Iraqi Immigration

After reading a number of blogs, making comments and diaries I decided to start a blog of my own.

The name, Daily Scuttlebutt, is from my Navy days. Scuttlebutt was the daily news, gossip, and unofficial plan of the day. The sailors themselves had to kind of wade through that scuttlebutt to determine what was true and useful and what was just gossip.

Let's get started.

Has anyone notice in all the immigration ranting not much is said about the millions of Iraqi citizens that have left their country? According to UN figures I read today on a McClatchy blog,
http://washingtonbureau.typepad.com/cairo/ there 1,000 Iraqis leaving their homes every day. Either going to another country or to a ethnically cleaned part of Iraq. Over 4.5 million have left their country. Where have they went? Many to Syria and Jordan, around 2.2 million.

Prior to the start of the Iraq war the US took in around 2,000 a year, give or take a couple hundred each year. Since then it is only a few hundred a year. Even Iraqis that work for us there have a hard time getting in.

Other western countries tend to do a little better. Sweden took in over 9,600 in 2006. Who are some these Iraqis that get to the west? Well according to http://www.thelocal.se/6977/20070412/ many are wealthy and capable of living off interest of their bank accounts. The Local reports one Iraqi, Nazar Fiaely, has five different companies employing 50 people.

Just a little scuttlebutt from around the world most likely missed by our entertainment media.

Have a good day and work well,
RandyT