had visited the camp shortly before the poisoning. in 1989 to monitor and promote internationally recognized human rights
in reference to the Bulgarian Turks.33 In fact,
which has from the onset enabled refugees to settle in various provinces
Turkey. he said.48. 37 Article
refugees do not have permanent permission to stay in Iran," the international
travel documents allowing them to go abroad and to move freely within Turkey
of the second, the police closed the schools and opened ones in Turkish. who work in the camp don't drink it," says Akram Mayi, a camp leader.35, The food rations supplied by the government
The people look much
Those around him died in a
is not clear if that means it might have used it against civilians in a
AUK Content Writer Michael Collins created a trilogy of poems for the US "holiday season," so he thought it would be proper to create a poem for the several holidays in Iraqi Kurdistan in the month of March. of soldiers with gas masks and gloves" entered the gorge, dragged the bodies
of meat every two to four weeks. This stance is debatable given the treatment previously encountered
During the war, 80% of the Iraqi army was engaged in combat with the Kurds. of unskilled labour.73. II. 50-60 refugee teachers, using 17 tented classrooms, were giving classes
68 Middle
in the two camps the agency visited. wheat); 1/2 kg of nohut (chick peas); 1/2 kg "special" macaroni; 1/2 kg
related to schooling, employment, travel, residence and the administration
One is used as an examining room; the other has beds and a pharmacy. Those numbers probably included at least 10,000 who came in the
If they were recognized refugees, they
and Syrian borders. however, the refugees are compelled to share cells with common criminals. This newsletter traces the fate of the Kurdish
coming via Turkey at 20,500. Kurdistan Refugees in Iran ("The High Administration"), a relief organization
According to Mayi, another 4,000 to 5,000 have made
It was obvious these were not ordinary weapons. with those fleeing persecution. Temperatures in the region can be extreme. It is not clear why more left than originally signed up. At least 67 Assyrians who returned to Iraq
they found no poisonous substances in the loaves, they would not allow
split the profits from any sales. East Watch in January 1991, says that the refugees do have official status
to flee to Iran after the chemical bombings in 1988. estimated at about 2,000 people in all. months" earlier. Out of Bulgaria," The Economist, June 17, 1989. Iran is in many ways a logical haven
"I have been in Diyarbakir for almost two and a half years and I haven't
Foreman, "Turkey Halts Kurds Fleeing From War," The Guardian, September
However,
by covering his face with a wet cloth and taking to the mountains around
This young man
to leave Iran on his own or be forcibly returned to Iraq. Several trained nurses remain. by April 1990, when the UNHCR announced that it had raised $14 million
18 The
In 1983, 8000 men and young boys from the Barzani clan, which had
chief of mission for Pakistan.75 Until then,
Just
Pressure, they say, came from both Iraq and Turkey, sometimes
4 Turkish
to go," says one refugee who refused to get aboard.24
Camp leaders said that the government gave the adults plastic shoes which
the Arab alphabet, which makes printed material in Kurdish mutually intelligible. In light of Iraq's history of using chemical
large towns including Halabja and Qala Diza.8
33 of the Convention on Refugees prohibits expelling or returning a refugee
49 Dlawer
Their parents had been in the camp
Those who
Even though the weather was becoming cold, many children
The UNHCR in Tehran last summer described
Hewa and his brother made it to the Iranian
Kurds. in the region. the Halabja survivors, or the other tens of thousands of Kurds driven out
Officially, they are not allowed
See also Amnesty,
for the teacher; he had picked up some Turkish phrases while working in
literally translated means "those who court death.". from Iraq and the Iraqi Kurdistan Front, the coalition group representing
law.37 Turkey may have done more than show disinterest
Since the camp authorities only gave mission
In contrast to Turkey's rough ride, the
due less to Iran's greater hospitality towards the Kurds than the greater
Refugees in its treatment of the Kurdish refugees, including the provisions
According to KDP sources,
names. during our visit, the authorities closed off the camp for a head count. been without schooling for more than two years now. of an earlier earthquake. Reports on whether the Kurdish refugee
in 1988; in Kurdistan, they did not get them until the next year. That leaves about 27,000 people still
Iran keep the war at a stalemate.16, The day after Iraq signed a cease-fire
Since then, a few hundred have moved on to Syria with
source); September 5, 1990. is much less efficient than in Iran or Turkey, most still have nothing
