Waiting, waiting, waiting

“There were many threats and terror by the Muslims against the Sabeans, but it was hidden, no one talked about it, we were all scared,” said Amir Hadar of the situation of Sabeans in Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein.

Amir, his mother and 2 sisters show their UNHCR refugee status.

In 2000, Amir a single man, now living with his mother and 2 sisters in Amman worked as a cameraman for a TV station owned by Oday the much-feared son of Saddam. Odays’ guards would tease and threaten Amir making his life miserable, “it was like a sport for them,” said Amir of his ordeal. “I couldn’t take it anymore, so in 2001 I fled to Jordan and applied for asylum.”

Amirs’ father died (a natural death) in Iraq in 2003 leaving Amirs mother and 2 sisters to take care of themselves and the huge home which had been in the family for generations. Then came the threats. It got worse and worse until one night masked men broke into their home, pointed a gun at the eldest sister and the mother and told them to get out or they would kidnap them. The 3 women left as soon as they could get a passport taking nothing but a bag with them to Amman.

“ We cannot go forward and cannot go backwards, we are in a prison,” said the sister of Amir.

July 24, 2008 UNHCR interview

Ziad Ayad UNHCR Associate Research Officer in his office.

Ziad Ayad and intern Tamara in their office at the UNHCR headquarters in Amman, Jordan

A UNHCR poster showing that bribes to hasten asylum resettlement programs is not tolerated at the UNHCR.

After two days of trying to call the press attaché of UNHCR I decided it was time to test my luck and make a personal visit. I had expected long lines of Iraqi refugees but there were only a few people waiting outside. I asked the guards to speak to the contact Anna from Germany gave me, Rana Sweis but she had already left Amman, so I was directed to UNHCR Associate Research Officer Ziad Ayad,.

Please visit this link for more precise information about what the UNHCR is doing for Iraqi refugees. Or contact joram@unhcr.org

From Ziad I learned that in April 2007 UNHCR held “Humanitarian Crisis of Iraqi Refugees,” conference in Geneva lead directly to the speeding up of the UNHCR resettlement program. Until that time UNHCR had no substantial resettlement program in place. Iraqis who were able to leave had gone through the process of immigration, which means they had to apply directly to the country they wanted to immigrate to.

According to the UNHCR, as of June 2008, UNHCR has cumulatively registered over 54,400 individuals. While Iraqis are by far the largest group, UNHCR also assists many other nationalities and Persons of concern (POC) to UNHCR Jordan.

Presently the only durable solution available for refugees in Jordan is resettlement. In 2007 the resettlement process sped up because more than 16 countries are willing to accept Iraqis and have established “resettlement” quotas, which are now being met. In 2007 UNHCR set a submission target of 7500 Iraqis, they met this target and more with 8062 Iraqis registered and processed. A cumulative total of 4,663 persons have been submitted to these 16 countries.

To register a refugee or POC files out forms, has an interview, this is processed and an registration certificate is given. This document is legal protection and is valid for 6 months after which is must be renewed. If problems arise the UNHCR will defend those who have this document. The next step in the process is acquiring the blue card, which this card the person goes to the International Organization of Immigration (IOM) who then completes the resettlement program.

I asked about the some of the concerns of the people I have interviewed. One was concerning Muslims who had secretly converted to Christianity. That they were afraid to tell the caseworkers of their conversions, afraid of reprisals as it is illegal in the Kingdom of Jordan for a Muslim to convert. Ziad assured me that anyone giving information about their case had to be forthright and need not fear any reprisals. UNHCR staff are not considered an Arab, Muslim, Christian, Jordanian, Canadian, they are considered a UNHCR worker. (I am not sure if this information will calm the nerves of those who have or who want to convert, in fact, I am rather suspicious of this myself.)

I also asked Ziad who was given resettlement priority. He replied that priority was given to; single females, the elderly, children separated from their parents or relatives, and family reunification. He also drew attention that no cases could be processed with bias. In other words any fraud or bribes by UNHCR workers would be severely reprimanded.

