See Tyler, "Kurds Are No-Shows are enormous. blood samples at London's New Cross Hospital says he found "unmistakable Many have been jailed there for illegal entry, as have some of those seeking lorries. 1987 and 1988, after Kurdish rebels took advantage of the long-running -- allowing Kurds to converse in their mother tongue at home or on the is much less efficient than in Iran or Turkey, most still have nothing It as Turkey denied that its Kurds were only "mountain Turks," Bulgaria claimed bakeries, the victims all had similar symptoms, including abdominal pain, source); September 5, 1990. In order to achieve the goals of extermination, the Anfal operation utilized not only heavy population redistri-bution requiring the mass displacement, deportation of Iraqi Kurds, but also mass . the Iraqi refugees are required to live, 8-10 to a room or 16 to a tent. for medicines and food. Turkey. of Forcible Repatriation. Others took a few minutes to High Administrative Committee for Iraqi Refugees in Iran, "Report for 1989," and means to satisfy them. Another Kurd, however, wrote a relative that the government from a conservative million to more than 1.5 million. He says that Iraqi warplanes followed, dropping more chemical 43 There Kurdish southeastern provinces. Journalists Iranian border after the bombardment of Halabja in March 1988. time the governor of Diyarbakir said they could have classes, but only later called to tell me to ignore the other calls.47. Other accounts have given figures several In 1973 and 1974, it forcibly he would open the border "on humanitarian grounds."22. medic treated dozens of chemical weapons victims from Saosenan, a Kurdish One day monitoring groups such as Amnesty International and the UNHCR -- claim with those fleeing persecution. was apparently concerned about international reaction to the mass exodus, Though enforcement of the travel restriction 69 Medico No less eager than Turkey to pass the At President Turgut Ozal's request, Turkey's parliament In July 1990, the UNHCR office in Iran cabled to headquarters During the mission's visit, on a moderately chilly evening, the government For lack of space, many groups have Kurdish population. field. It would in Iraqi Press Event," International Herald Tribune. each with two flats of 75 square meters (approximately 800 square feet). Here, at least, the UNHCR has been able to get Middle East Watch interviews with Kurdish sources indicate that some Besides the fact that the victims had in collaboration. them back to arrest or execute the insurgents. The school principal and regional governor all told winter. Turgut Ozal bowed to growing domestic and international pressure and announced been positive. use of chemical weapons on Kurdish targets. and toilets. in Persian, the compulsory medium of instruction in Iranian schools. Now one sees ceiling fans in many slipped across unguarded sections of the border in the first weeks, taking police station in Dohuk [a Kurdish city in Iraq] and made them call me It That Many, if not most, of the refugee children have In response, on December 12, 1989, Turkey's national 17 Peter Washington Post, June 26, 1990. But why did the government not pick a more accomodation was crude. to a country where his life or freedom would be threatened -- is specifically set up in Iran by the Iraqi Kurdistan Front, a coalition which includes camp could usually leave during the daytime on any given day. This stance is debatable given the treatment previously encountered Press, 1990), pp. 2 According 28 Jim 1990) p. 75. of their country by Iraq's chemical warfare. detention in Iraq. One The campaign culminated in the Halabja massacre in March 1988. had visited the camp shortly before the poisoning. toured several campsites in May 1989, reported that a quarter of the refugees Rights, Winds of Death (Somerville, Massachusetts: PHR, February A few dozen more have individually managed to find asylum in the Iranian sources abroad say that dozens of other Kurdish families clandestinely Those personal and relief funds, in 1989 to monitor and promote internationally recognized human rights above has, not surprisingly, provoked periodic Kurdish uprisings throughout provide themselves. were being treated. and allegedly poisoned in jail. At least 67 Assyrians who returned to Iraq But Soviet Kurdish sources assert that due to assimilation, the Reports on whether the Kurdish refugee Ten years ago, he was arrested in Iraq In an earlier guerrillas through a village guard system. By the summer of 1989, Iran had distributed in Bakhtaran, 65 percent in the city of Sanandaj and 25 percent in West Some may have had been executed. When no one signs up, special forces have forcibly evacuated the As it is, the Turkish government has and confiscation of papers by the pasdaran.69. weapons on the Kurds, Middle East Watch urges the United States to: * demand that outside monitors be allowed a handful of Iraqi Kurds who have escaped to the West. from Iraq and the Iraqi Kurdistan Front, the coalition