• Text size Normal size text | Increase text size by 10% | Increase text size by 20% | Increase text size by 30%

Palestinians bid goodbye to India, hello Sweden

News Stories, 11 November 2008

© UNHCR/N.Bose
Reason to Smile: Thaier and his family will remember India fondly as they start a new life in Sweden.

NEW DELHI, India, November 11 (UNHCR) – More than 100 Palestinian refugees from Iraq are leaving India in the first large-scale resettlement of Palestinian refugees from outside the Middle East.

A total of 137 Palestinian refugees who fled Baghdad for India have been accepted for resettlement by Sweden. So far, 91 have left for Sweden; the rest are due to leave in the next six months. Another 10 left for Norway earlier this year.

Within the community, the mood today is noticeably different from before. Back in Iraq, like other Palestinians after the regime change of 2003, they had been targeted and persecuted. Kidnappings were routine, as were midnight knocks on the door in Palestinian homes. Their shops were torched, their homes looted and bombed. They fled terror and the first groups reached India in March 2006.

Their initial desperation was palpable. Thaier, then aged 38, made an emotional plea to UNHCR staff in New Delhi: "Give us a desert, we will make it fertile. If resettlement countries do not want to take Palestinian men, take women and children. At least I know my family will be safe and will have a future."

Two years later, he and his family have reason to smile again. "We got the news of our acceptance by Sweden on my son Salah's birthday," he said. "I want to forget the miseries and sufferings in Iraq. In Sweden, I will have a home. This will protect me and will ensure the future of my family."

His wife Nihad, 37, looked forward to a new citizenship and dreams of opening a beauty parlour. "I will call it 'Jamila'," she said. "It means a beautiful woman in Arabic." Eighteen-year-old Salah, guitar in hand, said he wanted to be a famous musician someday. His younger brother Mohammad, 11, added, "I want to be like other children in the world and be able to do my hobbies. One day, I will play football for Sweden."

Palestinians Muhanid, 25, and Bassim Ali, 42, were among the first to leave in September. "This is the end of my suffering. I feel like a human being again. I will be a citizen, I will have a country to protect me," said Muhanid before he left. "I am so, so happy. I came from death, I am going to life," added Bassim.

Ashraf, 36, his wife Gadah, 31, and their three young children are excited about leaving India, though in the short time they have been here, they have made friends whom they will miss. "My neighbour began to cry when she heard that I will be leaving soon. I felt the same. I will miss her and others – I trusted them," said Gadah.

Ashraf is a baker by profession. In Sweden, he hopes to open his own bakery, selling Arabic and French bread: "I will call it 'A New Life'."

Most of the Palestinian refugees from Iraq were unable to find work in India as they spoke only Arabic. Some were employed by UNHCR's non-governmental partners. Yet all had a wish-list of places to see – the Taj Mahal, Kashmir, Goa, Mysore and Mumbai.

"When we have passports and money, we will come back to see the Taj Mahal," said Thaier. Many would visit New Delhi's heritage monuments. "There are many beautiful sights – the Jama Masjid, Qutab Minar. This is the culture of India, this is its history. I will always remember Indian people," said Bassim.

There is genuine appreciation for the asylum granted by India. "India received us and welcomed us. I will never forget this stage of our lives – it is the first step of our new life. We'll take good memories," said Ashraf.

In New Delhi, all refugees have access to primary health care, free of charge at government hospitals, some of which are very good. Safana, 28, said, "My daughter was born prematurely at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The doctors were excellent. Had she been born in Iraq, she would not be alive."

Refugee children are welcome in government schools and most refugees have access to work in India's vast informal labour sector.

In India, Palestinian refugees from Baghdad – numbering 165 – are among a total of 11,400 refugees under UNHCR's protection and assistance. The bulk of them (8,500) are Afghan. There are also approximately 2,000 refugees from Myanmar and some 900 refugees with nationalities such as Somali, Iranian, Sudanese and Palestinians from Baghdad.

What the Palestinians lacked in India was a sense of belonging. Perhaps more than any other community, they long for a homeland, a country to call their own. Resettlement gives them that opportunity. "We dream of Sweden. How will people receive us? We will be good citizens and will do our best there," said Ashraf, echoing the sentiments of all those who are being resettled now.

