DUBAI, 9 September 2007 (IRIN) - Contents:

IRAQ-SYRIA: Confusion over Syrian visa requirements for Iraqi refugees IRAQ: Blood sellers find market niche in Baghdad IRAQ: Some Basra residents, NGOs fearful of British troop withdrawal IRAQ-SYRIA: UNHCR urges "humanitarian component" in new Syrian visa regime IRAQ: Violence, poverty, unemployment fuel rising alcoholism IRAQ: Hospitals under pressure as doctors move abroad IRAQ: Abu Teif, "I sell drugs to survive and feed my family" OPT-ISRAEL: Weak Palestinian economy having direct humanitarian impact - UN official ISRAEL: Shelter tries to rehabilitate victims of human trafficking ISRAEL: Sima Ohiyon, "I pray a Qassam won't fall on the way to school" ISRAEL-OPT: Missile from Gaza causes schools to close in Sderot LEBANON: Southern Lebanese await compensation to repair damaged homes OPT: Humanitarian aid to the Palestinians - walking the tightrope YEMEN: Female education remains key challenge

IRAQ-SYRIA: Confusion over Syrian visa requirements for Iraqi refugees

Iraqi refugees in Syria have been thrown into a state of fear and uncertainty following the Iraqi government's announcement that Syria will be introducing new visa restrictions on Iraqis entering the country. According to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem told his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari that as of 10 September Iraqis will require visas before entering the country.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74072

IRAQ: Blood sellers find market niche in Baghdad

As the Iraqi National Centre for Blood Donation (INCBD) urges Iraqis to donate more blood to help meet increasing demand, individuals wishing to sell their blood congregate at hospitals in the hope of being able to make some money. Those offering rare blood types are best able to cash in.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74074

IRAQ: Some Basra residents, NGOs fearful of British troop withdrawal

As British troops completed their pullout on 3 September from Saddan Hussein's former palace in Basra - their last remaining base in the southern city - to Basra airport, local aid agencies and residents have expressed concern that security could deteriorate.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74094

IRAQ-SYRIA: UNHCR urges "humanitarian component" in new Syrian visa regime

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has expressed hope that the Syrian government's decision to implement a visa regime to limit the number of Iraqi refugees pouring into the country at up to 2,000 per day, will not harm the plight of Iraqis fleeing danger.

Speaking on a trip to Syria on 3 September, the UNHCR's Erika Feller, assistant high commissioner for protection, said she had urged the Syrian government in a series of ministerial meetings not to close the door to Iraqis feeling life-threatening situations.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74100

IRAQ: Violence, poverty, unemployment fuel rising alcoholism

As the violence continues in Iraq, many people have been turning to alcohol to relieve their stress, say observers.

"The consumption of alcohol in Iraq has surprisingly increased in the past few months," said Kamel Ali, head of the Health Ministry's drug and alcohol-prevention programme. "Every day more patients look for help as their addiction begins to seriously affect their personal lives."

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74128

IRAQ: Hospitals under pressure as doctors move abroad

Dr Muhammad Abdel-Sattar, 36, is packing his bags as he discusses on the phone with two colleagues the best time to leave for the airport. In December 2006 Abdel-Sattar sent his family to Jordan after three times receiving threats from militants. Recently his car was shot at in front of his house, and he has now decided to leave the country - and his job as a leading oncologist in Baghdad.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74152

IRAQ: Abu Teif, "I sell drugs to survive and feed my family"

Abu Teif, 52, is a drug seller. Previously unemployed and living in poverty, he got into drug dealing to support his family - three children and a handicapped wife.

"In January 2006 we lost our house in Alawi District [Baghdad] as sectarian violence reached our neighbourhood and we had to move to the outskirts of Baghdad. Later, in March of the same year, my wife was shot in the leg by militants after they saw her not wearing a veil. Her leg had to be amputated. My eldest son was killed the following month, leaving a widow and three children," he said.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74155

OPT-ISRAEL: Weak Palestinian economy having direct humanitarian impact - UN official

The Palestinian economy is "totally dependent on political considerations" of outside powers, and its "development prospects are bleak under the Israeli internal and external movement restrictions," a new UN report says.

The annual report on UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Assistance to the Palestinian People says the Palestinians are becoming more dependent on imports, especially from Israel, while their exports have decreased in value. Also, they can only produce about two-thirds of what they were domestically able to produce in 1998.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74096

ISRAEL: Shelter tries to rehabilitate victims of human trafficking

Foreign women who are victims of trafficking can now get support at a special shelter - the Maagan shelter - in Tel Aviv dedicated to cater for their needs.

In 2002 the Israeli government, in an attempt to encourage these women to testify against the people who bought and sold them, decided to offer them work visas in return for sworn statements detailing their tribulations. The visas run until one year after the end of their trials.

About 250 of these women have been through the Maagan shelter in the last few years. Overall, several thousand have been trafficked into and within Israel since the 1990s, according to estimates.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74117

ISRAEL: Sima Ohiyon, "I pray a Qassam won't fall on the way to school"

Sima Ohaiyon, a resident of Sderot and mother of three, walked her four-year-old daughter Osher, which means "happiness" in Hebrew, to her new school on 4 September, a day after a rocket fired from Gaza landed outside a day care centre for toddlers.

"It's not an easy time in Sderot," she said. "There are too many rockets falling. This morning I was scared. I debated about taking them to school. I waited and waited, because usually the rockets come early. Eventually, when all was quiet, I decided to take Osher to school."

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74129

ISRAEL-OPT: Missile from Gaza causes schools to close in Sderot

On 3 September, the second day of the school year, a projectile fired from the Gaza Strip landed near a day care centre for toddlers in the Israeli town of Sderot. Parents in the town promptly met and decided to take their children out of all schools in the town from 5 September.

"We would have closed down the elementary schools as well [immediately], but we needed to give parents time to work out alternatives for their children," said Sasson Sarah, the head of the local parents' committee, explaining the decision.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74137

LEBANON: Southern Lebanese await compensation to repair damaged homes

Four walls and a roof bristling with concrete pillars are all that remain of Faten Muslimani's house on the hill. Israeli bombs flattened her old home, in the village of Ghandourieh, southern Lebanon, in last summer's war with Hezbollah's armed wing. Government compensation arrived with the spring, but covered only the foundations and shell. For now, work has stopped.

"The only ones in the village who can afford to finish their homes are the ones who can pay from their own pockets. We can't and we have no idea when the second payment will be," she says.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74065

OPT: Humanitarian aid to the Palestinians - walking the tightrope

Recent concerns that Hamas might profit from revenues of the Gaza power company prompted the European Union (EU) to cut funding to the plant. Parts of Gaza were plunged into the dark for several days until the EU agreed to resume its fuel payments.

Heavily reliant on foreign aid for basic services, the Gazan economy continues to plumb new depths.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74067

YEMEN: Female education remains key challenge

Aisha Al-Gilany remembers the struggle all too well. For four years she fought with her parents to allow her to attend university.

"My sisters all went to grade five and then dropped out," recalled the 23-year-old from Al-Fars Rajam village, two hours outside Sanaa, the capital. "My parents didn't approve of us going," she explained, adjusting the black chador covering her face. She adheres strictly to the conservative norms that govern most Muslim women in this part of the world.

http://irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74159

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