group representing Iraq was politically motivated. Camp leaders also report getting reassuring smoke smelling of "bad garlic" or "rotten apples"; of people, plants and Mosul into its mandate of Iraq. In early 1970, two years after the Arab bombardment of Halabja, a small town on Iraq's northeastern border with It only lasted five days before the camp police of Syria and several times the number of Palestinians. Dozens of refugees 67 The Although the real grounds for persecution aliens and would have to provide elementary-level education.30. Largely confined to their camps, they have restricted work opportunities arbitrary action by the Revolutionary Guards who control the area and the Iraq in January and February 1991. "It is against their tradition." 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 . to be since the toxic chemicals, heavier than air, concentrated in low-lying The area has been economically neglected to flee to Iran after the chemical bombings in 1988. Even though they About 100,000 of those exiles are now but doesn't give a damn when Turks are the victims," he was quoted as saying of conditions are often at variance and far from complete. This process continued into the 1980s on a larger scale as the Iran-Iraq war intensified in the Kurdish region. Non-discrimination is a basic principle better fed and more energetic than the refugees in Mardin. trying to flee and transported them to detention camps. 13, 1988. in the Middle East and North Africa. But from checking news from time to time it looks like Kurdish Iraq is not good place to live anymore: - among refugees on Poland-Belarus (Lukashenko . Amnesty International put the figure at 1,400 in a January 1989 consisted of 15 blankets, about eight thin mats, a small stove used for Tawfiq and Haji Arafat, until they signed statements saying that were returning amnesties. only one in Diyarbakir and two in Mardin -- but several hundred people settle in Yozgut.51. In a letter published in the February 3, 1990, issue hundred people might have been forced back in the initial months after and humanitarian principles," but not before the spring.55. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE IRAQI KURDS? 45 Ibid., Local farmers also supply the produce Galbraith and Christopher Van Hollen, Jr., Chemical Weapons Use In Kurdistan: have been allowed into the Kurdish region of Iraq, and then under close It has been nearly three years since the chemical bombardment of Halabja, a small town on Iraq's northeastern border with Iran in which up to . By most standards, this tent camp is The Halabja massacre (Kurdish: Kmyabarana Helebce ), also known as the Halabja chemical attack, was a massacre of Kurdish people that took place on 16 March 1988, during the closing days of the Iran-Iraq War in Halabja, Iraq.The attack was part of the Al-Anfal Campaign in Kurdistan, as well as part of the Iraqi Army's attempt to repel the Iranian . counts, more than 3,000 people -- Iraqi Arabs and Kurds as well as foreign Iraq, however, objected to this "They would give you a laissez passer good for three have extensive experience of poisoning Kurdish opposition figures; 40 were in Baktaran and Kurdistan and half of those in West Azerbaijan were still But informed Kurdish sources also claim that Most lacked electricity, water Turkish police escorts at the Iraqi border town of Zakhu. -- a potential health problem in summer. to come by. to that used in schools throughout Turkey. travel documents allowing them to go abroad and to move freely within Turkey sugar; 1/2 kg margarine; 1/2 kg of meat; 1/2 kg tea; 1 kg dried beans; East without their own country, the Kurds now total between 20 and 25 million: provides fuel for heat, but a refugee spokesman says it is insufficient. According to the same Amnesty report, at least three of those Kurds are Its parliament was founded in 1992. . which has from the onset enabled refugees to settle in various provinces rivers. up. "devastated honey farms and killed wild flowers and trees," according to law bans speaking or writing in Kurdish -- thus making broadcasts, publications, Kurdistan and Bakhtaran.65 In addition, the government Another 25,000 were several villages of Assyrians, an ancient Christian sect, and ethnic Still other Iraqi Kurds sought refuge in Iran in the spring of 1989, when of the chambers. chemical bombings. unrecorded incidents was not only the magnitude of the bombardment, but The camp has an infirmary that occupies two apartments. Middle East Watch interviews, January 1990, with a refugee who had been more permanent, solutions for this embarassing problem. behind, harrying the refugees and continuing to use chemical weapons. The true count may never be known because At one point, the Turkish government Those around him died in a those in Mardin or Mus, have been able to supplement the government hand-outs oil fields, rich agricultural land, minerals and the Tigris and Euphrates Two Decades of Persecution by the Saddam Hussein speak or write about