In terms of working illegally, Mr Ayad told me of a conversation the director of the UNHCR Antonio B had with a high ranking member of the Jordanian government who stated that “ we know Iraqis are working illegally and we do not cover one eye, we cover two.”

When asked about the Jordanian governments role in the Iraqi refugee crisis Ziad confirmed what I have learnt from Jordanian Immigration officers, that in February 2008 King Abdullah of Jordan issued a general amnesty for Iraqi refugees who had over-stayed their resident visas. They were given two options.

First option: If they wanted to stay in Jordan they would have to pay 50% of the overstay fine which is 1.5JD per day. This may not seem like a lot but if a family of 5 or 6 have overstayed for years the total is enormous, up to 10,000JD. Most if not all Iraqi refugee families would find this impossible to pay.

Second option: if they choose to leave the fine would be waved. *This may account for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees who have left Jordan for Syria.

King Abdullah also gave a policy statement to the effect that Jordan will not encourage return until safety and dignity exists in Iraq.

It was a very pleasant meeting; the UNHCR Jordan staff were considerate, timely, informative and forthcoming. I would like to thank Ziad Ayad for his time and patience in meeting with me today July 24, 2008.

July 22, 2008 Interviews with Iraqi Refugees

Randa shows her UNHCR registration certificate in her apartment in Al Hussein, Amman, Jordan

Randas son looks out the window from his home in Al Hussein, Amman, Jordan. traumatized by the war in Iraq, this 5 year old boy will not go out of his home alone. He also suffers from constipation because he will not -go to the toilet.

Randa

Today I met up with Artry a 20-year-old Armenia refugee who has been in Amman for 5 years waiting to immigrate. She wants desperately to go to California and go shopping. She wants to be a teenager a real teenager, free to shop, to go to Starbucks, and most importantly to fully recover from cerebral palsy, which is a congenital birth defect. Artry is amazing, she is strong, and has learned excellent English. She has offered to be my interpreter. at

The first family we visited was Randa Haumis Paulus a Chalaean Christian who worked for CARITAS in Baghdad. “During the war we would go to victims of bombing, terror and try to stop the bleeding on the site, to prepare them for the ambulances,” says Randa of her service work. “I also visited victims, we gave money to Christian, Muslim it didn’t matter the organization we helped everyone. Then we started getting death threats for working for an international organization. I still don’t understand, we helped Muslims, everyone, why did they want to kill us for helping people? In our apartment building the Music store was bombed, there were rockets flying across the sky. The areas were so unsafe.” She went on to say, “we were rich, we had enough money, now it’s all gone, we spent it all coming here.”

Randa is married and has a 6-year-old son. “My son is traumatized from the war and suffers from severe constipation because he will not go to the toilet. He will not go out of the house without his me,” says Randa of her sons condition. “As far as government schools go, I will not send my son, I know that the Iraqi kids are called names, beaten up and this would only traumatize my son more.” Randa began crying when as she went on to say, “my son wants to play, he wants toys, he cries because he wants to have a normal life, he just wants to be a kid.”

The day we visited Randa had just received a refrigerator from a family who was able to immigrate. A few days ago he got a cupboard to put her clothes in and a bike for her son. The Iraqi refugees who do migrate give away their meager possessions to those left behind.

Randas family is also registered with the UNHCR but have no residency or guest visa. Randa is terrified because she works as a waitress in a club that caters to marriages. She earns 5JD a day and works from 4pm to 1am. She complains that the customers treat her badly, call her bitch and are very rude. She is tired and desperate and finds it difficult to sleep due to the stress and worry she faces everyday.

July 18 Al Muhata'ah Refugee Camp

A view of a window in Al Muhat'ah refugee camp, just a 10 minute taxi ride from the center of Amman, Jordan.

