one and I, likewise, thank
the Chairman for scheduling it. I believe it will bring into
focus the need to take a comprehensive approach toward our
policy in Iraq, with the ultimate goal of helping the Iraqis
achieve stability and security.
Anything short of achieving this goal will pose a
substantial security risk to our Nation, jeopardize our forces
in Iraq, and dramatically escalate the refugee problem in this
region.
Sadly, the Iraqis have long suffered from human rights
abuses at the hands of a brutal, blood-thirsty dictator. It
reminds me of a comment I heard from an Estonian representative
at the NATO parliamentary assembly a couple of years ago when
he said, ``Peace in these repressive countries is more bloody
than war.''
The Iraqis, in the late 1980s, were the subject of a
campaign begun by Saddam Hussein to exterminate the Kurds,
resulting in mass executions, the disappearance of
noncombatants in the tens of thousands, and the forced
displacement of hundreds of thousands.
In the 1990s, while continuing his oppression and slaughter
of the Kurds, Saddam expanded his war on innocent civilians to
the south, where estimates of Shi'a deaths range from tens of
thousands to more than 100,000.
Today, as has been mentioned, there is no shortage of
refugees from Iraq, and many more internally displaced persons
have suffered within that nation for quite some time.
Indeed, when authorizing the President to use force in
Iraq, Congress included as a justification this clause:
``Whereas, Iraq persists in violating resolutions of the United
Nations Security Council by continuing to engage in brutal
repression of its civilian population, while the refugee and
internally displaced person situation in Iraq is severe, it
would only worsen by degrees of magnitude if we followed the
plans that some have offered to withdraw from Iraq before it is
able to sustain itself, to govern itself, and defend itself.''
I am not alone in this belief. Just this past Friday, I
asked Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of State, General Peter Pace, what the
humanitarian consequences would be if the United States were to
pull out of Iraq immediately.
They, too, are convinced that a premature draw-down of
troops would lead to a sharp increase in internally displaced
persons, increased numbers of murders, sectarian violence, and
ethnic cleansing. As a compassionate Nation, we cannot stand by
and allow further tragedy to ensue.
So, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to receiving the testimony
of our distinguished witnesses here today and working with my
colleagues to try to find a way to address this current
situation.
We must, I would hope, resist taking actions that actually
worsen the plight of current refugees in Iraq, exacerbate the
refugee situation, and, at the same time, undermine our
national interest.
Thank you very much.
Senator Kennedy. Thank you very much.
Our first witness is the Honorable Ellen Sauerbrey, who
became Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees
and Migration in January of 2006. She heads the Refugee Bureau
at the State Department that provides protection assistance and
sustainable solutions for refugees, victims of conflict and
advances, and U.S. population and migration policies.
Ms. Sauerbrey formerly served as U.S. Representative to the
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Before that,
she served as the Minority Leader of the Maryland House of
Delegates and was the 1994-1998 Republican nominee for Governor
of Maryland.
We want to welcome Assistant Secretary Sauerbrey. We had a
good chance to visit with you on this committee when we have
talked with the Secretary of State about refugee matters. We
know your own strong interest and commitment, and we welcome
you to the committee.
STATEMENT OF ELLEN SAUERBREY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
POPULATION, REFUGEES AND MIGRATION, DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, DC
Ms. Sauerbrey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, distinguished
members of the committee. It is an honor to have the
opportunity to appear today to discuss issues involving
displaced Iraqis and Iraqi refugees.
I welcome the opportunity to detail some of the actions the
administration is taking to provide protection and assistance
for Iraqis in neighboring countries of first asylum, and for
populations inside Iraq. I want to assure this committee that
this issue is the very top priority for my bureau.
The administration shares your concern about the current
situation facing Iraqi refugees and is committed to helping
conditions for them in countries of first asylum. We are
working closely with host governments in the region, with the
United Nation's High Commissioner for Refugees, the
International Committee for the Red Cross, and non-government
organizations.
Through these partners, we are providing assistance to the
most needy refugees and are seeing durable solutions, including
resettlement to the United States for those that require this
important form of international protection.
Since 2003, the administration has provided more than
$800,000 to support the World Food Program, UNHCR, ICRC, the
International Organization for Migration, and a range of NGO's
that provide direct assistance to returning Iraqi refugees,
internally displaced persons, and third-country national
refugees that are inside of Iraq, and Iraqi refugees outside of
Iraq to help meet basic humanitarian needs and support
reintegration programs.
U.S. Government support has increased the capacity of Iraqi
government ministries working with refugees and internally
displaced persons, provided training to non- governmental
organizations serving refugees, and assisted numerous victims
of conflict. These programs helped reintegrate many of the
300,000 Iraqi refugees who returned home between 2003 and 2006,
and helped many of the 500,000 IDPs inside Iraq.
However, due to the upsurge in sectarian violence in 2006,
this trend of repatriation has reversed itself and at present
more Iraqis are fleeing their homes to other areas of Iraq and
to neighboring countries than are returning. UNHCR estimates
that between 1 to 1.4 million Iraqis are in countries bordering
Iraq, though a large percentage of them had left prior to 2003.
We believe the current population of Iraqis in Jordan and
Syria is a mixture of Iraqis who departed before 2003 and the
newer arrivals. Many organizations, including UNHCR, have
raised concerns about new arrivals and growing numbers of
Iraqis in these bordering countries.
Though neither UNHCR, nor the governments of Jordan or
Syria, have definitive figures on the size of the population.
UNHCR has argued that the refugee crisis it predicted would
occur, but that did not materialize after the invasion in 2003,
is now upon us.
Although we lack firm figures on how many Iraqis are
seeking refuge in neighboring countries, we do know that many
left with minimal resources and are living on the margins.
Other than alRuwaished, which shelters a stable population
of third-country nationals from Iraq, Jordan and UNHCR have not
established refugee camps. Anecdotal reporting also indicates
that many Iraqi children in these countries do not have access
to schools or to adequate health care.
We need better information on the needs of Iraqis in these
countries, particularly their protection concerns. We are
encouraging the Government of Jordan to allow a comprehensive
survey of the needs of Iraqis in Jordan that would guide the
international community in focusing assistance and protection
activities. UNHCR is planning to conduct a similar survey in
Syria.
We hope our partners will be able to complete these surveys
in the very near future. And I might mention that I met with
the Charge from Jordan this morning to reinforce how important
it is that this survey moves quickly.
However, we are not waiting for precise numbers before
responding to the needs of vulnerable Iraqis in neighboring
countries. We are continuing our support to UNHCR and NGO
programs benefiting Iraqis in these countries now.
In 2006, the U.S. provided nearly $8 million of UNHCR's
operational budget for Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. In
2006, we also provided $3.3 million in funding to the
international Catholic Migration Commission to assist the most
vulnerable Iraqis in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
In 2007, we are expanding support for these, and similar,
programs serving needy Iraqis in neighboring countries. But our
ability to respond to the growing needs depends on receiving
sufficient resources.
The President's fiscal year 2007 request for migration and
refugee assistance included $20 million for Iraqi humanitarian
needs. The administration will continue to monitor the recent
refugee and displacement situation and the ability of the
international community to address the increased needs.
Our support for UNHCR's protection mandate and our
diplomatic efforts with host countries is essential to preserve
the principals of first asylum and to ensure that assistance
reaches vulnerable refugees.
We continue to press all governments in the region to keep
their borders open to those with a fear of persecution and to
allow assistance and protection to reach these populations.
Jordan and Syria have been generous hosts to Iraqis for
many years and have largely kept their borders open as people
have continued to flow out of Iraq in 2006. Both Jordan and
Syria are also hosts to sizable Palestinian refugee
populations, and we recognize the additional burdens Iraqi
refugees place on these countries.
We are working with UNHCR and with host governments to see
how we can help bolster their capacity to provide the
protection and assistance so Iraqis do not over-stretch the
social service networks and the ability of these governments to
continue to receive Iraqis that are seeking asylum.
Another aspect of our response to Iraqi refugee needs in
the region is an expansion of our U.S. resettlement program.
Given the large number of Iraqis thought to be in Syria and
Jordan, with some estimates as high as 1.4 million, the U.S.
and other third-country resettlement programs will play a
small, but important, role in meeting the needs of Iraq
refugees.
For that reason, we are working closely with UNHCR to
prioritize U.S. resettlement for the most vulnerable Iraqi
refugees. The U.S. has been resettling Iraqi refugees since the
mid-1970s. To date, the U.S. has resettled more than 37,000
Iraqis. The vast majority of them were victims of Saddam
Hussein's regime.
As the number of Iraqis arriving in Jordan and Syria
increased in 2006, we have acted aggressively to expand our
ability to offer more Iraqis refuge in the United States.
In 2006, we provided $400,000 of funding directly targeted
to support UNHCR resettlement operations. These expanded
operations will increase registration efforts to help identify
vulnerable cases and boost the number of referrals to our
program and to those of other resettlement countries.
We have provided an additional $500,000 for this purpose in
2007. This is very important capacity building for UNHCR for
the resettlement program to increase its ability to provide
referrals.
We do not have a quota on the number of Iraqis who can be
resettled in the United States as refugees. The process of
resettling Iraqis is the same as resettling Iraqis in need of
protection from other parts of the world.
The process includes identifying those in greatest need
from among so many, conducting adequate background security
checks, completing personal interviews, with adjudications, and
coordinating the transportation and logistics for individuals
approved for resettlement.
In processing eligible Iraqis for resettlement in the
United States, we will remain vigilant in preventing terrorists
from gaining admission to our country.
I want to recognize that some of the special populations
that have received attention from humanitarian organizations in
2006: minority populations in Iraq and Iraqis who have worked
closely with the United States in Iraq.
Some have called for special protection and programs for
these people, including religious minorities such as Christians
who have fled Iraq or those who have worked for the American
government or U.S. organizations or companies. Many of these
Iraqis are in refugee in Jordan, Syria or Turkey and may be
unable to return to Iraq because they fear for their lives.
We intend to ensure that these special populations receive
full and expedited consideration and access to the U.S.
resettlement program and we are encouraging them to contact
UNHCR to make their needs known.
I want to take just a moment to talk about important
programs the U.S. Government supports inside of Iraq. While
recent reports have highlighted the conditions of Iraqis in
neighboring countries, we must not forget populations of
concern still inside of Iraq itself.
UNHCR and the Iraqi government estimate that there are as
many as 1.7 million internally displaced persons, and another
44,082 third-country national refugees in Iraq.
The U.S. Government continues to support UNHCR, ICRC, and
key NGO programs inside the country that assist communities
with new internally displaced persons, recently returned
refugees, and other victims of violence.
For example, we support important programs of ICRC that
upgrade hospitals throughout the country and provide medical
services to those who are innocent victims of the armed
insurgency.
We also provide resources and diplomatic support to
programs that seek to protect, assist, and provide durable
solutions for Palestinians, Turkish, and Iranian refugees
inside Iraq.
In 2005 and 2006, we supported the movement of over 3,000
Iranian Kurdish refugees from the Al Tash refugee camp near the
strife-torn town of al Ramadi to a safe area in Northern Iraq,
providing permanent housing, employment programs, and local
integration support.
We are also working closely with UNHCR and the governments
of Iraq and Turkey to enable the voluntary return of more than
10,000 Turkish Kurdish refugees from the Mahkmour refugee camp
to their home villages in Turkey.
The U.S. Agency for International Development continues to
support the protection and assistance requirements of
internally displaced persons in Iraq, mostly through non-
governmental organizations.
These NGO's work closely with new IDPs to provide life-
saving and sustainable assistance throughout the country. The
administration will continue to implement existing programs and
monitor the displacement situation.
Mr. Chairman, we appreciate your leadership on Iraqi
refugee issues and we look forward to working closely with you
as we seek to expand protection for these Iraqis, third-country
national refugees, and IDPs, and to ensure that the vulnerable
among them receive assistance, access to social services, and
for the most vulnerable, the opportunity to resettle to a third
country.
I thank you for the opportunity to address the committee.
This concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer your
questions.
Senator Kennedy. Thank you very much, Madam Secretary.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Sauerbrey appears as a
submission for the record.]
Senator Kennedy. We will take 6-minute rounds.
I thank you, Madam Secretary. We have enjoyed working with
you personally. I am going to make some observations just
generally about the policy of the administration.
I think this is an instance where, not unlike a number of
other issues, whether it has been IEDs, the insurgency, or the
armor, we are really missing the crisis and it has effectively
exploded. There were 202 refugees admitted last year. Twenty
million dollars for all refugees, despite our $8 billion a
month for the war, $20 billion for next year. Money is not
everything, but is a pretty good indicator about where the
administration is.
Now, I want to ask you if you will be of some help to us,
first of all, in establishing special humanitarian parole. We
have done it for groups in the Soviet Union. We have done it on
Cuba. We have done it in Vietnam. We have done it at other
times.
