Iraqi Diaspora

The Iraqi diaspora refers to native Iraqis who have left for other countries as emigrants or refugees, and is now one of the largest in modern times, being described by the UN as a "humanitarian crisis" caused by the 1991 Gulf War and 2003 invasion of Iraq and by the ensuing war.

The diaspora is formed of various ethnic and religious groups from Iraq, including: Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, and Circassians who are mostly Muslims (practicing Sunni or Shia Islam). In addition, there are also Christians communities within the diaspora, such as the Assyrians and Armenians as well as some Jews. There are also Yazidis within the Iraqi diaspora.

History

The Iraqi diaspora is not a sudden exodus but one that has grown exponentially through the 20th century as each generation faced some form of radical transition or political conflict. There were at least two large waves of expatriation. A great number of Iraqis left the country during the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, and large numbers have left during the Iraq War and its aftermath.

Various ethnic and religious populations have also been displaced or relocated. The native Chaldeans have dealt with a century long dispersion of its people. Another ethnic group are the Mandeans, who numbered around 70,000 before the current war. Now, the last practising Gnostic sect in the Middle East has almost entirely left Iraq.

During the first Gulf War, Iran provided refuge for 1.4 million Iraqis, though many did not settle there permanently. Facing international pressure, the United States agreed to allow Iraqis in the Rafha refugee camp in Saudi Arabia to resettle in America. Through 2002, over 32,000 Iraqi refugees had been resettled in the United States; they joined a population of non-refugee Iraqis in America, bringing the total to over 400,000 Iraqis in the US, most notably in Detroit, Chicago, San Diego and Phoenix.

The history of emigration and of the diaspora community then drastically changed with the 2003 invasion of Iraq. There are many sources claiming different amounts of displaced Iraqis. Some claim as low as 1.2 million people have left Iraq, while others claim this number to be around 4–5 million. It is difficult to gauge an accurate number of how many Iraqis seek refuge in other nations because of the constant outflow of Iraqis.

According to "UN statistics on displaced Iraqis around the world" of September 2007, Syria and Jordan are absorbing 44 per cent of displaced Iraqis globally. Other countries have also received Iraqis. Egypt, which has pledged to end Iraqi immigration, already has 150,000 ethnic Iraqi people. The United Kingdom, whose Iraqi population comes largely if not entirely from before the 2003 Iraq War, has a population numbering between 250,000 and half a million. Iran also has approximately 204,000 Iraqi expatriates. And, in Lebanon, notably due to West of Syria has 100,000 refugees. Sweden has allowed 18,000 refugees to enter, by far the most of any European country, but has indicated that it too plans on tightening restrictions.

Population by country

Locations

The following countries have hosted Iraqi refugees. This list is by no means conclusive.

Americas

United States

There are about 200,000 Iraqis or Americans of Iraqi descent. According to the Arab American Institute, the Iraqi population in the USA is 350,000–400,000 and the hub of Iraqi Americans is in Chicago. Since 2000, more than 33,000 have gained legal entry to the United States.

Canada

An estimate of over 50,000 Iraqis live in Canada.

Puerto Rico

25,000 Iraqis, either permanent residents or refugees awaiting entry to the United States, live in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Brazil

Approximately 340,000 Iraqi refugees have emigrated to Brazil, where there's already a large Arab population. Although not all of the refugees are Arabs. Some of the refugees include Palestinians in Iraq who were originally displaced from their homes in 1948 when Israel was created and then were forced to leave again in the 2000s due to the Iraq War.

Argentina

Approximately 120,000 Iraqis live in Argentina, including around 72,000 refugees, followed by even more Syrian refugees fleeing the Syrian Civil War (2011–), and they settle in Argentina's Arab communities.

Europe

Austria

The total Austrian population of Iraqi refugees is 5,559

Finland

According to the UN, there are 32,778 Iraqis in Finland.

France

The current population of Iraqis in France is estimated at around 8,200.
However, it has been reported that since the invasion of Iraq, France has only accepted 13 refugees.

Some reports claim that there are 1,300 Iraqi refugees living in France.

