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| Iraq |
| Refugees Fail to Flood Syria-Iraq Border |
| 2003-03-29 |
| A refugee camp on the Syrian side of the Iraqi border is empty. Bored customs officials have little to do but walk around the outpost's concrete buildings and smoke cigarettes. So far, the anticipated flood of refugees from Iraq has failed to materialize. In fact, Syrians officials said, most of the traffic has been in the opposite direction. ``Most of the travelers passing through are Iraqis returning to their country,'' said Sami Ibrahim, head of the customs office at the Tanef border crossing, about 187 miles northeast of Damascus. It's a little early for the good, decent Iraqi exiles to return to build democracy, so I'm guessing these returnees have something else on their mind. Only 10 to 30 vehicles have crossed the border both ways in the past few days, compared to the hundreds that went through every day before the war. The Syrian government arranged Friday for reporters to visit Tanef and the nearby refugee camp set up in cooperation with the Just as soon as Sammy's gone! Ali Jassem crossed into Syria with his family of five squeezed into a white and orange taxi. He said they were coming for a prearranged family reunion and would be returning to Baghdad in a week. But suitcases and other belongings piled atop the cab suggested otherwise. ``Presents,'' he grinned when asked about the baggage. ``We are not escaping anything. We are Iraqis, we are not afraid. Sure, there is bombing but we are defending our country.'' "We can defend it a lot better from Damascus!" Iraqis may not be the only ones heading to Baghdad. Al-Ali said he wasn't aware of other Arab nationals entering Iraq from Syria to support the Iraqis, but added: ``I believe authorities would allow anyone who wants to cross to do so.'' They're free to cross; we're free to bomb them. Wonder if we have any SF in the area doing a little spotting? "Eagle Four, we got a shabby white Toyota with a bunch of elk hunters, east on the main highway." "Copy that, Blue Eyes, they gotta elk license?" "Negative, Eagle Four, I say negative, no elk license." "Put the red dot on 'em, Blue Eyes, I'll deliver the renewal." Suheil Sabbah, a 50-year-old doctor from Lebanon, came to Tanef with his wife to check whether their son had crossed the border. Wael, 19, left a note at home Monday saying that he was going to Iraq to be a Stupid, yes, honorable? |
| Posted by:Steve White |