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| Britain |
| Plan announced to help some Iraqis who worked for Britain |
| 2007-11-06 |
| The British army in Iraq set out on Monday details and conditions of potential deals for Britain's several hundred Iraqi staff who will be offered a chance to resettle in the Britain or receive cash. According to a statement by the British troops in Iraq issued on Monday, London has set out conditions and criteria for applicants from its former Iraqi staffers who worked for British troops, embassy and institutions in Iraq, to receive help under a new plan. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband revealed on October 30 a new plan to compensate and resettle several hundred Iraqis, many of them interpreters, but set conditions that restrict eligibility. Miliband said in a statement that was posted on the British Foreign Office website that the help plan 'reflects our judgment that the circumstances in which Iraqi locally-employed staff have served have been uniquely difficult.' Thousands of Iraqis have been directly employed by British troops since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 but under the new plan only a few hundred will qualify for help. The main criterion restricts applicants to only Iraqis who worked continuously for the British for 12 months since January 1, 2005 and until August 8, 2007. The assistance package offers cash payment of up to 18-months salary and the minimum of six months or the option of settling in Britain as asylum seekers on the basis of an 'exceptional leave' outside British immigration rules. Iraqis who do not qualify under those criteria are given the option to apply through a special refugee programme, which would require their presence as registered refugees in a third country. Under this provision, many hundreds of Iraqi interpreters would have to travel mainly to neighbouring countries, such as Syria and Jordan, and apply for refugee status - an onerous process that may take months. Syria and Jordan, which bear the brunt of the exodus of Iraqis from the violence-beleaguered country, have already tightened entry regulations. Iraqi interpreters and staff who work for the coalition troops in Iraq face, along with their families, death threats and social exclusion. Some have already fallen victim to target killings. |
| Posted by:ryuge |