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TheIraqi diaspora refers to nativeIraqis who have left for other countries asemigrants orrefugees, and is now[when?] one of the largest in modern times, being described by the UN asa "humanitarian crisis" caused by the1991 Gulf War and2003 invasion of Iraq and by the ensuingwar.[1]
The diaspora is formed of various ethnic and religious groups from Iraq, including:Arabs,Kurds,Assyrians,Turkmens, andCircassians who are mostly Muslims (practicing Sunni or ShiaIslam). In addition, there are also Christians communities within the diaspora, such as theAssyrians andArmenians as well as someJews. There are alsoYazidis within the Iraqi diaspora.
The Iraqidiaspora is not a sudden exodus but one that has grown exponentially through the 20th century as each generation faced some form of radical transition or political conflict. There were at least two large waves of expatriation. A great number of Iraqis left the country during the dictatorship ofSaddam Hussein, and large numbers have left during theIraq War and its aftermath.
Various ethnic and religious populations have also been displaced or relocated. Assyrians, for example, have dealt with a century long dispersion of its people as a result of persecution and massacre. Another ethnic group are theMandeans, who numbered around 70,000 before the current war. Now, the last practisingGnostic sect in theMiddle East has almost entirely left Iraq.
During the firstGulf War,Iran provided refuge for 1.4 million Iraqis, though many did not settle there permanently. Facing international pressure, theUnited States agreed to allow Iraqis in theRafha refugee camp inSaudi Arabia to resettle in America. Through 2002, over 32,000 Iraqi refugees had been resettled in the United States; they joined a population of non-refugee Iraqis in America, bringing the total to over 400,000 Iraqis in the US, most notably inDetroit,Chicago,San Diego andPhoenix.[2]
The history of emigration and of the diaspora community then drastically changed with the2003 invasion of Iraq. There are many sources claiming different amounts of displaced Iraqis. Some claim as low as 1.2 million people have left Iraq, while others claim this number to be around 4–5 million.[3] It is difficult to gauge an accurate number of how many Iraqis seek refuge in other nations because of the constant outflow of Iraqis.
According to "UN statistics on displaced Iraqis around the world" of September 2007, Syria and Jordan are absorbing 44 per cent of displaced Iraqis globally. Other countries have also received Iraqis.Egypt, which has pledged to end Iraqi immigration, already has 150,000 ethnic Iraqi people. TheUnited Kingdom, whose Iraqi population comes largely if not entirely from before the 2003 Iraq War, has a population numbering between 250,000 and half a million. Iran also has approximately 204,000 Iraqi expatriates. And, inLebanon, notably due to West of Syria has 100,000 refugees.Sweden has allowed 18,000 refugees to enter, by far the most of anyEuropean country, but has indicated that it too plans on tightening restrictions.
The following countries have hostedIraqi refugees. This list is by no means conclusive.
There are about 200,000 Iraqis or Americans of Iraqi descent.[citation needed] According to the Arab American Institute, the Iraqi population in the USA is 350,000–400,000 and the hub of Iraqi Americans is inChicago. Since 2000, more than 33,000 have gained legal entry to theUnited States.[28]
An estimate of over 50,000 Iraqis live in Canada.[29]
25,000 Iraqis, either permanent residents or refugees awaiting entry to the United States, live in the Commonwealth ofPuerto Rico.[citation needed]
Approximately 340,000 Iraqi refugees have emigrated toBrazil, where there's already a large Arab population. Although not all of the refugees are Arabs.[citation needed] Some of the refugees includePalestinians in Iraq who were originally displaced from their homes in 1948 whenIsrael was created and then were forced to leave again in the 2000s due to theIraq War.[30]
Approximately 120,000 Iraqis live inArgentina, including around 72,000 refugees, followed by even more Syrian refugees fleeing theSyrian Civil War (2011–), and they settle in Argentina's Arab communities.[31]
The totalAustrian population of Iraqi refugees is 5,559[32]
According to theUN, there are 32,778 Iraqis inFinland.[33]
The current population of Iraqis inFrance is estimated at 8,200.However, it has been reported that since the invasion of Iraq, France has only accepted 13 refugees.[34]
Some reports claim that there are 1,300 Iraqi refugees living in France.[35]
The number ofIraqis in Germany is estimated at 150,000[36] In 2006, out of 2,727 asylum applications for Iraqi refugees, only 8.3 percent were accepted.[37] Some sources claim there to be just around 40,000 Iraqi refugees residing in Germany.[38] In 2006, Germany granted just 8.3 percent of Iraqi asylum demands, according to the ministry.[39]
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Over 80,000 Iraqi refugees are believed to have come intoGreece since 2003. The Greek government wants to resettle most of the refugees, though some refugees are using Greece as a path of entry to other European countries. Greece has long attracted Iraqis and otherArabic-speaking peoples from the Middle East for centuries during Ottoman Turkish times (the late 16th to early 20th centuries) and in the 2000s, many Iraqi andSyrian workers are thought to have arrived fromCyprus to find jobs in Greece.
