Opinion: Perhaps Iraqis Should Withdraw From Iraq

A couple of days ago, I received a text message saying,"Bush has decided that Iraqis should withdraw from Iraq immediately." While funny, this does illustrate the harsh reality in which Iraqis live.



By common agreement, the only solution is emigration. People are desperate, and have lost hope that things will get better and they will escape from the security, electricity and fuel crisis. Iraqis are tolerant, but they love life, and as much as emigration is a difficult step, it is still better than life in a country where people are driven to their deaths like sheep. A friend of mine compares Iraq to a prison where everyone is an inmate. Wars imposed on Iraq have exhausted and indebted it so that it is now one of the poorest countries in the world.



The head of the UNHCR has said there are about 1.6 million Iraqis living abroad, mainly in neighbouring countries. It is a horrifying statistic. The official spoke of an organised, silent mass migration. Since the American occupation, this migration has been prompted by the lack of security and by the rise in sectarian violence.



Who is going to solve the problem – the politicians who have failed so many times already? America, which has made matters worse by exacerbating the problems? Or the Arab countries? These questions need proper answers.