Filmed by Lee Wang, edited by Yasmin Samir-Shakir and Insa Langhorst. Funded by The Fledgling Fund.

http://youtu.be/6kqI9GtGinY

<h4><span style=”font-weight: normal;”>

Thank you so much for your rapid attention to the dire matter of LGBTI individuals currently being hunted down and massacred in Iraq. The speed with which our video, Ahmed’s Story, spread through the internet was wonderful and generous. It was call for help to support our work to protect these Iraqis that was heard loud and clear.

However, the unfortunately flip side of this was that the video spread so fast that IRAP and Ahmed began to worry about the security of the man featured in it, and, in particular, his family members who are still not out of harm’s way.

As such, we have made the difficult decision to remove the video from the internet. While a personal narrative from a persecuted individuals certainly makes a more compelling case for the emergency nature of these killings, our number one concern is the safety of those with whom we work, and for this reason, we have made the decision halt the spread of this video.

We hope that you will see this decision as underscoring the desperate and dangerous situation of LGBTI individuals in Iraq, extending even to their extended family members. To us, this is further evidence of the seriousness of the current situation, and while we can no longer spread the word by video, we hope you will continue to spread the word by editorial and other means. For more stories, from non-LGBTI individuals whose families have relocated to safety, please visit our YouTube page.

Please continue to pass on this message!

Sincerely,
Becca Heller, Director
Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project

Iraqi Immigration Minister Dindar Doski said: “The ministry is continuing its meetings with the ambassadors of these countries to urge them to stop the forced deportation, but I don’t think that this process will stop.”

In the meantime, two international airports in Kurdistan have refused to accept forcibly deported Iraqi refugees.

Read the full story here.

Larger government payments for returnees and allegedly improving security conditions have prompted unprecedented numbers of Iraqi refugees to return home. Last year saw the highest number of returnees since 2004: 120 percent more Iraqis returned in 2011 than in 2010, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The article explores the tensions in one Baghdad neighborhood, illustrating the mutual mistrust and suspicion among Shiites and Sunnis.

Read the full story here.

The screening under the program was tightened in 2011, leading to a drastic drop in the number of visas issued. Although the Obama administration will not comment on the additional security measures imposed, officials say changes have been implemented that will expedite the security clearance process.

“We owe these people,” said Anthony Blinken, the national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden. “If we don’t deal with this problem, it will have a chilling effect on the willingness of people around the world to work with us, to cooperate with our missions.”

Under the SIV program, more than 7,700 Iraqis have been resettled in the U.S. since its inception in 2007, with 2,843 resettled in 2009 and 2,042 in 2010.

Read the full story here.

“Iraqi allies were the key to the success of the surge and our counterinsurgency strategy,” said Mike Breen, vice president of the Truman National Security Project and a founding director of the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Program. “We must stand by those Iraqis who stood with us, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also for the sake of our national security and stability in the Middle East.”

RCUSA Advocacy Committee Chairwoman Melanie Nezer noted that heightened security clearances have drastically decreased the number of Iraqis admitted to the United States: in 2009 and 2010, about 18,000 Iraqis were admitted to the U.S. – in 2011, that number was nearly halved, to 9,388. Iraqi refugees now go through at least four security checks before they can be resettled.

In the meantime, Iraqis who helped the American government during the war are in grave danger, experts say, pointing to attempted assassinations, kidnappings, and murders of refugees waiting for security clearances.

The U.S. government has an obligation to expedite the screening processes for Iraqis who assisted American forces. Their service must be acknowledged. IRAP is committed to advocating on their behalf.

Read the full story here.

Emo stands for “emotional hardcore,” and these youths are easily identified by “their tight black clothes, skull printed t-shirts, piercings, and daring hairstyles that signify an ironic punk or hipster aesthetic in the United States.” The emo and the LGBT communities – which are frequently conflated into one – have been facing intensifying persecution and threats from the Iraqi government and militias.

The Iraqi Ministry of the Interior issued a statement on February 13 describing “emo” youths as devil worshippers and granted the Ministry’s Social Police authority to “eliminate” them. While the government recanted this position a month later, this message understandably prompted many youths to shave their identifiable hairstyles and hide at home.

Meanwhile, a Shiite militia in Baghdad targeting the LGBT community distributed a hit list with 33 names and home addresses with the message: “if you do not stop this dirty act within four days, then the punishment of God will fall on you at the hands of Mujahideen.” Other fliers refers to gay men with nicknames such as “Mohammed the Flower” and state: “Reform your behavior, stop being gay, or face deadly consequences,” and “Your fate will be death if you don’t quit doing this. Punishment will be tougher and tougher, you gays.”

These stories highlight the critical importance of resettling Iraqis persecuted because of their sexual orientation – both in Iraq and in neighboring countries. The blog post features a video of Ahmed, a gay Iraqi man resettled in the United States with IRAP’s assistance. Ahmed was a medical student in Iraq when he was forced to flee because his uncles found out he was gay, and wanted to kill him to restore the family honor. In the country he fled to, he was arrested by religious police, and raped in prison by a guard.

IRAP is committed to helping other Iraqis, like Ahmed, find safety in the United States.

See the full post here.

The 2011 figures represent only 70 percent of the number allowed – the lowest admittance rate since 2007. Since 1983, refugee admissions were lowest in 2002-2003, where only 39 and 40 percent of ceiling were admitted, respectively.

Get more information here.

Read the full report here.

The Syrian conflict is dividing more and more along sectarian lines, according to the story, with the opposition drawing mostly from the Sunni majority, while President Bashar Al-Assad’s Alawite sect is a branch of Shia Islam. The Shiite-dominated Iraqi government has claimed to be neutral to the Syrian conflict, and supported the United Nations resolution against the Syrian government last week. But the predominately Sunni Syrian opposition accuse Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, of turning a blind eye to the passage of Iraqi Shiite militamen traveling across Iraq to Syria to fight for President Bashar Al-Assad. Meanwhile, some Sunnis in Iraq claim to be arming the Sunni opposition in Syria, and hundreds of Iraqi Sunnis rallied in support of the opposition in Fallujah last week.

As a result, Iraqis in Syria face pressure to choose sides. Iraqi refugees had benefited from Syria’s open-door policy, and the government had allowed them to access services like education and healthcare. But now, the instability and tension is prompting many to leave. On one Iraqi woman’s return to Baghdad, Syrian opposition fighters stopped her bus at a checkpoint and demanded to know if the passengers were Sunni or Shiite. Another Iraqi man was ordered to say a prayer cursing Bashar Al-Assad by a gunman at a security checkpoint. The man has since returned to Iraq, and said: ”Nobody has suffered like the Iraqi people… This should be a cautionary tale for the Syrians.”

As of Feburary 2012, there were literally no options available for Iraqi refugees stranded in Syria, other than to return to their persecutors in Iraq.

Read the full story here.