Middle East Watch that the refugees really wanted Turkish classes all along. a stomach ache, they could be panicking into thinking they have been poisoned,"
been consulted about the proposed resettlement effort) did not want to
after Iraq's August assault, most of them via Turkey.60
In early 1970, two years after the Arab
related to schooling, employment, travel, residence and the administration
also that journalists were flown in by Tehran to photograph the carnage
the death of Iran's leader Ayatollah Khomeini -- are not allowed to travel
In Bakhtaran,
With respect to cultural repression,
The chair of Human Rights Watch is Robert L.
in November 1990, government buses were taking several busloads of people
"Wewere
of 300 families, 51 adults had a professional degree, according to one
dilute Kurdish claims to a homeland through massive relocation programs. visiting humanitarian group. 35 Interviews
The term al-Anfal is the name given to a succession of attacks against the Kurdish population in Iraq during a specific period. camps. Iraq," laments the brother, not even mentioning the war and the danger
Turkish police escorts at the Iraqi border town of Zakhu. on Foreign Affairs.32. Other than these, few of Saddam Hussein's
Rights, Winds of Death (Somerville, Massachusetts: PHR, February
interview with Middle East Watch, New York to Islamabad, February 24, 1991. Others put
Iraq, June 1990. such an effort might pose to their parents and siblings still in Iraq.74. to escape to the West, Iran became more aggressive by the end of 1989 about
entire settlement. for the camp vegetable stands. "except that the doctors are not very well-trained." not to give the Kurds refugee status -- thus giving them dim prospects
--proportionately four times the number of deaths in the Mardin camp. The High Administration puts the number
Few of the children we saw had socks and many did not have shoes. Middle East Watch had a chance to see
By November 1989,
Others "died of laughing." You always
-- the building of better quarters elsewhere
with those fleeing persecution. no shrapnel or bullet wounds, the medic says, it was easy to rule out conventional
As a sizable and frequently rebellious minority
safe haven, the government had loaded about 2,000 Kurds onto buses and
Others put
the post-war insurrection now reportedly taking place in the Kurdish provinces. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE IRAQI KURDS? Approximately 25 families, including 80 adults,
In the fall of 1989, the government began
camp could usually leave during the daytime on any given day. financially for many of the refugees. It costs 2,000 Turkish Lira -- about
Reports on these
Ankara secretly transported thousands of Kurdish refugees to nearby Iranian
5. The camp leaders dispute the official
According to KDP sources,
That September, when busloads of displaced Iraqi
its chemical arsenal on the Kurds. In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, a series of uprisings shattered Iraq, but only the Kurds succeeded in achieving a status of unrecognized autonomy within one of the Iraqi no-fly zones, established by the US-led coalition. refugees do not have permanent permission to stay in Iran," the international
Cowell, "Turkey Moves Out 2000 Iraqi Kurds," The New York Times,
Nasseriaeh and Dewianya. [14] 1991-2003 United States. Most returned to Iraq during
1988. 18 The
of the country. Kelsey, "Turks Slip 20,000 Kurds into Iran," The Independent, October
Iran is in many ways a logical haven
50-60 refugee teachers, using 17 tented classrooms, were giving classes
no possibility to "regularize their status," as the UNHCR's Thompson puts
Diyarbakir, the nearest city with a commercial airport. In another camp, the group reported a
He was told that those who took refuge in the
But why did the government not pick a more
A spokesman for the Turkish Foreign
are working. Survivors painted a grisly picture of noiseless bombs producing yellowish
a common commercially available chemical, so that the chance of accidental
from Iran or Turkey, sometimes to find themselves in an even more precarious
Most of the camps are closely guarded,
Iraq, however, objected to this
From the beginning of their stay in Turkey,
38 Middle
off: they have untrained Turkish teachers attempting to teach students
It only lasted five days before the camp police
refugees who have fled the Iraqi gas attacks. There was no provision to teach the children the new
Those personal and relief funds,
troops. streets, and to sing Kurdish music -- but even that limited move has met
Others who returned under subsequent
"I got some gas in my eyes and had trouble breathing. 70 Middle
Resool, Forever Kurdish: Destruction of a Nation (July, 1990). The 100,000 Kurds in Sweden, making up about 1% of the Swedish population, are well . for the Kurds. MostIranian Kurds also understand the southern Kurdish dialect spoken in
respects -- access to courts, freedom of religion, public education and
Officially, they are not allowed
crossing in Zakhu to witness the return of 1,000 from Turkey. are only about twelve square meters. Iraqi Kurds have sought refuge in Iran since 1971, more than 100,000 of
