Safe but still vulnerable

Terrorised and persecuted, some of Iraq's Palestinian refugees are being resettled, though even their future remains uncertain, writes Anayat Durrani.

The US government has begun the resettlement of 1,350 Palestinian refugees from Iraq into the United States, marking the largest resettlement of Palestinian refugees ever.

Referred to as "Iraqi-Palestinians", the refugees being resettled in the US are those who fled to Iraq after 1948 but who suffered enormously since former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003. The target of Iraqi Shias, the predominantly Sunni Palestinians have spent several years living in Al-Walid refugee camps in the brutal Iraqi desert near the Syrian border.Palestinian refugees originally arrived in Iraq in 1948 as refugees from Palestine, after the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, and in 1991 when they were expelled from Kuwait. Though treated well under Saddam, after 2003 they were sought out, arrested, beaten, tortured, killed or forced out of their homes and into refugee camps. An estimated 19,000 Palestinians fled Iraq since the US invasion in 2003.

The US resettled only seven Palestinians in 2007 and nine in 2008, a low number considering the US takes in about 80,000 refugees annually and plans to resettle 17,000 Iraqi refugees this year. The 1,350 Palestinians set for resettling in the US now will be processed as refugees from Iraq. Local refugee resettlement networks in various states will receive the refugees who will be resettled in locations such as Kentucky, North Carolina and Illinois.

The US acceptance of the Palestinian refugees has some wondering if the US has finally recognised the Palestinian refugee issue.

"No, the US is not finally recognising or otherwise addressing the Palestinian issue. These refugees from Iraq fell under the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees who has a mandate to uphold refugee rights and to find durable solutions for them," said Elizabeth Campbell, director of the Refugee Council USA.

Campbell said because of their "very precarious situation in the three border camps on the Iraq-Syria border, UNHCR and NGOs advocated early on for their resettlement to third countries." Apart from Al-Walid, the other two camps housing Palestinian refugees are Al-Hol in Syria and Al-Tanf, which lies in the no-man's land between the two countries.

Campbell said Jordan and Syria refused to give admission to the refugees. Campbell said Sweden, Chile and other countries responded quickly. According to Refugees International, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Iceland, Sweden and Norway have resettled Palestinians. "However, it took the US two years to act, and they did so only after extensive lobbying by NGOs," Campbell told Al-Ahram Weekly. "These Palestinians, some 3,000 in total are going to the US, Canada, Australia, many European countries, and Chile."

Campbell adds that the Palestinian experience in Iraq reveals "the saliency of the Palestinian refugee experience and the vulnerability of being stateless." She also added that it shows the "hostility and xenophobia Palestinians face across the Middle East and the world". She said that Palestinians face extreme discrimination in the region, when neighbouring countries take in Iraqis but not Palestinians.

"It is important to note that acquiring citizenship in the US does not undermine the right of return for Palestinians," she said. "It is thus important that Palestinians are able to benefit from the maximum number of rights, whether in Iraq or the US."

The Palestinian refugees are arriving in a time of deep economic crisis in America. Lack of employment opportunities, language barriers, alienation, isolation, and constant worry over family left behind can take its toll.

"Refugees are enrolled in state programmes and other federal programmes to assist in finding employment, supplementing income, etc. The amount of money and the programmes vary from state to state," said Anastasia Brown, director of refugee programmes, migration and refugee services at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. "The agencies also make every effort to connect refugees with their own communities so that they will not feel isolated. The amount of money available seems small, but the programme has been successful for many years and hundreds of thousands of refugees have made a new life in the US."

Palestinian refugees Abu Khaled, 55, and Um Khaled, 53, their 15-year- old daughter and 21-year old son were resettled in El Cajon, California, nearly two years ago. But since settling in San Diego County their experience has been far from what they had expected.

"I didn't expect life in America to be like this. Refugees come with hope and promises, but no promises have been met and there is no hope," said Abu Khaled whose family barely survives on $694 and $400 worth of food stamps.

When they first arrived in the US they said they had nothing, but were helped initially by a local mosque, Abu Baker Mosque. But soon they had to fend for themselves, which has been hard on the family. Son Mahmoud took a job at a grocery store and was paid $2 an hour by a crooked employer -- far below the minimum wage.

Before resettling in the US, the family came from Al-Ruwaished refugee camp in Jordan, where they lived with their other seven children. The camp was closed in 2007 when its inhabitants were resettled to Brazil, Canada and New Zealand, and some were admitted into Jordan by royal decree, according to Refugees International.

Both Abu Khaled and Um Khaled suffer from high blood pressure and other health issues, and their feelings of isolation only exacerbate their health problems. The couple constantly worries about their seven other children: two daughters resettled in Brazil, two daughters in Jordan, and three sons in Al-Walid refugee camp.

"Hopefully with time things are going to change. As of now, things don't look promising for me and my children... hopefully in time it will."

All refugees receive initial reception and placement services by a local agency and up to eight months of assistance by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. After that time they are expected to be employed and self- sufficient. Refugees with medical or other problems are eligible for public assistance or welfare. English as a second language and job training programmes are also offered, explained Campbell. She said that while refugees do receive assistance she believes it is "meagre" and not enough.

Abu Ahmed and Um Ahmed, a couple in their 30s, lived in Baghdad until the fall of Saddam when attacks carried out by death squads against Palestinians became rampant and they were forced to relocate to Al-Walid camp. In mid-September, the couple and their two young children were resettled in San Diego, near Abu Ahmed's sister, Um Khaled. Local volunteers of Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, have tirelessly worked to raise money, collect items and visit the family. On one of their meetings with the family, Um Ahmed recounted how back in Baghdad at a restaurant where her husband worked gangsters suddenly came in and shot and killed his boss. They then blindfolded Abu Ahmed and threw him in the back of a jeep and drove several hours into the desert where they tortured him and left him for dead. After a few days, Abu Ahmed wandered home and immediately took his family out of Baghdad. They resided in Al-Walid for the next two and a half years.

"The Palestinians from Iraq have suffered from torture, detention, arbitrary arrest, and have witnessed extreme violence and murder of family members," said Campbell. "They will need a lot of support, which may not be forthcoming."

Assistance from the local Arab and Muslim community is crucial for the resettlement of these families, something Mazen Al-Moukdad of Al-Awda-Orange County chapter knows very well. Al-Moukdad has driven out to the families on more than five occasions, and delivered furniture and other donations to them. Al-Moukdad, who immigrated to the US from Syria as a student 31 years ago, feels a kinship with the refugees. Above all, he feels it is his duty as a human being to help out. "I believe in Allah, that is first and foremost."