Refugee expert calls on West to resettle Palestinians

Kristele Younes of Refugees International writes about the Iraq refugee crisis for the think thank Foreign Policy in Focus. She recommends that "Western countries, including the U.S., must agree to resettle particularly vulnerable groups, such as the Palestinians, without prejudice to their right to return to their country as recognized under international law." Kristele visited the border camps last November and heard first hand the testimonies of Palestinian refugees.

Iraqi police attack Palestinian compound

There are a number of reports on an attack on a Palestinian appartment building in Baladiat district yesterday, the figures and accounts vary: The AP reports that Iraqi security forces raided a Palestinian compound in Baghdad after an attack on a police patrol, prompting a battle that left one Palestinian dead, Iraqi officials, and at least 15 Palestinians were detained. Palestinian charge d'affaires Dalil al-Qusous said as many as 80 Palestinians had been detained and demanded their release. He claimed the Iraqi troops fired randomly during the raid, causing "fear and awe." Another AP report quotes Qusous further "We used to say the attacks occurred by militias or gangs; but now the state is attacking" and he continued explaining that Interior Ministry forces first broke into the compound in eastern Baghdad on Tuesday, seizing two Palestinians and shooting randomly. Then they returned for about five hours on Wednesday, detaining dozens and sparking a gunbattle that killed one Palestinian. A later AP report added that the Interior Ministry spokesman, Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, defending the raid on the Palestinian compound in eastern Baghdad, saying it was targeting a stolen car network, not the Palestinians. Police met with fierce resistance when they went to arrest suspects on Wednesday and he said "three gang members were killed and 15 others arrested." The LA Times writes "Iraqi police and soldiers traded fire with gunmen holed up in an apartment building inhabited by Palestinian refugees in east Baghdad. At least two people were killed and three injured inside the building, police said at the scene. U.S. and Iraqi security forces surrounded the building and apprehended up to 70 suspects." The IraqSlogger, based on a report from the Haqq Agency, says "Eyewitnesses said that ten people were killed in the raids and several others wounded after Iraqi troops opened fire randomly." Reuters reports that "Iraqi troops raided a complex in eastern Baghdad occupied by Palestinian refugees after receiving information that a car bomb was inside the compound, Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier Abdul Karim Khalaf said. Khalaf said shooting broke out and three men gunmen were killed and 25 others were arrested, including Iraqis and Palestianians."

Mahdi Army abducts & kills Palestinian in Tobchi district

Iraqslogger translates a report from the Arabic Haqq news agency, stating that "that Mahdi Army militiamen abducted a Palestinian citizen from outside his house in the Tobchi district, west of Baghdad. His family found his corpse dumped near the railroad in the area, which is where Shi’ite militias that control the district dispose of bodies."

200 Palestinians from Iraq in Cyprus

The Cyprus Mail reports that 200 Palestinian refugees who fled from Iraq are in a desperate financial situation and claim the immigration authorities are not adequately helping them. The group’s spokesman, Abu Ahmed, told the Mail that the 40 families have been on the receiving end of stalling tactics designed to stop them applying for asylum. "Every time we go to the Larnaca immigration office, we are told to come back in a week. When we return in a week, we are told to go back again in ten days. This situation has been going on for the last two months now. No reason for the delays is ever given. The officers are so rude and aggressive and are constantly shouting at us. Because of their delays, we are now living in fear of being arrested, as we are technically on the island illegally." Ahmed also says that the group has not been given free legal advice, which is their right.

Ahmed said the group left Baghdad following attacks on the camp in which "At least 500 people were killed, kidnapped or arrested. With everything going on around us, we couldn’t stay at the camp and had to leave before it was too late. We couldn’t go to any other Arab country as we’re Palestinian and decided to come to Cyprus as many of us had been to the island before on holiday and found the people sympathetic to us. We felt we would be safe here as our people are similar to one another."

Doros Polycarpou, President of KISA, Action for Equality, Support and Anti-Racism, described the Palestinian’s plight as, “very serious”, adding that they are "being denied the right to apply for asylum, which they are entitled to. The law is very clear: From the first moment that they arrived on the island, they should have been looked after, not had life made difficult for them." The group’s lawyer said it was regrettable that they had experienced delays, but said that she had been in touch with the relevant immigration authorities, "who will now be accepting asylum applications from the individuals in question."

>31 attacks on Palestinians in February

The Palestinian Ministry of Refugees today issued a report noting 31 attacks Palestinian in Iraq in February (and estimating there were dozens more that went unreported), resulting in 8 deaths. The attacks also included breaking into houses, beating the residents, and stealing money and household items. It said that at least 15 were abducted by insurgents and U.S troops. Two of the abducted refugees were released, the bodies of two others were discovered with signs of torture, and the fate of the others remains unknown. The Ministry called on the Jordanian and Syrian governments to allow in the Palestinian refugees who are stranded on the borders under harsh conditions. Zakariya al-Agha, Member of the PLO Executive Committee, called on the Iraqi Government to protect the Palestinian refugees and work for improving their deteriorated living conditions. He added that the a delegation from the PLO will visit Iraq to meet with the Palestinian refugees there and follow up the situation with the Iraqi government.

