President George W. Bush chose Jordan as the venue for this week's meeting with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq at least in part because he saw Jordan as the safest and friendliest spot in the region. More than half a million refugees from Iraq have chosen Jordan as a place of temporary refuge from war and persecution for much the same reason.
From the time of the Saddam Hussein era, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have found in Jordan a haven from repression, economic sanctions and conflict. Today, however, after three years of war, as Iraq is spiraling into ever more vicious sectarian violence, the Jordanian welcome has worn thin.
Jordanian authorities are now deporting Iraqis by the busload every day and are increasingly turning them away at the border. Jordan and its neighbor Syria - also host to nearly a half million Iraqi refugees and also showing signs that it has reached the limit of its tolerance - need international support to assist Iraqis seeking protection and to keep their doors open for those still clamoring to escape the violence in Iraq.
Bush has so far paid scant attention to the humanitarian fallout caused, directly or indirectly, by his military adventure in Iraq. Perhaps he sees recognition of the refugee reality as an admission of failure in his declared goal to bring peace and democracy to Iraq. Whatever the reason, the United States has earmarked relatively little of its aid to Jordan for refugees and has resettled only a handful of Iraqis in the United States.
But then Jordan has been less than forthright in identifying these refugees or in asking for help on their behalf. If it continues to deny this growing problem, it cannot expect the United States to help resolve it.
But King Abdullah can't very well ask for help unless Jordan is willing to treat refugees according to international standards.
Thus far, Jordan has rejected the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' call for temporary protection for all Iraqis fleeing war and persecution. Jordan has not ratified the UN Refugee Convention, and lacks an asylum law or even a procedure for recognizing refugees. As a result, Iraqis are denied the basic legal means to seek secure protection or refugee assistance.
Jordan treats Iraqis as illegal immigrants and deports those who overstay their short-term visas. It pushes away many who seek asylum at the border with Iraq. The authorities expect Iraqis resident in Jordan to remain self-sufficient, but often deny them permission to work. Iraqi children are not permitted to attend public schools, and if they don't have residence permits they are not even allowed to attend private schools.
Jordan must not deport Iraqis without first determining their need for protection. It should also admit Iraqis - and also Palestinian residents of Iraq who are fleeing persecution - who seek asylum at the border. It should allow Iraqi children, regardless of status, to attend school, and should meet the other social needs a huge refugee influx entails.
But Jordan should not bear the burden alone.
This is not a problem of Jordan's making. It faces this burden because of the accident of geography that placed it next door to Iraq and because of its relatively benign attitude toward refugees compared to most of Iraq's other neighbors.
The case for American responsibility is much stronger. Many of the refugees have fled Iraq after having been threatened with death for their real or suspected association with U.S. forces or private Western institutions.
American responsibility extends also to those fleeing general violence, as the U.S.-initiated war unleashed the forces that tore them from their homes and pushed them out of their country.
Those persecuted for their connections to America are deserving of consideration for admission to the United States as refugees. The rest are deserving of financial support until it is safe for them to go home. But until Bush and Abdullah both recognize the refugee problem, neither will take responsibility and the refugees will be left to suffer in fearful silence.
Bill Frelick is refugee policy director for Human Rights Watch and the author of the new Human Rights Watch report, "The Silent Treatment": Fleeing Iraq, Surviving in Jordan.
