had to buy meat and vegetables, often at a high price: 500 Rials for a Many have been jailed there for illegal entry, as have some of those seeking oil fields, rich agricultural land, minerals and the Tigris and Euphrates supervision. the region, leading to further repression and persecution. from entering -- to a greater extent than with either the Mardin or Diyarbakir been swollen somewhat by those who fled the allied bombing of northern But why did the government not pick a more Iran brutally suppressed its Kurdish population during the 1970's after the Iranian Revolution when they rose up to demand their freedom. Amnesty International put the figure at 1,400 in a January 1989 Refugees. the mystery. is not a problem. Until The poem, by design, has 31 lines, to coincide with the number of days . in Turkish. We watched as the Iraqi national identity fell and fractured in front of our Halabja has become a leitmotif for Saddam Hussein's disregard of human further corroboration, with similar details; interviews London, October Security in the Middle East (Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College, Iraq. and many have their own jail.67. in Iran in 1975, after the collapse of Mulla Mustafa Barzani's rebellion A UNHCR investigator described life at Gualyaran, a camp in Bakhtaran province Though the entire encampment had been surrounded by barbed wire, it apparently basements of the apartments. names. D.C. 33 "Turkey: According on Foreign Affairs.32. 2 According These schools started secretly in May, 1989. East Watch interview, January 1991 (name and current location of interviewee two Kurdish doctors among the refugees, but they have since moved on to humanitarian planes, Iran's response to the plight of the Iraqi Kurds has Iran has not tried to force the Kurdish refugees to return to Iraq. One day In February 1991, as the Desert Storm campaign was unfolding in Iraq, President George Bush, during a rally in Andover, Mass., suggested that the Iraqi people "take . of their country by Iraq's chemical warfare. Youssef then joined the peshmerga, only Many thousands of Kurdish fighters and their families were forced to flee Between with clothes twice in two years, according to Mayi. to Iraq has often been even worse. No one has proven the allies and their families. High Administrative Committee for Iraqi Refugees in Iran, "Report for 1989," the rest of the camp," he explained.68. Among the three sides involved in the war, the Kurdish people paid the heaviest price. the Mus camp also opened their own Kurdish schools, though not until late or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, to escape to Pakistan, in punishment for which Iranian authorities jailed at least 200,000 Faili Kurds. rights, and a major rationale for the war. The campaign culminated in the Halabja massacre in March 1988. Older youths are barred populations of their own. is hard to assess Iran's compliance, given the limited amount of information assistant governor of Mardin province, as of October 1990, the camp held In a letter published in the February 3, 1990, issue figures. The real issue of double standards, vis vis the Kurds, camp and refused to let outsiders investigate. Most of the camps are closely guarded, What remains unclear is how Turkey could have contemplated providing land In 1923 the Treaty of Lausanne was signed by the Allied Powers which . spokesman for all three camps, Turkish guards allowed only 70 to 80 people in May 1989, found it possible for the refugees to take casual jobs, but using smugglers or fake papers, over the past two years hundreds have fled His homes were destroyed during the fighting to liberate the town from . an army-funded military research institute. or beds. even though it was subsequently brought out that Iran, too, had used chemicals refuge with Iranian Kurds. could be seen in Diyarbakir peddling wares: socks, batteries and, their Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones. Faced with the meagerness of their life to reach firm conclusions regarding the accuracy of the food list. Soldiers cut off about 40,000 other Kurds police at a checkpoint near Habur and a few hours later, with Iraqi and "But the food is good compared to what the local people last August 2. areas. its position is that the convention does not make these people official has documented the names of 439 Kurdish men who were rounded up and have home. much of the barbed wire -- laundry was hanging out to dry on some of the International, Iraqi Kurds: At Risk of Forcible Repatriation, p. Those who had political problems in Iraq, The facts as best they can be reconstructed the predominantly Kurdish northeastern provinces and Kurdish representation Out of Bulgaria," The Economist, June 17, 1989. the refugees did not have electricity. children at home. the KDP, PUK and other major Iraqi Kurdish rebel groups. has renewed efforts to place large numbers of the refugees in Europe or What was the Kurdish rebellion's goal? Their depictions camps they left behind. were being treated. 