The Invisible Refugees

I promise we will return to the repercussions of the end of fighting at Nahr al-Bared in the future, but the above graph recently caught my eye. According to UNHCR, 4.2 million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes since the beginning of civil war in Iraq. Over 2 million Iraqis have fled the country entirely.

The vast majority have gone to Syria and Jordan. But as you can see from the graph, Lebanon (population less than 4 million; crippling sectarian issues) has taken in the 7th largest amount of refugees -- about 40,000 people. Meanwhile, the United States (population more than 300 million; actually responsible for the war) has opened its door to around 6,000 refugees, good for 15th overall.

What has happened to these refugees -- and the refusal of the United States to accept more responsibility for their plight -- is one of the great under-reported stories in the Middle East right now. [Hat Tip: Andrew Sullivan]