Will you take that back to the Department and--at least I
would hope you would--urge the Department to consider that,
given the nature of the crisis. But will you give the assurance
that you will take it back to the Department and give us some
response about whether they will go ahead and do that, or if
they will not, the reasons for it? Would you?
Ms. Sauerbrey. Absolutely, Mr. Chairman. If I might add, I
met just this morning with someone from Consular Affairs and we
were talking about just this issue.
Senator Kennedy. Good.
Second, the commitment to activate a system to process
refugees inside Iraq. That is enormously important. You have
got a series of regional embassies. You have got the green
zone. You have Mosul, Kirkuk, Basra, Hillah.
Will you give us assurance that you will go back to the
Department and consider activating a system to process refugees
inside Iraq? Then I would like to know, this could also include
the American embassies inside the country. Will you look at
both of those?
Ms. Sauerbrey. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate that. We
certainly will. My Bureau has been holding conversations with
our embassy--another one is scheduled tomorrow--to try to look
at procedures that can be used. It is a complicated issue
because of the security problems of people reaching our
embassy, people coming into the green zone.
We are, however, looking at ways that we can find to do
processing inside of Iraq, as well as urging people who are
extremely vulnerable to seek protection in Jordan, where they
are more readily accessed.
Senator Kennedy. That is true. But many of these countries
are closing the borders now. I mean, the Jordanians, the
Lebanese, the Syrians are hard pressed. The Saudis have closed
theirs. So it is very difficult, if the borders are closed for
these individuals, to get in. They cannot do it inside Iraq,
they cannot do it outside.
We are going to hear from various witnesses, stories of
extraordinary courage and what they have done in terms of
working with American service men. We are going to hear a very
important story of that nature and the risks that they have
gone through, in this instance translators, but in another
instance a person that was providing water for American
servicemen.
So, inside the country as well as processing in embassies
in that region, very, very important. I want to hear back from
you, please, about what the Department is going to do on this.
Next, should we have the 20,000 surplus in terms of the
numbers, the 20,000 reserved? Those numbers are approved by the
President of the United States. We have not had the resources--
we have talked about this previously--to do it. There are
additional resources that are going to be necessary for the
resettlement.
I am thinking, we are talking about whether there are
translators, those that work with military personnel, those
that I think who have worked even with American independent
contractors, those who worked with the press. They are all
under the same kind of risks--we will hear more about that
later.
And if it is going to be the resources that are going to be
necessary to be able to do it, we want to be sure, when that
supplemental comes up, in terms of the one that we anticipate,
that you will make the request for adequate resources to be
able to process this.
I know you cannot answer that precisely. I have been around
here long enough. But give us your best shot at it, will you?
[Laughter.]
Ms. Sauerbrey. First of all, I want to assure you that our
top priority--and we are absolutely seized with the issue--is
how we can help those people who have worked for, and provided
assistance to, the U.S. Government. That has got to be an
absolute top priority.
In terms of the resources, if we are fortunate enough to
receive the funding that the Senate approved for our admissions
program, we will have the 70,000 number that the President
asked for, which has the 20,000 unallocated reserve. We are
eagerly waiting for a resolution to this number.
Senator Kennedy. Well, if it does not come I hope he will
give consideration to a supplemental.
My time is just about up. But this idea of a regional
conference in the area. You have individuals who have moved in
all of these countries, including Syria, including Iran.
I think we are going to hear later in the day from the U.N.
High Commissioner about the possibilities of having some
regional conference, either under the Arab League or the other
possibilities there.
Can you give us some assurance that at least we are going
to be a constructive and positive force and that we will
participate in such an endeavor if it is under the leadership
of the U.N. High Commissioner?
Ms. Sauerbrey. I spoke to the High Commissioner on Saturday
and he told me that they are moving forward with the OIC, and
expect to have some sort of a meeting under those auspices in
the spring. We certainly look forward to working in any way
that we can to cooperate. This has got to be a coordinated
effort.
The United States is a very generous country, but we cannot
do it alone, nor should we be doing it without coordinating
with other countries in the region, as well as other
resettlement countries and assistance countries.
Senator Kennedy. I want to thank you. My time is up. I hope
you will get back to us in a timely way, because time is of
such importance.
Ms. Sauerbrey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Kennedy. Senator Specter?
Senator Specter. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Madam Secretary, in your statement you noted that there are
1.7 million internally displaced people in Iraq. In your
statement, you note that the United States has helped to
resettle 37,000. That is a very small percentage of those who
are in need. Is that adequate? What more can be done?
Ms. Sauerbrey. Senator Specter, we recognize that if all
the resettlement countries in the world take the maximum number
that they can absorb, we will only touch a small percentage of
this population.
Senator Specter. What more can the United States do?
Ms. Sauerbrey. What we think our effort needs primarily to
be focused, on assistance and protection of refugees in the
countries of first asylum.
Senator Specter. But, Madam Secretary, how can we increase
the number so that we do more for more than 37,000? Would you
take that back to the Department? Because that is a relatively
small number being accommodated.
How about the unallocated spots where some 20,000 are
allocated each year without any specific designation and a
great many of those spots have gone unused? Two questions. How
many spots are there unallocated, and why are more not being
used for the Iraqis?
Ms. Sauerbrey. Senator Specter, the Presidential
determination was 70,000, at the time that that planning
document was put together last spring when that work began,
there was not at that point a massive outflow. We had allocated
in the planning document 5,500 slots for the region. We left
the 20,000 unallocated reserve for the purpose of being able to
have flexibility in the program.
Senator Specter. Well, why not use them now when there is
such a pressing need?
Ms. Sauerbrey. We certainly are hoping that we will be
funded to use them. At this point, we--
Senator Specter. Is it only a matter of funding? Is the
State Department prepared to use those unallocated spots for
the Iraqis?
Ms. Sauerbrey. We would be using a significant number of
them.
Senator Specter. When you say ``significant'', what do you
mean by that?
Ms. Sauerbrey. I would say the overwhelming majority. There
are other pressing areas in the world as well, but because of
the significance of this outflow, I am sure that the largest
portion by far would go to Iraqis.
Senator Specter. Madam Secretary, as to the 37,000 who have
come to the United States, is there qualitative information as
to what kinds of people these are? Are they Ph.Ds? Are they
scientists? Are they skilled? Are those who are coming from
Iraq to the United States adding significantly to the
productivity of our country?
Ms. Sauerbrey. I think that we can say that for the
majority of people who emigrate to our country.
Senator Specter. Well, if they are well-qualified and if
they are seeking asylum, if they want to go, we are not
promoting a brain drain on Iraq. We are not asking their people
to come to the United States. But where they are in need of
refuge and they can benefit our country, that would be another
very positive reason.
Let me turn, now, to the idea of an international
conference. I had an opportunity to visit in Syria and talk to
President Bashir Assad in late December. He talked about
Syria's willingness to host an international conference where
the warring factions from Iraq would be brought to Damascus. He
said he had already gotten the cooperation of Turkey. He
intended to invite other Arab countries. He expressed concern
about, as he put it, one million Iraqis who have come into
Syria.
Would this not be a very important resource for the United
States to activate and to be willing to have a dialog with
Syria, at least to the extent of dealing with this problem
which of mutual concern?
Ms. Sauerbrey. This would be a foreign policy issue,
Senator, that would be a little bit out of my--
Senator Specter. Well, you are in the State Department.
Ms. Sauerbrey. This is true, and I will certainly take this
back to the Secretary as a suggestion that you are posing.
Senator Specter. Well, she has heard my suggestion. What do
you think about it? [Laughter.]
Ms. Sauerbrey. I think that any time that you can--
Senator Specter. She has heard my suggestion and I have
heard from her. But, now, what do you think? What do you think
about it?
Ms. Sauerbrey. I think that any time that you can get
parties talking to each other, that something constructive has
a likelihood of coming out of it.
Senator Specter. Well, it certainly is a gigantic problem.
The countries in the region--this could be some common ground.
When we talk to Syria, we might also take President Bashir
Assad up on his offer to try to control the border.
We are talking about trying to stop the insurgents and the
terrorists from coming into Iraq. He complains--and I have not
had a chance yet to brief the Secretary as she is traveling,
but I will be doing so next week--that he needs cooperation
from the United States.
In the last 7 seconds that I have, let me ask one final
question. That is, what steps are we taking to be as sure as we
can that the refugees who come into the United States under
this program are not terrorists themselves?
Ms. Sauerbrey. Senator, every refugee who comes into the
United States has to be individually adjudicated by the
Department of Homeland Security. They are screened for their
background and every effort is being made.
One of the reasons that you are seeing so few Iraqis that
have come into the United States since 2003 is because of an
enhanced security review that has been required that has made
it very difficult for these Iraq refugees who have been
referred to us by UNHCR to pass through the screening
mechanism. That enhanced security review has also led to UNHCR
not making referrals to the United States.
So the security issue is very critical and very key to this
whole issue, both in terms of how we balance the protection of
the United States and, at the same time, maintain the
humanitarian nature of our country to be a welcoming country to
refugees.
Senator Specter. Thank you for your contribution to public
service, Madam Secretary. I know you have a long resume of
activity and public life, from State legislature to candidacy
for government. We thank you for that active participation and
for the job you are now doing. So, carry our message back to
Secretary Rice.
Ms. Sauerbrey. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Specter. Thank you.
Senator Kennedy. Senator Cardin?
Senator Cardin. Thank you.
Secretary Sauerbrey, it is nice to see you again.
Ms. Sauerbrey. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. May I call you Mr.
Speaker?
Senator Cardin. Not here. But that is fine.
[Laughter.]
It is nice to see you. We had a chance to work together for
many years in the Maryland legislature and it is nice to have
you before the Judiciary Committee.
I want to followup a little bit on Senator Specter's point
about 37,000, because if I understand correctly, most of those
37,000 came to the United States when Saddam Hussein was in
power in Iraq.
So do you know the numbers that we have admitted under
refugee status since the current campaign by the United States
and coalition forces?
Ms. Sauerbrey. Yes, Senator. We have admitted, since 2003,
466. The main reason that that number dropped so dramatically,
as I explained to Senator Specter, is after 2003 the Congress
enacted significant changes in the law that created a need for
much-enhanced security testing.
Senator Cardin. And I certainly understand that. But it
just underscored a point that Senator Specter made and Senator
Kennedy made. Knowing the numbers of refugees that are in Iraq
and in the surrounding countries, knowing full well that many
of the individuals who are seeking asylum in the United States
are doing so because of helping the United States and Iraq, as
the two witnesses that will be testifying later, and the ordeal
that they had to go through in order to reach safety, I am
certain many have not reached safety. I think we have a much
stronger obligation to make this country available.
I just really want to underscore a suggestion Senator
Kennedy made about being able to provide services within Iraq
for those who seek asylum in the United States. It is just
impossible for many to go through what these two witnesses, who
later will be testifying, did to come to the United States
without some assistance from us in Iraq or in that region. So
it seems to me that is the least we can do.
The fact that we only have 400 that have been able to make
it through our process to be able to come to America, I think
speaks volumes about the need for us to find a policy that will
be more accommodating so that we accomplish some of our
responsibility here to help those that are in need.
So I hope you will do more than carry it back. I hope that
we will come up with some workable plans in order to make this
program work in our country.
Ms. Sauerbrey. Thank you, Senator. As I indicated earlier,
we are in discussions with our embassy, not only in Baghdad,
but our embassies in the bordering countries so that we are
trying to find a way to address those inside of Iraq as well as
those who have reached, perhaps, Amman.
We are looking at special visas. We are looking at special
benefit parole. We are looking at trying to find some way to do
in-country refugee processing. I have to tell you, it is a very
difficult issue to try to figure out how to do this within
Iraq, within the green zone, within our embassy.
How to do this, does not have an easy solution. I just want
to assure you that we are working very diligently, trying to
figure out a way to make it work.
Senator Cardin. I appreciate that.
But one of my concerns is, many of these individuals are
not displaced within Iraq. These are individuals that perhaps
are living in their homes, in their community, but are in fear
of being killed or their families killed because they helped
America.
So I do not know if we have any numbers as to how many are
in fear of their life, or fear of their family's life because
of being identified with the United States, but it would be, I
think, important for this committee if we had better
information to work on.
I would just encourage you to try to get the numbers from
our command in Iraq as to what we are looking at as far as
families that are at real risk today. One of the tragedies in
Iraq is that we are not able to guarantee the safety of these
families. So, I think it is obvious that we need to do what we
can in Iraq, but we also need to make sure people are given as
much safety as possible.
Ms. Sauerbrey. We have developed an expedited system
recently with UNHCR whereby we are able to provide them with
information of people who have already chosen to leave Iraq
that are moving to surrounding countries so that we can alert
them to immediately process.
In fact, just this week we have gotten an individual who
had been brought to our attention by an NGO that had gone to
Amman, and we were able to notify UNHCR. They brought them in
and gave them refugee status immediately, and they have been
referred to our resettlement program. So, the process is under
way.
Senator Cardin. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Kennedy. Thank you.
Senator Cornyn?
