“If you stay, you die. If you leave, you live”: The Stories of Iraqi Refugees (Part I)

That quote comes from a 26-year old Iraqi doctor to whom the BBC gives the pseudonym “Matthew”. Matthew fled Iraq for Sweden in September 2007 after armed men came to his door trying to kill him. He goes on to state,

“I can now live without fear […] When you hear that Sweden has fought its last war 400 years ago, there’s no expecting any war […] So you feel you can live in safety. You feel more human.”

At the time of this article’s publication, there have been between 82,349 and 89,867 civilian deaths in Iraq since March 2003 according to Iraq Body Count.

It is true that under Saddam Hussein’s regime thousands were killed and even more simply disappeared. As Matthew says, however, what ever improvement the new government brings, the fear of death and continued violence prompts many to seek a better life elsewhere. According to UNHCR’s September 2007 report, approximately 60,000 Iraqi’s are forced to leave their homes each month due to ongoing violence. Read More »