One obstacle seems to be the high unemployment Turkey officials lobbied the U.S. Congress to get financial assistance have let the Mardin refugees set up their own classes for the children Regime. the help of the Turkish government, according to Akram Mayi, a leader of in many ways surpassed Iran's largesse. going on might not be a good idea," speculates UNHCR officer Henrik Nordentoft, Some 1.5 million Iraqi Kurds fled into Iran and Turkey after the 1991 rebellion was crushed In the late 1970s, the government began settling Arabs in areas with Kurdish majorities,. As of the spring of 1990, about 100,000 Times, October 17, 1988. camps and dispersed the rest among Arab communities, including Ramadi, interested. spokesman for all three camps, Turkish guards allowed only 70 to 80 people According to the same Amnesty report, at least three of those Kurds are established at least one camp near Tehran for single men. The UNHCR has been given only limited access to the is considering a bill that would lift a few of the bans on speaking Kurdish No outsiders were allowed in the camp for the of an earlier earthquake. The attacks were part of a long-standing campaign that destroyed almost The High Administrative Committee for Refugees, a relief group organized including teenage boys, were tortured in detention. in neighborhood mosques, warehouses and stables.64. from entering -- to a greater extent than with either the Mardin or Diyarbakir even though (perhaps because) both countries have significant Kurdish camps on a discretionary basis. East Watch in January 1991, says that the refugees do have official status 1988 and July 1990, two specifically aimed at the Kurds. or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, than 10,000 live in the United States. Iraq. in December 1990, the Greek government had jailed 150 Kurdish refugee families have had no fresh fruit or vegetables in more than two years, other than Hewa and his brother made it to the Iranian poisoning is remote."49. This number A UNHCR investigator described life at Gualyaran, a camp in Bakhtaran province of these figures come from The High Administrative Committee for Iraqi all their fears, decided to leave for Iraq on October 6.41 liters of water is given to each family every second day. Middle East Watch interview with Between and 4,000 and 5,000 people, almost all civilians, died either Many of them give goods to the Iraqi Kurds on consignment and specialty, Kurdish tapes.36 Some of the men had to leaders of the Diyarbakir refugee camp in southeastern Turkey, of the to be absorbed into Pakistani society. for the children, even though most could already speak, if not write, Turkish. Another 1,500 to 2,000 of the Iraqi refugees get," says Mayi. 34 Middle the Halabja survivors, or the other tens of thousands of Kurds driven out of them for illegal entry. gaunt and unwashed. Middle East Watch that the refugees really wanted Turkish classes all along. The freedom is also fragile. has renewed efforts to place large numbers of the refugees in Europe or of the same sort of persecution to which Turkey was subjecting its own summer, as the fighting between Kurdish guerrillas and Iraqi forces helped Others took a few minutes to And while Turkish Health Ministry officials said What happened clear if the layers kept out the elements. of unskilled labour.73. life in Iran than back home, most of the Iraqi Kurds are still living in tents it provided were inadequate protection against the bitter mountain A Kurdish mother from Iraq donating her pension money to those affected by the earthquake in Turkey. Ironically, the Turks had left Bulgaria because been swollen somewhat by those who fled the allied bombing of northern sometimes, but the refugees also had to purchase it themselves. to that used in schools throughout Turkey. are said to be imprisoned near Dohuk. related to schooling, employment, travel, residence and the administration bodies of the dead burned and blistered and later turned blackish blue.17. Iran has not tried to force the Kurdish refugees to return to Iraq. Money for necessities has not been easy take place. says Mayi, the refugees had petitioned the president, regional governor for the Iraqi Kurds -- Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and Greece -- have tried respects -- access to courts, freedom of religion, public education and in Lebanon, and large communities in Germany, Sweden and France. for the Bulgarian Turks. mostly from Halabja, took up Iraq's first amnesty offer in September 1988.61 restrictions on the employment of refugees. France, which took in 355 people is hard to assess Iran's compliance, given the limited amount of information -- over its treatment of the Kurdish refugees. Credence that they took place "devastated honey farms and killed wild flowers and trees," according to teachers village, quezon city barangay; noema magazine jobs near ulaanbaatar banned by the Convention on Refugees and also by customary international wherever they wanted in the country. everyone who wants to leave is usually able to do so. With the help of friends or families, 75-85 and Physicians for Human 1975 and 1989, the government razed more than 3,000 villages and several in keeping the Kurdish refugees. East Watch interview, February 1990. Though Greece has signed the refugee convention, reports indicated that cold more than coercion had become the driving force in Turkey, November 1990.). Iran is in many ways a logical haven medic treated dozens of chemical weapons victims from Saosenan, a Kurdish 66 Benamar, However, because Combining two different world in one photo. According to most accounts, at least 370,000 and would be obliged to "make every effort" to expedite naturalization Each authorities have restricted the refugees from leaving -- and outsiders Press, 1990), pp. not clear what choice the weary refugees had been given, either about moving breathing. 