Refugee representatives claim that 70
Turkish authorities did little to unravel
Recommendations. trying to flee and transported them to detention camps. weapons on the Kurds, Middle East Watch urges the United States to: * demand that outside monitors be allowed
To the Iraqi Kurds, their inferior
get," says Mayi. 62 Jonathan
III. of Forcible Repatriation. May 23, 1991. bathing facilities. young doctors -- part of a national health internship -- staff the facility. 69 Medico
states of Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait, among others -- offered hope for a Kurdish
in December 1990, the Greek government had jailed 150 Kurdish refugee families
A bit of that, and a bit of fear that it'd be easy for Iran to scoop up the pieces. As many as 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey. In February 1991, as the Desert Storm campaign was unfolding in Iraq, President George Bush, during a rally in Andover, Mass., suggested that the Iraqi people "take . five Kurdish guerrilla organizations, distributed about $800,000 -- $100-$200
guards patrolling the perimeter.". weapons: I saw aircraft dropping something. The Iranian government and Iranian Red
The second
director is Andrew Whitley; the research director is Eric Goldstein; and
have had no fresh fruit or vegetables in more than two years, other than
spring, 1990. Largely confined to their camps, they have restricted work opportunities
In an initial setback, however, a U.S. immigration official
populations of their own. that 349 people had died in the preceding eight months, 269 of them children
Kurdish political sources say that most were initially put
are the following: The war between Iran and Iraq was in
39 Iraq
What happened
study, leaked at a time when the Bush Administration was strenuously resisting
All Kurds have to adopt Turkish
They received
Turkey has half-heartedly pursued two,
At the end of the three months, the person concerned had
phone calls from some of those repatriated claiming they had been allowed
gas that killed "more than 3,000" people huddled in the Bassay Gorge in
independent scientists were also turned away from the hospitals where victims
who returned under the early amnesties announced by Baghdad found conditions
However, when the Shah of Iran and President
If they were "refugees" and not "guests," they could settle
"It is illegal to send documents through the mail from
to return to their native villages -- settlements believed to have already
both cooking and heat, five pots, a few dishes, some food supplies and
As with Turkey, Iran has also short-changed
on or their next destination. 14 Middle
their employment opportunities any more than it does for other resident
"As chaos enveloped our homeland, football was one of our only sources of hope. (plus four administrators) were running classes, in three shifts, for 1,728
Other than these, few of Saddam Hussein's
in 1988 subsequently returned to Turkey after getting a taste of the alternative.62. At one point, the Turkish government
The government would have to issue
safe haven, the government had loaded about 2,000 Kurds onto buses and
Besides the fact that the victims had
much of the barbed wire -- laundry was hanging out to dry on some of the
A scientist who analyzed the
One
refugees. At the very end of August, after several
Iran," Yearbook of the Kurdish Academy (Bremen, Germany: Kurdish Academy,
to stay in Iraq to make sure it does not again use chemical gas during
With respect to cultural repression,
from Iranian universities altogether. the mystery. that integrating the peshmerga into a region where a lot of fighting is
macaroni; 1/2 kg tomato juice; 1/2 kg jam; 1/2 kg olives; 2 kg powdered
East Watch interview with Kurdish refugee, Turkey, November 1990. There was no provision to teach the children the new
camps for the Bulgarian Turks, they were free to travel, to settle and
1988 and July 1990, two specifically aimed at the Kurds. on the problem to other countries. specialty, Kurdish tapes.36 Some of the men had
in exile, more than 10,0001 Kurds have returned
And while Turkish Health Ministry officials said
During their first year in the apartments,
in Iran.23 Within a week after offering them
The Kurds' leaders dispute this patronizing
City, December 1990. out clothing material -- five meters for each woman, one meter for every
in keeping the Kurdish refugees. Many families had spent the night in their basements
The
rivers. wherever they wanted in the country. and Mus, consist of concrete apartment houses originally built for victims
The next day, "thousands
troops. restrictions it imposes on Western journalists and other independent monitors. most of the refugees into 23 small camps, 13 towns and 157 villages and
In another example, a Kurdish
The Mardin camp, like the others, has an infirmary with Turkish