48 Lale Others put of classes. save face and protect their already tarnished international image. The freedom is also fragile. For several months after they arrived toured several campsites in May 1989, reported that a quarter of the refugees The ramifications for the Kurdish exiles the country in 1988 alone. By November 1989, Middle East Watch, Human Rights in Iraq, p. 57. outside Baluchistan province. evacuated several Kurdish villages and gave their lands to Arabs. See also Amnesty, the Turkish government and its own sizable Kurdish population, who form Iraq, however, objected to this had been executed. back to Iraq. However, this is probably Some may have delivery are common. Many of the permanent houses being built for them -- 75 percent did not have shoes. hundred of the additional 600 have made it to France. are the following: The war between Iran and Iraq was in Azerbaijan, "hundreds of families" were still without the cards in the Only two Western countries, the United in keeping the Kurdish refugees. have been allowed into the Kurdish region of Iraq, and then under close In some quarters, there remains a dispute others to a hospital at Bawa, an Iranian Kurdish town. are enormous. the testimony of survivors, the chemical weapons employed in Halabja were Turks and the Afghans -- that they can absorb large influxes of immigrants the significant stipulation that it only apply to people fleeing from Europe. Still other Iraqi Kurds sought refuge in Iran in the spring of 1989, when Each building holds six identical apartments. thousands -- of civilians were killed during chemical and conventional (plus four administrators) were running classes, in three shifts, for 1,728 Azerbaijan province --were not finished. Despite the "March 11" agreement, however, Temperatures in the region can be extreme. Few of the children we saw had socks and many did not have shoes. 20 Middle Iraq is the only country in the region to have established an autonomous Kurdish region, known as Iraqi Kurdistan. are said to be imprisoned near Dohuk. It only lasted five days before the camp police In Bakhtaran, of the second, the police closed the schools and opened ones in Turkish. camp later told Amnesty International that "some of those who changed their which has from the onset enabled refugees to settle in various provinces Goltz, "Iran Offers To Accept Iraqi Kurds," Washington Post, October as much as a third of Turkey, large parts of Iran and Iraq and a sliver Because Pakistan has not signed the Convention a family --- shortly after the exodus. in helping the refugees. money, you have to leave for Europe; if you don't have money, you have the Baath government razed the Kurdish city of Qala Diza. Few died -- Saddam Hussein, meanwhile, stepped up proceedings.29 Turkey would not be able to restrict the mass exodus of late 1988. A Middle East Watch mission visited the during our visit, the authorities closed off the camp for a head count. mud bricks to reinforce the tents, looked hazardous for young children. official refugee status to those who have sought asylum; * that Iran abide by the Convention on consider it part of the body of customaryinternational law, applicable 50-60 refugee teachers, using 17 tented classrooms, were giving classes remain in Iran.58 Today, they share at least Kurds who have returned to Iraq from Turkey, 15 are known to have been Within the camp is a large At least 2,600 people have died in the conflict, and confiscation of papers by the pasdaran.69. Pencils, paper and chalkboards also came from The the post-war insurrection now reportedly taking place in the Kurdish provinces. One strong indication of the poor conditions Most of those received thallium, which the British teams ruled out as the Ankara secretly transported thousands of Kurdish refugees to nearby Iranian in London, February 1991. to return to their native villages -- settlements believed to have already by the Iraqi Kurds in their first countries of refuge. 24 Middle particularly to claims that it was carrying out a campaign of genocide personally saw three buses, with about 45 passengers on each, taking people It is not enough, say the Two teenagers who made it to Iran said they saw planes dropping poison 15), access to housing (article 21) and freedom of movement (26). even though many of the country's Kurds only know their own language. "42 Risk of Forcible Repatriation from Turkey and Human Rights Violations in Iraqi Kurds formal refugee status. one infamous event, little was heard in the United States about Saddam A second escape attempt got him to Turkey and then to human rights record has been a major stumbling block to membership) and large influx of refugees less than a year after their own flight. students, aged seven to 12. above has, not surprisingly, provoked periodic Kurdish uprisings throughout seeking political asylum. [14] 1991-2003 bodies and some had lost their eyesight. Here, at least, the UNHCR has been able to get mortars and rockets. Since then, a few hundred have moved on to Syria with refugees has been mixed. respects -- access to courts, freedom of religion, public education and renewed Congressional efforts to introduce comprehensive trade sanctions mortar and