Interview with Fu'ad Ahmed

IRIN interviews Fu’ad Ahmed is a 47-year-old Palestinian father of two who has been living in Iraq for the past 18 years. "My children grew up here and we always had good relations with all Iraqis but in the past few years my situation in this country has become terrible. My daughter, Hanan was married to an Iraqi but was forced to divorce him because his family didn’t want to have Palestinian blood in their future children. My son Waleed and his wife were killed in July 2006 by militia men who accused him of participating in the insurgency, but he was a good boy. Since his death my wife has developed serious psychological problems. Because I am unemployed, I cannot afford medical treatment for her. I haven’t had a job now for the past three years. When employers learn that I’m Palestinian they just give me a silly excuse and tell me to look elsewhere. We fled our home in September last year and became displaced [because of the violence in the neighbourhood]. Since then, we have been constantly on the move, looking for a more secure place. But the violence is getting more dangerous day by day and with Palestinians targeted, no one wants us near them. I have to look after my sick wife, my daughter who is suffering from depression since her husband left her and my grandchild after my son was killed. I don’t have money to leave Iraq. All my savings were stolen by Iraqi soldiers when they raided my home in December 2005. I went to a police station to seek help to recover my money but the only answer I got was that I should be thankful to be alive because Saddam’s followers were being killed every day."

"I’m desperate. I have no job, no food, no home and no respect. I don’t want to become a beggar in Baghdad’s streets but if the situation continues like this, I don’t know if I can it stand any longer. I spend all day in the streets looking for a job. Sometimes I am hired to clear somebody’s garden because they don’t know I’m Palestinian and I can get a few dinars to buy food for my family. We try to cope with fewer meals so that we can survive for a longer time. Now, my food ration has been cut off and my son was expelled from dentistry college in his fourth year before he was killed. They told him that they were tired of giving free education to people who never helped to build the country. The situation got worse when we asked for psychiatric treatment for my wife in a public hospital. He [the doctor there] was rude and refused to attend to my wife and daughter saying that he is not paid to treat ex-regime supporters. Today, I’m living as a displaced person on the outskirts of Baghdad but tomorrow I might be in a grave if someone doesn’t help us soon."

Background article + 25 accepted by Canada from Ruweished

A Palestinian based in Canada, Rafeef Ziadah, gives an excellent summary on Electronic Intifada of the history of Palestinians in Iraq and an update on refugees currently in Canada. Some extracts follow: "Palestinians came to Iraq in several waves, each time fleeing a war. The first group is originally from villages around Haifa and Yaffa. They resisted the initial Israeli attacks on their villages, but were later forced to flee to Jenin where the Iraqi army was present. The women and children were evacuated to Iraq and all adult men were incorporated into a special unit in the Iraqi army, the Karmel Brigade. When the Iraqi Army left Palestine in 1948, these villagers (about 4000 in all) retreated with it. The next wave of Palestinians arrived in Iraq after the 1967 War and a third group arrived in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War when Palestinian refugees were forced to leave Kuwait... Palestinians in Iraq were issued special travel documents, had the right to work and were given full access to health, education and other government services. They were also provided with government-owned housing or subsidized rent in privately-owned houses [but they] were not given citizenship, however, nor were they allowed to own assets such as cars, houses, or land. The precariousness of their situation was revealed starkly after the US invasion, and their preferential treatment, much of which was more apparent than real, made them targets for reprisals."

Referring to the small amount of resettlement today he mentions that: "Another 25 individuals from Al-Ruweished camp have been accepted to come to Canada under private, "group of five" sponsorship. This means that a group of five individuals are taking personal responsibility for them. Sponsors have to establish stability and income. This process of sponsorship does not entitle the refugees to any welfare services, as the sponsoring individuals need to cover the full expenses of the families for the first 12 months. For their first year in Canada, those refugees will not be able to access any of the services offered to the other 54 that were sponsored by the government. This is the privatization of the 'Palestinian refugee problem'."

Palestinians in Canada raising support for refugees

The Palestine House Educational & Cultural Centre in Ontario is fundraising to support Palestinians from Iraq being resettled in Canada under private sponsorship.

Palestinian writer killed

IMEMC reports that the Iraq refugees' affairs ministry announced the death of Ahmed Alriyahie , a Palestinian writer originally from Tulkarem; according to the Iraqi ministry, Alriyahie was shot when unknown gang members attacked his house on Sunday.

High Commissioner appeal to Arab League

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, addressed a meeting of the Arab League's Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Egypt. He praised Arab states for their traditional generosity toward the displaced and urged them to take a more active role in UNHCR's work in Iraq. He made a special plea on the non-Iraqi refugees inside Iraq, including the 15,000 Palestinians.