Approximately 1,200 Iraqi refugees have immigrated toHungary.[40]
Sources claim there to be 340 Iraqi refugees living inIreland.[41]
The current population of Iraqis inItaly stands at around 6,035,[42] in addition almost 800 Iraqis have acquiresItalian citizenship between 2008 and 2020[43] and are now Italian citizens.
However one source claims there to be 56,300, which is approximately 50 families.[44] Most of these are priests, nuns and seminarians who have come to pursue their studies in Italy.[45] The majority are residents ofRome.
There have been recent appeals from the Iraqi community living in Italy to free any Italian and Iraqi Italian residents currently working in Iraq.[46]
In November 2007, 1,800 Iraqi Kurds sought refugee in Italy, of which only 20 of them applied for asylum and the other received 15-day expulsion orders.[47]
Sources claim there are currently almost 600 Iraqi living inPortugal as of 2021,[48] the majority being refugees. In addition, 49 Iraqis have acquiredPortuguese citizenship in recent years[49]
Sources claim there are at least 450 Iraqi refugees living inRomania as of 2007.[50]
Significant groups of Iraqis have emigrated to Russia as early as the 1990s.[51]Iran creditsRussia with being one of the first countries to provide concrete assistance in processing Iraqi refugees; Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry began preparing two sites for refugee camps in western Iran in April 2003.[52] However, Iraqis admitted to Russia often find themselves the targets of racism; as withAfghan refugees, they are mistaken for migrants from theCaucasus, who are stereotyped in Russia as drug dealers and criminals.[51] The number of Iraqi refugees in Russia is unknown, but may exceed 50,000 in the year 2009. Iraqi Christians likeAssyrians migrated to Russia in the early 20th century.[citation needed]
The current population of Iraqis inSpain are unknown; however, since the Iraq War, Spain has been host to 45 Iraqi refugees. An additional 42 Iraqis requested asylum in 2006.[53] There are roughly about 13,700 asylum seekers in Spain, and a further 642 Iraqis hold residency permits.[54]
Iraqi immigration to Spain accounted for 1,706 permanent residents in the year 2006.[citation needed]
Iraqis in Sweden numbered over 135,000,[55] are one of the largest ethnic groups living inSweden as of 2005, second toSwedes andFinns.[56] The mass influx of Iraqi refugees has increased dramatically during the last years, with up to 40,000 Iraqis expected to seek asylum in 2007.[57] Some sources claim there to be around 80,000 Iraqis living in Sweden with Swedish citizenship, along with hundreds of new applications for asylum from Iraqis every month.[56]
The current population of Iraqis inSwitzerland is estimated to be around 5,000. However, the Swiss government is currently closing doors to future Iraqi refugees, and offering to send external aid instead. Christoph Blocher, the Swiss Justice and Police Minister, stated that "We already have 5,000 Iraqis in Switzerland and our country is in second place in Europe in accepting them".[58][59]
TheUnited Kingdom has the largest Iraqi community in theWestern World with estimates ranging from 250,000 to 450,000.[citation needed]
The current Iraqi population inKuwait is difficult to determine, as there are no official figures. In 2018, it was estimated that 16,000 to 20,000 Iraqi citizens reside in Kuwait.[22] Estimates in 2006 ranged from 10,000 to 13,000.[60] According to theUNHCR, only 427 Iraqis have been registered as asylum seekers and 18 Iraqis have been recognized as refugees in Kuwait.[60]
Due to the historic Iraqi–Kuwaiti wars, Kuwait had previously announced that it will not provide shelter for Iraqi refugees and will prevent them from entering the country by guarding the border with Saudi Arabian troops. However, Kuwait did announce that they will hold any refugees in a 15 kilometer-wide demilitarized strip on the Iraqi side of the border, where it would provide humanitarian assistance.[60]
Kuwait has maintained strict regulations when considering refugees; however, the country hosted 15,000 Iraqis throughout the 1990s, most of which have resided in Kuwait. In 2007, the country sheltered 13,000 Iraqi refugees according to the UNHCR.[61]
The UNHCR reported that more than 81,000 refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan have arrived to Turkey in 2014. Most of the Iraqi refugees had to flee their cities due to the ISIS attacks.[62]
The current population of Iraqis in Qatar stood at 8,976 as of 2014, according to the Iraqi embassy in Doha.
The current population of Iraqis in theUnited Arab Emirates is estimated to be around 100,000.[12]
Since the war in 2003, despite not sharing a border with Iraq,Yemen has become a host country for many Iraqi refugees. However, in 2004, the Yemeni government has changed its policy and currently requires Iraqi nationals to hold visas before letting them into Yemen; this has restricted their entry into the country. It is difficult to estimate how many Iraqis are in Yemen, as the numbers vary frequently, with many arriving and leaving quickly. In 2004, theUNHCR estimated that 100,000 Iraqis were living in Yemen.[63]
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