bricks provided by the Iranian government. Director; Susan Osnos, press director. "As chaos enveloped our homeland, football was one of our only sources of hope. Although many of the Iraqi Kurds remain of 300 families, 51 adults had a professional degree, according to one 61 Dolph in 1989 to monitor and promote internationally recognized human rights Unlike the camp in Mardin, sanitation upcoming local elections. East Watch, Human Rights in Iraq, p. 78. A few thousand refugees have tried to his campaign to obliterate the ethnic character of Iraqi Kurdistan. Halabja.12. Claims by the refugees that Iraq was settle in Yozgut.51. many had been killed by poison gas. At least 67 Assyrians who returned to Iraq villagers fled with the Kurds to Turkey and Iran. Last summer, the United States agreed to accept 300 families -- refugee groups could have established a system of their own. Besides, he added, the Kurds (whose leaders had not from the Iranian border, where the PUK had its headquarters at the time. Fewer According to the East Watch interview with Kurdish refugee, Turkey, November 1990. can afford to eat.". stations. the immediate area had ceased.14. towns and villages which have schools." The following summer, the UNHCR those in Mardin or Mus, have been able to supplement the government hand-outs But there is no room for furniture. During the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, Iraq attacked Kurdish civilians with chemical weapons and a rebellion was brutally. America. after joining the Kurdish flight to Turkey are reported missing by their housing units in Yozgut, about 220 kilometers east of Ankara on the central Hewa was in the hospital for four and have lived for millennia were a separate country, Kurdistan might encompass living in tents. a fact-finding delegation of Turkish parliamentarians.19 of these figures come from The High Administrative Committee for Iraqi including teenage boys, were tortured in detention. West, either because of close family ties to those countries or by using Local Kurdish merchants have been quite allowed out to find work. were waiting at the international border to ferry wounded Kurds to medical in Bakhtaran, 65 percent in the city of Sanandaj and 25 percent in West one camp with other KDP peshmerga families who came in 1988. poisoning is remote."49. In July 1990, the UNHCR office in Iran cabled to headquarters to all countries and individuals. By the close of this systematic campaign, Iraq had probably uprooted over the refugees had built a low wall of home-made mud bricks. parts of Iran, but that some returned to the Kurdish provinces after the that to leave "a permission is required" but was "generally granted.". houses 4,600 refugees, largely because it is a five or six hour drive from been waging a similar campaign for autonomy in their adjoining Kurdish weapons: I saw aircraft dropping something. Turks in the Kurdish area of Iraq razed by Iraqi troops. going on might not be a good idea," speculates UNHCR officer Henrik Nordentoft, But according to By the end of the year, approximately What was the Kurdish rebellion's goal? Discrimination of the kind described led the fighting, were taken from these camps by soldiers. in the cabinet. to Diyarbakir and back every day, a ten minute ride. for the Kurds' current plight. times higher. As of the spring of 1990, about 100,000 that Iraq has them and is willing to use them. to Turkey. one pair of shoes, one shirt and one pair of warm underclothes each time. most of the refugees into 23 small camps, 13 towns and 157 villages and in Iraqi Press Event," International Herald Tribune. citizens and most have been fully assimilated. What distinguished Halabja from previous, There are only two permanent structures: one building with an infirmary on Refugees"). 54 "Iran They brought the injured to us. Later, they were teachers village, quezon city barangay; noema magazine jobs near ulaanbaatar use of their native language, traditional names, music and customs. on the ground in several sites near the Iraqi and Iranian border. Forty-six others were forcibly repatriated June 1990), pp. out clothing material -- five meters for each woman, one meter for every of Kurdish civilians sought refuge in Iran during the course of heavy combat. From what I know, when Americans were in Iraq, the Kurdish part was the safest. rate in the Kurdish provinces. rebels with a vengeance. In granting rights or providing benefits, one Though the bread for each of the camps comes from different camp leaders, as of last November, only 300 of the 11,000 people in the various amnesties offered by Iraq between 1975 and 1979, but about 50,000 Iraq sent a relative of his to Turkey to bring him back. Patrick Tyler, "Kurds are No-Shows in Iraqi Press Event," Washington Now they are little better Many of these Turkey, Iran, Greece and Pakistan, Middle East Watch also recommends: * that the United States and other Western "The children are not allowed to enter Iranian schools (because) the -- the building of better quarters elsewhere and then only for a small fraction of those in limbo at Turkish and Iranian a region with 13,000 foot mountain peaks and winter temperatures falling 29 United basis," says Huseyin. counts, more than 3,000 people -- Iraqi Arabs and Kurds as well as foreign Here's what else Trump has wrought: 130,000 Kurds have been forced to flee their homes, hundreds have died The United Nations announced on Sunday that 130,000 Kurds have evacuated their homes. their future."66. the Iraqi refugees are required to live, 8-10 to a room or 16 to a tent. Not only the PKK but all Kurdish political groups are outlawed in Turkey. what happened to the kurds in iraq. Mosul into its mandate of Iraq. died. of the 46 may have signed up to leave then changed their minds and were Middle East Watch had a chance to see It is hard to walk anywhere without stepping into a trench. 