Escaping Iraq, turned down by Jordan, heading to Syria...a family's story.

The man called back on New Year’s Day to repeat the message, and the day after to offer an ultimatum—leave immediately or else.

By the next day, Ahmed and his wife had packed everything they could fit into a rented GMC Suburban. Forced to leave behind the life they had built together, the family took one last look at their home before pulling away.

Ahmed pointed their driver head towards Jordan, where more than 750,000 Iraqis have found refuge in recent years. On January 3, 2007, they became five more of the millions of Iraqis estimated to have fled since the invasion.

..."Ordered to gather up their luggage, the Jordanians escorted them out of the border complex and through a special gate back into Iraqi territory. Ahmed said the Jordanians prevented him from using the same driver who had brought them from Iraq, and who Ahmed had already paid US$500. With near-certain death awaiting at home, returning was not an option, so the weary father set out to find another driver who would transport the family to Syria.

..."The family was surprised to find all the other Iraqis they had seen at the border complex that day were already settling in for the night. They had all been rejected from entering Jordan, and like Ahmed’s family, the customs officials had the courtesy of reserving their decision until dusk, leaving them all stuck overnight at the border. Five families packed into one room to wait out the darkness. Though they began the day as strangers, the trauma of the day had engendered a bond of shared experience.

"I'm fleeing my home today and won't take anything with me. I cannot see my children dying. We need protection and we cannot get it in Sadr City any more. US troops are invading our houses, shooting at our doors and killing innocent people and I don't want my loved ones to be the next victims," said Mamun Ali, 45.

"They made it clear during their raid on 30 June that they were going to return to finish the militants and surely dozens of innocent Iraqis are going to die just for remaining in their homes," Ali said. "We are going to Najaf today with the hope of finding a camp for the displaced to stay in and save our lives."