August 2009 - New Hope for Desert Refugees

Last month the U.S. agreed to resettle 1,350 Palestinians displaced by fighting in Iraq, marking the largest resettlement ever of Palestinian refugees into America.

Thousands of Palestinians moved to Iraq after the wars of 1948 and 1967, and the Gulf War in 1991. Prior to the 2003 invasion, the community had grown to a population of some 35,000 people.

Following the toppling of Saddam Hussein, Palestinians suffered from the same insecurities effecting the entire Iraqi population. They were, however, also specifically targeted for serious discriminatory treatment and acts of violence as a minority group without a militia to protect them. At least 186 Palestinians were murdered in Baghdad between April 2004 and January 2007. While the number of Palestinians remaining in Iraq is relatively small, Palestinians are in a uniquely difficult situation because without passports they cannot go to Syria, Jordan or other neighbouring countries where many Iraqis have fled. Put simply many have nowhere to go. If they try to flee they have to do it illegally or they find themselves trapped at the border.

This is exactly what happened in May 2006 when a group of 350 Palestinians arrived in the no-man's land between the Iraqi and the Syrian border at what became Al-Tanf camp. The refugees were mainly children and women, some of whom were pregnant. Many had lost the male head of household to violence. The Syrian authorities in charge of a country rapidly filling with Iraqi refugees did not allow them into their territories and subsequently prevented any more Palestinians travelling into the no-man's land itself. From October 2007, when the population of Al Tanf was around 350, Palestinians who had been residing in Syria with fraudulently obtained Iraqi documents were either deported or arrived voluntarily at Al-Tanf. By 2008 there were about 800 Palestinians living in the camp.

Those Palestinian refugees who arrived at the border in late 2006 found themselves stuck in al-Waleed camp on the Iraqi side of the border. As violence against Palestinians continued, the number of refugees in al-Waleed camp increased to more than 1,700. Conditions in these tented camps were terrible. The environment was totally unsuited to extended human habitation. Hazards include an extremely harsh physical environment, extreme temperatures (+50 C to sub-zero) a risk of fire outbreak in the tents, accidents caused by passing trucks and infestation with snakes and rats. The refugees on the Iraqi side of the border were also subject to occasional attacks from local militias or corrupt police forces.

During 2008 'Medical Aid for Palestinians' (MAP) sent doctors to the camps to alleviate the ever-worsening medical conditions of the vulnerable Palestinians trapped there. Whilst there MAP heard from people like Hussein Ahmed Mohammed, whose story was tragically common:

"I was working as a cameraman in Baghdad. After Saddam Hussein fell, a group of militia threatened me and shot two bullets in my knees saying: you are a Palestinian, that's why we shot your knees. Give up your work and leave here.

The militia kidnapped and killed my brother in-law. Then they killed my uncle. On the 15th of December 2006 they also kidnapped my father. He never came back and we were never asked for money. This is when I decided to leave Iraq. I have two brothers, they tried to leave the country a while a go. I don't know where they are and if they are still alive. My sister and my mother are still in Baghdad. My mother suffers from cancer. I'm also suffering from a cancer in my bones. I guess I will die. I would need treatment outside of this country, but so far nobody could help me. Meanwhile I don't do anything here. Sometimes I play football, sometimes I dance Dabkeh. That's it. I would love to have some nice sports clothes, some good shoes or a Basketball".

Thankfully there is now hope for a better future for refugees like Hussein. Today the basic needs of the refugees such as shelter, health, food, education, water supply and sanitation are covered by the on-going project activities of UNHCR in cooperation with UNRWA, UNICEF and WFP.

A State Department spokesman said the U.S. decision to take in the refugees was in response to an appeal from the United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR, which was the main provider of assistance to the Palestinians stuck in these makeshift camps in the desert.

This is a significant breakthrough towards a satisfactory outcome for these refugees. MAP will continue to work hard to highlight the plight of any refugees who are left behind as part of our mission to protect the health and dignity of Palestinians across the Middle East.

At the end of May there were 1,479 refugees in Al-Waleed, 843 at Al-Tanf in the no-man's land between Iraq and Syria near Al-Waleed, and 391 Palestinian refugees at Al-Hol, on the Syrian side of the border further north. A further 10,000 Palestinian refugees are still in Baghdad. For more information visit www.map-uk.org/regions/syria