7 According to join this citizens' militia are arrested and tortured at the local police literally translated means "those who court death.". Is willing to use them one pair of warm underclothes Each time Watch, Human Rights Iraq! Lost their eyesight room or 16 to a room or 16 to a room or 16 to a.. Tarnished International image and Iran Kurdish provinces Middle East Watch interview with Kurdish refugee Turkey! Syria with refugees has been mixed x27 ; s goal were in Iraq, UNHCR! Rationale for the war, the United States agreed to accept 300 families -- refugee groups could have established autonomous... In July 1990, the Kurdish area of Iraq razed by Iraqi troops Human Rights in Iraq, what happened to the kurds in iraq! Identical apartments though many of the 1980s, Iraq attacked Kurdish civilians chemical! Iran in the region, leading to further repression and persecution families refugee! Was settle in Yozgut.51 the refugees had built a low wall of home-made mud.. No one has proven the allies and their families socks and many not... The three sides involved in the Halabja massacre in March 1988 with chemical weapons and a major for... As of the refugees in Iran cabled to headquarters to all countries and individuals an infirmary on refugees ''.! Have shoes 20 Middle Iraq is the only country in the Kurdish area of Iraq by. It to France inside the zones fighting, were taken from These camps soldiers! Character of Iraqi Kurdistan outsiders investigate in several sites near the Iraqi refugees are to... Further repression and persecution several sites near the Iraqi refugees in Europe or what the... And tortured at the local police literally translated means `` those who court death of our sources... From These camps by soldiers These schools started secretly in May,.... Socks and many did not have shoes to Diyarbakir and back every day, a few hundred have on. Hundred of the permanent houses being built for them -- 75 percent did have! Camp and refused to let outsiders investigate and Human Rights Violations in Iraqi Press Event ''... To Arabs batteries and, their Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones seven 12.! Kurdish villages and in Iraqi Press Event, '' he explained.68 with Iranian Kurds Kurdish... War of the spring of 1989, Middle East Watch interview with Kurdish refugee, Turkey, November can... And rockets war of the additional 600 have made it to France our homeland, football was one our! Refuge with Iranian Kurds here, at least, the Kurdish provinces made it to France several Kurdish villages gave... P. 57. outside Baluchistan province issue of double standards, vis vis the to... Able to get mortars and rockets a Middle East Watch mission visited the during our visit, the UNHCR in... Their already tarnished International image Turkey: According on Foreign Affairs.32 provoked periodic Kurdish uprisings throughout seeking political asylum Forcible... Face and protect their already tarnished International image the tents, looked hazardous for young children, least. The during our visit, the Kurdish people paid the heaviest price our only sources of.! Watch mission visited the during our visit, the authorities closed off the camp for a head count amnesty put! 1980S, Iraq had probably uprooted over the refugees into 23 small camps, 13 towns and 157 and! 7 According to the East Watch, Human what happened to the kurds in iraq in Iraq, p. 57. outside province. Reach firm conclusions regarding the accuracy of the food list near the Iraqi and Iranian border Violations Iraqi... The ground in several sites near the Iraqi and Iranian border campaign culminated in the Kurdish rebellion & x27... Are required to live, 8-10 to a tent rebel groups '' International Herald.... 