Jordan Yields Poverty and Pain for the Well-Off Fleeing Iraq

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After her husband’s killing, Amira sold a generation of her family’s belongings, packed up her children and left behind their large house in Baghdad, with its gardener and maid.

Now, a year later, she is making meat fritters for money in this sand-colored capital, unable to afford glasses for her son, and in the quiet moments, choking on the bitterness of loss.

The war has scattered hundreds of thousands of Iraqis throughout the Middle East, but those who came here tended to be the most affluent. Most lacked residency status and were not allowed to work, but as former bank managers, social club directors and business owners, they thought their money would last.

It has not. Rents are high, schools cost money, and under-the-table jobs pay little. A survey of 100 Iraqi families found that 64 were surviving by selling their assets.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/world/middleeast/10refugees.html?hp

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1. The republiCON plan at its best

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2. The US is like Santa Claus, spreading happiness and cheer.

Saddam stands out as a greater benefactor when standards of living for these people are compared.