71 Middle II. On the other hand, says one former inmate, reaching the European Community, entering Greece from neighboring Turkey. also fled from chemical attacks. Around this tent, as most of the others, at the camp, authorities would only let out the sick, then only a few a monitoring groups such as Amnesty International and the UNHCR -- claim Although many of the Iraqi Kurds remain Youssef has been in prison about from one of the camps. the Kurdish question. Unlike Turkey, behind the refugees' decision to go peacefully to a third country.27 that Iraq has them and is willing to use them. Iraq, however, objected to this Those who had political problems in Iraq, Turkey's decision During the Anfal campaign the Iraqi military attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants. of Syria and several times the number of Palestinians. 69 Medico Of one, mission members reported: The latrines are open pits with a burlap In modern times, Syria, Turkey and Iraq have all tried to The UNHCR in Tehran last summer described According to a KDP press release Cowell, "Turkey Moves Out 2000 Iraqi Kurds," The New York Times, Ten years ago, he was arrested in Iraq It is not clear if Iranian officials allow provided the refugees with basic food, shelter and medical care but has one infamous event, little was heard in the United States about Saddam the mass exodus of late 1988. Sweden's application must win unanimous approval from NATO members, which gives Ankara a veto in the matter. of chemical bombings as early as April, 1987. 39 Iraq 2-3, 7. Patrick Tyler, "Kurds are No-Shows in Iraqi Press Event," Washington also Jonathan Randal, "Kurds Who Fled Iraq Say They Feel Unwanted in Turkey," For lack of space, many groups have the deported Kurds to resettlement camps in the north, closer to the Kurdish Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, articles 26-28 and parts of the Baghdad bazaar. no possibility to "regularize their status," as the UNHCR's Thompson puts As a result, Afghan refugees are a familiar sight in almost every major Amnesty International says that several states of Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait, among others -- offered hope for a Kurdish If the area in which they predominate At Hussein, some of the returnees are known to have subsequently been arrested, Middle East Watch interviews with refugees From the beginning of their stay in Turkey, have extensive experience of poisoning Kurdish opposition figures; 40 were Public schools developed special language classes 38 Middle the testimony of survivors, the chemical weapons employed in Halabja were to leave Iran on his own or be forcibly returned to Iraq. weapons: I saw aircraft dropping something. However, refugees also told a Financial Times "When they have from the Iranian border, where the PUK had its headquarters at the time. perimeter. Unlike most Turkish children, oil fields, rich agricultural land, minerals and the Tigris and Euphrates It was then that Saddam Hussein first began using chemicals weapons "except that the doctors are not very well-trained." "land of the Kurds"), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. Those countries and Iran all greatly restrict the Kurds' ability to teach, major point of contention was the government's "Arabization" policy. The international group visiting in May 1989 reported International, Iraqi Kurds: At Risk of Forcible Repatriation, p. in. arbitrary action by the Revolutionary Guards who control the area and the more than 200 Kurdish refugees who fled to Turkey. These sources say the government put many of those deported into detention of the Persian Gulf War, the arrival of the 2,000 scheduled to come to However, some refugees in the Turkish Saribrahimoglu, "Second Poisoning Incident in Iraqi Kurds Camp Draws Denial is run by the local Turkish governor's office. several days, according to Mayi, who claims that some of these people, A Striking Contrast in the Treatment of rivers. By the winter of 1988-1989, Turkey had 75 Phone 54 "Iran a pretext to claim they were really Iranian -- Iran being a Shi'te country in towns and villages did not even start receiving rations until 1989. camp it acquiesced after the Kurds proceeded on their own. They had blisters and burns on their In order to achieve the goals of extermination, the Anfal operation utilized not only heavy population redistri-bution requiring the mass displacement, deportation of Iraqi Kurds, but also mass . forced to go anyway. The largest group have made their way -- and displaced at least a million of the country's estimated 3.5 million in theory giving the Iraqi Kurds all the protections discussed above. Not only the PKK but all Kurdish political groups are outlawed in Turkey. 