Assan and his wife joking as they show their UNHCR registration papers.

I arrived in Amman the 14th of July and after much acclimatization and fact-finding I decided it was time to meet the Iraqi refugees. Mohammed, a police and security officer who I met at the Taj hotel, came as my translator. We went to the Al Muhata'ah Refugee Camp, a 10-minute taxi ride from the center of the old city of Amman. Originally a Palestinian refugee camp it now houses several hundred Iraqi refugees. The camp is similar to those in the West Bank, cramped living quarters, narrow winding streets, over populated, poor and unkempt, yet because its been home to refugees for more than 40 years there is a cross section of dilapidated and prosperous housing. The feeling I got from the Palestinians I met was that most everyone gets along and the Iraqis have been welcomed into the camp.

We went to the home of Assan Hamudi, a 23 years old Shia Iraqi refugee from Al Karmia, ( the district of Bagdad where Saddam Hussein was executed.) and his 18 year old Sunni wife Rusel Adan. They met in Amman and have been married for one year. Assan looks at his wife with a smile and tell me, “see Sunni and Shia can get along.”

Assan has been a refugee in Jordan for 4 years and Rusel for 9. Assan nonchalantly tells me of how he joined the Mehdi army when he was 19 but left after only 2 months because he was scared and appalled at the killing and destruction. He was scared of the Al Madi army, Al Qaeda, the Sunnis the Shias the Americans of everyone. He saw over 400 dead in the aftermath of the bombing of the Ashara Mosque. Then a couple months later his uncle who worked for the Americans was kidnapped by unknown terrorists and cut into pieces. It was the fear of insecurity and horror of the situation in Iraq that made Assan leave Baghdad for Amman.

Assan and Rusel are both registered with the UNHCR as refugees but have no residency or working visa. King Abdullah recognizes the plight of the refugees and at first allowed Iraqis to cross the border as guests. But due to the shear amount coming (up to 750,000 last year) the border is now closed. In January of 2008 King Abdullah granted a limited immunity for Iraqis who had overstayed their “guest” visa. He made into law that if they wanted to stay they had to register with the UNHCR and get a guest visa. If they could not pay, they would be given a period of a month to do so. Many have tried this but were not accepted and left for Syrai. In Jordan if any Iraqi is caught working they will be arrested and immediately deported to Iraq. Rusel told me about her mother who worked illegally in a sewing factory to support her family. Her mother was caught one year ago and deported to Iraq. Her father is still in Jordan.

“I am just happy to be alive, its better to stay here and be safe, no mujahdeen. Fear of kidnapping is very real, and it’s not just the terrorists it’s criminals. It’s Shia, it’s Sunni it’s everyone and everywhere, you never know when you leave your home if you will come back. Okay I have little hope and wait daily to immigrate anywhere but at least I am safe and my wife is safe and we can go and meet friends and talk,’ says Assan with his beautiful young wife smiling at his side.
As I was leaving the Hamudi home, Diad, a friend of Assans came for a visit. Diad told me a bit of his story. Diad escaped Iraqi 1 year ago with his younger brother. His mother was killed when heavily armed masked criminals entered a bus, stole the passengers’ money then shot everyone. Some of the passengers survived but his mother did not. Roughly 1 year later his father left their apartment one morning and never returned. Diad visibly shaken told me he doesn’t know if his father is alive or dead, his body was never found, and he was never heard from again.

Diad

Diad is also registered with the UNHCR and like all other Iraqis waits for the phone call either asking him to come for his interview or telling him he has been given asylum. Unfortunately, Diad is risking deportation and separation from his younger brother by working odd jobs. Diad tells me he has to, he has no option, he only gets a few Jordanian Dinar from the UNHCR, its not enough to pay his rent or food for his brother or himself. His biggest fear now is that he will be separated from his younger brother either by deportation or if both of them are not sponsored together by immigration. “I can’t go without my brother,” he says, “he is the only family I have left.”