Refugees from Iraq

 

The following COR Center resources are designed to assist with the resettlement and adjustment of refugees from Iraq.

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Refugees From Iraq

2008

This Enhanced Refugee Backgrounder provides in-depth information about refugee groups from Iraq, describing the various ethnic and religious communities of Iraqi Arabs (both Sunni and Shi’a), Iraqi Christians, and others. Topics include history, conditions in countries of asylum, characteristics of the refugee population, cultural features of each of the different communities, religion, language, education, and resettlement considerations.

Download Enhanced Backgrounder No. 1 (PDF, 1.22 MB)

Purchase a print copy at the CAL Store.

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Program profiles describe the structure of each overseas CO program, covering their learner population, locations, staffing, and content and/or emphases of the CO classes. Click to see the CO program profiles of ICMC Turkey and IOM Middle East, both of which offer CO to U.S.-bound Iraqis.

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Overseas CO Program Highlights expand substantially upon the program profiles, describing the CO participants' background and environment in exile, the structure and content of the CO classes, the questions and concerns the participants raise in class, and considerations for domestic service providers as they seek to facilitate refugees' resettlement and adjustment.

Read the January 2008 program highlight addressing the ICMC Istanbul and IOM Middle East CO programs. (PDF, 28 KB)

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Welcome to the United States: A Guidebook for Refugees (in Arabic)

2004 edition; 2007 translation

A copy of this resettlement guidebook is given to all refugees overseas once they have been approved for resettlement to the U.S. Wherever possible, refugees also receive a face-to-face orientation or briefing conducted by refugee processing or U.S. Embassy staff. The Guidebook is intended to give refugees information about fundamental aspects of life in the United States and includes the following chapters: Pre-Arrival Processing, The Resettlement Agency, Community Services, Housing, Transportation, Employment, Education, Health, Managing your Money, Rights and Responsibilities, and Cultural Adjustment.

Download Welcome Guide in English (PDF, 1.23 MB)

Download Welcome Guide in Arabic (PDF, 5.75 MB)

Purchase a print copy (in English, Arabic, or thirteen other languages) at the CAL Store.

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The guidebook is complemented by the Welcome to the United States: Refugee Orientation video developed for use in overseas refugee orientation programs, which may also be used by resettlement agency staff conducting refugee orientation in the U.S. The DVD/videotape is divided into five parts reinforcing key points in each chapter of the Welcome to the United States refugee guidebook. Throughout the viewing, former refugees living in the U.S. share their experiences and perspectives with newly arriving refugees.

Buy online: DVDs or videotapes

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CO Lesson Plans

 

Each CO program develops specialized lesson plans suited for their students' background and needs. See sample lesson plans used by the ICMC Turkey and IOM Middle East programs.

Housing: "Compare and Contrast"
Employment: "Hassan's Story: Issues and Coping Strategies"
Education: "Upward Mobility"
Cultural Adjustment: "Stages of Culture Shock"

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The Iraqi Kurds: Their History and Culture

1996

This culture profile provides background information on the Iraqi Kurds and discusses the ways in which their culture and history might impact their resettlement in the United States.

Read online. Buy online.

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