Senator Cornyn. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Madam Secretary, in 2003 I had a chance to travel to Iraq
with the Senate Armed Services Committee. I remember standing
on the edge of a mass grave located in Iraq and was told by a
U.N. representative that approximately 400,000 Iraqis lay dead
in similar mass graves throughout the country, victims of the
Saddam Hussein regime--Kurds, Shi'a and others who resisted his
tyranny. The U.N. representative also, at the same time, said
that about a million Iraqis had fled the country to other parts
of the world.
From what you said earlier, it sounded like the refugee
flow out of Iraq reversed itself somewhat following Saddam's
fall, but then again reversed itself with the outflow exceeding
the inflow.
Could you go through those numbers again and the relative
time periods?
Ms. Sauerbrey. Yes. Thank you, Senator. This is such an
interesting and complex issue, I can tell you, I came into my
position just about exactly a year ago, and at that time we
were touting the fact that repatriation was so successful
because most of the resources that we were spending at that
time were to return people. A very large number of Iraqis were
returning to Iraq and we were funding the assistance programs
to sustain them.
Senator Cornyn. And when did that change?
Ms. Sauerbrey. That changed, largely, following the Sumara
bombing in April of last year. So it really was not until
about, I would say, July or August that we started becoming
aware that there was a large number of people moving in the
other direction.
Senator Cornyn. When looking at a difficult problem, I
think you would probably agree with me that it is important not
only to look at what the effects are, but what the cause may
be, of course, in trying to solve this problem.
Would you agree with this: if there is anything that we
might be able to do about the cause of the refugees flowing out
of Iraq in fear of their safety because of the sectarian
violence and the unstable environment, if there is anything we
could do to stabilize Iraq to allow Iraqis to govern themselves
and to defend themselves, it would go a long way to stemming
the tide of people leaving the country out of fear for their
own safety?
Ms. Sauerbrey. Senator, there is no question that
throughout the world most people do not want to be resettled in
third countries. They want to go home. Refugees want to go
home. They want to live in safety and dignity in their homes.
So as we look at the solutions to this problem, and
recognizing that only a small percentage under the best of
circumstances are going to find an opportunity to resettle
somewhere else, they are going to have to be the most
vulnerable that we are able to identify that need resettlement
that probably, for whatever reason, may never be able to go
home. But making Iraq a stable country where the violence is
brought under control is the most important thing that we could
do for our refugee program.
Senator Cornyn. Well, I will acknowledge the obvious and
say our policy in Iraq is controversial. But what I hope is not
controversial is our desire to try to solve this problem, not
only in terms of the instability created in the Middle East and
the likelihood of regional conflict and another failed state
serving as a launching pad for future terrorist attacks, but
also for the millions of people who are fleeing the danger in
that country.
I just hope that all of us in public life, those who have
taken an oath to represent our constituents, to protect and
defend the United States, will try to look for constructive
alternatives and not just criticize.
I think one of the most distressing things about the public
debate about the way forward in Iraq is while the President has
consulted with the vast array of people across the political
and ideological spectrum, and with the best military minds
available in our country and has come up with a plan, there are
those who would simply criticize that plan and who have nothing
else to offer by way of an alternative.
I would hope this would be one of those things from a
humanitarian standpoint, from the standpoint of simple human
compassion, that we could rise above the typical
contentiousness in Washington, the partisanship, and the
divisive debates and try to find some way to find common cause
to bring stability to Iraq and to allow what perhaps is the
most humane thing we could possibly do--allow Iraqis to return
to their home and to live in peace and safety and stability.
So I hope, while we look at the effects of the turmoil and
violence in Iraq and we try to deal with that as well as we
can, we also will not ignore the cause and we will work
together to try to find solutions.
Thank you very much.
Ms. Sauerbrey. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Kennedy. Thank you very much, Madam Secretary. We
look forward to hearing from you. We appreciate your appearance
here this afternoon.
Ms. Sauerbrey. Thank you.
Senator Kennedy. We will move toward the next panel of
witnesses. We will hear testimonies and have the opportunity to
ask questions of the first two witnesses on this panel, and
then I will ask that the remainder of the witnesses on this
panel would take their seats.
In order to protect the identity of our two witnesses and
the lives of their families, I am going to ask that the
audience and members of the press refrain from taking any
pictures or video shooting of the witnesses during the
testimony, and I thank you for your cooperation.
Before I begin, I would like to commend each of the
witnesses on this panel and their families for their courage in
coming to testify and to tell their stories. Before introducing
them, I would like to recognize the law firm of Morgan Lewis
from Philadelphia and the Villanova Law School CARE Clinic.
These attorneys and law students have been incredibly valuable
to the witnesses testifying before us today, and I want to
offer my thanks to Dino Privitera from Morgan Lewis, Brian
Watson from Morgan Lewis, Michelle Pistone, Villanova Law
School, who is a professor. She is strongly committed to this
pro bono work in the law school.
Sean Burke, Villanova Law School, and Robert Kidwell,
Villanova Law School. Both the law firm and these law
students--you will hear the result of their work--have just
performed nobly and they deserve the highest commendation in
terms of legal profession.
They have made an extraordinary difference. They have been
enormously helpful to this committee and their work is going to
be exceedingly helpful to us, and I am sure the administration,
as we go forward.
Our first witness, Sami, is the first-ever recipient of the
special immigrant translator visa from Iraq. He is a former
interpreter and translator for the U.S. and the coalition
forces of Mosul.
Our second witness is John, who, along with his family, was
granted asylum in the United States just a few months ago. He
is a former truck driver, contracted by the U.S. military to
supply water in its service camps. We will hear from John and
his interpreter, Ameara Mattia. I am very, very grateful to
them for their presence here today.
Then we will introduce the remainder of our panel. I might
just take a moment now to introduce Captain Zachary Iscol of
the U.S. Marine Corps. He is currently assigned as a Team
Leader in Company A, Foreign Military Training Unit, Marine
Forces Special Operations Command.
He was deployed to Iraq, where he was in charge of a
combined action platoon comprised of 200 Iraqi soldiers and 30
U.S. Marines. His platoon became a model for successful
development of Iraqi security forces after fighting on the
front lines in the November 4th assault to clear Fallujah. The
platoons of Iraq soldiers were some of the first to participate
in high-density combat operations. He later conducted security
operations throughout Iraq's Anbar province.
He is a recipient of the Bronze Star medal with Combat-
Distinguished V device, and the Combat Action ribbon. He will
talk about the importance of Iraqi translators to the success
of their mission.
Then we have Lisa Ramaci-Vincent, who is the Executive
Director of the Steven Vincent Foundation, which was created to
assist families of indigenous journalists in regions of
conflict throughout the world who are killed while doing their
jobs, and also to support the work of female journalists in
those regions. Previously she worked in the American Furniture
and Folk Art Department at Sotheby's Auction House.
Then we will hear from Ken Bacon, who serves as the
president of Refugees International. From 1994 to 2001, he was
the Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs, Department of
Defense, where he advised the Secretary of Defense and other
top officials. From 1969 to 1994, he was a reporter, editor,
and columnist with the Wall Street Journal. He has appeared
before our committee on a number of occasions on the issues of
refugees, and we are grateful to all of them.
So we will start, if we might, with Sami.
STATEMENT OF SAMI AL-OBIEDY, FORMER TRANSLATOR FOR THE U.S.
ARMED FORCES, PENNSYLVANIA
Mr. Al-Obiedy. I would like to thank Chairman Leahy,
Ranking Member Specter, Senator Kennedy, and members of the
Senate Judiciary Committee for providing me the opportunity to
testify and share my experiences with you as a former Iraqi
translator assisting coalition and U.S. forces in Iraq. I am
privileged and honored to do so.
In order to protect my identity, and because of the
concerns for the safety of my family back home in Iraq, I am
testifying here today under the name of Sami Al-Obiedy.
I am a 27-year-old Sunni Arab from Mosul, Iraq. In April of
2003, shortly after U.S. troops arrived in Mosul, I volunteered
to work as an Iraqi translator. I welcomed the opportunity to
help U.S. and coalition forces because I believed that they had
come to liberate Iraq from years of tyranny and oppression
under Saddam's regime, under which I had lived my entire life.
In my role as a translator, I helped U.S. and coalition
forces build trust and working relationships with local Iraqi
government officials, business, civic, and religious leaders. I
accompanied U.S. soldiers on hundreds of convoys through
hostile territory. Often the military vehicles in which we
traveled were targeted by anti-Iraqi insurgents and terrorists
with roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades, and ambush and
sniper fire.
During the time I served as a translator, I honestly
believed I would be killed. For instance, I translated many
discussions between U.S. forces and Mosul Police Chief Burhawi,
who was eventually arrested in November of 2004 for working
with terrorists and who was involved in the murder of Osama
Kashmula, the Governor of Nineveh province.
In September of 2004, Governor Kashmulla was en route to a
meeting in Baghdad when his convoy was attacked by insurgents.
The Iraqi police, under the command of Chief Kheiri Barhawi,
had placed a towel over the Governor's window to shield him
from the sun. In fact, the towel was to mark the spot where
insurgents aimed their bullets which killed Kashmulla, the
Governor of the province.
I am saddened to say that the number of Iraqis who have
lost their lives for the cause of freedom and democracy in Iraq
is too long to recount today. Let me give you but one example.
Samir, the lead interpreter for the Task Force Public Affairs
Office was executed by several gunmen on a crowded street on
his way to work.
After being taken hostage by insurgents, he attempted to
escape from his captors because he knew better than anyone the
horrible fate that Iraqis who worked for coalition forces
faced.
He broke free at an intersection and ran into a crowded
open market. The terrorists chased him down and shot him in the
back. One of the terrorists then calmly approached Samir, stood
over him, and shot him point blank in the face and walked away.
I, too, have been targeted for death. My name was listed on
the doors of several mosques calling for my death. Supposed
friends of mine saw my name on the list and turned on me
because they believed I was a traitor.
Encouraged by many U.S. soldiers, I decided that I would
leave Iraq on November 9 of 2005. As it turned out, I almost
never made it. On November 7, I was seriously injured in a
targeted car bombing. I was in a car traveling through a Mosul
neighborhood when a suicide bomber, in a car directly behind
me, blew himself up. I was hit by shrapnel in the face,
bloodied and dazed. I am fortunate to be alive.
Following this brush with death, I fled Iraq. Upon my
arrival in the United States, I sought advice for obtaining
asylum. My attorneys prepared and filed my applications for
asylum and application for special immigrant status under the
newly enacted law that provides protective status to those of
us who served as translators for the American forces in Iraq.
In June of 2006, I learned that I had been granted special
immigrant status. As a result, today I live free from the fear
of persecution and threats to my life that I faced on a daily
basis in Iraq. My hope is that all brave Iraqis who worked and
braved so much will have the same chance as I have had to live
in freedom.
As it did with me, the road to a free and democratic Iraq
begins, first and foremost, in the hearts and minds of the
Iraqi people. Without the ability to communicate with the Iraqi
people in their own language, democracy and freedom will be at
risk.
Terrorists understand this concept all too well and that is
why they have, and will continue to, specially target Iraqi
translators and kill those who have dared to give freedom and
democracy a voice in Iraq.
Senators, I am happy to answer any questions.
Senator Kennedy. Very good. Thank you very much.
We will come back to some questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Al-Obiedy appears as a
submission for the record.]
Senator Kennedy. We will listen, if we could, to John. We
will listen to your testimony and then we will have questions
for both.
STATEMENT OF JOHN, FORMER TRUCK DRIVER (SUBCONTRACTOR) FOR THE
U.S. ARMED FORCES, CALIFORNIA
John. Thank you for having me here today. With your
permission, I would like to read my entire statement to you in
Aramaic and then have my statement read to you by my
interpreter in English. I promise to be brief, and thank you
for listening.
Senator Kennedy. We will proceed in that way, John.
John. My name is John and I am 48 years old. I have a brief
statement to give to the committee today. I would ask that my
full statement be made a part of the record.
[The prepared statement of John appears as a submission for
the record.]
John. I am a native of Iraq, born in Batnaya, Mosul. My
family and I were granted asylum in the United States just 2
months ago.
My wife, my six children and I fled Iraq after terrorist
groups targeted me and my family because I aided Americans by
supplying water to their service camps. I worked for a
contractor paid by the American military to deliver water to
its servicemen.
Additionally, my family and I are Chaldeans, and thus
practicing Catholics. As a result, we were often the targets of
harassment and attacks by the Islamic majority who associated
us with the Americans. It is because of this persecution that
thousands of my fellow Chaldeans have fled Iraq, making
Christianity virtually extinct in the country.
On two occasions, I was beaten by Islamic terrorist groups
that knew my name and threatened that if I did not leave the
country, I would be killed.
On the day of the first attack, I went to work delivering
water to the Americans along with my son. At about 9 that
morning, we saw what appeared to be a road blockade ahead.
Before we could realize what was happening, my son and I were
dragged out of the cab of our truck. We were positioned face
down on the side of the road by a group of terrorists.