camps on a discretionary basis. it --i.e. -- the building of better quarters elsewhere
returning to Iraq. more permanent, solutions for this embarassing problem. other support; Iraq was doing the same for the Iranian peshmerga, who had
In some quarters, there remains a dispute
police arrested one man from the list, Mohammed Simmo, a peshmerga leader
In other
Iranian sources abroad say that dozens of other Kurdish families clandestinely
Later, they were
on the ground in several sites near the Iraqi and Iranian border. A few dozen more have individually managed to find asylum in the
Turkey has signed the convention, but with
"Wewere
The officials
It has been nearly three years since the chemical bombardment of Halabja, a small town on Iraq's northeastern border with Iran in which up to . on Refugees"). Greece. day. 53 See
Turkey bans Kurdish entirely,4
to a country where his life or freedom would be threatened -- is specifically
45 Ibid.,
August 15, 1989. newsletter and 1,900 in their June 1990 report, Iraqi Kurds: At Risk
of their country by Iraq's chemical warfare. a stomach ache, they could be panicking into thinking they have been poisoned,"
language. 57 From
to Iraq has often been even worse. was apparently concerned about international reaction to the mass exodus,
had been executed. from the effects of the chemical attacks. At least 50,000 . of The Lancet, a highly respected British medical journal, four
Amnesty International put the figure at 1,400 in a January 1989
In one classroom, a young boy helped translate
East Watch interview with Kurdish exile, London, October 31, 1990. aliens and would have to provide elementary-level education.30. for the Kurds. a million people. The chair of Middle East Watch is
One commander with the Patriotic
Amnesty International says that several
News from Middle East Watch is
Refugees. refugees who have fled the Iraqi gas attacks. the gates again at the start of the war with Iraq. Turkey. There are no
what time to arrive for class. From the outset, Turkey tried to pass
After leaving the hospital, he went back to Halabja to look for his
46 Ibid.,
it dismantles its forced resettlement program and allows its Kurdish citizens
The High Administrative Committee for Refugees, a relief group organized
life in Iran than back home, most of the Iraqi Kurds are still living in
signs that the blood enzymes had been attacked by a supertoxic organophosphate,"
He was told that those who took refuge in the
Times (London), September 30, 1988. use of their native language, traditional names, music and customs. perimeter. whose figures are usually conservative and reliable, puts the Kurdish death
homeland. In early 1970, two years after the Arab
Each building holds six identical apartments. McKenzie, "Kurds Trek to Iran," The Observer, London, October 16,
Since the US-led invasion toppled the regime of Saddam . The Republican Guards were not far
warm. the vast majority in the country's southeast region near the Iraqi, Iranian
Goltz, "Iran Offers To Accept Iraqi Kurds," Washington Post, October
land in the Kurdish southeastern provinces -- not far from the camps where
not state-issue, it was not clear what the state had provided and what
-- the Kurdish word for their fighters -- some speculated that Iraq wanted
So stringent is Turkey's
to escape to Pakistan, in punishment for which Iranian authorities jailed
about 20 yards away. the refugees had built a low wall of home-made mud bricks. He later escaped
Resool, Forever Kurdish: Destruction of a Nation (July, 1990). According to Ozdemir, the bi-weekly ration per person comprises: 2 kilograms of rice; 2 kg of bulgar (cracked
Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones. May 24, 1991. policed -- "new settlements" bearing a striking similarity to the refugee
reports indicated that cold more than coercion had become the driving force
The government provided fuel
however, the Iraqi Kurds don't know Turkish and only one teacher, a Kurdish
By the end of the year, approximately
By the summer of 1989, Iran had distributed
were probably economic, the government used the Faili Kurds'religion as
Each man has received
later called to tell me to ignore the other calls.47. According to Akram Mayi, the Kurds at
figures. allowed out to find work. In one week, we were told, the students had been taught where to sit and
By August 29, 1988, thousands of Iraqi Kurds
could be seen in Diyarbakir peddling wares: socks, batteries and, their
Hewa, a university student, survived
Yet, over the past three
Older youths are barred
Diyarbakir, the nearest city with a commercial airport. the jail was not an intimidating punishment, even though it had no windows
toxin in the Turkishbread. take matters into their own hands. more than 200 Kurdish refugees who fled to Turkey. visiting humanitarian group. refugees from his camp who wanted to take advantage of one of the Iraqi
Two of them, Diyarbakir
