Palestinian Refugees in Iraq: Tragedy and Suffering amid Iraqi Pressure and the Absence of the Palestine

- The number of Palestinian refugees in Iraq until 2003, prior to the US occupation of Iraq, was estimated at thirty-five thousand people. The arrival of these refugees was the result of three waves of migration: the first in 1948, after their displacement by the Israeli occupation following the establishment of Israel in 1948; the second wave after the defeat in the June 1967 war; and the third wave in 1991, after Iraq entered Kuwait. However, most of the Palestinian refugees left Iraq in waves after 2003 in light of the wave of violence and hatred they faced from groups, militias, and some Iraqi security agencies. According to UN reports, only about 5,000 Palestinian refugees remained..!

- The main reason for this wave after the American occupation of Iraq was these groups’ and militias’ belief that the Palestinian refugees had been treated preferentially by the late President Saddam Hussein, since these refugees were equated with Iraqi citizens under Presidential Decree No. 202 in 2001. However, this decree was annulled after the American occupation in 2003..!

- A report by the Refugee Agency stated that more than 21,000 Palestinian refugees have left Iraq since 2003; some of them stopped at the land borders with Jordan and Syria trying to enter, but those countries prevented them from entering.... Some refugees consequently set up tents in the Al-Ruwaishid area waiting to be allowed to cross into Jordan, which was delayed... where they lived in poor conditions on the border. Despite that, countries such as the United States and Brazil and some other foreign countries accepted hundreds of them as refugees, while none of the Arab countries surrounding Iraq accepted them except for small numbers... after a long, horrific wait...!

- Some information reported that dozens of Palestinian refugees were killed in 2005, which prompted Palestinian refugees not to send their children to school and to stop looking for work for fear of abduction or killing by militias said to be mostly Shiite, believing that the Palestinian refugees in Iraq were among the staunchest supporters of the late President Saddam Hussein..!

- I consulted Al-Quds newspaper on Friday 11-11-2022, issue number 19122, and found a report on the situation of Palestinian refugees in Iraq, who were estimated in the report at approximately 5,000 people- according to the report-!

- The report stated that Palestinian refugees in Iraq live in tragic living and economic conditions and are exposed to many and continuous violations as a result of the political changes and events Iraq is witnessing, which have exacerbated their suffering amid UN neglect of their plight..!... They are deprived of the simplest of their human and service rights as refugees, since they do not enjoy any international protection like other Palestinian refugees covered by the records of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), because they are, in fact....not registered in its records..!

- The report added that what doubled their suffering was the cessation of treating them as Iraqi citizens after the Iraqi government revoked Decree No. 202 of 2001, which had stipulated treating the Palestinian refugee as an Iraqi citizen..., which thus deprived them of any legal definition or privilege (according to the report).!

- The report further adds that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cancelled the “rent allowance” for a large number of Palestinian families... which worsened their economic situation.. This led them to threaten to organize an open sit-in and a hunger strike against the UN agency if their humanitarian demands were not met..!

- In this context, activists among Palestinian Iraqis submitted a memorandum to the UN agency, complaining that the agency had not responded proportionately to the scale of the Palestinians’ suffering in Iraq in terms of cash grants, medical and emergency assistance, rent allowances, vocational rehabilitation, etc.

- A specialist on the situation of Palestinian Iraqis, Muhammad Mushinesh, told the Sawa agency that the tightening of restrictions on refugees in Iraq through laws and regulations is still ongoing, and that they are exposed to persecution, discrimination, and restrictions in their homes and livelihoods..!

- Expert Mushinesh added that one of the most prominent aspects of these refugees’ suffering is reflected in their unstable legal status, despite their presence in Iraq for 75 years..!

- Those Palestinians remaining in Iraq find it difficult to obtain job opportunities, which drives them to turn to freelancing—the area in which Palestinians can work—despite also facing continued restrictions in this field. They also work in a dilapidated environment that lacks the minimum elements of life and has exhausted resources... according to Mushinesh’s description..

- The poverty and unemployment rate among Palestinian refugees in Iraq exceeds 60%, amid international and UN neglect of their suffering..

- He added that refugees in Iraq do not possess any valid travel documents..! which deprives many of them of reuniting with their children and expatriate families in other diasporic countries..

- Another Palestinian journalist, named Hassan al-Khalid, also told the Sawa agency that Palestinian refugees have lived since 2017 in a legal vacuum: there is no law regulating their lives, and their affairs are left to an employee or director in Iraqi state departments..!

- The Palestinian journalist adds that the cancellation of Decree 202 resulted in withholding the pension salary from the deceased Palestinian employee’s family and depriving his family of benefiting from it.. in addition to excluding Palestinians from compensation for victims of terrorist acts!

- He also added that Palestinian refugees were deprived of the right to own property even if the property was a single residence... alongside not including Palestinian detainees in the general amnesty law!

- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees... did not only stop the rent allowance program, but five years ago it also halted most of its development projects and the most important of them: providing treatment for patients and cash grants to needy families and households..!

- In addition to all that, all land crossings for travel were closed to them, restricting their external movement to airports, which are high-cost.

- One activist, who preferred not to reveal his identity, added that the Palestinians’ suffering in obtaining work, treatment, or education outside Iraq is subject to new instructions: anyone who has stayed more than one month outside Iraq faces difficulty returning to Iraq and is referred to an investigative council for absence..!

- This activist adds that there are dozens of unreported deaths due to the deterioration of their conditions, and there are some cases of suicide among these refugees.. after all solutions were closed to them..!

- Regarding movements to end the suffering of Palestinian refugees in Iraq, the Palestinian activist says they received many promises from Palestinian figures who visited Iraq about discussing the situation of Palestinians in Iraq as refugees and finding solutions to their suffering!...., but to no avail, for Palestinians did not meet with any official with any Palestinian refugee in Iraq, to hear their problems and suffering..! It is clear that there is an absence of any role by the Palestinian entities, and no solutions have been found to end their suffering, in addition to the continuous tightening measures against them.

- The aforementioned Al-Quds newspaper report adds that there are Palestinian activists who took those burdens upon themselves and moved in more than one direction to alleviate the suffering..despite being besieged by Palestinian parties..!.... according to the Palestinian activist..

- The report added that Palestinian notables submitted a formal request to the UN agency to meet with the Head of International Protection, and in the event of non-response they will organize open sit-ins and hunger and thirst strikes.. in solidarity with the destitute Palestinian refugees who have not been included in UNRWA services since 1984..!