I could not make out the identity of these men, but they
were heavily armed and were wearing green bandannas decorated
with the three stars from the Iraqi flag. They kept saying to
me, ``Don't work with the Americans,'' and one of them struck
me in the face with the butt of his gun, permanently damaging
my jaw.
Another man twisted my son's arm so severely that he broke
it. They knew my name and instructed me that this was a warning
and that I would be killed if I continued assisting the
Americans. After they made their threat they departed, leaving
us bloodied on the side of the road.
It was at this point that everything began to change for my
family. My wife feared for our children's lives so much that
she refused to let them go to school and I stayed up most
nights watching out for any signs of trouble near our home.
Despite the warning from the first attack, I continued
delivering water for the Americans.
I was attacked a second time, roughly 5 months after the
first attack. I was alone, making a delivery to the American
soldiers. I was stopped on the road and a man got into my truck
and pointed a gun at my head. He ordered me to follow the
vehicle in front of me. I followed the vehicle into the desert.
When we stopped, five additional terrorists exited the
vehicle and ordered me out of the truck. The men were speaking
Farsi and were dressed in long white robes, with masks covering
their faces. The six terrorists blindfolded me and repeatedly
struck me in the face with their guns. They called me by name
and they knew I had been warned before. They told me they were
going to kill me.
I pleaded for my life. Five of the terrorists were yelling,
``Kill him.'' One, however, spoke up and said, ``We will not
kill you, but you must leave the country immediately.''
If I did not leave, they promised me they would kidnap and
slaughter my entire family. They continued to beat me until I
was knocked unconscious. I awoke several hours later alone in
the desert. I returned home to tell my family we had to leave
the country immediately.
We had family in America, and since my assistance to
American soldiers was partly responsible for my family's
persecution, we decided to flee Iraq for the United States.
Two years ago, after traveling through five countries and
four continents, we took a taxicab from Mexico to the United
States border. Just 1 week later, asylum was granted. We flew
to California, where I was reunited with my children, my
brother, my mother, and several members of my family.
Two years ago yesterday, I was fleeing Iraq in the back of
a bus, just starting my long journey to America. My future was
unknown. But now, thanks to the help of many people and my
family, I have been blessed with asylum in this country.
I thank you for your graciousness in allowing me to speak
here today, and I ask that you continue to be gracious to my
former countrymen and fellow Chaldeans who have been forced to
leave their homes.
Thank you very much.
Senator Kennedy. Thank you very much, John. These are
enormously moving stories. People use words here and around the
world, but you have been living this nightmare for yourselves
and your families, and they are extraordinary stories of
courage and heroism in your work for Americans and the
servicemen.
Let me just ask, first, Sami, you were obviously targeted.
You have mentioned other individuals who were translators who
were targeted. What was the sense among the translators? Did
some others of them flee? Do you know people that would flee?
Why would people come back in and work and be translators?
I think you mentioned to us earlier when I saw you at
noontime that many translators that are American translators
worked for the higher echelons, but that at your level, you
have worked with, as we will hear later, the Marines and others
in local communities.
As your own testimony was, you guided different groups to
different roads and different communities, and a more fuller
explanation as to the work that you have done at great risk in
terms of providing information to Americans.
What is the general sense? Do you feel that you were
targeted? Did other translators feel they are targeted? Do they
flee? Do they feel that America is going to be there for them,
as you have been there for America? What is the mood?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. Thanks for your question, Senator Kennedy.
When a translator decides to work for the U.S. Army to help
support democracy and freedom in Iraq, then the translator puts
his life on the line. That is a decision someone has got to
make when they first go and apply for the job.
Once you make this decision, you are in, you put your life
on the line. Then you have to agree to accept all the dangers
and the risks that you take that will come out of it, until
some point when translators find themselves in a very critical
situation, like 1 day finding terrorists are trying to attack
their families, that is what matters the most.
Senator Kennedy. They print your name at the mosque. Is
that true?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. Yes, sir. I saw my name on a list, on
several lists on the walls of the mosques. They call us
traitors, and people wanted by the terrorists, or jihadists, or
whoever. They call us traitors, and under these names they try
to make it more logical to the normal people.
Then they start assassinating anyone, even those who left
the job, resigned their positions with the U.S. Army. Still,
you have got a record with them. So no matter how long it has
have been since you left working for them, you still have that
record. The only thing you could do is leave the country with
your family.
Senator Kennedy. Well, let me ask, when you left the
country--now, in order to be eligible for this program you have
to get a general or flag officer to state that you have been a
translator for over a year.
Mr. Al-Obiedy. Yes, Senator.
Senator Kennedy. I imagine that has its complications as
well for other translators to be able to get it. So what
happened? You leave. Did you then hope to get into the United
States? Just very quickly. Did you hope to get into the United
States, and was this a problem?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. First of all, when I left the country I was
just hoping to stay alive. That was my main concern. Then I was
able to come to the United States. Later on, when I came over
to the United States, I was able to obtain a letter of
recommendation from General Hamm, Carter Hamm, who was the
commander of the forces in Iraq in Mosul. So it is very hard,
of course, unless the general knows the person individually to
write a letter and recommend you for this program.
Senator Kennedy. John, let me ask you, now, you did not
serve as a translator, but you certainly worked and risked your
life in providing for American troops. You were beaten, you saw
your children beaten, and you were obviously threatened.
Now, as I understand it, it took you three or four
different passports to get in here. Just one passport? I
thought he went to other countries. I thought I was told at
lunchtime that he had different passports, getting into
different countries.
All that being aside, do you know of other Iraqis that work
for Americans or Americans that were targeted and whose lives
were at risk and tried to flee the country or wanted to come to
the United States and were unable to do so?
John. I do not know about others. I know about myself and
my story. I know other people have fled Iraq for many different
reasons, but I am not sure of their exact reasons.
Senator Kennedy. All right.
Just a final question, and then my time is up. Let me ask
you, John or Sami, do you know why you were targeted? Why were
you targeted? How did you get caught up in the civil war,
sectarian violence, whatever you want to call it? Why do you
think they were after you some time ago? When did you first
detect that they were going after you? A couple of years ago
now? Why were they after you for working for Americans? Who was
it that was after you? Were there not any groups around to try
and protect you?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. Yes, Senator. Like I mentioned, the
connection between the coalition forces and the Iraqi
civilians, the Iraqi community, is the translators who would
try to bridge the gap, try to communicate between both sides. A
lot of people who are anti-democracy, anti-freedom, do not like
that. They do not want any connection between both sides, the
American side, freedom.
It promotes the ideals of freedom and democracy and these
people who want the tyranny and oppression to stay in the
country, and the darkness. So these people, they pay money and
they hire people to kill us, to hunt for translators. They have
all the details and information about every single one of us.
So, a lot of people are involved in that, Ba'athists and
radical Islamics, and some people from neighboring countries
who want to keep the situation chaotic. That is basically it.
Senator Kennedy. All right.
Senator Specter?
Senator Specter. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Sami, and thank you, John, for coming in here
today to testify and to provide evidence which will inform the
American people of the need to have a refugee program. We
salute you, Sami, for what you have done as a translator, and
you, John, for helping the United States forces there.
We thank Morgan Lewis for providing pro bono work. It is in
the great tradition of the American lawyer to help people who
are in need of help without cost. And we congratulate the
Villanova law students for assisting John in making his case
and helping him come forward. It is nice to see so many
Pennsylvania connections with assisting you men who have done
so much and are so brave.
Sami, the first question is for you. I note in the resume
that you left Iraq in the fall of 2004 after death threats and
fled to Syria. Then you returned to Iraq in February of 2005 to
complete your college studies. Why did you go back to such a
dangerous situation?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. Senator, when I left the country there was a
reason. At that time, my best friend who was a translator was
abducted, and my name was next to his so I had to leave the
country the same day. I stayed at someone's house and left the
next morning.
Senator Specter. So why did you go back?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. I had to go back because I really wanted to
finish my studies. I had one more semester left for my school
to get my degree.
Senator Specter. Well, there are good schools in
Pennsylvania, and you wanted to go back to Iraq?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. Sure. Sure. I would love to. I would love to
go back to school here, and eventually I was able to finish my
studies.
Senator Specter. Sami, I note that in March of 2006,
according to the summary, you learned of a training schedule to
be held at the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in
Philadelphia and you enrolled in the training schedule. What
kind of training was it, and why did you need some special
instruction to enable you to apply for refugee status?
What I am looking for is, how complicated is it for someone
in your situation to achieve refugee status, and how
complicated is the State Department making it for you to get
this kind of special training?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. It is really, really complicated and
difficult to obtain such status.
Senator Specter. Morgan Lewis only has 1,000 lawyers. They
are limited as to how much training they can give.
Mr. Al-Obiedy. I am sorry. I did not hear the question.
Senator Specter. I said, go ahead with what kind of
specialized training. How complicated was it?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. You are referring to the special immigrant
status for translators?
Senator Specter. The special training that you got from
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
Mr. Al-Obiedy. The training. I went there to listen to see,
what is it like, and what is the training about, to know about
all the refugees and asylum in this country. So I attended that
conference and later on I was able to get a pro bono lawyer
from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
Senator Specter. Well, if it is so complicated on the path
you have taken, the question arises in my mind as to how others
are going to get sufficient knowledge and information.
Everybody cannot be trained by a law firm to know what to do to
get this refugee status. What is your thinking on that?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. It took me a really long time and there were
a lot of people involved in that to get the right connection,
to get to these people to represent me on a pro bono basis.
Senator Specter. Sami, I do not have much time. I want to
ask you one more question before turning to John.
Mr. Al-Obiedy. All right.
Senator Specter. That is, what is the attitude of the
Iraqis as a generalization? I know you can only speak for
yourself and your own experience. But is there a sense of
appreciation for what the United States has done or do the
Iraqis think that the United States ought to be doing more now
on this refugee issue?
Although the United States moved in to depose Saddam
Hussein, a brutal murderer, that our action has set the stage
for the need for you to become a refugee. How do you feel about
the United States, and what do you sense your countrymen feel?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. My countrymen? The general sense on
appreciation to the United States differs. At the time back
then, right after the war, a lot of people--I would say over 90
percent of my countrymen--appreciated the Americans and
appreciated the democracy and the freedom that America came
with. As the situation differs from time to time, they just
want to be more stable. That is what everyone wants.
Senator Specter. Let me proceed, now, to you, John, to
commend you for coming to the United States. And you have six
children, so obviously it was not an easy matter to bring your
entire family.
I note from the resume that you were detained in Berks
County, Pennsylvania, where you were granted asylum 2 months
ago.
The two questions I have for you are, how was it with such
a large family traveling, and what happened to you in Berks
County, Pennsylvania on your detention that led to your grant
of asylum?
John. Are you referring to the treatment in Pennsylvania?
Senator Kennedy. Maybe you could ask him, was he not in
detention there for a period of time with his family? Maybe you
could describe that, if that is part of it. You told me about
that at noontime. Why do you not just tell us what you
mentioned to me at noontime?
Senator Specter. What happened to you when you were in
Pennsylvania in detention in Berks County near Reading,
Pennsylvania? What happened to you there?
John. My children attended school. We were all taken care
of. Absolutely, it was difficult because it was detention. We
had very nice treatment. We did not have any problems.
Senator Specter. Thank you very much. Congratulations,
John. Congratulations, Sami.
Senator Kennedy. Senator Cornyn?
Senator Cornyn. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Sami, I wanted to ask you about not just your situation,
but to what extent other Iraqis who cooperated with the
coalition forces, particularly Americans, have a well-founded
fear of persecution.
I would imagine that the story that you and John have told
us here today about your cooperation with coalition forces
could be repeated many times--perhaps thousands, maybe tens of
thousands of times--across Iraq by people who have cooperated
with coalition forces in opposition to Saddam. Could you give
us an idea about how many people, potentially, we would be
talking about?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. Personally, I have close friends I have lost
just because they worked as translators and supported the
coalition forces. I mentioned one of my friends whose name is
Samir who worked for the Public Affairs Office, Task Force
Olympia.
His office was in charge of the press and newspapers. He
used to, as many of us, take five cabs a day to get to the
base, back and forth. He used to do that to hide, for the
terrorists not to be able to spot him. One time, he was shot on
his way to work in the morning, and he was shot to death. He
tried to escape.
He knew that if they kidnapped him, they would try to tape
him and then sell CDs on the markets. They sell CDs. They
entitle them, ``Traitors and Agents''. These CDs are executions
of the translators. That is how they do it. It is happening
every day.
Senator Cornyn. Well, Sami, in addition to the translators
such as yourself and your friend, who unfortunately was killed,
there are many Iraqis who cooperate and provide intelligence
tips to American and coalition forces, obviously people who
volunteered to serve in the police and who have been trained,
and in the Iraq army, now over 300,000 people in the Iraqi army
alone, and contractors like John who have provided water and
other services and goods to our troops.
