Interview with the Iranian Red Crescent

With more than two million volunteers in the country, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) says it is ready to deal, to a certain extent, with a refugee crisis arising from the conflict in Iraq. As some 80 percent of Iraqis live near the border with Iran, hundreds of thousands could flee into the Islamic Republic of Iran. In an interview with IRIN in the capital, Tehran, IRCS Director-General of International Affairs Mostafa Mohaghegh said the country was generally prepared to deal with an influx, but would need additional help and relief items if there were large numbers of refugees crossing. QUESTION: How prepared is the Iranian Red Crescent Society to deal with a possible refugee influx? ANSWER: As the main national relief organisation of Iran, we are always ready to respond to a crisis. Our preparedness based on our national mandate is permanent and ongoing is extended to all parts of the country in all 300 branches. Therefore, in terms of organisation and structure, we didn't have to establish a new setup in the five provinces bordering Iraq. We have been in close coordination with the government of Iran and the international organisations such as the UN and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross]. Based on the experience we have had from 1991 in the last war in the region when more than 1.3 million Iraqi refugees crossed the border, we have prepared and boosted our relief capacity. Overall, there is good preparation, and we will have to wait and see how many refugees come over and what circumstances they will face. Q: How many people do you have on the ground? A: We have a huge human resource capacity, which is one of our strengths. We have two million volunteers and 70,000 experienced relief workers. For this crisis, we have called on 2,000, and they will be deployed as soon as we have to start the operation. In terms of relief capacity, the structure of the national society is good in terms of storage, transportation and distribution. But in terms of relief items, if we face a big number of refugees, then we will need support from the international community. We have a good disaster preparedness [infrastructure], which is allocated to natural disasters in Iran such as earthquakes, floods, which occur in Iran frequently. But we cannot exhaust these resources. The government is planning to cover 200,000 refugees, which requires funding and human resources. We can put our organisation, relief workers and volunteers at the disposal of any operation for refugees, but we would certainly need support from the international community, in particular in terms of relief items. Q: Do you have any information about refugees crossing the border? A: To date there have been no refugees crossing into Iran. We are in close contact with our branches in the border areas and the government. There are a number of families on the other side of the border, who are not in a desperate situation, but are in a vulnerable situation. On the northwestern side of the border, there are 100 families who have settled there, and a similar case [load] in the south. But we have not had requests from them to cross into Iran. Based on the statement of the government, if there are people who want to cross and are in a serious situation, the border will be open to them and they will be settled and assisted in border areas. Q: What sort of assistance have you received from the international community so far? A. So far, we have received only a consignment of four planes from the Russian government, which included food items and general relief. But major international organisations have not come yet, for understandable reasons, and we hope that first of all there is no such influx of refugees. But if there is, then we hope we receive more assistance. Q: But UNHCR has donated $1 million to BAFIA [Bureau of Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs] for the possible refugee crisis. A: Yes that's right. Q: Have you been in touch with your counterparts in Iraq? A: We've had very good relations with the Iraqi Red Crescent. We have had exchanges of visits. We have had cases of assistance provided to them in some programmes, and we even started to fund some projects there, but unfortunately, because of the crisis, these have been suspended. After the start of the recent war, communication is difficult, but through our Red Cross and Red Crescent system, we are in contact with them. Q: What are your main concerns with refugees crossing the border, as it is heavily mined? A: We have a series of concerns. We cannot predict what will happen, so, based on our experience, we have prepared a plan. If we face a limited number of refugees, then there is not too much concern, because we have the capacity to deal with it effectively. In case of a big influx, to be able to maintain an effective operation, you need resources. Especially relief items such as shelter, food, hygiene, water and sanitation and medical services. The second series of concerns are mines, and the possibility of the use of nonconventional weapons, such as chemical and biological weapons. So we have a number of concerns, but we don't know what the possibility is of these happening. There is a mine-awareness programme being carried out in collaboration with the UN. Q: How many camps sites have been set up and by whom are they being supported? Are they ready to receive refugees? A: There are now 10 sites identified for camps. If, based on the permission of the government, Iraqi refugees cross the border, the IRCS will set up the camps in 24 hours. These sites are located in centre and south and, if need be, more camps will be set up in north. So far, the IRCS has been the only organisation for preparing these camps, but, based on our negotiations with the UN, the Federation and other NGOs, we hope to receive sufficient support when we set up the camps. Q: What concerns do you have about local populations? A: The impact is not avoidable, and it will impact on the local community economically and socially. That is for sure. Over the past two decades, more than 3 million refugees have been in Iran, mostly Afghans and Iraqis. The government says it is not fair on Iran alone to take on such a heavy burden, which is an international issue. So the Iranians have been very hospitable and supported and donated a lot to refugees. But there has been an invisible impact on the local infrastructure, and that is unavoidable. For example, since the beginning of the crisis, a group of people in different organisations, and within the government too, have been planning for a possible influx of refugees in this crisis, and if you count the amount of time and money spent on this, you will see how it will affect the local economies on a large scale. But we have the responsibility to help these people, and we do expect help from the international community, both because it is also their responsibility and because our resources are limited.