Refugees at border go on hunger strike to protest their fate

Some 200 Iranian-Kurdish refugees who have been stranded on the Jordan-Iraq border since January 2005 went on a hunger strike on Tuesday demanding that they be resettled in a third country, according to the refugees' spokesperson. "We are human beings and we deserve to live in peace anywhere but not in Iraq as the UNHCR is proposing us", said Khabati Mohammadi, a spokesperson for the refugees. According to Mohammadi, the refugees had already made several unsuccessful pleas to the refugee agency demanding resettlement in a third country. Their one-day hunger strike on Tuesday was meant to strike home the point and to coincide with the World Refugee Day. But UNHCR's protection officer dealing with Iraq from Amman, Michelle Alfaro said that "resettlement to a third country is only possible when there is a clear need, no alternative solution in the country of asylum and [is] dependent on an offer from a resettlement country. Resettlement is not a right. The Iranian Kurds have asked for a place to live in safety and dignity, or return to their country which UNHCR encourages and can facilitate. But it is clear that their singular agenda is resettlement at the expense of the women and children who live with the group." Alfaro added: "There is a durable solution in northern Iraq for those Iranian Kurds who do not wish to return home. Thousands of Iranian Kurds are presently living there and integrating locally." In an effort to resolve the issue, UNHCR offered the group relocation to Kawa refugee camp, located in Arbil governorate in northern Iraq. Some 10,000 Iranian Kurd refugees are registered and living throughout northern Iraq. The Iranian-Kurdish refugees had arrived at the Karama border crossing between Jordan and Iraq after fleeing al-Tash refugee camp in Iraq's western Anbar governorate, following clashes there between insurgents and US forces in January 2005. However, because they lacked official permission to enter Jordan, the refugees remained on the Iraqi side of the border, an area prone to harsh weather conditions. "This is a disastrous situation, especially for the women and children", said Alfaro. "Going to Arbil is the only lasting solution for this group". Since last week to protest their fate, the refugees have also been staging sit-ins at the Jordanian border which have resulted in minor incidents, according to a report which the Multinational Forces monitoring the Iraqi side of the border sent to UNHCR. Jordanian border officers have denied accusations by the refugees' that they [border officers] had beaten them. "Refugees have the right to demonstrate wherever they want, but not on Jordanian territory. In any case, no one has beaten them", said Colonel Wawdah Wahbe at the Karama border. MFM/AR/SZ