IRAQI REFUGEES IN JORDAN TALK REPATRIATION -

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000977

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/23/2019
TAGS: PREF SOCI PREL IZ JO
SUBJECT: IRAQI REFUGEES IN JORDAN TALK REPATRIATION -
EVENTUALLY, BUT NOT NOW

REF: BAGHDAD 286

Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Embassy officers attended a focus group of
Iraqi refugees in Jordan organized by an international NGO on
the topic of repatriation. The Iraqis acknowledged that
security in Iraq was improving, and most expressed the desire
to return to Iraq in the future. However, attendees
unanimously commented that the overall situation in Iraq had
not yet improved sufficiently to justify their return, none
were currently planning to repatriate, and some hoped instead
to stay in Jordan long-term or to be resettled in a third
country. End Summary.


2. (SBU) The organizing NGO, International Relief and
Development, handles community outreach in a project funded
by UNHCR and the USG. At RefCoord's request, the
organization's director organized in March a focus group of
15 Iraqi volunteers to discuss repatriation. Participants
were selected for their knowledge of the issue and to ensure
representation of key demographics including gender and
minority groups. The Iraqi attendees described themselves as
very well informed about the current environment in Iraq,
citing frequent phone calls with friends and family still in
the country as their primary source of information.


3. (C) While many of the Iraqi participants noted that
security in Iraq was improving, even more agreed that
instability was still too high to return. Nearly all had
stories of recent killings, kidnappings, or other instability
that informed their concerns (one particularly insidious
report featured two refugees killed upon returning from
Syria). Fears of continued insecurity ran sufficiently high
that when asked whether they would consider returning to Iraq
on a temporary basis--to visit friends and family or to check
the situation for themselves--many said no. Asked about
those Iraqis who had returned from Jordan, attendees
portrayed them as those with little choice, having run out of
funds to sustain themselves abroad.


4. (C) The Iraq attendees doubted the Iraqi Government's
ability to manage security. One woman asserted that most
Iraqi Government officials lived in the International Zone
and kept their own families abroad in places such as Amman,
Dubai, and London. Others added that the U.S. was not
positioned to guarantee security either: one noted that even
U.S. soldiers were not safe in Iraq, and another said the
more U.S. forces withdraw, the more those remaining will
focus on protecting their own interests.


5. (C) Security fears loomed even larger for those with
children. Asked whether they would be more likely to return
home if the Iraqi Government better supported returnees, one
woman offered that when it came to her children such "ifs"
were insufficient. Rather she was looking for concrete
guarantees that Iraq would be safe, stable and livable.
Another woman asserted that for her children's sake, she
hoped to be resettled in a third country. Representatives of
minority populations also expressed heightened concerns about
security. A Mandaean woman noted that she knows no one from
her community who plans to return. A Christian Iraqi woman
claimed it was still incredibly unsafe for Christians
everywhere in Iraq, except perhaps part of the north.


6. (SBU) While continued insecurity featured as the single
greatest impediment to return, the attendees noted that even
with security, additional barriers to their repatriation
remained. One Iraqi man said, after security, his primary
concern was the weakness of public services, which suffered
in comparison to Amman. Another told of a returnee who died
in childbirth due to poor health services. Several women
spoke of the lack of employment prospects in Iraq for
themselves and for their husbands, noting in specific cases
how few jobs there were in skilled areas like media or art.


7. (C) The Iraqi attendees were divided about whether their
government wanted them to return. Most believed yes, if only
because they thought the Iraqi Government wanted skilled
people to return and help rebuild the country or because
supporting refugee returns helped build international public
opinion. One woman, who was the wife of a former Iraqi army
officer, noted that she expected the threat against close
affiliates of the former regime would remain prohibitively
high. Another attendee stated that Iraqis who fought against
Iran in the Iran-Iraq war were particularly unwelcome in the
new Iraq. The most pessimistic view of the Iraqi
Government's intentions came from a woman who said the
government wanted her to return, but only to slaughter her.

AMMAN 00000977 002 OF 002


She further alleged that the government kept a list of
refugees to kill upon their return.


8. (C) For those not planning to return home, resettlement
to a third country appeared the desired option. Attendees,
however, noted that the U.S. was not a preferred destination
for resettlement. They commented that the U.S. was expensive
and culturally very different from Iraq. The Iraqis also
characterized American resettlement assistance as often
inferior--both in scope and duration--to that provided by
alternate, generally European, countries. Even while
criticizing U.S. resettlement support, attendees reiterated
their gratitude for U.S. financial support while in Jordan.


9. (SBU) Comment: The comments by Iraqi attendees track with
and add detail to the UNHCR registration information and NGO
polling cited in reftel. Their remarks suggested that a
comprehensive assessment of long-term living conditions in
Iraq is the key driver of their decision about whether to
return or not. Despite improvements in security,
participants viewed the whole picture as dark and unstable.
End Comment.

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Beecroft