My point is, there are many, many, many Iraqis who have, in
one way or another, cooperated with American and coalition
forces against the terrorists, against those who were trying to
tear Iraq apart. Would you agree with that?
Mr. Al-Obiedy. If I did not agree with the idea of
supporting democracy and freedom, I would never have worked as
a translator and supporting the coalition. So, that was the
belief that you believe in. Living under Saddam's tyranny for
my entire life, for 25 years, knowing how it was like to live
under a tyrant, a dictator, it is just hard.
When an opportunity for the Iraqi people comes like that to
promote democracy and freedom and for a new Iraq, then why, for
people like myself, do we not just all cooperate to make a
better Iraq?
Senator Cornyn. I am sure that you and your family have
sacrificed much, and we are glad you are here to share your
experience.
Mr. Al-Obiedy. We are honored to do so.
Senator Cornyn. We would hope that Iraq can be stabilized
so people, if they choose, can stay in Iraq and have a better
life.
Mr. Al-Obiedy. We hope that, too.
Senator Cornyn. John, I would like to ask you about your
experience coming to the United States. In your statement, you
said you flew on a plane from Greece with the help of
smugglers, and then traveled through five countries and four
continents, and finally took a taxicab from Mexico to the
United States border and arrived at San Ysidro, California. Is
that correct?
John. Yes, the statement is true. When we entered the
United States, we handed our passports to the officers and we
asked for asylum.
Senator Cornyn. And the passport that you handed to the
U.S. official, your statement says it was a false passport from
Greece. You handed that to the officer and you asked for
asylum. Is that correct?
John. Yes, it was.
Senator Cornyn. How did you know who to talk to, which
smugglers to contact and how to get to the United States? How
did you go about figuring that out and making that
determination?
John. In Greece, we met somebody that was a smuggler. He
took care of all that for us. He took us all the way to Mexico.
Then from Mexico, he put us in a taxicab and we entered the
United States.
Senator Cornyn. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, my time is up. Thank you.
Senator Kennedy. Well, we want to thank both of you very
much. You see behind you our friends from Villanova. We thank
them as well. The best way we can try and thank you is to let
those who have devoted themselves to America there have at
least as much help and support as we possibly can. We thank you
very much for being here.
Mr. Al-Obiedy. Thank you, Senator. It is an honor.
Senator Kennedy. Thank you.
John. Thank you, Senators.
Senator Kennedy. Thank you very, very much.
We will proceed with the rest of our panel here. We will
start with Captain Iscol, if we could. I think for those of us
on the committee know, rather than submitting statements that
have to go through the review process, that he made himself
available, for which we are very grateful.
All of us are very appreciative of your service and that of
your fellow Marines and soldiers, sailors and airmen serving in
Iraq, and I understand that as part of that service, in
Fallujah. In Anbar province and elsewhere you gained extensive
experience working alongside and employing Iraqi translators.
In your estimation, as you know, there is a program that
permits 30 interpreters a year to resettle whose lives have
been threatened because of their ties to the United States.
Could you tell us, first of all, a little bit about how
important it was to have Iraqi translators in terms of your
effectiveness? Now, you had, as I understand, what, 30 Marines
and 200 Iraqi soldiers?
Captain Iscol. Yes.
Senator Kennedy. Yes. And you might just describe what you
mentioned to me earlier today about how you worked and trained
these groups of soldiers and how you operated and how you
brought in these translators and you all worked with the
families, worked with the local communities and really became a
very solid team. All of them became a team, and perhaps the
role of the translators in terms of helping you and assisting
you to bring about that function.
Captain Iscol. Yes, sir. I have not been able to prepare
written testimony, I do have oral testimony that I would like
to give.
Senator Kennedy. All right. That is fine.
Captain Iscol. And it will answer your questions.
Senator Kennedy. Thank you.
STATEMENT OF CAPTAIN ZACHARY J. ISCOL, FOREIGN MILITARY
TRAINING UNIT, MARINE FORCES SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND, CAMP
LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA
Captain Iscol. First, I would like to express my gratitude
to the Chairman and to members of the committee for providing
me the opportunity to testify today.
During my service in Iraq I incurred an obligation to
safeguard and protect a number of brave Iraqis. Today you are
helping me fulfill that obligation, for which I am extremely
grateful.
During the latter half of 2004, I served as the commander
of a very successful combined action platoon. It was comprised
of 30 U.S. Marines and 250 Iraqi soldiers. I learned that we
cannot win the war in Iraq alone. Tactically,
counterinsurgency, and especially the development of credible
partner nation forces, is all about personal relationships.
I am here today to explain that we cannot cultivate these
relationships without the service of Iraqi translators who join
our ranks at great risk to themselves and to their families.
I am incredibly proud of the job my Marines did in Iraq.
Though trained to close with and destroy the enemy by fire and
maneuver, they adapted to fight a complex counterinsurgency.
With our translators as teachers, they studied the language
and the culture and lived up to our First Marine Division's
maxim of ``No better friend and no worse enemy than a United
States Marine.''
Across vast cultural divides, they were able to influence
our Iraqi soldiers' abilities and willingness to fight. Through
their efforts, some of our Iraq soldiers fought on the front
lines of the battle of Fallujah, while others conducted
independent security operations throughout al-Anbar province.
Our successes were based on a comprehensive community
approach. We did not just work with the Iraq soldiers. We
worked with their tribal leaders, with their families, and even
with their religious leaders.
As our eyes, ears and voice on the ground, our translators
were critical to this approach. They bridged vast ethnic and
language divides, while providing the guidance we needed to be
able to operate across complex cultural terrain.
The first time I worked with my translator, Musa--I have
changed his name for his protection--was during a meeting with
some local sheiks. At the time, I had very little experience
working with interpreters, maybe a one-hour or two-hour course
at Camp Pendleton.
The sheiks were from a generation unspoiled by Saddam's
regime. In many ways, they were older, educated, dignified, and
cared deeply for their constituents.
In many ways they were like the Senators on this panel and,
like today, I was pretty nervous speaking to them. I could not
figure out how to eat without using my left hand, and I kept
apologizing for crossing my legs and inadvertently showing them
the bottom of my feet.
Musa, my translator, was monopolizing the conversation, and
I did not speak any Arabic, so I was sort of left in the dark
and could not understand what was being said. I reminded him of
his job and that he should only translate my words. What ensued
was the next 5 minutes of very awkward silence.
I asked Musa why the sheiks were not saying anything.
``Well, they are waiting for their host--that is you, sir--to
make proper introductions and give the blessing'', to which I
whispered to Musa, ``But Musa, I do not know the blessings or
how to give proper introductions.'' Without our translators, we
are deaf and dumb. Without them we cannot speak, we cannot
listen, we cannot understand.
In my own experience, I believe their service has even
saved lives. Though my platoon was hit by IEDs and attacked
outside the town we lived in, we were never attacked in the
town we called ``home.''
A number of times we even drove or stood on top of IEDs
that were detonated minutes after our departure against other
U.S. military units. I am convinced that we were never attacked
because of the relationships we had established with local
leaders and their constituents, and that these relationships
cannot have been established without our interpreters.
Musa's service to our Nation came at a high cost to him and
to his family. He first started working with the U.S. military,
along with two of his daughters, in 2003. When the U.S. embassy
was opened, Musa sent his daughter to work for them while Musa
continued to work alongside front-line combat units.
Soon, however, men dressed in black came to his home to
warn him that they knew his daughter was working for the U.S.
military. They firmly recommended that she stop, and remarked
that her name had been posted at the local mosque. In the
middle of the night, Musa and his family packed their
belongings and moved out of their home to Baghdad.
During our time working together in Iraq, I witnessed
Musa's extraordinary service and sacrifice. Because of their
importance, interpreters have become lucrative targets for the
enemy. There was a price placed on his head. He was even
threatened by some of the Iraqi military leaders for not
helping them extort local contractors.
He was by my side for over a week of high-intensity combat
operations in the city of Fallujah, often placing himself in
great danger to yell into houses to evacuate innocent civilians
caught in the crossfire. He comforted other civilians we came
across, and often interrogated insurgents that we had captured.
I would like to close by saying that as our connection to
the hearts and minds of our Iraqi soldiers and of local leaders
and their constituents, Musa placed himself and his family at
great risk. In Iraq, Musa entered the ranks of the proud few
who have worn our Nation's uniform in combat. He wore the
Marine Corps uniform in combat. Despite this service, Musa and
his family have now become refugees.
Senator Kennedy. Just on that point, then we will move on
with the panel, they have become refugees. As I understand it,
you have been in touch with them, have you not?
Captain Iscol. Yes, sir. That is correct.
Senator Kennedy. And you have been working continuously to
try and expedite their asylum here in the United States. Is
that correct?
Captain Iscol. That is correct, sir.
Senator Kennedy. Well, it certainly seems to be a very
powerful and convincing case that you make.
Let me just ask you this. There were instances where you
had some translators that did not make the grade. Is that
correct?
Captain Iscol. That is absolutely correct.
Senator Kennedy. I think, so we have the record complete,
you might mention a couple of the incidents that you had.
Captain Iscol. Yes, sir. I had approximately five
translators working with me during my time in Iraq. Two of
them, we actually had to eventually detain. One was exploiting
his position to extort local contractors. Basically, while we
were in the process of negotiations, he would request 10
percent or however much of a cut to make their case to me.
Another one, we received information that he was working with
insurgents.
Senator Kennedy. All right.
But certainly Musa and the others that you had, you felt
had been loyal to you and the Marines, and to your mission?
Captain Iscol. Yes, sir. I mean, Musa's service and the
other ones were absolutely honorable. One was wounded in
combat. Musa never failed to be by my side, even in some pretty
precarious positions.
Senator Kennedy. Thank you very much.
Ms. Ramaci-Vincent, we are so appreciative of your being
here. You have a heart-rending story and we admire your
extraordinary courage for keeping after, I am sure, your
husband's memory and carrying forward, certainly, his
courageous life. We are very grateful to you.
STATEMENT OF LISA RAMACI-VINCENT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STEVEN
VINCENT FOUNDATION, NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Ms. Ramaci-Vincent. Thank you, Ranking Member Specter,
Senator Kennedy. Thank you for the honor of being able to come
before you today. I am the widow of Steven Vincent, the
journalist who was kidnapped and murdered in Basra, Iraq in
2005. For the last 13 months, I have been trying to get his
translator, Nour, into the United States.
Two days prior to his death, Steven broke the now-familiar
story in the Washington Times of how the Iraqi police force was
being systematically infiltrated by Iranian-backed
fundamentalists and Shi'ite militia men loyal to Muktada Al-
Sadr rather than to the central government.
He wrote of the death squads in police vehicles who roamed
the streets, snatching their victims and murdering them with
impunity. Then one came for him. When it did so, Nour bravely
stood by him as five men in police uniforms wrestled him into
the truck that was going to take him to his death. They had no
interest whatsoever in her.
They repeatedly pushed her away, told her to leave, but she
refused to abandon Steven. She kept inserting herself into the
struggle until they took her as well. For all she knew, she was
going to be killed, yet she did not hesitate for a moment, this
tiny, 5-foot-tall woman, to try and protect the man who had
hired her to be his guide and who had become her friend.
They were bound, gagged, beaten, held for hours, driven to
the edge of town, set free, told to run, and shot from behind
and close range. Steven, in a final act of God's mercy, died
instantly. Nour was hit three times, but survived, winding up
in the green zone for medical treatment, where she was held
incommunicado by the Americans for 3 months.
During that time she was repeatedly interrogated, treated
as if she were a co-conspirator of the killers, mentally and
emotionally bullied, threatened, told she would never receive a
visa to come to this country.
And when we decided she had nothing left to offer and was
medically fit enough, we gave her $2,000 and threw her out into
Baghdad's red zone alone, where she knew no one, had no family,
no job, no resources, nowhere to turn.
Luckily, she was able to contact me and I was able to get
her out of Iraq into temporary safety. I will never be able to
fully repay Nour the debt that I owe to her. Not only did she
help Steven in the months they worked together by lining up
interviews, arranging for him to meet a broad cross-section of
Basra's secular and religious societies, translating when
necessary, going into places and situations that terrified her,
but doing so anyway because this is what her friend wanted,
working with him 7 days a week to get the stories he was trying
to uncover, but she literally took a bullet for him--three as a
matter of fact--and in the final dreadful hours of his life,
when Steven would have known beyond mere knowing that he was
going to die violently, he also knew he was not alone with his
executioners. A friend was there with him, someone who cared
for him and was voluntarily sharing his terror and his pain.
As I mentioned earlier, I have spent the last year trying
to get her into America. I have dealt with officials at the
Baghdad embassy and the State Department. I have filled out
forms, made countless calls, sent innumerable e-mails.
I have pledged to stand financial security for her. I have
gotten a promise from the U.N. Bureau Chief at al Arabiyah that
he will hire her when, and if, she ever gets here. Each path I
have gone down has proven fruitless. I have been told that she
does not qualify for refugee or asylum status because Iraq is
now a democracy, so there is no reason she should need to flee.
