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DALLAS, June 26 /PRNewswire/ — How would paying a kidnap ransom for a family member or friend equal supporting terrorism?
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The Iraq refugee crisis is now among the largest in the world. More than four million Iraqis have left their homes, trying to escape kidnappings and persecution.
This Tuesday’s “Dan Rather Reports” tells the story of how hundreds of refugees from Iraq who were forced to pay ransom to kidnappers are stuck in an undetermined vacuum, with faltering hopes of getting out of the Middle East. The very reason for their flight, may now be what is keeping them from gaining refugee status in the United States. Because by paying ransom to kidnappers, the U.S. says, they may also have supported terrorism and fueled the insurgency.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, one out of every four registered Iraqi refugees has been the victim of kidnapping. Terrorist groups and criminals often targeted those Iraqis who collaborated, or were perceived to have collaborated with Americans or other foreigners. And under the U.S. Patriot Act, paying ransom to kidnappers can constitute providing “material support” to terrorists.
Now living as refugees in Jordan and Syria, a small percentage of the millions of refugees have been selected by the UNHCR for resettlement in other countries. The United States has pledged to take 12,000 Iraqis. But in order to be accepted for resettlement by the U.S., each refugee has to undergo thorough security screenings by the Department of Homeland Security. Now, in an astonishing Catch-22, they are not only being called traitors by their countrymen — they are also being branded as terrorists by the United States.
“Dan Rather Reports: The High Price of Ransom” will premiere on HDNet on Tuesday, July 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET with an encore presentation set for 11:00 p.m. ET to accommodate West Coast Prime Time.
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