The Political Inquirer

Late last year there was a propagandist push by the Iraqi government and U.S. forces to show everything was getting better, and they did this by sending buses to Syria, and bringing home 800 Iraqi’s out of the two million who fled to Jordan and Syria.

There apparently hasn’t been any mass return of refugees to their homes in Iraq. U.N. numbers suggest quite the opposite. Around 1,200 people per day were entering Syria from Iraq, while 700 were returning to Iraq from Syria. Do the math on that one.

Around 18% of Iraqi’s return home because they want to. The rest run out of money in other countries and have to come back, while others fall victim to new visa restrictions.

The case of Mohammed Salman al-Dlaimi, who used to distribute food rations in the Sunni enclave of al-Khudat in west Baghdad, explains why so many left and are dubious about coming back. He lived in his father’s large house with his three brothers, making just enough money to survive, until he was arrested by the National Guard in 2007.

“They accused me of being a member of al-Qa’ida,” he said, “and tortured me because I’m a Sunni. Everybody knows I am just a small businessman.”

Released after three months, he fled to Syria, saying to friends: “I plan to move to Tartous [on the coast] and start a business on a small scale importing cars.”

But, like many other Iraqi refugees, he discovered that Syrians would not let them become business competitors. He returned to Baghdad in December and stayed in his family’s house, but on the night of 20 January, neighbours heard women screaming and, in the morning, they learnt he had been arrested again by the National Guard.

Nothing like having to warp reality to promote ones pro-war, pro-spending, pro-big government cause.