Iraqi American National Network - History

An estimated 40,000 Iraqi refugees have arrived in the United States since 1992 as a result of ongoing wars and political repression in their own country. The first wave of Iraqi refugees consisted primarily of single men who came through refugee camps in Saudi Arabia from 1992 to 1996. From 1996 to 1998, a second wave of refugees, mainly Kurdish families, immigrated from Northern Iraq. Over the past few years, there has been a third and smaller wave comprised primarily of women who have married refugees living in the U.S. as well as single men and families coming through the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) via Jordan, Syria and Turkey. These refugees and their families join a much larger immigrant community of Iraqis who came to the U.S. as students and professionals in the 1960s and '70s, as well as Assyrians and Chaldeans who have been coming to the U.S. since the turn of the century.

Like many other refugee communities, Iraqi refugees exist on the periphery of civic, political, and economic life in the United States. As survivors of a regime in their home country that kept itself in power through the creation of fear and mistrust among its populace, Iraqi refugees lack experience with the civic, political and economic institutions that are the hallmark of democratic, pluralistic societies. Also like other refugee and immigrant communities, Iraqis dream of "going home," but increasingly accept that this country is home; even after things changed in Iraq, the United States is where their future and the future of their children lies.

Strong, ethnically-based civil society institutions can serve as the vehicle through which Iraqis can organize themselves to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to move forward and to feel more invested in and connected to the broader U.S. society without severing their cultural ties to their homeland. Over the past five years, both informal groups and formal organizations comprised of Iraqi refugees and immigrants have emerged in over a dozen states. These groups and organizations are helping refugees meet their basic needs (e.g., housing, employment), equipping refugees with the knowledge and skills-from English-as-a-Second Language to understanding the school system-required to manage successfully in American society while creating networks of support and cooperation among Iraqi refugees and between Iraqis and other refugee and immigrant groups and organizations.

From past experiences, we recognize that many of the challenges faced by Iraqi refugees are common across communities, from the obstacles that keep refugees with degrees locked in low-skill, low-wage jobs, to the cultural barriers that prevent women's participation in civic life, to the challenges of building civil society institutions within a community that lacks this tradition. In addition, there are problems and concerns that must be solved at a national level, such as ensuring the protection of the community's civil rights, especially after the events of September 11, 2001. No institutionalized mechanism currently exists for action at a national level to coordinate local work or to develop national strategies that can benefit all local communities. The emerging efforts by Iraqis around the US to build their own ethnic community organizations, whether through ICOP or independently, would be greatly strengthened by a nation-wide structure that facilitates information and experience sharing in an organized and productive way.

The Iraq Foundation proposes to create a National Network that supports, nurtures, and builds the capacity of emerging Iraqi Community Based Organization and connects these emerging organizations with one another and with older, more established Iraqi organizations.