War in Iraq - Unintended Consequences

The New York Times reports that there has been a huge increase in prostitution by Iraqi women in Syria, as a result of the war. As more men are killed or kidnapped, the women flee the dangers of Iraq and head to neighboring Syria. Once there, the only industry that is open to many of them is the "world's oldest profession." There are reports of entire families of women who take turns working in the sex trade and then dividing the money with their families and children.

The New york Times article continues:

Mouna Asaad, a Syrian women’s rights lawyer, said the government had been blindsided by the scale of the arriving Iraqi refugee population. Syria does not require visas for citizens of Arab countries, and its government had pledged to assist needy Iraqis. But this country of 19 million was ill equipped to cope with the sudden arrival of hundreds of thousands of them, Ms. Asaad said.

“Sometimes you see whole families living this way, the girls pimped by the mother or aunt,” she said. “But prostitution isn’t the only problem. Our schools are overcrowded, and the prices of services, food and transportation have all risen. We don’t have the proper infrastructure to deal with this. We don’t have shelters or health centers that these women can go to. And because of the situation in Iraq, Syria is careful not to deport these women.”

plez sez: this story tugged at my heartstrings. as much as the Bush Administration likes to wallow in its own propaganda, ain't it funny that we almost never have any good news coming out of Iraq? other than the occasional "insurgent" that gets killed, all the news we hear is about how the government there is not working, how the Iraqis are not taking control of the government, how unsafe it is in Iraq for our troops and the Iraqis, etc. i am almost numbed to the horrors and despair that visits itself upon these people on a daily basis.

and why? why are the people who live in Iraq so miserable? i believe the Iraqis are miserable because of this illegal and immoral war waged by George Bush. instead of continuing to prop up his war machine by voting him billions more tax dollars, the democrats should've been drafting impeachment papers. if Clinton's little white lie about his "indiscretion" with Lewinsky was an impeachable offense, then invading a sovereign nation for the expressed intent of avenging the Bush Family Honor must certainly rise to that standard! am i the only one who feels this way?