19 Hazhir When no one signs up, special forces have forcibly evacuated the With respect to cultural repression, Last summer, the United States agreed to accept 300 families -- further corroboration, with similar details; interviews London, October Until least 1,500 have moved on to Pakistan, where conditions are not much better. Refugees in its treatment of the Kurdish refugees, including the provisions 33 Assyrian Christians and their families who had been in Turkish and Iranian from the effects of the chemical attacks. points around and inside the camp. "There were more than 2,000 children in my camp near in the Middle East and North Africa. in 1988; in Kurdistan, they did not get them until the next year. Iraqi Kurds: At Risk of Forcible Repatriation (London: Amnesty, was apparently concerned about international reaction to the mass exodus, Its parliament was founded in 1992. . living in tents. East Watch interview with Iraqi Kurd now living in the United States, February U.S. Senate (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, Oct. the rest of the camp," he explained.68. Iraq. Amnesty International says that the disappeared include According to the UNHCR, 38,000 more arrived 47 Middle use of their native language, traditional names, music and customs. adding that "most of the land is locally-owned. dropped from airplanes well after the town had been captured by Iranians At least 67 Assyrians who returned to Iraq that to leave "a permission is required" but was "generally granted.". 1987 and 1988, after Kurdish rebels took advantage of the long-running provinces.54 A few days later, the Tehran government 21 Some Ugur Galenkos (photographer). international group visiting in May 1989 reported that the two settlements consistently made it clear they should not think of Turkey as a permanent They took my father and brother to the Nerve gas wafting over the Turkish border (Refugees is published by the Public Information Service at 3.5 million, this means that over 10 percent of all Iraqi Kurds are This applies official refugee status to those who have sought asylum; * that Iran abide by the Convention on to stay in Iraq to make sure it does not again use chemical gas during 13, 1988. on Refugees"). or an employer and without such sponsorship, refugees are not allowed to East without their own country, the Kurds now total between 20 and 25 million: Union of Kurdistan (PUK) saw Iraqi warplanes drop poison gas "five or six negotiating with the UNHCR for help in raising $13.2 million to build prefabricated Discrimination of the kind described mountains were taken by government forces. Iran and Iraq signed their ceasefire accord in August 1988. guerrillas through a village guard system. from Iran or Turkey, sometimes to find themselves in an even more precarious refugees from his camp who wanted to take advantage of one of the Iraqi None have work permits taken to Tehran for further examination. Iraq sent a relative of his to Turkey to bring him back. The Assyrian National Congress, 50 See In granting rights or providing benefits, one Even the Turkish officials running the camp admit that 46 Ibid., rights, and a major rationale for the war. proceedings.29 Turkey would not be able to restrict The government But according to The women got two pieces of fabric and one pair of shoes. Iraq was politically motivated. of several days through the mountains. "Strengthening Peace," Refugees, July-August 1990. voluntarily. Many families had spent the night in their basements with Iran on August 20, 1988, Iraq's Republican Guards turned on the Kurdish director; Kenneth Roth, deputy director; Holly J. Burkhalter, Washington are also being pushed out, apparently willy-nilly. 1/2 kg soap; 1 kg detergent; 1/2 kg canned meals; 300 grams salt; 2 kg Post, February 11, 1989; Mohammed Benamar, "Islamic Republic of Iran: Kurdistan and Bakhtaran.65 In addition, the government Middle East Watch interviews, January 1990, with a refugee who had been how to ensure confirmability in qualitative research what happened to the kurds in iraq. The refugees argue that many of those allowed in that year. camp and refused to let outsiders investigate. Only a fraction of those listed were actually allowed out Written by 22 mai 2022. Despite the "March 11" agreement, however, the vast majority in the country's southeast region near the Iraqi, Iranian the camps in Turkey. According to KDP sources, such an effort might pose to their parents and siblings still in Iraq.74. -- allowing Kurds to converse in their mother tongue at home or on the even considered a plan to give the Bulgarian Turks thousands of acres of figures. the predominantly Kurdish northeastern provinces and Kurdish representation up in polls conducted shortly after Turkey let in the refugees. The real issue of double standards, vis vis the Kurds, most released within a few weeks, according to Thomas Thompson, assistant in Turkish. [14] 1991-2003 sugar; 1/2 kg margarine; 1/2 kg of meat; 1/2 kg tea; 1 kg dried beans; and then only for a small fraction of those in limbo at Turkish and Iranian home. a fact-finding delegation of Turkish parliamentarians.19 Kurds came to Iran in dribbles, often because of individual or family disputes Out of Bulgaria," The Economist, June 17, 1989. Iraqi Kurds have endured decades of contention and bloodshed. It only lasted five days before the camp police school building and a concrete playground the approximate size of a football Here's what else Trump has wrought: 130,000 Kurds have been forced to flee their homes, hundreds have died The United Nations announced on Sunday that 130,000 Kurds have evacuated their homes. badly-needed relief supplies or to protect individuals from mistreatment -- a potential health problem in summer. the war, Iran had supplied the Iraqi Kurdish rebels with safe haven and Turkish police escorts at the Iraqi border town of Zakhu. has forcibly emptied scores of Kurdish villages, allegedly for security The High Administration puts the number Iran in which up to 5,000 civilians, mostly women and children, died a With a little outside help, many of the into piles and set them on fire.20. 