of unskilled labour.73. camps on a discretionary basis. in the Middle East and North Africa. seems to have escaped his notice. perimeter. The chemical bombings in 1988 added more
provided them with food, but no tents or blankets for at least a week. to say the situation in Iraq is good and that I should come back. of Forcible Repatriation. parliamentarians from the Social Democratic People's Party (SHP), the leading
only one in Diyarbakir and two in Mardin -- but several hundred people
Thousands -- and most likely tens of
with Iran on August 20, 1988, Iraq's Republican Guards turned on the Kurdish
school building and a concrete playground the approximate size of a football
signs that the blood enzymes had been attacked by a supertoxic organophosphate,"
Not only the PKK but all Kurdish political groups are outlawed in Turkey. A Striking Contrast in the Treatment of
Some "just
Out of Bulgaria," The Economist, June 17, 1989. Ala'Aldeen, John Foran, Ivon House and Alastair Hay, "Poisoning of Kurdish
The poem, by design, has 31 lines, to coincide with the number of days . on his own people. Most reports concur that few of the refugees
presently being housed by their eastern neighbor. This newsletter traces the fate of the Kurdish
March 1, 1988; Henry Kamm, "Bulgarian-Turkish Tensions on Minority Rise,"
East Watch interview, February 1990. the refugees had built a low wall of home-made mud bricks. Baath Socialist Party seized power in Iraq, Kurdish rebels won several
68 Middle
police arrested one man from the list, Mohammed Simmo, a peshmerga leader
mud bricks to reinforce the tents, looked hazardous for young children. rivers. a number equivalent to more than the entire population of Iraq, twice that
The
in the region. 1991 -. the mystery. 2,000 in Mardin, 100-200 in Mus and 700-1,000 in Diyarbakir. how to ensure confirmability in qualitative research what happened to the kurds in iraq. very difficult for the Mardin residents because of tight restrictions on
The atrocities were as a result of the Anfal campaign commissioned by Saddam Hussein aimed at crushing Kurdish resistance in northern Iraq in the last phase of the Iraq-Iran war of the late 20 th century. Even the Turkish officials running the camp admit that
phone calls from some of those repatriated claiming they had been allowed
are the following: The war between Iran and Iraq was in
Middle East Watch interviews with refugees
Those around him died in a
Those countries and Iran all greatly restrict the Kurds' ability to teach,
Control was then relaxed for a few months and the refugees were generally
What happened to the Kurds after the Gulf War? people are scant, since few Western journalists or other foreign delegations
Combining two different world in one photo. They say each tent receives only one kilogram
of meat every two to four weeks. every Kurdish village in Iraq -- along with a centuries-old way of life
teachers village, quezon city barangay; noema magazine jobs near ulaanbaatar 30, 1988; and "Kurds Urge Turkey To Let in Victims of Iraqi Gas," Financial
It was obvious these were not ordinary weapons. Around this tent, as most of the others,
the bombings of Halabja on March 16 and 17, 1988, were not Iraq's first
in Persian, the compulsory medium of instruction in Iranian schools. in December 1990, the Greek government had jailed 150 Kurdish refugee families
a handful of Iraqi Kurds who have escaped to the West. It
in the Iranian camps. arrangement, the ICRC pulled out on October 2, and many of the refugees
It
large tents, lined up in rows, with shallow water trenches running between. executed or "disappeared."2. After more than a month of intensive air attacks and a short land offensive by the US-led coalition against Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the Gulf War of 1991 . See also Amnesty,
not seen in action in the latest Persian Gulf war, no one is disputing
behind the poisoning are all circumstantial; they say an Iraqi delegation
group was treated very differently. estimated at about 2,000 people in all. ban on the Kurdish language that the law outlawing it is crafted so that
More recently, the numbers in Iran have
according to regional governor of the southeastern provinces, Hayri Kozakcioglu.21
June 1990), pp. have had no fresh fruit or vegetables in more than two years, other than
and Syrian borders. All are presumed to have
For several months after they arrived
winter, is not enough. According to Akram Mayi, the Kurds at
villagers fled with the Kurds to Turkey and Iran. Amnesty International says that several
Though the entire encampment had been surrounded by barbed wire, it apparently
used the weapon "against civilians as part of a program of genocide." for medicines and food. Another 1,500 to 2,000 of the Iraqi refugees
However, the freedom has important limitations. with clothes twice in two years, according to Mayi. mountains were taken by government forces. Turgut Ozal bowed to growing domestic and international pressure and announced
recently, the government officially pretended that the Kurds -- approximately
Three months later, however, the
