“Our war has displaced 4 million Iraqis since 2003, including 2 million now living beyond its borders in tough conditions. Yet we have allowed this vast, potentially destabilizing refugee burden to be borne mostly by Syria and Jordan. We have provided some aid to host countries but none to Syria, and we have allowed only a trickle of Iraqis (fewer than 10,000 so far) to resettle in the U.S. — far fewer than have been taken in by Sweden.”

Refugees need to be able to return and rebuild their lives and their country, Abramowitz said — but until that time comes, they need plenty of help. He urged the U.S. to provide the refugees greater financial assistance and take in more refugees, particularly those who cannot go home.

To learn more and find out how to get involved, visit our special report on the Iraqi refugee crisis.

You can read Melissa’s posts from her visits to Iraqi refugee families in Jordan here and learn more about how the IRC is helping Iraqi refugees here.

The International Rescue Committee’s Ye Thu recently returned from a four day mission to Ngapudaw Township, one of the most cyclone-thrashed districts of Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta. He shares some of his impressions.

“It seems almost every village here in Ngapudaw was severely affected by the cyclone one month ago.  It was not easy reaching the people here in small villages along flooded rivers, but together with the Myanmar Red Cross Society, we were able to bring more than 10,000 people in 16 villages emergency relief supplies, including hygiene kits and tarps.

“Our joint relief team traveled to villages where very few aid agencies if any had gone before, so for some survivors, like this lady, it was the first help they received.”

“One village we assisted is called Oaktwin.  It was hit very hard by the cyclone.  On the other side of the river is Bonetawpyae village which was completely wiped out.  All the survivors took refuge at the monastery in Oaktwin. When we arrived, we found the monks leading a prayer for the dead for a group of 40 men. Each man had lost his wife in the cyclone and most of them lost children too. It was such a sad and tragic scene. I can tell you that here and everywhere we bring aid, the people are struggling for their lives. They have lost their family, their fish farms and rice paddies and their homes. They have no way to resume their work and earn money. The people still need help badly.”

To learn more: Read a special report on the IRC’s emergency response
To help: Make an urgent gift or speak up for cyclone victims

“While the pace of aid deliveries has increased in the past week, the entire relief effort is only scratching the surface of what is needed in a disaster of this scale.”

- Melissa Winkler, IRC emergency communications director, speaking with the Associated Press about the response to the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.

“Supplies are getting to a fraction of the entire group of affected people—about 25 to 30 percent.”

- Anne Richard, IRC vice president for government relations and advocacy, telling Reuters about aid access to people affected by the cyclone

“The villagers are poor rice paddy farmers and they were so eager to receive help – anything at all. They are really struggling.”

- Aung Htun U, an IRC volunteer who this week took part in a mission to assist cyclone survivors in one of the hardest hit townships in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta.

“An awful lot of people are very vulnerable. I haven’t heard any comments of people who have died because they haven’t received aid, but I think there undoubtedly are people who have not received aid, many, many hundreds of thousands, even into the millions.”

- Gordon Bacon, IRC emergency coordinator in Myanmar, speaking on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition

“Today we left Yangon before dawn to travel to Dedaye Township.  It is one of the hardest hit areas in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Division.  When we approached the bridge to cross the Pan Hlaing River there were thousands of people standing along the road looking for help.  We saw many rotting bodies and animal carcasses in the river and among the bushes too.  It was hard to breathe the foul smell.  The sight of these floating bodies and the smell is too terrible for us to describe.

When we arrived in Dedaye town, we loaded emergency supplies onto boats.  From there, it took us one and a half hours to reach Kyonemhaw.  We traveled on two boats, 18 feet long and three feet wide, as they are able to crisscross the narrow river lanes. Our team chose Kyonemhaw among other affected villages because only a few local groups had visited this devastated place and the people there are in dire need of assistance.

We eventually arrived in the village which is on the bank of a small river and very close to paddy fields.  The village has only muddy footpaths. We unloaded our supplies at the monastery, in the middle of the village.  Hundreds of people gathered to receive donations of water, food, medicines and clothing.

The villagers are poor farmers and they were so eager to receive help — anything at all.  They are really struggling.  The survivors told us that the village used to have a population of more than 1,000 people, but nearly 300 people died in the storm.”

To learn more: Visit our Myanmar Cyclone special report at theIRC.org/myanmar.

To help: Make an urgent gift here or speak up for for Burmese cyclone victims here.