A crisis has erupted in Iraq for Palestinian refugees living in that country. Following the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraqi (civilian) groups started removing Palestinians from their homes in Baghdad. Several hundred Palestinian families are now living in tents in Baghdad amid lack of security and fear of looters, gangsters and acts of revenge.
A Palestinian official told Al Bawaba that the Palestinian Authority has made contacts with foreign governments and organizations to try to find a solution for the problem. Meanwhile, a former Iraqi opposition official also spoke on the issue saying that it has no political dimensions, but rather, a civilian matter.
Jamal al-Shati, a parliamentarian in charge of ‘Palestinian refugee affairs’ at the Palestinian Legislative Council, told Al Bawaba that more than 500 Palestinian families have been displaced from their rented homes and 300 of these have reached the PLO owned Haifa Sports Club in Baghdad. Shati expressed his concern about the risks under which these families now live amid the lack of security, spread of looters and armed gangsters in Baghdad. He told Al Bawaba “the Palestinian president Yasser Arafat gave orders to (Palestinian) political, financial and information agencies to follow up on the refugee issue [in Iraq], and coordinate with international organizations in providing protection for them against the risks they now live under.”
The Palestinian refugee issue in Iraq goes back to 1948, when hundreds of Palestinians were displaced from their villages around Jaffa, arrived in the country in Iraqi military trucks. The Iraqi officers who fought in Palestine at the time had promised the refugees they would return home in six months - when their homeland is ‘liberated’. But 55 years of refuge have passed and the sons and grandsons of the original refugees have found themselves facing the same crisis - living in tents similar to those in which their parents were living in.
“In 1948, the Iraqi army ‘squeezed’ around 20,000 Palestinians from various villages in trucks and transported them to Iraq. The refugees were put in large Jewish schools in the Shorjah district of Baghdad, and from there they were distributed between the cities of Basra and Mosul…where my family and I were put in an old British military camp [in Mosul],” a Palestinian refugee and writer, Mohammad al-As’ad, told Al Bawaba. As’ad added, “All Palestinian refugees in Iraq have been registered at the refugee affairs department in Baghdad, an Iraqi governmental body that has nothing to do with the United Nations.” According to sources, the toppled regime had always prevented international organizations from getting involved in this issue and building (refugee) camps for them to live in.
The Palestinian legislator Jamal al-Shati said, “Some of the recently displaced [Palestinian] families were living in state-owned homes or in homes rented [for them] by the Iraqi government. But after the fall of Baghdad and with the absence of official authority and law, the landlords kicked them out of their leased homes.”
“UNRWA intervened and showed willingness to add the Palestinian refugees in Iraq to its records,” Shati confirmed. However, Shati warns, “US and British forces occupying Iraq are responsible for the safety and protection of the Palestinian refugees in the country.”
Media sources have reported that PA officials have met both US and British officials in Ramallah over the past few days, including a meeting between Arafat and the British consul general in East Jerusalem. This was also preceded by a phone call with the British foreign minister Jack Straw to discuss the problem.
The view from Iraq, namely an Iraqi leader from the ‘Free Iraqi Officers and Civilians Movement’ acknowledges, “instructions have been issued to everyone to protect the lives, properties, homes and families of those close to the toppled regime, whether they are Iraqi or otherwise.”
In a statement to Al Bawaba, Colonel Amer al-Jebouri admitted “there has been isolated cases of retaliation against supporters of the toppled regime…of Iraqi nationality as well as others including Palestinians, Jordanians and Syrians.”
Jebouri said “the ousted regime deceived young Arabs by convincing them to come to Baghdad [to fight], however they abandoned them [in their flight for safety]…it seems that people now cannot differentiate these ‘mercenaries’ who came to serve the toppled regime from the legitimate guests in Iraq.”
“What happened has not been against a particular nationality,” said Jebouri adding “some Iraqi families who were forced to leave their homes (to accommodate the refugees) by the former Baath officials have now returned to their homes.” It should be pointed out that the Baath party did pay the Iraqis (who gave up their homes for the refugees) rent.
Contrary to widespread opinion amongst people in Iraq, Palestinians (in Iraq) never received [free] sponsorship or support from the toppled regime. Many of these refugees had to join the Baath party to secure jobs and earn their living. Iraqis believed that Saddam Hussein appeased Palestinian refugees at their expense.
Earlier, the UN High Commission for Refugees showed concern over the possible displacement of about 90,000 Palestinian refugees in Iraq. The commission stated that the displaced Palestinians are now living in deserted areas or inside abandoned homes in various neighborhoods in Baghdad. It is also concerned that Iraqis might launch retaliatory campaigns against these refugees. The Commission has sent a convoy of aid to the Palestinians, including tents, blankets and cooking tools.
Meanwhile, more than a thousand Palestinians are now stranded in a camp on the border between Jordan and Iraq. Jordan has not allowed Palestinian women (refugees) carrying the Jordanian citizenship to cross over with their husbands should they not be Jordanians as well. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