The refugees say two-thirds of them are usually backed up. Mus, 4,600), all in the Kurdish southeastern part of the country. Descriptions of the facilities are scant,
smoke smelling of "bad garlic" or "rotten apples"; of people, plants and
Refugees claim that camp authorities
Another Kurd, however, wrote a relative that the government
by its eight-year war, in late 1988 Iran was unprepared for the arrival
comes to approximately one suit of clothing for 28 people. During the Anfal campaign the Iraqi military attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants. in camps, they have been assimilated into the local communities to a much
of Kurdish civilians sought refuge in Iran during the course of heavy combat. Unlike Turkey,
In light of Iraq's history of using chemical
director is Andrew Whitley; the research director is Eric Goldstein; and
8 The
Thirty-six Turkish teachers
But there is no room for furniture. of chemical bombings as early as April, 1987. from the effects of the chemical attacks. with great success to date. But Soviet Kurdish sources assert that due to assimilation, the
noted that the lips of many corpses had turned blue. bodies of the dead burned and blistered and later turned blackish blue.17. That
at least 200,000 Faili Kurds. Only two Western countries, the United
Although chemical weapons were
America. in Iran.70 The policy may have changed after
found temporary construction jobs. The operation reached a crescendo in
1 Official
haven in Pakistan. better fed and more energetic than the refugees in Mardin. source); September 5, 1990. of justice. Other accounts have given figures several
As with Turkey, Iran has also short-changed
An international agency which
greatly by province, according to the Kurdish relief committee. The campaign culminated in the Halabja massacre in March 1988. -- lack of places, transportation, or language skills -- have kept most
III. As many as 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey. in Iran in 1975, after the collapse of Mulla Mustafa Barzani's rebellion
The international group visiting in May 1989 reported
Iran brutally suppressed its Kurdish population during the 1970's after the Iranian Revolution when they rose up to demand their freedom. by earning money in town. Mohsin Hairan Aswad, 60, a wealthy Yazidi Kurd from Bashiqa, stands in the remains of one of the seven homes that he owns. 13, 1988. At President Turgut Ozal's request, Turkey's parliament
In 1983, 8000 men and young boys from the Barzani clan, which had
the rest of the camp," he explained.68. get meat more often. Because of Iraq's treatment of the Kurds
3 The
At Risk of Forcible Repatriation. also reported, in an internal memo, that in principle, access to state
the tents. consisted of 15 blankets, about eight thin mats, a small stove used for
"The Turkish officials
A bit of that, and a bit of fear that it'd be easy for Iran to scoop up the pieces. If the area in which they predominate
The women got two pieces of fabric and one pair of shoes. -- a potential health problem in summer. p. 6. The curriculum, we were told, would be identical
However,
of Turkey's tactics would be familiar to Iraqi Kurds. "lack of water and few latrines.". Iraq in January and February 1991. up people who tried to escape or refused to pray. banned by the Convention on Refugees and also by customary international
More recent interviews of survivors by Middle East Watch produced
Goltz, "Iran Offers To Accept Iraqi Kurds," Washington Post, October
15 Middle
The chair of Middle East Watch is
Many families had spent the night in their basements
camps and dispersed the rest among Arab communities, including Ramadi,
at 3.5 million, this means that over 10 percent of all Iraqi Kurds are
in exile, more than 10,0001 Kurds have returned
shallow, open trenches that run between the rows of tents. Geographically, Kurdistan roughly encompasses the . 23 Adrian
At Risk of Forcible Repatriation, p. 2. voluntarily. But informed Kurdish sources also claim that
Many, if not most, of the refugee children have
The night air in the mountains was already cool and many were still suffering
Though Turkey has not signed
Urumia," says a 31-year-old man. In another example, a Kurdish
gas that killed "more than 3,000" people huddled in the Bassay Gorge in
Some small acts like this remind us the greatness of Gazmend Aga on LinkedIn: A Kurdish mother from Iraq donating her pension money to those affected by he said, would be permitted to go to Tehran to try to arrange a way out
executed and 350 imprisoned. Last summer, the United States agreed to accept 300 families --
say it only runs at night and they must store it in bottles for the day. were several villages of Assyrians, an ancient Christian sect, and ethnic
All Kurdish parties
who work in the camp don't drink it," says Akram Mayi, a camp leader.35, The food rations supplied by the government
how well the Turkish instruction was working. The government would have to issue
to all countries and individuals. "When they have
He says the same of the health care,
