More than 3,000 Palestinian refugees are currently cut off from
the rest of the world in dire conditions without access to
adequate humanitarian assistance.
In March 2008, Amnesty International delegates met with
Palestinian refugees stranded in al-Tanf camp in no-man’s land
between the borders of Iraq and Syria.
Al-Tanf camp, a narrow strip of land wedged between a concrete
wall and the main transit road from Baghdad to Damascus, is dry
and dusty. Temperatures soar to 50ºC in summer and plunge to
below freezing in winter.
The camp accommodates hundreds of Palestinian refugees seeking to
flee from Iraq, where they were formerly long term residents. Palestinians
have been among those particularly targeted for sectarian killings and violence.
Overcrowded tents are the only protection from the heat, the snow and
the blinding sandstorms. Danger is everywhere, especially for the children.
The land is infested with scorpions and snakes.
The school tents are unprotected from the busy highway, which has
already claimed the life of a boy knocked down by a truck.
According to residents who spoke to Amnesty International delegates
visiting the camp in March 2008, heating and cooking systems in the
tents regularly cause fires that destroy tents – 42 tents in all so far.
Despite the unsafe and harsh conditions at al-Tanf, the number of
Palestinian refugees from Iraq in the camp is growing as Palestinians
who entered Syria on false passports are identified and deported to
the camp. Many camp residents described to Amnesty International
the horrific events that prompted them to flee Iraq and have left
them traumatized.
The people in al-Tanf are also traumatized by the harsh conditions in
the camp and the fear that they may be stuck there for many more
years. One resident pleaded with Amnesty International delegates to
"save us from this hell."
In addition, some 2000 Palestinian refugees are at al-Waleed camp in
the Iraqi desert, facing even greater hardship as access by aid
organizations and the UN Refugee Agency is extremely difficult.
Their living conditions are dire and the only solution to their plight
is resettlement to a third country.
As of February 2008, almost 300 other Palestinians were in al-Hol camp
at al-Hassakah, north-east Syria; most were moved there from the
Iraq-Jordan border in May 2006.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) believes
resettlement in third countries is the only possible durable solution for
the Palestinians from Iraq at the present time. While hundreds of
thousands of refugees have fled from Iraq to Syria and Jordan, both
countries have generally barred the entry of Palestinian refugees from Iraq.
The Chilean government has offered to resettle an initial group of 116
Palestinians from al-Tanf. So far some 64 have arrived in Chile with
the remaining group due to follow shortly.
A number of other governments outside the Middle East are
reported to have said that they will resettle some of al-Tanf’s
residents, but the refugees’ plight is desperate and resettlement
to a safe third country cannot come quickly enough.
Amnesty International has launched a global campaign to draw attention to
the plight of Palestinian refugees from Iraq highlighting the need for
immediate action.
The organization has asked its members and supporters to call for
urgent international help in resettling these Palestinians and other
particularly vulnerable refugees from Iraq.
Download interviews with some of the refugees in the camp:
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