I spent months working with embassy people who told me they
were extremely touched by her plight and would move heaven and
earth to see she got special treatment, and who wound up, in
the end, telling me that she needed to go to Amman to apply for
a visa just like every other Iraqi.
I was told our government was no longer accepting Iraq's S
passports because supposedly there are so many forgeries, it is
impossible to know who is really holding them, so we will not
take any of them.
The embassy in Amman is no longer accepting applications
from Iraqis. The Jordanian government is beginning to crack
down and deport them. Egypt is now demanding that, before they
come in, they get a letter of invitation from a certain
government official in a certain department. The noose is
tightening, and in the middle, Nour, pro-democracy, pro-
America, sits waiting.
So I end with a request that you attempt to change this
most misguided of policies. Please help those who helped us,
who still see this country as the shining city on the hill, who
yearn to come here and raise their families in an atmosphere of
freedom, peace and safety.
And please, let me help the woman who helped Steven, and in
so doing, greatly aided me by being with him in his final
moments. Thank you.
Senator Kennedy. Very powerful.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Ramaci-Vincent appears as a
submission for the record.]
Senator Kennedy. Ken Bacon?
STATEMENT OF KEN BACON, PRESIDENT, REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL,
WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. Bacon. Thank you very much. Thank you and Senator
Specter for holding these hearings. You have heard these
personal stories, enormously compelling and enormously
gripping. There are hundreds of stories like this, obviously,
but I want to focus on the broader issue, again, because these
stories add up to a growing crisis.
Right now, because of violence in Iraq, large numbers of
refugees are running for their lives. The U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees estimates that there are 1.7
million internally displaced, and about 2 million who have
become refugees in other countries.
But this flow is building rapidly. One thousand three
hundred people a day in Iraq are leaving their homes to flee
for safety elsewhere in Iraq, and 100,000 people a month are
leaving Iraq to go to other countries, mainly now to Syria and
to Jordan.
So the figures are not static. There is a rising tide of
people trying to get out of Iraq. Syria and Jordan are
absorbing the most Iraqi refugees. Each country is hosting
about 750,000, maybe as many as a million in Syria.
Other Iraqis are finding refuge throughout the Middle East.
Lisa mentioned trying to get into Egypt and the difficulties of
getting into Egypt, but Iraqis are trying to get into Lebanon,
Yemen, and Turkey as well.
Syria and Jordan have been very gracious hosts, but the
refugee influx is straining their economies. The host countries
need help and, increasingly, refugees themselves need direct
assistance.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reports that some
Iraqi women are resorting to prostitution to support their
families, and child labor is becoming an increasing problem
among the refugees because they are so desperate to find
income.
Today, the Iraqi refugees are primarily a regional
challenge, but that will not last long either. As the numbers
grow, Iraqis are trying to leave the Middle East and move to
Europe or to the United States. In fact, today's New York Times
highlights the growing number of Iraqis moving to Sweden.
Most Iraqis do not expect to return home, unlike many
refugees. Even a senior Iraqi foreign service officer working
at the Iraqi embassy in Lebanon told my colleagues at Refugees
International, ``Why should I go back? I watch the news.''
The violence in Iraq is both extreme and indiscriminate.
Many are fleeing to escape sectarian violence that is producing
de facto ethnic cleansing. Both Sunni and Shi'a are leaving
mixed neighborhoods because they no longer feel safe outside of
their own religious communities.
Christians are leaving as well, and the Chaldean community,
one of the oldest Christian sects, is rapidly diminishing. John
spoke about that compellingly in his testimony.
Two groups are particularly vulnerable. You have heard
extensively about one, people who have worked for the United
States or for other western employers. The second group that is
vulnerable is Palestinians.
Palestinians received special treatment from Saddam Hussein
and, therefore, they are regarded with anger, suspicion, or
hostility by many in Iraq. There are about 15,000 Palestinians
still in Iraq and they are one of the most vulnerable groups.
We just issued a report, Refugees International,
recommending that members of these most vulnerable groups,
those who assisted the United States and Palestinians, receive
priority consideration for resettlement in third countries. I
ask that a copy of that report be included in the record.
Senator Kennedy. It will be so included.
Mr. Bacon. Thank you.
Most of the Iraqis who have left the country are middle
class. They had to have means to reach the border and get out.
Neither Syria nor Jordan, which house the largest refugee
populations, has signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, so people
find it difficult to get refugee status there.
They generally enter the host country as tourists, business
people, or guests, arriving in Syria with three-month visas,
and in Jordan with authority to stay for 6 months.
Many arrive in a state of shock. One Iraqi told my
colleagues that ``my son is more shocked by the sight of dead
dogs than of dead people.'' Syria and Jordan have been very
generous to refugees and deserve international recognition for
accepting them in large numbers, but the burdens of the large
refugee population are increasingly straining housing, schools,
hospitals, and social services.
Jordan has tightened its borders since the bombings in
Amman in November of 2005, and it is particularly difficult for
Iraqi men between the ages of 18 and 35 to enter. Deportations
are becoming more common. Syria, which used to grant free
health care to refugees, has started to charge. In both
countries, refugees find it very difficult to get jobs.
As the refugees exhaust their resources, many need food,
shelter, and other assistance, but the largely urban refugee
populations are difficult to reach, particularly since many
refugees are reluctant to register with the U.N. High
Commissioner or local authorities as refugees for fear of
deportation.
There are encouraging signs that the world is beginning to
respond to the growing Iraqi refugee problem, and this hearing
is one of those signs. Until now, however, the reaction has
been slow and inadequate. Last year, for instance, the U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees' budget for Iraqi refugees in
Syria was $700,000--less than $1 per refugee. The U.S. has a
special obligation to help since the violence in Iraq and the
growing displacement comes in the aftermath of our invasion and
occupation. Translators and others who had to flee for their
lives after working for the U.S. deserve an opportunity to be
resettled in the U.S. or other countries so they can live in
safety. The State Department, along with the UNHCR, is working
on programs to protect the most vulnerable, but these programs
need fast and adequate funding so they can be put into place
immediately.
UNHCR has plans to spend $60 million on displaced Iraqis
this year, about three times what it spent last year, and it
has developed a comprehensive regional program. However, U.N.
agencies have not mobilized to provide food, shelter, medical
care, and educational support for an increasingly stressed
refugee community that is taxing the resources of host
countries. The U.S. Government should fully support the UNHCR
budget. Normally, we contribute 25 percent to their budget.
Because of our role in the conflict, I think we should consider
doubling that contribution for Iraqi refugees because fast
action is what is going to save more lives.
The host countries, particularly Jordan and Syria, need
multilateral and bilateral assistance in shouldering the burden
of the refugee population. This means programs to resettle the
most vulnerable refugees to third countries and help in sharing
the costs of those who stay. The worst outcome, the very worst
outcome now, would be to see Syria and Jordan close their
borders to Iraqis, removing a safety valve that is currently
saving hundreds of thousands of lives. ``Iraqis who are unable
to flee the country are now in a queue waiting their turn to
die,'' one Iraqi told my colleagues.
The U.S. and Iraq are finding it difficult to stop the
violence in Iraq. Until they do, the flood of refugees will
continue. While we do not know how to stabilize Iraq now, we do
know how to protect and support refugees. That is our
obligation, and we should start now.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Bacon appears as a
submission for the record.]
Senator Kennedy. I would recognize Senator Specter to ask
questions at this time.
Senator Specter. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for taking me out
of order. When we start a hearing at 2, we expect it ordinarily
to be over by 4. We have many meetings, and I have got a bunch
of people stacked up in the reception area. So I appreciate
Senator Kennedy allowing me to go first, and I will excuse
myself for a few moments and then come back for the remaining
witnesses.
Thank you very much, Ms. Ramaci-Vincent, for sharing with
us what happened to your husband and to Nour al-Khal. And thank
you very much, Captain Iscol, for the specifics on what
happened with your translator, Musa. They are extraordinary
stories about what has happened in circumstances which are hard
to understand how, with the kind of firsthand evidence that you
brought, Ms. Ramaci-Vincent--
Ms. Ramaci-Vincent. Please call me ``Lisa.''
Senator Specter. Lisa. That is easier, with your
permission.
Ms. Ramaci-Vincent. Please do.
Senator Specter.--that you could not get some immediate
relief.
Ms. Ramaci-Vincent. No.
Senator Specter. When you testified they told you that Iraq
was now a democracy so there was no need for refugee status,
you obviously told them that Iraq was not much of a democracy.
Ms. Ramaci-Vincent. When I stopped laughing, yes, I did.
Senator Specter. If you were to judge the need for refugee
status by the status of Iraq as a democracy, it would be at
about 100 percent.
Ms. Ramaci-Vincent. To be honest, the impression that I got
from the person who told this to me was that certain elements
in the Government are not willing to acknowledge the fact that
Iraq is a titular democracy but not necessarily a working one,
and that by allowing more refugees into the country, it would
be some kind of admission of failure on the part of the
American Government to have a fully functioning democracy to
protect the citizens of Iraq.
Senator Specter. Are you saying that is the attitude of the
American Government not to want to recognize that Iraq is not a
democracy and there is a need for refugee status?
Ms. Ramaci-Vincent. No. Elements in the Government, not the
American Government as a whole.
Senator Specter. Well, any elements are elements too many.
Captain, how do you account for your inability, your status
as a Marine officer, and the firsthand testimony you give on
the scene that it is not sufficiently persuasive to get refugee
status? The thought crossed my mind that if people like Lisa
and you, Captain, cannot get the job done, it is a sad day for
everybody.
Captain Iscol. Yes, sir. We have had a number of successes
lately, within the past week--
Senator Specter. How about with--
[Laughter.]
Senator Specter. You still think there is nothing like a
Senate hearing.
Captain Iscol. Yes, sir. However, at the same time, it is a
very complicated process. And as a Marine officer, I am not
well versed in the ways that our National Government screens
immigrants and tries to bring immigrants over here. So it has
been a very difficult process for me personally. But we have
been able to grant him refugee status, and the next step is his
case should be referred to the United States State Department.
Senator Specter. Mr. Bacon, we thank you for the service
that you have rendered in Government in the past and now in
your capacity as head of a refugee organization.
I note in an article you wrote for the Washington Post,
``Syria is the last country in the Middle East to leave its
borders open to Iraqi refugees.'' As I said a little earlier in
this hearing, I had a chance to talk to Syrian President Bashir
Assad who told me about 1 million refugees coming into Syria,
and they received them but they are obviously an enormous
problem for Syria.
Is there any conceivable justification for the United
States not having a dialog with Syria at least on the question
of how to deal with these Iraqi refugees?
Mr. Bacon. I believe there is no excuse for not talking to
Syria about this, and I was glad to hear of your meetings with
President Bashir Assad because I do think that actually, with
all the problems that we have with Syria, talking to them on a
humanitarian issue such as refugees is almost a safe haven to
begin discussions.
You are in a much better position than I am to maybe
suggest to the U.S. Government that they consider doing that,
and I hope you have taken that message to Secretary Rice.
Senator Specter. Well, I have and I will, and I shall
persist in it. I have been an advocate of talking to our
adversaries forever. You keep your friends close, as the old
saying goes, and your enemies closer. But not to talk to our
adversaries--we talked to the Soviet Union when they were the
evil empire. We talked to China, utilizing slave labor. We have
to pursue it, and I think this refugee issue is a good opening.
One statement I want to pursue with you and question you on
is when you said that the United States has a ``special
obligation'' since it was our military action which has caused
the problem.
Are we under an obligation? Did we, arguably, do the wrong
thing to give us some special obligation? Or did we act on the
best intelligence we had and now find a terrible situation and
ought to do our best to accommodate the refugees, work with
other countries in it, but not to categorize it as a ``special
obligation'' as if we were at fault here or the causative
factor?
Mr. Bacon. Well, I did not mean to suggest fault, although
I certainly have views about what we did. But I am referring
specifically to the type of cases that Captain Iscol and Lisa
focused on and that John and Sami focused on earlier. There is
a large group of Iraqis who have risked their lives to support
the United States.
They have done this sometimes out of a commitment to what
we have done--to helping us bring democracy to Iraq. I am sure
some have done it to earn an income in a country with very high
unemployment.
But the fact of the matter is that the people are
sacrificing their lives to help the United States, and if the
U.S. turns its back on those people, I think that we are
breaking an obligation we have to them--not a written
obligation perhaps, not a contractual obligation, but a moral
obligation.
The translator that Captain Iscol talked about has been
granted refugee status now by the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees. Next, that that translator has to go through a series
of steps to see if he can be resettled into the United States
where he already has a daughter living.
But there are much simpler ways to do this, and Senator
Kennedy earlier mentioned a parole program. We could facilitate
the refugee status determination for groups of people who are
at risk and had to leave the country because of their
association with the United States. And those people I think do
deserve a greater measure of protection than they are getting
from us now.
Senator Specter. Well, one way to do it would be to have a
million hearings, and that would bring a million people out,
and a million seven hundred thousand hearings would bring a
million seven hundred thousand people out. But one at a time is
obviously not the answer.