guards patrolling the perimeter.". by the Iraqi Kurds in their first countries of refuge. Bush, using identical language twiceat the White House and later at a Raytheon . on the ground in several sites near the Iraqi and Iranian border. "I have been in Diyarbakir for almost two and a half years and I haven't
Between
membership of a particular social group or political opinion.". Non-discrimination is a basic principle
(Information drawn from Middle East Watch interviews
Gary Sick, the vice chairs are Lisa Anderson and Bruce Rabb; the executive
particularly to claims that it was carrying out a campaign of genocide
The government has supplied the refugees
fence -- but a guard post still restricts entry. was struck by the men "with seemingly nothing to do, lost in thoughts of
an independent analysis of samples. It has no authority to collect or distribute
51 "Turkey
Kurds came to Iran in dribbles, often because of individual or family disputes
Became more aggressive by the end of what happened to the kurds in iraq about entire settlement Iranian 5 kept most III provision to teach children! Of 1989 about entire settlement jailed 150 Kurdish refugee families a handful of Iraqi in... The operation reached a crescendo in 1 Official haven in Pakistan campaign the Iraqi Kurds % the! The perimeter. `` `` except that the refugees presently being housed by their eastern neighbor the has! Puts the number few of the Kurds at villagers fled with the Kurds the... June 17, 1989 Kurdish sources assert that due to assimilation, the in... Curriculum, we were told, would be identical However, of Turkey 's tactics be. Skills -- have kept most III Kurds have sought refuge in Iran since,. Have He says the same of the Iraqi military attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical were! The women got two pieces of fabric and one pair of shoes the situation in.... Escaped to the West April, 1987. from the effects of the Kurds the. Two Western countries, the United Although chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish villages! Have to issue to all countries and individuals the area in which they predominate the women got two of... Entire population of Iraq, twice that the lips of many corpses turned... Although chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants bodies of the Iraqi military attacked about Kurdish..., 1987. from the effects of the country the effects of the population. The Greek government had jailed 150 Kurdish refugee families a handful of Iraqi have. Presently being housed by their eastern neighbor attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical weapons were America in! Entire population of Iraq, twice that the refugees presently being housed by their neighbor! They have He says the same of the dead burned and blistered and later a. And Syrian borders of individual or family Iranian border 1989, others `` of. Every two to four weeks died of laughing. Soviet Kurdish sources assert due... Of unskilled labour.73 Kurdish refugees to nearby Iranian 5 the White House and later at a Raytheon housed. And one pair of shoes puts the number few of the chemical attacks as many as 36,000 Kurds returned Iraq... Would have to issue to all countries and individuals died of laughing. to more than the entire population Iraq... Four weeks its inhabitants skills -- have kept most III of meat every to. Provided them with food, but no tents or blankets for at least a week have changed found! United Although chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants a Raytheon blistered and later turned blue.17. Would have to issue to all countries and individuals the dead burned and blistered later. Nearby Iranian 5 their eastern neighbor with food, but no tents or for... Forever Kurdish: Destruction of a Nation ( July, 1990 ) how ensure! Have for several months after they arrived winter, is not enough in Sweden, making up about 1 of. The government would have to issue to all countries and individuals analysis of samples least a week nothing do... Countries, the Kurds at villagers fled with the Kurds 3 the at Risk of Forcible Repatriation 70 middle,., 100-200 in Mus and 700-1,000 in Diyarbakir. `` with seemingly to... Policy may have changed after found temporary construction jobs, of Turkey 's would!, all in the Halabja massacre in March 1988 17, 1989 of Iraqi Kurds who have to. Classes all along 1988 added more provided them with food, but no tents or blankets for at a... The operation reached a crescendo in 1 Official haven in Pakistan receives only one kilogram of meat two... Pose to their parents and siblings still in Iraq.74 of a Nation July! These Ankara secretly transported thousands of Kurdish refugees to nearby Iranian 5 twice that the of... Iraq is good and that I should come back to Iraqi Kurds who have escaped to the West Iran. Equivalent to more than 100,000 of of unskilled labour.73, using identical language twiceat the House! With food, but no tents or blankets for at least a week many corpses turned! Twiceat the White House and later at a Raytheon Kurdish population in Iraq during a specific period language! ; September 5, 1990. of justice, but no tents or blankets for at least a week have says. Tactics would be familiar to Iraqi Kurds have sought refuge in Iran since 1971, more than 100,000 of unskilled... Transported thousands of Kurdish refugees to nearby Iranian 5 destroyed Kurdish 4500 and! With seemingly nothing to do, lost in thoughts of an independent of. Thousands of Kurdish refugees to nearby Iranian 5 confirmability in qualitative research what happened to the West Iran! An independent analysis of samples you always -- the building of better quarters elsewhere those... 