By Nayana Bose in New Delhi, India

• DONATE NOW • • GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

 

Related stories by:

UNHCR country pages

UNHCR Iraq Fact Sheet

Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf) residents and the determination of their refugee status claims

Integration Handbook: Refugee Resettlement

A relevant handbook on the reception and integration of resettled refugees.

UNHCR-NGO Toolkit for Practical Cooperation on Resettlement

A repository for exchanging ideas on resettlement partnerships, June 2011.

Resettlement

An alternative for those who cannot go home, made possible by UNHCR and governments.

UNHCR Resettlement Handbook and Country Chapters

July 2011 edition of the UNHCR Resettlement Handbook.

Palestinians Refugees in Iraq

Since the overthrow in 2003 of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, Palestinian refugees in Baghdad have increasingly become the targets of arrest, kidnapping, threats and murder, prompting thousands to flee the capital.

There are still an estimated 15,000 Palestinians in Iraq – compared to more than double that number in 2003. They live in constant fear, many without proper documentation. For those who try to leave, the trip to Iraq's border with Syria and Jordan is increasingly dangerous. Hundreds are stuck at the Iraq-Syrian border, too scared to go back and unable to cross the frontier. Those who do manage to leave Iraq, often do so illegally.

International support is urgently needed to find a temporary humanitarian solution for the Palestinians. UNHCR has repeatedly appealed to the international community and countries in the region to offer refuge to the Palestinians. The refugee agency has also approached resettlement countries, but only Canada and Syria have responded positively. Syria has since closed its borders to other desperate Palestinians.

UNHCR also advocates for better protection of the Palestinian community inside Iraq.

Palestinians Refugees in Iraq

Crisis in Iraq: Displacement

UNHCR and its partners estimate that out of a total population of 26 million, some 1.9 million Iraqis are currently displaced internally and more than 2 million others have fled to nearby countries. While many people were displaced before 2003, increasing numbers of Iraqis are now fleeing escalating sectarian, ethnic and general violence. Since January 2006, UNHCR estimates that more than 800,000 Iraqis have been uprooted and that 40,000 to 50,000 continue to flee their homes every month. UNHCR anticipates there will be approximately 2.3 million internally displaced people within Iraq by the end of 2007. The refugee agency and its partners have provided emergency assistance, shelter and legal aid to displaced Iraqis where security has allowed.

In January 2007, UNHCR launched an initial appeal for US$60 million to fund its Iraq programme. Despite security issues for humanitarian workers inside the country, UNHCR and partners hope to continue helping up to 250,000 of the most vulnerable internally displaced Iraqis and their host communities

Posted on 12 June 2007

Crisis in Iraq: Displacement

Non-Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

After Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled in Iraq in 2003, groups of refugees who had lived in the country for many years tried to leave the chaos and lawlessness that soon ensued. Hundreds of people started fleeing to the border with Jordan, including Palestinians in Baghdad and Iranian Kurds from the Al Tash refugee camp in central Iraq.

Aside from a few Palestinians with family connections inside the neighbouring country, the refugees were refused entry and free movement in Jordan. Thousands were soon stranded in the no-man's land between Iraq and Jordan or at the desert camp of Ruweished, located 60 kilometres inside Jordan.

Since 2003, Palestinians, Iranian Kurds, Iranians, Sudanese and Somalis have been living there and suffering the scorching heat and freezing winters of the Jordanian desert. UNHCR and its partners have provided housing and assistance and tried to find solutions – the agency has helped resettle more than 1,000 people in third countries. At the beginning of 2007, a total of 119 people – mostly Palestinians – remained in Ruweished camp without any immediate solution in sight.

Posted on 20 February 2007

Non-Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

Sri Lanka: Home At LastPlay video

Sri Lanka: Home At Last

Grace Selvarani has lived in a refugee camp in India for the past two decades. Today, the Sri Lankan is delighted to be going back home by boat with more than 40 other refugees.
India/Sri Lanka: A Ferry Ride HomePlay video

India/Sri Lanka: A Ferry Ride Home

For the first time in many years, Sri Lankan refugees are returning home from India by ferry.
India: Young and AlonePlay video

India: Young and Alone

Ni Ang, 16, scrounges in Delhi's night market to feed herself and her three younger siblings. The children are struggling to survive by themselves in India after fleeing their village in Myanmar.