I am going to step out for a few moments, but I will be in
the anteroom and will be back for the next panel. Thank you all
very much.
Senator Kennedy. Thank you. Thanks very much, and thank
you, Ken Bacon, for sort of summing up really what the overall
and central challenge is.
I will ask a couple quick questions. One is about sort of a
regional kind of approach in terms of dealing with this
humanitarian challenge. It seems to me that we are going to
hear a little bit more from the High Commissioner.
I have listened to you speak about this in a very powerful
way, and I want to recognize at this time Kristele Younes and
Sean Garcia. Do you want to just raise your hands? They are
from Refugees International, and if our friends in the press or
others that are listening to this want to hear as well what is
going on over there, they ought to be in touch with these two
extraordinary individuals who have spent a great deal of time
in the region and the area interviewing people. They have been
enormously helpful to our Committee, and we thank them.
Mr. Bacon, you have summarized very, very well--and I do
not think you can improve on it--sort of the moral
responsibility or obligation we have to individuals that have
identified themselves with the United States and have put at
serious risk their lives themselves, and their children. We
have a responsibility to them.
Maybe you could just talk about this group of people in the
region and in the area. What happens to all of these
individuals? Basically, probably fairly well skilled
individuals have enough resources maybe to escape the country,
can stay in these nations, run out of resources, and are
getting desperate, threatened with deportation from those
countries.
If we are talking about stability in that region, as we
know, there are a lot of complexities and different pressures.
What is this whole group that is loose in that whole region,
what will that mean in terms of overall stability and security?
The most powerful statement is the one you made earlier in
terms of the humanitarian obligation.
But if we are looking at a broader kind of context, what
does it mean, as someone who knows this region, knows the area,
knows the flow of people, knows the pressures and the diversity
in that region?
Mr. Bacon. Well, I think there are only three solutions for
most refugee problems. The first is that people can go home.
Right now, that does not seem to be possible. The second is
that they integrate into the country of first asylum, and that
would be Syria or Jordan in this case. That is basically what
has happened.
And the third solution is resettlement to a third country,
such as the United States or Sweden or Australia. That is a
very durable solution, but it can only work for small numbers
of people, and I think Senator Specter was alluding to that,
that we cannot resettle right now millions of Iraqis into the
United States or other countries.
So that really means we have to focus on ways to
accommodate them in the countries nearby--Egypt, Syria, Jordan,
Lebanon, et cetera. And that is why I think we have to look at
ways--a regional conference would be a good way to do this--to
get them more resources and more help, more help to the
countries that are hosting them so they are not such a burden.
Otherwise, they will be rejected, and there will be no safety
valve whatsoever.
So the most reasonable solution right now is to pump
resources into the countries that are taking care of the
refugees so they can stay there until there is enough stability
in Iraq for them to go home or until they can negotiate ways to
get out to third countries for resettlement.
Senator Kennedy. Well, thank you very much. Captain Iscol,
where are you assigned now? And how long were you in Iraq?
Captain Iscol. The last time I returned from Iraq was
January of 2005, and during that deployment I was there for 8
months.
Senator Kennedy. Are you scheduled to return there anytime
soon?
Captain Iscol. No, sir. I will be deploying elsewhere.
Senator Kennedy. Well, we thank you very much.
I will recognize Senator Cardin.
Senator Cardin. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and
thank you all for your testimony.
We have multiple problems here with the refugees. I agree
that the refugees that are currently in neighboring countries,
we have an opportunity to help with our refugee programs to
assist those countries to make it easier for those individuals
to remain in those countries because there is really no other
option at this particular moment.
So it seems to me that an international conference or the
United States being more aggressive to help these countries
with the refugees is going to be the best short-term solution
to this problem.
In regards to those who are not really displaced in Iraq
but are in fear because of their cooperation with the United
States, I think the suggestion that has been made about having
our immigration officials interact makes a great deal of sense,
because the major reason that will be used to delay or prevent
an individual, an Iraqi who has helped us, in fear of his life,
for his family and himself, in coming to the United States
would be the security checks and how long that takes.
It seems to me what has happened with those that have been
successful in coming to the United States is that they have
escaped Iraq and had the resources somehow to get into our
system and get through our system and be placed in the United
States.
But if there were services in Iraq, it seems to me it makes
it a little bit easier and the security issues would be a lot
faster than if we go through the procedures that have been used
to date.
But I want to concentrate on the third group--that is,
those that are in Iraq and are displaced--as to what
suggestions you might have for U.S. policy to deal with the
large numbers that are currently displaced within Iraq itself.
Mr. Bacon. Thank you for that question. They basically have
three problems: first, is lack of shelter; the second is lack
of jobs; and the third is insecurity. They are leaving where
they are for more secure environments.
Many are going north into the Kurdish areas, which are more
secure, and those would be places where it is easier to provide
humanitarian services because they are secure.
And I think the UNHCR representative will probably talk
about this, but it has been very difficult for international
agencies to get services to many of the people who are
displaced internally because it is insecure.
So there is an agency called the International Organization
of Migration that has been trying to work with a number of the
internally displaced, and their biggest problem is that they do
not have good working NGO's frequently in the country because
it is so insecure. So that has been a problem.
Assistant Secretary Sauerbrey addressed this. This is
something that does concern the U.S. But until the security
improves, I think it is going to be difficult to meet the needs
of many of these people.
Senator Cardin. Is it likely that a large number will
return to their homes?
Mr. Bacon. I think most would like to return to their homes
when they can, but to the extent that this is de facto ethnic
cleansing--the mixed Shi'a-Sunni neighborhoods, for instance,
are unraveling and becoming all Sunni or all Shi'a--it may take
some time for them to be able to get back.
Senator Cardin. And what role do you see the United States
constructively playing here?
Mr. Bacon. Well, the major role is to help the Iraqis bring
security to their country, and as I understand it, that is what
our policy is now.
Second, I think we have to do more to improve services and
aid--whether it is infrastructure, education, health care--for
the Iraqis in the country, and I understand we are trying to do
that.
And the third is the type of solution that Senator Kennedy
has mentioned, which is giving people a way to--those who want
to leave or have to leave the country and become official
refugees and resettle, make it easier for them to do this
within Iraq. And that would involve getting the Department of
Homeland Security there so they can do security interviews, et
cetera, with these people.
But this is only a small solution. Resettlement is not the
major solution. The major solution is calming things down so
people can go home.
Senator Cardin. But it seems like some of our policies are
moving in the opposite direction. De facto ethnic cleansing is
horrible. But to reintroduce people back together under the
current climate is not an option.
And I am not aware of our policies trying to reconnect
communities with diversity back together. It seems like we
might be moving in the other direction, trying to bring calm by
separation rather than bringing communities back.
Mr. Bacon. I guess calm by separation would be better than
chaos, but it is not as good as reuniting communities.
Senator Cardin. I agree with you completely. I understand
your first point about trying to bring calm and peace to Iraq.
We all support that. I just do not know what impact it has on
the refugees--the displaced people within Iraq.
Mr. Bacon. Well, the displaced people will not return to
their original homes as long as they feel threatened, just as
refugees will not return from Jordan or Syria as long as they
feel it is unsafe to live in Iraq. So the key to helping people
get back is to find some way to make the area more secure.
This is clearly not easy to do. Everybody wishes that the
country were safe and secure. But it is not, and it does not
appear to be heading in that direction anytime soon.
Senator Cardin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Kennedy. Thank you all very much. We appreciate it.
We will work on the overall issue, but in particular, the
situations that you brought to our attention and hopefully get
some positive results. Thank you very, very much.
Senator Kennedy. We have a final witness, and I will ask
Michel Gabaudan, who served as the U.N. High Commissioner
Regional Representative for the United States and Caribbean
since September 2006.
His distinguished career with the agency spans more than 25
years, with service in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and
Australia. He was trained as a medical doctor, spent a decade
working in Guyana, Zambia, Brazil, London, and Yemen, before
joining the United Nations High Commissioner in Thailand. His
U.N. career took him to Pakistan, Cameroon, and Geneva. He has
been the Regional Representative in Mexico, Australia, and
Beijing. We are very, very grateful to him for being here.
We would ask you to proceed. I know you have been here for
a good part of these hearings, so I think you have got a pretty
good sense of what we are looking at in terms of the policy
issues and questions. I have had a good chance to go through
your excellent testimony here, and if you want to summarize it
and highlight it, give us your best judgment, we would be very,
very grateful.
STATEMENT OF MICHEL GABAUDAN, REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE
UNITED STATES AND CARIBBEAN, OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH
COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Mr. Gabaudan. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I would like to
express UNHCR's appreciation for the opportunity to share with
you our concerns about Iraqi displacement, one of the most
serious humanitarian crises UNHCR faces today. Over 3.5 million
Iraqis--that is, one out of every eight persons--are either
internally displaced or have fled the country.
Given the escalating violence in Iraq and the growing
number of displaced, UNHCR has conducted a fundamental review
of its Iraq program. Whereas, before, we had focused on refugee
returns and only modest assistance in neighboring host
countries, we are now increasing our presence in and support
for host countries to promote great protection and assistance.
The protection situation in the region is quite complex.
Host countries have been generous in receiving arriving Iraqis,
effectively tolerating their presence through limited periods
of stay, although this is done without a legal framework. We
are, however, increasingly concerned about reports of
deportations and denial of access at the borders, which
reflects the strain that large refugee populations have placed
on host societies.
Living conditions for refugees who remain in host countries
are also deteriorating. Families have either depleted the
resources that they brought with them or lacked resources to
begin with.
In this context, some women may be vulnerable to forced
prostitution and young people to child labor. Some 30 percent
of Iraqi children are not attending school, and access to
health care is seriously limited.
UNHCR is encouraging host countries to strengthen
protection by ensuring that borders are kept open and forced
returns are halted. We will also conduct a comprehensive needs
assessment with our implementing partners and plan to enhance
our capacity to register Iraqis so that the most vulnerable can
be identified and their protection and assistance needs
addressed.
Such assistance must support the national infrastructure
for providing services and be coordinated through community
networks as the population in question is largely urban based.
Resettlement will play a critical role as a protection tool
for certain vulnerable individuals or groups. It can also serve
as an element of burden sharing by the international community.
A clear set of criteria and procedures for Iraqi
resettlement are being defined that will identify certain
categories of vulnerability, such as survivors of violence and
torture, women at risk, unaccompanied children and individuals
with serious medical problems.
Other categories will respond to specific protection
concerns, such as individuals and members of minority groups
who have been targeted in Iraq due to their religious or ethnic
background or because of their association with foreign or
international entities.
UNHCR has initially projected a minimum of just over 13,000
individuals in need of resettlement. However, it can be
expected that these numbers will increase, and therefore we
already plan to enhance our capacity to eventually be able to
refer up to 20,000 individuals in 2007.
We welcome indeed the potential for increases U.S.
resettlement of Iraqi refugees. For an effective program, it
will be essential that all parties have a shared understanding
of the criteria to be applied and that refugees approved for
resettlement depart in a timely manner.
We would note that from 2003 through 2006, UNHCR was
compelled to direct most Iraqi referrals to other resettlement
countries because many departures were long delayed and in some
cases approved cases were actually never able to depart to the
United States.
As we work with U.S. authorities to increase Iraqi
resettlement, we trust that in the future these obstacles can
be avoided and that the U.S. material support and related bars
will not pose new barriers to the resettlement of Iraqi
refugees.
I would like to turn very briefly to the situation of Iraqi
internally displaced persons and non-Iraqi refugees inside
Iraq. Despite the fact that our ability to deliver necessary
services is severely hampered by security considerations and a
resulting lack of adequate staffing, we will seek to mitigate
the increasingly harsh conditions faced by Iraqi IDPs through
delivery of shelter, water and sanitation, nutrition, basic
non-food items, and support to host communities.
We are also extremely concerned about the approximately
45,000 non-Iraqi refugees inside Iraq, many of whom are in
urgent need of resettlement or humanitarian evacuation.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, UNHCR is working to promote the
convening of an international conference on Iraqi displacement,
hopefully in the first half of 2007. This conference would
highlight the needs of displaced Iraqis and facilitate dialog
between countries affected by the displacement and those
willing to share the burden.
The enhanced protection and assistance efforts which I just
outlined are virtually all contingent on resources. UNHCR has
released a 2007 emergency appeal through which we are seeking a
total of $60 million to cover our Iraq operation. We look
forward to continued generosity from the United States at this
very critical juncture.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you and
members of the Subcommittee for your leadership in highlighting
the critical protection needs of Iraqi refugees. We look
forward to working with you in the days to come, and I would be
happy to address any questions you might have.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Gabaudan appears as a
submission for the record.]
Senator Kennedy. Well, thank you very much, and we will put
your full statement in the record. I went through it in some
detail. It is very, very comprehensive and helpful and very
constructive.
The High Commissioner has put out the request for funding
the refugees. Have you gotten a response from our Government
that you can talk about?
