Silent Exodus: Portraits of Iraqi Efugees in Exile - Brossura

In early 2008, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that an estimated 4.7 million Iraqis had been displaced from their homes as a result of the war. While nearly half were uprooted internally, the remaining citizens escaped to neighboring countries. The New York Times called the escalating crisis "the largest exodus since the mass migrations associated with the creation of the state of Israel in 1948." Today, the situation of most refugees remains dire; months and years into forced flight, many are running out of money, food, and the good will of their hosts. The situation is critical, yet the stories of these individuals are woefully under-reported. In Silent Exodus, ZALMAI documents the plight of Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon; over the course of several trips in 2007, he collected their individual stories and photographed them in their temporary homes, where many remain in uncertainty. KHALED HOSSEINI, UNHCR Goodwill Envoy and author of The Kite Runner and One Thousand Suns, contributes an introduction to this volume.