In EU, Hope Dims for Iraqi Refugees

The US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent insurgency have produced an estimated 4.7 million refugees. One Swedish town alone, Södertälje near Stockholm, has accepted about 6,000 asylum seekers in the last five years – more than the entire United States. In all, Sweden – which had no role in the war – has accepted 49,000 people who met the conditions required by the European Union’s strict policies on refugee status. But Sweden’s liberal policies are about to change. Many refugees, struggling to find employment upon arrival, require expensive welfare provisions, straining Scandinavian generosity. Refugees that do not make it as far as Sweden often encounter harsh conditions. In Greece, less than 1 percent of asylum requests are granted and many refugees wait for some opportunity in squatter camps. The new restrictions in Sweden, one of Europe’s most famously humanitarian states, could set a precedent – and trigger an end to hospitality from Syria and Jordan, where 2 million Iraqis now live. – YaleGlobal