Germany

The number of Iraqis in Germany is estimated at around 150,000 In 2006, out of 2,727 asylum applications for Iraqi refugees, only 8.3 percent were accepted. Some sources claim there to be just around 40,000 Iraqi refugees residing in Germany. In 2006, Germany granted just 8.3 percent of Iraqi asylum demands, according to the ministry.

Greece

Over 80,000 Iraqi refugees are believed to have come into Greece since 2003. The Greek government wants to resettle most of the refugees, though some refugees are using Greece as a path of entry to other European countries. Greece has long attracted Iraqis and other Arabic-speaking peoples from the Middle East for centuries during Ottoman Turkish times (the late 16th to early 20th centuries) and in the 2000s, many Iraqi and Syrian workers are thought to have arrived from Cyprus to find jobs in Greece.

Hungary

Approximately 1,200 Iraqi refugees have immigrated to Hungary.

Ireland

Sources claim there to be 340 Iraqi refugees living in Ireland.

Italy

The current population of Iraqis in Italy stands at around 6,035, in addition almost 800 Iraqis have acquires Italian citizenship between 2008 and 2020 and are now Italian citizens.

However one source claims there to be 56,300, which is approximately 50 families. Most of these are priests, nuns and seminarians who have come to pursue their studies in Italy. The majority are residents of Rome.

There have been recent appeals from the Iraqi community living in Italy to free any Italian and Iraqi Italian residents currently working in Iraq.

In November 2007, 1,800 Iraqi Kurds sought refugee in Italy, of which only 20 of them applied for asylum and the other received 15-day expulsion orders.

Portugal

Sources claim there are currently almost 600 Iraqi living in Portugal as of 2021, the majority being refugees. In addition, 49 Iraqis have acquired Portuguese citizenship in recent years

Romania

Sources claim there are at least 450 Iraqi refugees living in Romania as of 2007.

Russia

Significant groups of Iraqis have emigrated to Russia as early as the 1990s. Iran credits Russia with being one of the first countries to provide concrete assistance in processing Iraqi refugees; Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry began preparing two sites for refugee camps in western Iran in April 2003. However, Iraqis admitted to Russia often find themselves the targets of racism; as with Afghan refugees, they are mistaken for migrants from the Caucasus, who are stereotyped in Russia as drug dealers and criminals. The number of Iraqi refugees in Russia is unknown, but may exceed 50,000 in the year 2009. Iraqi Christians like Assyrians migrated to Russia in the early 20th century.

Spain

The current population of Iraqis in Spain are unknown; however, since the Iraq War, Spain has been host to 45 Iraqi refugees. An additional 42 Iraqis requested asylum in 2006. There are roughly about 13,700 asylum seekers in Spain, and a further 642 Iraqis hold residency permits.

Iraqi immigration to Spain accounted for 1,706 permanent residents in the year 2006.

Sweden

Iraqis in Sweden numbered over 135,000, are one of the largest ethnic groups living in Sweden as of 2005, second to Swedes and Finns. The mass influx of Iraqi refugees has increased dramatically during the last years, with up to 40,000 Iraqis expected to seek asylum in 2007. Some sources claim there to be around 80,000 Iraqis living in Sweden with Swedish citizenship, along with hundreds of new applications for asylum from Iraqis every month.

Switzerland

The current population of Iraqis in Switzerland is estimated to be around 5,000. However, the Swiss government is currently closing doors to future Iraqi refugees, and offering to send external aid instead. Christoph Blocher, the Swiss Justice and Police Minister, stated that "We already have 5,000 Iraqis in Switzerland and our country is in second place in Europe in accepting them".

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has the largest Iraqi community in the Western World with estimates ranging from 250,000 to 450,000.

Asia and Middle East

India

India has people from all around the world. They migrated for various reasons. Some migrated because their lands were invaded and some migrated for trade purposes.

There was a huge influx of the Persian people into India during the 7th Century CE.

In India there are two major Iraqi communities who have very well mixed in the fabric of Indian culture.

The first one are the Persian-origin Shamsi tribe (migrated in 7th Century CE) and the second one is the Middle East-origin Iraqi Biradari (migrated in 14th Century CE).

Religion

Majority of the people of Shamsi community and Tamimi community are Sunni Muslims. In India, they adhere to The Hanafi jurisprudence.

Language

The primary language remains Urdu

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