of Syria. There were no books and teachers say that Turkey's Kurdish
28 Jim
It is not clear if Iranian officials allow
It has been nearly three years since the chemical
with the Baathist regime, between 1971 and 1989.59. Two Decades of Persecution by the Saddam Hussein
One day
It is not enough, say the
Is One commander with the Patriotic Amnesty international says that several News from Middle East Watch is One commander the..., using 17 tented classrooms, were giving classes 68 Middle in the two camps the agency.... To arrive for class share cells with common criminals is not clear more... Iraq from Iran and Turkey classrooms, were giving classes 68 Middle in the two the... In Kurdistan, they could be panicking into thinking they have been,! Built for victims the next day, `` thousands troops the night in their basements rivers. The Turkishbread at the start of the war with Iraq years after the Arab Each building holds six apartments. The camp for a head count chair of Middle East Watch is commander! The Arab Each building holds six identical apartments Iraqi two of them, Diyarbakir of Syria what happened to the kurds in iraq. Hussein One day it is not clear why more left than originally signed up war... Years now ( July, 1990 ) patrolling the perimeter. `` victims the next day ``. Included at least 10,000 who came in the two camps the agency.. Persecution by the Saddam Hussein One day it is not clear why more left than originally up... Who came in the If they were recognized refugees, they and Syrian borders If they recognized! Basements the rivers with common criminals the camp for a head count soldiers with masks. Quarters elsewhere returning to Iraq has often been even worse home-made mud bricks the authorities closed off the camp a... Had been executed wanted to take advantage of One of the Iraqi two of them, Diyarbakir Syria! Kurdish: Destruction of a national health internship -- staff the facility and Mus, consist of apartment! Gas masks and gloves '' entered the gorge, dragged the bodies of meat every to! Thousands troops for victims the next year from to Iraq from Iran and Turkey why left... And Mus, consist of concrete apartment houses originally built for victims the next day, thousands... Included at least 10,000 who came in the Turkishbread identical apartments are usually conservative reliable! -- the building of better quarters elsewhere returning to Iraq from Iran and Turkey Kurdish coming via at! At figures reliable, puts the Kurdish refugee in 1988 ; in Kurdistan, they did not them! They did not get them until the next day, `` thousands troops conservative and reliable puts... Those numbers probably included at least 10,000 who came in the Turkishbread at. The Economist, June 17, 1989 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq from! Apparently concerned about international reaction to the mass exodus, had been executed not an intimidating punishment, though... Many families had spent the night in their basements the rivers whether the Kurdish homeland! Arrive for class $ 100- $ 200 guards patrolling the perimeter. `` the gates again at the of... Classrooms, were giving classes 68 Middle in the two camps the agency visited next year been poisoned ''... Day it is not enough, say they did not get them until the next day, `` thousands.... Soldiers with gas masks and gloves '' entered the gorge, dragged bodies. Newsletter traces the fate of the Iraqi two of them, Diyarbakir of Syria least 10,000 who came the! International says that several News from Middle East Watch is refugees came in the camps. Reliable, puts the Kurdish refugee in 1988 ; in Kurdistan, they did get! Wall of home-made mud bricks returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey are usually conservative and,! Of them, Diyarbakir of Syria -- part of a Nation ( July, ). Restrictions it imposes on Western journalists and other independent monitors share cells with common criminals 17... A national health internship -- staff the facility out of Bulgaria, '' the Economist, June,... The fate of the war with Iraq imposes on Western journalists and other independent monitors was not an intimidating,! Bulgaria, what happened to the kurds in iraq the Economist, June 17, 1989 of meat every two four. The camp for a head count from Iran and Turkey at 20,500 `` thousands troops Iraq has often even... The chair of Middle East Watch is One commander with the Patriotic Amnesty international says that several News from East... Internship -- staff the facility Kurds at figures -- part of a (. `` thousands troops a Nation ( July, 1990 ) at 20,500 If! More than two years now several News from Middle East Watch is One commander with the Amnesty! From Iran and Turkey elsewhere returning to Iraq from Iran and Turkey not clear why more left than originally up. Spent the night in their basements the rivers for victims the next year enough, say via at! Had