Since 2003 to present, all aspects of Iraqi life has gone backwards. The new democracy in Iraq has not matured enough to move Iraq forward. These changes have affected all aspects of Iraqi life culminating into negativity of public opinion, mass emigration and immigration, and persecution of ethnics and minorities.

 

The Iraqi people supported the United States government in its effort to promote democracy, save-guard human rights, basic and decent standard of living, and freedom of worship. The Iraqi people are still under the protection of the United Nations (7) and hold the United States government, who led the coalition to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime, legally, ethically, and morally responsible and obligated to fulfill its vision in continuing to support Iraq, Iraqi citizens, and Iraqi refugees who are a byproduct of the 2003 action by the United States and its allies.

 

This letter is not about the rights or wrongs of the United States’ government, its allies or those who were appointed or elected to govern Iraq. This letter is about how can we assist the State Department in issues related to refugees, the Iraqi American community, and the Iraqi community at large in these difficult times.

 

I have no doubt the sincerity and hard work of the United States government, the State Department and members of the Iraqi section towards achieving those goals in Iraq after 2003. The question is, however, how to implement the goals, through whom to implementation takes place and what are the minimum goals of achievement.

Our main concern, through our observation, is that there is a dissociation between the State Department’s actions and the Iraqi American leadership at-large in achieving some of these goals.

 

The State Department’s personnel has failed to communicate and propagate these ideas to the Iraqi American community, especially in Michigan during the last two visits by Mr. Michael Corbin and others, which we believe ended in a fiasco. Both the State Department personnel and the Iraqi community lost a golden opportunity to have a better dialogue and a better understanding of the State Department’s programs, policies and procedures.

 

The Iraqi American Endowment Center’s committees and I were very disappointed that for the second time at the unannounced (?) announced trip to Michigan by Mr. Michael Corbin, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, and Mr. Lawrence Bartlett, Deputy Director Office of Refugee Admissions. We tried very hard to have a meeting with them during their two day visit to Michigan. Apart from a couple of phone calls from Mr. Bartlett, no such meeting or dialogue took place while Mr. Corbin and his visiting team had prior planned meetings with other groups including a visit to the Arab American museum and organizations that are not related directly to the Iraqi community. If this trip was meant primarily to inform and educate the Iraqi American Community at large in Michigan, then this trip was a failure. This is our main concern as this trip was supposed to be informational, educational and of assistance by Mr. Corbin and his team. We are not interested in other programs that Mr. Corbin had in Michigan. Mr. Corbin and Mr. Bartlett had ample time to discuss issues with the agencies that are supposed to have managed the transition of the Iraqi refugees into American life. In our belief, as we have raised concerns and misgivings with the State Department on the 26th of March, these issues were not taken into consideration or acknowledged nor was an effort was made for a follow-up to my visit or acknowledgement that such issues exist. Many Iraqi Americans and Iraqi activists believe that the actions of some of those agencies knowingly or unknowingly were part of the problem in servicing the Iraqi refugees in matters related to corruption, poor services, and lack of follow up that led Iraqi refugees to be morally, socially, economically, frustrated, disoriented, and poor. (Please see insert below.)

 

We believe that side-stepping and bypassing the Iraqi American leadership and community organizations, whom have the interest at heart in assisting the well-being of the Iraqi refugees and community, is a mistake that should not have been repeated. Our opinions and evaluations of the situation should have been taken into consideration. What was the State Department’s level of comfort in evaluating the agencies’ performances and success in their assistance to the Iraqi Refugees? It is our obligation, as well as the obligation of the State Department and the Iraqi Section, to work together in such matters in order to utilize the manpower and funding to achieve a better outcome and to resolve those issues that hindered the success, such as a better a treatment to the Iraqi refugees, a long term resettlement in the United States, inefficiencies and corruptions from some of the members of the Social Services agencies, and a complete long-term evaluation of the Iraqi refugees’ education and social status.

 

Our plan is simple, constructive, and doable by utilizing all of the resources that the State Department has at present in cooperation with the Iraqi American community and other institutes that look at the refugees not as a source of income and enrichment first and assist the Iraqi refugees second.

 

The situation of the Iraqi refugees in Michigan is desperate. The refugees still lack the resources for a basic, decent living. A majority of the refugees lack health insurance after the lapse of the eight month period of which they had a state-sponsored health insurance. A majority of the refugees are unemployed and do not speak the English language in order to assist them to pursue a job or education. The refugees have been left to those who are abusing their ignorance on the American rules and regulations resulting in being employed as a slave-labor, while those who have a college and university education are highly demoralized.

 

We believe it is not too late if there is a proper workshop and a roundtable discussion in Michigan involving the State Department and humanitarian, social, political, and well-fare agencies in Michigan that were entrusted to take care of the Iraqi refugees including a group representative of the refugees to be held as soon as possible in order to find a better ways and means to resolve these issues for now and for the incoming refugees. We are all responsible to make this project successful.

 

We, as Iraqi Americans, are always optimistic and hopeful that Iraq will be a better place. The Iraqi refugees will either return to Iraq or will have a better future in the countries of which they settle. Such goals are not difficult to achieve as Iraq has always bounced back from misfortunes in its history.

 

We, as the Iraqi American community, are looking forward to working with the State Department. We hope that you will respond positively and expeditiously to our request.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ramsay F. Dass, MD

Director, Iraqi American Endowment Center (www.iaec.org)

President, American Middle East Christian Congress (www.americanmiddleeastchristian.org)

 

Cc: Hon. Senator Carl Levin

Hon. Senator Debbie Stabenow

Hon. Rep. Dale Kildee

Hon. Rep. Dave Camp

Hon. Rep. Candice Miller

Hon. Rep. Bart Stupak

Hon. Rep. Gary Peters

Hon. Rep. Sandy Levin

Hon. Rep. John Conyer

Hon. Rep. John Dingell

Hon. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick

Hon. Rep. Mike Rogers

Hon. Rep. Mark Schauer

Hon. Rep. Fred Upton

Hon. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter

Hon. Rep. Peter Hoekstra

Hon. Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers

Hon. Rep. John Conyers, Jr.

 

By email, fax, and U.S. Mail

 

Insert: http://forefugees.com/2010/06/03/state-department-refugee-meeting-in-detroit-ends-in-riot/

State Department and resettlement agency officials flee refugee meeting in Detroit

Posted by christophercoen on June 3, 2010

So-called “rowdiness” ended a meeting in the Detroit area between Iraqi Chaldean refugees and State Department officials and their refugee resettlement agency partners.

TROY: Rowdiness scuttles Iraqi refugee meeting

Police broke up a meeting of 650 Iraqi refugees at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday that got rowdy when speakers from the U.S. State Department began answering questions, Troy Police Lt. Michael Lyczkowski said.

“About six to 18 people were causing trouble, but there were no physical assaults” at the American Polish Cultural Center, Lyczkowski said Tuesday. The people shouted and approached the stage, so officers “escorted the speakers and audience from the building and parking lot,” he said.

The program was hosted by Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, Catholic Services of Macomb and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, said Margaret Wojcieshowski, the center’s general manager.

Usually the State Department refugee officials only have these meetings when refugees have claimed significant neglect and abuse at the hands of their refugee resettlement agencies.

So the question is, what have Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, Catholic Services of Macomb, and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (Arab Community Center for Economics and Social Services, a.k.a., ACCESS) been doing, or more likely not doing, for their refugee clients?

Why were the Iraqi refugees so frustrated that things got out of hand at the meeting?