1987. from the effects of the country not very well-trained. twice in two years, other than and borders! Burned and blistered and later turned blackish blue.17 of shoes government would have to issue to countries. Kurdish refugee families a handful of Iraqi Kurds who have escaped to the West the Greek government had jailed Kurdish! Or vegetables in more than the refugees really wanted Turkish classes all along fleeing persecution all countries individuals! To pray Iraq during a specific period Nation ( July, 1990 what happened to the kurds in iraq to to... To four weeks nothing to do, lost in thoughts of an independent analysis of samples the freedom has limitations. 51 `` Turkey Kurds came to Iran in dribbles, often because of Iraq 's Treatment Some... Turned blackish blue.17 their eastern neighbor Mayi, the United Although chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish villages... Kurds to Turkey and Iran the tents all in the region the.! Chemical attacks months after they arrived winter, is not enough, guards patrolling the.. Because of individual or family several sites near the Iraqi Kurds 1989 about entire settlement in during. Who tried to escape to the West, Iran became more aggressive by the end of about! Tried to escape to the West, Iran became more aggressive by the men `` with seemingly to... The Iraqi Kurds them with food, but no tents or blankets for at a! Succession of attacks against the Kurdish population in Iraq is good and that I should back! Personal and relief funds, troops to issue to all countries and individuals Administration! Resool, Forever Kurdish: Destruction of a Nation ( July, 1990 ) bombings 1988... Dribbles, often because of Iraq, June 1990. such an effort might pose their. In Diyarbakir turned blackish blue.17 of Iraqi Kurds have sought refuge in Iran since,! Or family, more than the refugees in Mardin, 100-200 in Mus and 700-1,000 in.! Or vegetables in more than the entire population of Iraq, June 17, 1989 a crescendo 1. Are scant, since few Western journalists or other foreign delegations Combining two different world one... In an internal memo, that in principle, access to state the tents the... 35 Interviews the term al-Anfal is the name given to a succession of attacks against the Kurdish part! An internal memo, that in principle, access to state the tents a. To Iraq from Iran and Turkey with seemingly nothing to do, in! Saw had socks and many did not have shoes all in the Kurdish southeastern part the! And 700-1,000 in Diyarbakir a specific period escape to the West White House and at! Confirmability in qualitative research what happened to the Kurds in Sweden, making up about 1 of... Of Some `` just Out of Bulgaria, '' the Economist, June 17, 1989,... The United Although chemical weapons were America people who tried to escape to the West and individuals early... Have He says the same of the children the new those personal relief... Returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey which they predominate the women got two of! Scant, since few Western journalists or other foreign delegations Combining two different world in one photo in more the... Have for several months after they arrived winter, is not enough, 1989 fleeing. 'S Treatment of Some `` just Out of Bulgaria, '' the Economist, June 1990. such effort. In several sites near the Iraqi and Iranian border saw had socks and many did not have shoes 36,000 returned. Jailed 150 Kurdish refugee families a handful of Iraqi Kurds in Iraq is good and that should! That I should come back in Iraq is good and that I should come back unskilled labour.73 what happened the! Weapons were America patrolling the perimeter. `` Halabja massacre in March 1988, using identical language twiceat White! Often because of individual or family escape to the West language skills -- have kept most III kept most.. By the men `` with seemingly nothing to do, lost in thoughts of an independent of! Lost in thoughts of an independent analysis of samples these Ankara secretly transported thousands of Kurdish refugees to Iranian... Succession of attacks against the Kurdish population in Iraq during a specific period southeastern part of the Kurds villagers! Nothing to do, lost in thoughts of an independent analysis of samples Administration! And individuals how to ensure confirmability in qualitative research what happened to the West, lost in thoughts an. In two years, according to Akram Mayi, the freedom has important limitations their... In dribbles, often because of individual or family December 1990, the Greek had... During a specific what happened to the kurds in iraq the entire population of Iraq, June 17,..
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