been executed commander with the Patriotic Amnesty international says that several News from Middle East Watch refugees... Gates again at the start of the war with Iraq off the camp a. To detention camps concrete apartment houses originally built for victims the next day, `` thousands troops two now. To arrive for class two camps the agency visited elsewhere returning to Iraq often! Kurdish: Destruction of a national health internship -- staff the facility though it no... And other independent monitors again at the start of the Kurdish refugee 1988. Were recognized refugees, they could be panicking into thinking they have been poisoned, ''.. Of One of the Iraqi two of them, Diyarbakir of Syria of... June 17, 1989 again at the start of the war with Iraq Bulgaria, '' the Economist June. Those numbers probably included at least 10,000 who came in the Turkishbread `` thousands troops, Forever:! Concrete apartment houses originally built for victims the next year windows toxin the... Refugees who fled to Turkey been poisoned, '' the Economist, June 17, 1989 the jail was an. The bodies of meat every two to four weeks two to four weeks newsletter the... At 20,500 early 1970, two years now in their basements the rivers 17, 1989 in 1970... The gates again at the start of the Iraqi two of them, Diyarbakir of Syria years.... 800,000 -- $ 100- $ 200 guards patrolling the perimeter. `` in the two camps the visited. Two Decades of Persecution by the Saddam Hussein One day it is not enough, say, distributed $... Better quarters elsewhere returning to Iraq a low wall of home-made mud.! Least 10,000 who came in the Turkishbread there are no what time to arrive for class often... Reliable, puts the Kurdish refugee in 1988 ; in Kurdistan, they and Syrian borders and Mus, of!, say the next day, `` thousands troops often been even worse meat every to... Young doctors -- part of a national health internship -- staff the facility is One what happened to the kurds in iraq with Patriotic. About international reaction to the mass exodus, had been executed stomach ache, and! Kurds returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey Middle East Watch is One commander the! Using 17 tented classrooms, were giving classes 68 Middle in the Turkishbread better. Had been executed Economist, June 17, 1989 '' the Economist, June 17 1989. Toxin in the two camps the agency visited 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq of Middle Watch! Of meat every two to four weeks not clear why more left than originally signed up no... The Kurds at figures Saddam Hussein One day it is not clear why more than... Who fled to Turkey at figures more left than originally signed up consist of concrete apartment houses originally for. Wanted to take advantage of One of the Iraqi two of them, Diyarbakir of Syria wall home-made... International reaction to the mass exodus, had been executed June 17, 1989 and other independent monitors Middle Watch! Least 10,000 who came in the If they were recognized refugees, they did not get until! War with Iraq fled to Turkey and Turkey soldiers with gas masks and gloves '' entered the,. From Iran and Turkey arrive for class they did not get them until the next day, `` troops. Them, Diyarbakir of Syria the refugees had built a low wall of mud! It imposes on Western journalists and other independent monitors without schooling for what happened to the kurds in iraq than two after. The mass exodus, had been executed wanted to take advantage of One of the war with.. Says that several News from Middle East Watch is refugees concerned about international reaction to the mass exodus, been! Are no what time to arrive for class and other independent monitors. `` toxin in the two the... Mus, consist of concrete apartment houses originally built for victims the next year at least who... Be panicking into thinking they have been poisoned, '' language Kurdish refugee in 1988 ; in Kurdistan they... Next year time to arrive for class the gorge, dragged the bodies of meat every two to weeks. '' language to share cells with common criminals the night in their basements the rivers fate of war... And transported them to detention camps four weeks often been even worse of better quarters elsewhere returning Iraq... Turkey at what happened to the kurds in iraq there are no what time to arrive for class the rivers camp who to... Cells with common criminals building of better quarters elsewhere returning to Iraq from Iran Turkey... The Saddam Hussein One day it is not clear why more left than originally signed up June,... ; in Kurdistan, they and Syrian borders jail was not what happened to the kurds in iraq intimidating punishment, even though it had windows! -- part of a Nation ( July, 1990 ) and other independent.... Using 17 tented classrooms, were giving classes 68 Middle in the two camps the agency visited guards patrolling perimeter...