Palestinians in Iraq: First four cases of medical evacuations to Syria
Briefing Notes, 3 August 2007
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 3 August 2007, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Following weeks of appeals for the urgent medical evacuation from Iraq of seriously ill Palestinians – most of them children – we are pleased to report that Syrian authorities on Wednesday allowed the first four into Syria to receive much needed medical aid. The four patients – aged between 2 and 21 – are suffering from severe diabetes, paralysis, Hodgkin's disease and heart problems. They have been stranded in Al Waleed refugee camp on the Iraqi side of the border for months without proper medical attention.
The four are now in very critical condition and we greatly appreciate this decision by Syrian authorities. Two will be allowed to remain in Syria, with some family members, while undergoing urgently needed medical care. The other two will travel on to third countries, where they will receive more specialised care. UNHCR on Wednesday transported the four cases to medical facilities. We will be monitoring and funding the medical care, lodging and rehabilitation process.
At least 16 other critical Palestinian cases still remain in Al Waleed camp and Baghdad, where access to specialised medical care is impossible or such care simply unavailable. They include a 3-year-old suffering from severe and painful skin rash, a 1-year-old with serious urinary problems; a 2-year-old suffering from cerebral palsy and several others. We continue our search for urgent solutions to get these children out, as most of them might die or be handicapped for life if they don't get proper care soon.
In the meantime, conditions in Al Waleed and Al Tanf border camps remain dire for the more than 1,550 Palestinians stranded there. In recent weeks, temperatures rose to nearly 50ºC, making daily life nearly unbearable. UNHCR has procured some 90 small fridges – one per family tent – and tent coolers. UNHCR continues to appeal for urgent solutions for the Palestinians at the border and in Baghdad – an estimated 15,000 – who are being targeted, killed, kidnapped and threatened. They have no possibility to leave Iraq as they are not accepted anywhere – unlike other persecuted Iraqis who can still flee to neighbouring countries and further afield. So far the response of the world has been minimal and we remain extremely concerned about their fate.
The internally displaced of Iraq
Eight years after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, over 1.5 million people remain displaced throughout Iraq, including 500,000 who live in dire conditions in settlements or public buildings. For these very vulnerable people, daily life is a struggle with limited access to clean water, electricity, heath services or schools for their children. Many families who live illegally in informal settlements are at risk of eviction. Most of the internally displaced fled their homes because of sectarian violence which erupted in 2006 following the bombing of the Al-Askari shrine in Samarra. UNHCR works with the Government of Iraq on projects such as land allocation; shelter assistance and house reconstruction to try to find long term solutions for the displaced.
The internally displaced of Iraq
Al Tanf: Leaving No Man's Land
In February 2010, the last 60 Palestinian inhabitants of the squalid camp of Al Tanf on the Syria-Iraq border were ushered onto buses and taken to another camp in Syria.
Al Tanf camp was established in May 2006, when hundreds of Palestinians fleeing persecution in Iraq tried in vain to cross into Syria. With no country willing to accept them, they remained on a strip of desert sandwiched between a busy highway and a wall in the no-man's-land between Iraq and Syria.
Along with daily worries about their security, the residents of Al Tanf suffered from heat, dust, sandstorms, fire, flooding and even snow. The passing vehicles posed another danger. At its peak, Al Tanf hosted some 1,300 people.
UNHCR encouraged resettlement countries to open their doors to the Palestinians. Since 2008, more than 900 of them have been accepted by countries such as Belgium, Chile, Finland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The last group of Palestinians were transferred to Al Hol camp in Syria, where they face continuing restrictions and uncertainty.
Al Tanf: Leaving No Man's Land
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie meets Iraqi refugees in Syria
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie returned to the Syrian capital Damascus on 2 October, 2009 to meet Iraqi refugees two years after her last visit. The award-winning American actress, accompanied by her partner Brad Pitt, took the opportunity to urge the international community not to forget the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees who remain in exile despite a relative improvement in the security situation in their homeland. Jolie said most Iraqi refugees cannot return to Iraq in view of the severe trauma they experienced there, the uncertainty linked to the coming Iraqi elections, the security issues and the lack of basic services. They will need continued support from the international community, she said. The Goodwill Ambassador visited the homes of two vulnerable Iraqi families in the Jaramana district of southern Damascus. She was particularly moved during a meeting with a woman from a religious minority who told Jolie how she was physically abused and her son tortured after being abducted earlier this year in Iraq and held for days. They decided to flee to Syria, which has been a generous host to refugees.
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie meets Iraqi refugees in Syria
Iraq: Harsh Living
There are more than 350 settlements for internally displaced people in Iraq.The living conditions in most of them are dire.
Iraq: Brick by Brick
In Iraq, where more than 2 million people remain displaced, UNHCR has launched a home renovation project to assist returns.
Angelina Jolie in Iraq
During a day-long visit to Baghdad, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visited a makeshift settlement for internally displaced people in the Chikook suburb of north-west Baghdad where she met with four families displaced from the district of Abu Ghraib and from the western suburbs of the Iraqi capital.
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