SYRIA: Good will ambassador and renowned Egyptian actor and Adel Imam visits Iraqi refugees in Syria

Renowned Egyptian actor and United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) goodwill ambassador Adel Imam arrived in Syria Tuesday (September 11, 2007) on a two-day mission to see first-hand the plight of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees uprooted by the ongoing conflict in their home country. Imam's mission comes at the beginning of the school year in Syria as many Iraqi children get ready to go back to school after the Syrian government recently announced it will allow Iraqi children to enrol in public schools. During his visit, Imam met with Syria's first lady Asma al-Assad and Syrian ministers. He met with a number of Iraqi refugees at the UNHCR registration centre in Douma. In late July, the UNHCR and The United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF launched a joint 129-million-U.S.-dollar education appeal aimed at getting 155,000 young Iraqi refugees spread throughout the Middle East back into the school. Iraqi refugees began moving in huge numbers to Syria and Jordan after the 2003 U.S-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein unleashed sectarian strife. Syria has borne the brunt of the exodus, hosting over 1.5 million Iraqi refugees. Syria began enforcing a new visa policy on Monday (September 10) to stem the influx of refugees. The new policy prohibits Iraqi passport holders, except for businessmen and academics, from entering Syria. Iraqis could previously turn up at any Syrian airport or border point and be automatically issued a three-month visa.

ITN Source | September 13, 2007

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