U.N. calls for aid to Iraqi refugee hosts

UNITED NATIONS, July 6 (UPI) -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees wants help for Syria and Jordan to host 2 million Iraqi refugees.

Almost nothing has been done since similar appeals were made in April, and the agency's spokesman, Ron Redmond, said at the Iraq displacement conference Thursday it was "unconscionable" to leave the "two generous countries" on their own to deal with such a huge crisis.

He said Syria and Jordan receive about 2,000 Iraqis a day, and half of them choose to stay, bringing the total amount of refugees in the two countries to about 2 million. It challenges their hospitals, schools and public services.

Redmond added that the $60 million program -- soon to be raised to more than $100 million -- is "just a drop in the ocean" compared with the huge demand. His agency has been generous and allocated some $70 million, with another $10 million on the way, and has been doing its best with Syrian healthcare facilities in helping sick and maimed refugees. But he said it "cannot do everything alone."

At the conference some 450 delegates agreed on the urgent need to stem the outflow of people while assisting those in need, including by providing support to Iraq's neighbors that shelter refugees.

Redmond also called attention to the plight of Iraqi children, whose chances of receiving a good education are slim despite efforts of education authorities in their host countries.

At the same time, UNHCR also reiterated its appeal for the urgent medical evacuation of a dozen Palestinian children who suffer from serious and life-threatening medical problems from Baghdad and from the makeshift Al-Waleed camp on the Iraq side of the Syrian border.