Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Iraqi Refugees Resort to Prostitution

Displaced women turn to sex trade to support families

By Colleen Barry, Newser Staff

Posted May 29, 2007 11:09 AM CDT

(Newser) – As Iraqi refugees flood across the border into Syria, more and more women are turning to prostitution to support themselves and their families. The Times visits the Damascus area, where some women approach men on the street, some work at clubs known as "casinos," and some are even pimped by family members.

The problem is so serious that the government, which had not acknowledged it except in euphemisms, has taken up the issue with the UN's refugee agency. Contributing to the refugees' desperate situation are Syria's high unemployment rate and the fact that many Iraqi women have lost the male breadwinners on whom they traditionally relied.

Iraqis wait their turn to register at the United Nations High... (Getty Images)

Iraqis wait their turn to register at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) registration centre (Getty Images)

Iraqi women. (Associated Press)

Iraqi Refugees Are Fed By Church In Syria (Getty Images)

Iraqis wait in line holding up their passports and numbers at... (Getty Images)

Iraqis present their passports to register at the United Nations... (Getty Images)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Don't Forget Iraqi Refugees: Brangelina

Stars visit with displaced people in Syria

(NEWSER) - Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are in Syria, using their powers for good. The celebrity übercouple visited Iraqi refugees in Damascus today in an attempt to keep the lowest-profile victims of the war from falling off the radar, People reports. Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the UN's refugee agency, released a statement that reads in part: "Most Iraqi refugees cannot return to Iraq in view of the severe trauma they experienced there, the uncertainty linked to the coming Iraqi elections, the security issues and the lack of basic services." More»

Iraqi Refugees Flood Into Syria and Jordan

Iraqis are fleeing to their neighbors by the millions, while the U.S. sits pretty

(NEWSER) - The Iraq war has created nearly two million refugees, and they're going largely ignored by world governments, the UN warns. "There has been an abject denial of the impact, the humanitarian impact, of the war," says a UN refugee agency spokesperson. Most of the refugees stream into neighboring Syria and Jordan, threatening to further destabilize the region. More»

Refugees: Iraq's Unspoken Crisis

US must rebuild shattered lives now or face decades of disorder: Kristof

(NEWSER) - New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof travels to Jordan to report on one of the unintended consequences of the Iraq war: a regional refugee crisis. About 2 million Iraqis, mostly Sunnis, have fled since the war, living mostly in Jordan and Syria in deplorable conditions. "They are the new Palestinians," writes Kristof, "the 21st-century Arab diaspora that threatens the region’s stability." More»

US to Admit More Iraqi Refugees

Speeds up glacial pace of resettlement

(NEWSER) - The State Department plans to admit 12,000 Iraqi refugees into the US by September, despite resettling only 375 so far this year, CNN reports. Ambassador James Foley, charged with the task of accelerating resettlement, vowed to reporters that the pace will pick up in the coming months. The US promised to resettle 7,000 Iraqis in America last year but only moved in 1,600. More»

Iraq Invites Refugees Home, but Home Is Gone

350K displaced in Iraq; US military begs Baghdad to build new housing

(NEWSER) - Baghdad shocked Washington and the UN last month by inviting home 1.4 million refugees from Syria, the Washington Post reports. The UN warned against it, saying exiles would face poverty, but Iraq started a bus line to transport them back. Many found their homes looted and neighborhoods redrawn along sectarian lines—and with no official plan in place, they burdened relatives by moving in. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Iraqi Refugees Resort to Prostitution

Displaced women turn to sex trade to support families

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Iraq • prostitution • Syria • refugee • Iraqi refugees • Iraq war

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Don't Forget Iraqi Refugees: Brangelina

Stars visit with displaced people in Syria

Iraqi Refugees Flood Into Syria and Jordan

Iraqis are fleeing to their neighbors by the millions, while the U.S. sits pretty

Refugees: Iraq's Unspoken Crisis

US must rebuild shattered lives now or face decades of disorder: Kristof

US to Admit More Iraqi Refugees

Speeds up glacial pace of resettlement

Iraq Invites Refugees Home, but Home Is Gone

350K displaced in Iraq; US military begs Baghdad to build new housing

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Iraqi Refugees Resort to Prostitution

Displaced women turn to sex trade to support families

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Iraq • prostitution • Syria • refugee • Iraqi refugees • Iraq war

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Don't Forget Iraqi Refugees: Brangelina

Stars visit with displaced people in Syria

Iraqi Refugees Flood Into Syria and Jordan

Iraqis are fleeing to their neighbors by the millions, while the U.S. sits pretty

Refugees: Iraq's Unspoken Crisis

US must rebuild shattered lives now or face decades of disorder: Kristof

US to Admit More Iraqi Refugees

Speeds up glacial pace of resettlement

Iraq Invites Refugees Home, but Home Is Gone

350K displaced in Iraq; US military begs Baghdad to build new housing

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?