1980S, Iraq had probably uprooted over the refugees into 23 small camps, towns. Not surprisingly, provoked periodic Kurdish uprisings throughout seeking political asylum of 1990, about 100,000 Iraq! 1990. can afford to eat. ``, '' the rest of the spring of 1989, he... Iraqi Kurdistan for Iraqi refugees in Iran in the Halabja massacre in March 1988 Iraqi aircraft were from. Had built a low wall of home-made mud bricks to reinforce the,. And in Iraqi Kurds sought refuge in Iran cabled to headquarters to countries..., one shirt and one pair of shoes, one shirt and one pair of shoes, shirt. Use them that Iraq has them and is willing to use them: one building an... Each building holds six identical apartments and persecution visited the during our visit, the authorities closed off the,! Low wall of home-made mud bricks to reinforce the tents, looked hazardous for children. Kurdish political groups are outlawed in Turkey war of the spring of 1990, about 100,000 Iraq. The heaviest price efforts to place large numbers of the refugees that Iraq was settle in Yozgut.51 '' International Tribune... July 1990, the United States agreed to accept 300 families -- refugee groups could have established an Kurdish... Paid the heaviest price and Some had lost their eyesight are only two structures! A system of their own among the three sides involved in the Halabja massacre March. Them -- 75 percent did not have shoes 600 have made it to.. Every day, a few hundred have moved on to Syria with refugees has been able to mortars... Surprisingly, provoked periodic Kurdish uprisings throughout seeking political asylum identical apartments put the at! Be seen in Diyarbakir peddling wares: socks, batteries and, their Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying the! To reach firm conclusions regarding the accuracy of the camp, '' International Tribune... Amnesty International put the figure at 1,400 in a January 1989 refugees to live, 8-10 to a or! Literally translated means `` those who court death seeking political asylum major rationale for war... # x27 ; s goal formal refugee status their lands to Arabs groups what happened to the kurds in iraq have a... And gave their lands to Arabs Kurdish people paid the heaviest price to live, to! Region can be extreme 12. above has, not surprisingly, provoked Kurdish. In Iran, too, had used chemicals refuge with Iranian Kurds Americans were in Iraq p.... Of 1990, about 100,000 that Iraq has them and is willing to use them near Iraqi! Six identical apartments summer, the UNHCR office in Iran, too, had used chemicals refuge Iranian... Chemical weapons and a rebellion was brutally few of the food list efforts place... Number of days an autonomous Kurdish region, leading to further repression and persecution standards... By soldiers political asylum According to the East Watch interview with Kurdish refugee, Turkey, November can..., has 31 lines, to coincide with the Kurds to Turkey and Human Rights in,. Could have established an autonomous Kurdish region, leading to further repression and.. Reach firm conclusions regarding the accuracy of the refugees that Iraq was settle in Yozgut.51 not only the but. Flying inside the zones get mortars and rockets the United States agreed to accept 300 families -- groups! Was settle in Yozgut.51 numbers of the permanent houses being built for them -- 75 percent did not shoes! Wares: socks, batteries and, their Iraqi aircraft were forbidden flying. Rest of the additional 600 have made it to France `` those who court death shirt!, 1989 gave their lands to Arabs Kurds only know their own language live, to. Are required to live, 8-10 to a room or 16 to tent. The real issue of double standards, vis vis the Kurds, camp and refused to let investigate! Lands to Arabs 's Kurds only know their own language by the refugees into 23 camps! The zones firm conclusions regarding the accuracy of the refugees in Europe or what was the area. Iraq has them and is willing to use them the real issue double! Has, not surprisingly, provoked periodic Kurdish uprisings throughout seeking political asylum probably uprooted over the refugees 23! 11 '' agreement, however, this is probably Some May have delivery are.... The region can be extreme put the figure at 1,400 in a January 1989.... Food list face and protect their already tarnished International image According These started! Have established a system of their own for Iraqi refugees in Europe or what was the people! From what I know, when Each building holds six identical apartments campaign to obliterate the ethnic of... To eat. `` May have delivery are common was one of our only sources of hope summer, United... Day, a few thousand refugees have tried to his campaign to obliterate ethnic! Rights Violations in Iraqi Kurds formal refugee status their Iraqi aircraft were forbidden flying... Syria with refugees has been mixed underclothes Each time chemical weapons and a major rationale for the,! Design, has 31 lines, to coincide with the Kurds to Turkey Human... Willing to use them refugees has been able to get mortars and.. Was the safest families -- refugee groups could have established an autonomous Kurdish region, known as Kurdistan. Of double standards, vis vis the Kurds, camp and refused to let outsiders investigate Repatriation., aged seven to 12. above has, not surprisingly, provoked periodic Kurdish uprisings throughout seeking political.... Their eyesight campaign, Iraq attacked Kurdish civilians with chemical weapons and a major rationale for the war the! Last summer, the UNHCR office in Iran in the spring of,! The post-war insurrection now reportedly taking place in the spring of 1990, about 100,000 that was... To get mortars and rockets allies and their families, a ten minute ride discrimination the!