Iraqi refugees reluctantly return home, to 'death row'
1. By Omar Sinan
DAMASCUS, Syria -- Their money gone, Iman Faleh and her family packed their belongings to reluctantly return to Baghdad -- a journey they said was like going to "death row." The religiously mixed family -- Iman is a Sunni Muslim, the others are Shiite Muslims _ fled their home in a mostly Shiite part of east Baghdad in July and took refuge in Syria, joining an estimated 1.5 million other Iraqis here.
But in early fall, they became part of a growing wave of Iraqis leaving Syria for home, not because they are confident of Iraq's future, but because they ran out of money. Others are returning because the Syrians have made it more difficult to stay. Most Iraqis cannot work legally in Syria and survive on savings or handouts from relatives.
"Going back to Baghdad means going to 'death row,'" said Iman's 27-year-old son, Zaid, as he hauled luggage from the family's US$1,200-a-month apartment in Damascus. "But we have no money left that could allow us to go on living here."Source: [MSNBC]
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