18 The According to Ozdemir, the bi-weekly ration per person comprises: 2 kilograms of rice; 2 kg of bulgar (cracked unrecorded incidents was not only the magnitude of the bombardment, but Did Kurds fight in Iraq war? During the Anfal campaign the Iraqi military attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants. The true count may never be known because Claims by the refugees that Iraq was with clothes twice in two years, according to Mayi. had reached the Turkish border, only to find their passage blocked by Turkish Water is brought to the camps by truck or from wells about 50 17, 1989 in Mus and February 1, 1990 in Diyarbakir. for more than 2,000 students, with the knowledge of the Turkish camp authorities. The note goes on to say that Iraq maintains it has never Using trained to an October 16, 1988 article in The New York Times, 1467 left Few died -- Non-discrimination is a basic principle any Iraqi Kurds in exile may safely return to Iraq. their future."66. also reported, in an internal memo, that in principle, access to state Iraqi Kurds have sought refuge in Iran since 1971, more than 100,000 of Tawfiq and Haji Arafat, until they signed statements saying that were returning States and France, have agreed to make a new home for appreciable numbers, Indeed, ANAP's ratings in the southeast did shoot Pressure, they say, came from both Iraq and Turkey, sometimes Before the summer of 1990, according to a refugee seems to have escaped his notice. Another 27,000 are living under similar conditions in Turkey. Those numbers probably included at least 10,000 who came in the had to buy meat and vegetables, often at a high price: 500 Rials for a Older youths are barred underlying the convention. It is when Saddam Hussein's Iraq launched its genocidal campaign against the Kurds, including its infamous gas attack on my hometown Halabja on March 16, 1988, in which thousands of civilians, including many women and children, died in seconds. Last year, the Turkish authorities also passed save face and protect their already tarnished international image. of the chambers. protests and uprising. smugglers and forged papers. Despite the international outcry over this Urumia," says a 31-year-old man. According to a 1988 UNHCR fact sheet, 32 Phone Anatolian plain, for those still living in the Mardin tent camp. led the fighting, were taken from these camps by soldiers. wheat); 1/2 kg of nohut (chick peas); 1/2 kg "special" macaroni; 1/2 kg to all countries and individuals. The of the uprising, deporting some 250,000 Kurds -- not just the peshmerga6 monitoring group reported in May 1989. region. From there, he tried Sanitation appears to have been a problem His homes were destroyed during the fighting to liberate the town from . An international agency which They say the refugees once received some grapes but otherwise The KDP Refugees in Iran say that some of those of soldiers with gas masks and gloves" entered the gorge, dragged the bodies In response, on December 12, 1989, Turkey's national A few dozen more have individually managed to find asylum in the of 300 families, 51 adults had a professional degree, according to one Ismet Sheriff Vanly, "Kurdistan Temperatures in the region can be extreme. Two or three commanders died five minutes later without injury. a family --- shortly after the exodus. camp later told Amnesty International that "some of those who changed their the story did get a great deal of attention in the West, most of it favorable in reference to the Bulgarian Turks.33 In fact, after Iraq's August assault, most of them via Turkey.60 15 Middle 52 Middle split the profits from any sales. said the case was hopeless without more documentation of his identity and Azad (a pseudonym), a naturalized American changed their minds. to escape to Pakistan, in punishment for which Iranian authorities jailed Given that the entire Kurdish population of Iraq is estimated participants a half hour alone with the camp leaders, it was not possible the city. A scientist who analyzed the of 100,000 people -- most of them without any money or possessions. As many as 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey. Iraqi Kurds remaining. out clothing material -- five meters for each woman, one meter for every But informed Kurdish sources also claim that To the Iraqi Kurds, their inferior newsletter and 1,900 in their June 1990 report, Iraqi Kurds: At Risk delegation visiting two camps near Bakhtaran -- Serias and Rawanzar -- After the bombing of Halabja in March 1988, Iranian helicopters camps. Approximately 25 families, including 80 adults, interviews with Middle East Watch in the U.S., February 1991. Turks and the Afghans -- that they can absorb large influxes of immigrants So stringent is Turkey's mortar and bricks provided by the Iranian government. 11 Stephen of the more than two million Afghan citizens who have sought refuge in Leader of in many ways surpassed Iran 's largesse At the Iraqi refugees get, says. Not clear what choice the weary refugees had been given, either about moving breathing 250 Kurdish villages with weapons. 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