Fellow Refugee

From: korn118b@...
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2005 19:18:53

Hello Osam I was a former refugee that came to Canada in 1996 fleeing the
war in the Balkans from Yugoslavia. I personally did not experience this
humiliation in that time because I was only a child then and me and my
family never really saw these human buttons but I am aware of their
advertising and I understand that it is humiliating and that they are
spreading the wrong messege about refugees and creating stereotypes.
Currently I cannot commit to "questioning the UNHCR" but I will try in the
future. I am wondering thought how you found out about that family in the
picture. Also I hope I am not tresspassing by asking a few questions about
Iraq and this current war. Here in Canada we are bombarded by CNN and their
lies and American propaganda and I am wondering if you could possibly tell
me about what was actualy happening in Iraq. Was life worse during Saddam's
reign or after the American "freed Iraqis" as they say. Also did their bombs
only hit "military targets" such as power plants and factories and military
bases as the Americans say they did or were there civillian bombings. I know
that in Yugoslavia when the American bombed Serbia during the Kosovo ordeal
they not only bombed the military targets which were actualy old factories
converted to making cars rather than weapons, power plants and such, but
they also bombed many many civilian targets such as residential buildings
and even a stadium. I'm not a reporter or anything I'm only 16 but I would
like to know the truth about Iraq.

Thank you

Bojan


From: SAM

Dear Bojan,

I’ll try to answer some of your questions.
“I am wondering thought how you found out about that family in the Picture.”
I found that info in one of my search sessions here: www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/gallery/staffphoto/thumbs.asp who took that picture was working for the UN, not the UNHCR and that family wasn’t register as refugee and me never they registered themselves!
About Iraq, I am living in Lebanon since 10 years so it’s hard for me to give detailed picture about the situation there. I can just tell what the people whom came from Iraq recently told me. The situation there is worse than what it was at Saddam’s days. The majority of the Iraqis like to leave Iraq; the population of the Iraqis here in Lebanon is more than before. Many of my friends whom return to Iraq found it hard to live there so they return back to Lebanon. Some of my friends had bad situations now in Iraq, one killed himself, another one killed by shooting in the street, another one is paralyzed now and the others just trying to come here again. No one of my friend and the Iraqi refugees whom live here in Lebanon thinks about going to Iraq, and who thinks about going to Iraq now is just to visit his family and come back again as fast as he can! I don’t think about go to Iraq now.
In the war the Americans bombarded a lot of civilian places like houses, hospitals and schools. The causalities among the civilian were more than in the army. The front was the cities. It was hard to tell the difference between the army and the civilians! In some palaces every thing moving was enemy!
I hope I answered you. Now I like to about why you can’t ask the UNHCR, I like to know the reason. I like to have your permission to post your message in my blog with or without your contact details, please tell me if you like that or not. If you have more questions please fell free to ask me.

Thanks
Friedn4all
SAM
http://www.unhcr.info