Mr. Gabaudan. Not yet, Senator. We have just issued the
appeal. The appeal represents a doubling of what we had asked
last year, but four times what we received. So it is already
quite a quantum leap, and this is a first step.
We will carry out a detailed needs assessment, which is
something we have not done yet because of lack of sufficient
staff in the field, and we have to see what comes out of this
detailed assessment, which we will carry out with our
implementing partners.
Senator Kennedy. On these issues about the U.N. High
Commissioner referring resettlement cases to the United States,
I think there is a faster way, a more efficient way of doing
it, and we brought that up with the Secretary. But do you see
difficulties with this processing now by the High Commissioner,
these cases?
Mr. Gabaudan. Senator, we cannot carry out refugee status
determination for the large numbers of people who are in Syria
and Jordan, so we hope that by improving our registration and
placing some of our registration centers more in the
communities where people are, we can identify the
vulnerabilities I have mentioned, and through this
identification embark on a fast processing of people who would
require resettlement.
We have been asked by the administration to refer more
cases than in the past, so there is definitely pressure on us
from the administration to refer more cases.
We are now negotiating how we are going to articulate our
two programs. Our Director of Resettlement has been here. He is
now in the Middle East. He is coming here next week, so we are
in intense dialog with the government to see how we are going
to operate.
Senator Kennedy. Well, it seems you have got certainly a
head start, and your help and assistance in this is valuable.
But I think it is not absolutely essential and necessary in
terms of developing this program. And I think hopefully the
administration hears this.
Are you monitoring now the borders for the possible
rejection of Iraqi asylum seekers and the deportation of Iraqis
from the countries in the region? We know that a number of the
countries have closed their borders. We have heard this threat.
Is this happening? Do you know? What can you tell us? Are you
monitoring this at all? Can you monitor it? Have you monitored
it?
Mr. Gabaudan. Senator, the shortfall we had in our funding
last year limited our presence in the field, and we had no
permanent presence on the border. And some of the issues with
deportation have been brought to us by NGO's, and we have taken
that very seriously.
So part of our plan for expansion next year includes more
field officers so we can monitor the border. The High
Commissioner will be in Jordan and Syria at the end of the
month and early February, and that is certainly one of the
issues he is going to raise with the governments there.
Senator Kennedy. Well, this is for deploying protection
officers at key crossing points from Iraq into Jordan and Syria
and the other countries. But just on the information that you
have at the present time, are people being deported from any of
those countries back into Iraq that you know about?
Mr. Gabaudan. There are deportations taking place. We are
totally unable right now to tell you what is the rate or who is
deported, what are the triggers that make that someone to be
deported and someone not. This is something we have to analyze
in more detail.
Senator Kennedy. Well, that is a very sobering circumstance
where individuals are fleeing with a high risk of facing death,
as we have listened to today the examples of individuals and
what we have all read about in terms of the newspapers and
finding out that individuals going to these countries are now
being effectively deported out of those countries. It adds a
real sense of urgency, it seems to me, to make sure that we are
going to understand that we have got a real humanitarian
crisis. The extent of it is difficult to assess until we know
the numbers, but just the fact that people are fleeing on the
basis of the threat of their life and then being in a country
and then told to get out of it, it is something that is
enormously a matter of great concern.
Let me ask you, just in this conference, maybe you could
describe to us the value of having an international conference
and then the importance of bilateralism. There is probably some
responsibilities in terms of countries working bilaterally to
try and deal with this issue and also some advantages of
working regionally. Maybe you could talk about why both
approaches are important.
Mr. Gabaudan. Right. The idea of the international
conference is to get the countries in the region to agree on
certain basic criteria on which to recognize the importance of
the crisis and the response that is required.
And it will have to be handled with some care because the
refugee world is still something that puts many of these
governments into a tight corner, and so far they have tolerated
people, as I was mentioning, without legal status, and they are
not very keen for legal status to be applied.
So I think we have to look for the best practical way to
maintain protection space in these countries, and for that we
need the different countries in the region to agree on basic
criteria. We also need other countries in the region to also
contribute in the burden sharing, whether it is financial or
whether it is through some of the evacuations we have
suggested, et cetera. So it is to try to build some consensus
behind that.
Obviously, the size of the problem that Syria and Jordan
face will require that there are bilateral initiatives that
help these countries to support the tremendous stress that the
presence of refugees is creating on their services.
That cannot just be responded to by the humanitarian
programs, and we hope the conference would also be a channel to
challenge some countries who are willing to help through their
bilateral means to make sure that these countries do understand
that they are not alone in facing the crisis.
Senator Kennedy. Let me just finally ask you, do you get
some indication of willingness in those countries in the area
that they would welcome this opportunity to work with your
agency or with other countries? Do you find that? Or are they
saying that they do not need help and assistance? What are you
finding? Or does it vary from country to country?
Mr. Gabaudan. I think it varies from country to country,
Senator. I do not have really the details, but I could come
back to you on that on the very specifics.
Senator Kennedy. Good. Well, as you find that out, the
indication of the willingness of these countries, it would be
helpful for us to know that.
Senator Specter?
Senator Specter. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Gabaudan, you say in your prepared testimony that you
are looking to raise $60 million. How do you arrive at that
figure? Is it sufficient given the scope, intensity, magnitude
of the problem?
Mr. Gabaudan. Well, it is a practical approach, Senator. As
I mentioned, it is four times what we received in fresh
contributions last year. Last year, the U.S. contributed about
26 percent of our budget, but practically 50 percent of real
contributions.
Senator Specter. Four times what you had last year, but how
many more times the intensity is the problem than it was last
year?
Mr. Gabaudan. Well, we want to address issues practically
and with what we can deliver. A key--
Senator Specter. Are you looking for contributions
worldwide, from Japan, China, Germany, France, Great Britain?
Mr. Gabaudan. We are certainly looking for contributions
worldwide. They have not been very forthcoming in the past. We
have better indications this year. In particular, the European
Union has been in touch with us, and our Assistant High
Commissioner has talked to them in detail. So we do hope we
will have a better reaction this year.
Senator Specter. I saw a headline in the paper that Sweden
was a haven for Iraqi refugees. Are you familiar with that?
Mr. Gabaudan. I am not familiar with the particular case of
Sweden, Senator, but I know that in the first half of 2006, the
number of Iraqi asylum seekers has doubled compared to what was
the case last year in Europe. And they are now the top
nationality seeking asylum in Europe.
Senator Specter. Well, with the Europeans being willing to
give asylum, that is a positive sign that they are trying to
help out, and that ought to be explored for financial
contributions.
In your prepared testimony, Mr. Gabaudan, you say that,
``In the coming months, UNHCR also hopes to convene an
international conference on Iraqi displacement, possibly in
collaboration with the Arab League and/or the Organization of
Islamic Conference.'' Why only a hope? Why shouldn't UNHCR take
the field and insist on an international conference?
Mr. Gabaudan. Well, we certainly would like to take the
lead in promoting the idea. We think it is important that there
is some regional ownership, and that is why it is important to
talk to regional bodies that would be able to persuade some of
their members to join in the conference.
Senator Specter. Well, the regional participation is
obviously important, but the participation of the United States
is indispensable, isn't it?
Mr. Gabaudan. Oh, absolutely. The idea is not to limit the
conference as strictly a regional issue. What we want is
regional commitment to say we have an issue, we have to tackle
that. That conference should be attended, in our view, by--
Senator Specter. Well, let me make the suggestion that you
transpose language of hope to language of insistence.
Mr. Gabaudan. All right.
Senator Specter. I do not think hope is going to get UNHCR
very far. I do not know that insistence will get UNHCR very
far, but it has a much better chance than hope. And then you
have the situation about Syria, to its credit, being the last
country which has its borders open to Iraqi refugees.
This is a good occasion, it seems to me, for the UNHCR to
weigh in with the United States and say, ``Participate in a
conference.'' I think the United States would be hard put, Mr.
Gabaudan, to decline to come to a meeting convened by the High
Commissioner, regardless of who was present. Would Iran figure
as one of the countries that you have in mind for participation
on a regional basis?
Mr. Gabaudan. Well, certainly all the countries affected by
the displacement in the region--
Senator Specter. You are giving me a ``yes.''
Mr. Gabaudan. Yes.
Senator Specter. All right. Well, it would be good to see
that kind of international conference convened, good to see the
countries involved, including Syria and Iran, there.
Mr. Gabaudan. Yes.
Senator Specter. And an invitation to the United States. I
think it would be very hard for the United States to decline an
invitation of that sort.
Mr. Gabaudan, you heard the testimony of Ms. Lisa Ramaci-
Vincent and Captain Iscol, right? Any justification at all for
the situations which they cite, not to have asylum granted for
the individuals that they call to the attention of American
officials?
Mr. Gabaudan. Well, I cannot judge to what is happening
inside Iraq, Senator, because inside Iraq we just deal with
IDPs and we are not--our mandate does not allow us to take
people outside their country of origin. But certainly the
circumstances that these two testimonies have evidenced for me
make it clear that these cases would fall within the categories
that we should identify for the registration for further
processing.
Senator Specter. Do you think that it is true, as Lisa
testified, that there are some people in the American enclave
who do not want to admit there is a refugee problem, they want
to say that Iraq is a democracy and, therefore, refugees do not
need asylum? Would you think there is much of that kind of an
inexplicable attitude?
Mr. Gabaudan. I cannot comment upon that, Senator. The only
thing I can tell you is that the Government has asked us to
look more practically into referring cases to the U.S., which
means there is, in my view, an official recognition that there
is an issue that the Government is prepared to address.
Senator Specter. Well, my time expired a few seconds ago. I
want to thank Senator Kennedy for his op-ed and for his
leadership in this field. He has been at it for a long time.
And this is an oversight hearing with teeth. Not too many
oversight hearings in Congress generally.
The Judiciary Committee has had more than its share
recently, but this is one with teeth. And I think that the
testimony which has been given here today by Sami and John--I
was about to say they put a face on the problem. They put a
screen on the problem.
And the testimony of the Captain and Lisa were really
overpowering in the nature of the problem, and the United
States is in the middle of this problem. I do not think that we
are responsible for it. I think that we are not to blame for
it.
But certainly we have a major role to play, and I would
like to see you expand that list of donor countries and set
your sights a little higher. And get that international
conference. I want to see all those countries there--Syria,
Iran, and whoever else.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Kennedy. Well, thank you, Senator Specter, so much
for your participation, interest, and long-time concern about
the problems of refugees.
Thank you very much to you, Mr. Gabaudan, for being here
and for these comments. We want to work with you on these
issues. We expect to do so.
I am enormously grateful for all of our witnesses, and I,
too, join in paying tribute to the courage and the bravery of
John and Sami. These are individuals that represent tens of
thousands of people that have worked with the United States,
worked with the United States military, worked with the United
States independent contractors, worked with members of the
press from the West and because of this have been targeted.
And I feel that we have a very, very important and strong
obligation. It was so overpowering, the testimony about what
the risks are for them. It is death in its most brutal form.
And anyone who has been reading and following the newspapers or
the television knows that this is very real.
The whole issue about the humanitarian aspects of the Iraq
war really have not gotten the focus and attention on the
numbers. We know of the extraordinary bravery of young
Americans, and we pay tribute to those soldiers every single
day.
We have 61 from Massachusetts who have lost their lives and
over 3,023, I think it is, who have lost their lives from the
United States. And the wounded, I have had the opportunity to
visit Walter Reed on a number of different occasions, so we
know this extraordinary burden that the families have
experienced and what it has meant in terms of the financing, $8
billion, $2 billion a week.
Think of the total Pell grant program that helps struggling
young people go to college of being $12 billion, $12.5 billion,
and this being $2 billion a week. What we could do with those
resources here, investing in people, it is an enormous human
tragedy.
But we are reminded today about what happens to our friends
and allies who have been a part of this whole effort, and we
have real responsibility. It reminds me in a certain way of
what we were facing in Vietnam. We saw the whole movement of
individuals and refugees around those countries.
We had free-fire zones where firing these--dropping bombs
and firing these enormous explosives into these areas where the
civilian populations were gathered. And we had a real
humanitarian crisis in that. It took a long time for this
country to recognize it.
So we are in this Committee going to follow this very, very
closely, and we are grateful for all of those who have
testified. We have great admiration for those who have been
helpful, the law firms, the students. This is the defining
issue, I think, for our country and our society.
We have many defining issues, but certainly this is
certainly one of them. And we hear a great deal about surges
these days. It seems to me we need a real surge in humanitarian
concern and attention and focus for those people whose lives
are at risk. We need to have a surge of concern for them as
well.
I will include in the record the documents. I want to make
a special note of the Chaldean Federation of America. They have
a statement, a comment here. Senator Levin has spoken to me
about this.
And the record will remain open for 1 week, Tuesday, the
23rd. And the Committee stands in recess.
[Whereupon, at 5:01 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]
[Questions and answers and submissions for the record
follow.]
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