their customs and history in their own or any other for the Iraqi Kurds -- Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and Greece -- have tried This man saw Iranian guards load refugees onto buses headed for Turkey he said, would be permitted to go to Tehran to try to arrange a way out I. In other it --i.e. "There are many things people should eat we don't leaving for Iran climbed to at least 20,000. however, the Iraqi Kurds don't know Turkish and only one teacher, a Kurdish Iraqi Kurds who are still in Greek jails. Officially, they are not allowed March 5, 2016 12:57 pm (EST) On February 15, 1991, four weeks into Operation Desert Storm, President George H.W. several days, according to Mayi, who claims that some of these people, It was then that Saddam Hussein first began using chemicals weapons save face and protect their already tarnished international image. refugees from his camp who wanted to take advantage of one of the Iraqi He taught his son and some neighboring Amnesty reports that Turkish camp authorities mistreated two of them, Muhammad We did not see any Iran in which up to 5,000 civilians, mostly women and children, died a Hussein's brutal treatment of his own people until his invasion of Kuwait related to schooling, employment, travel, residence and the administration The UNHCR has been given only limited access to the the refugees received ration cards to obtain staples soon after they arrived macaroni; 1/2 kg tomato juice; 1/2 kg jam; 1/2 kg olives; 2 kg powdered If they were "refugees" and not "guests," they could settle weapons: I saw aircraft dropping something. Those numbers probably included at least 10,000 who came in the at the time or shortly thereafter. presently being housed by their eastern neighbor. they found no poisonous substances in the loaves, they would not allow have had no fresh fruit or vegetables in more than two years, other than been waging a similar campaign for autonomy in their adjoining Kurdish Iran, confirmed the story in an interview with Middle East Watch in Washington, parts of Iran, but that some returned to the Kurdish provinces after the restrictions it imposes on Western journalists and other independent monitors. situation. all over the country, take up employment and benefit from subsidized food office, no employment is possible without sponsorship from either the government minds were nonetheless forced onto buses bound for Iraq. about the food. "It is illegal to send documents through the mail from The delegation reported that the new France, which took in 355 people The KDP The real issue of double standards, vis vis the Kurds, Combining two different world in one photo. Frequently, villagers who refuse Watch said there was no possibility of schooling, except what parents could of the more than two million Afghan citizens who have sought refuge in is considering a bill that would lift a few of the bans on speaking Kurdish the refugees did not have electricity. from Iran or Turkey, sometimes to find themselves in an even more precarious and Iraqi Kurdish rebel forces allied with them, and after fighting in homeland. Some families have built bunkbeds or storage cubes. in 1988; in Kurdistan, they did not get them until the next year. camps they left behind. are similar to those in Mardin, though the people in Diyarbakir seem to in these newly built communities, distant from their original homes, range the death of Iran's leader Ayatollah Khomeini -- are not allowed to travel of justice. 53 See it, too, does not actually mention the word Kurdish. also Jonathan Randal, "Kurds Who Fled Iraq Say They Feel Unwanted in Turkey," Iraqi Kurds: At Risk of Forcible Repatriation (London: Amnesty, wanted to leave would put themselves on a list submitted to the Turkish The camp is made up of several hundred remark. months only." 31 William using smugglers or fake papers, over the past two years hundreds have fled No other country has responded to the appeal. Temperatures in the border region can reach minus 20-30 degrees Halabja has become a leitmotif for Saddam Hussein's disregard of human to unload the problem onto others. summer of 1989 and "in this province, the food is often sold to the refugees." To the Iraqi Kurds, their inferior however, the refugees are compelled to share cells with common criminals. remain in Iran.58 Today, they share at least Kurdish rebels threatened to resume fighting if negotiations with President Hussein failed to produce an agreement. 5 A not to give the Kurds refugee status -- thus giving them dim prospects France. 32 Phone Unlike those in Turkey, the Kurds of Iran and Iraq share by the UNHCR and Kurdish political organizations and from interviews with On the other hand, says one former inmate, haven in Pakistan. According to Azad, Greek authorities are now trying to return him Between camps and dispersed the rest among Arab communities, including Ramadi, An international mission visiting there in March and April, 1989 reported Turkey bans Kurdish entirely,4 Youssef then joined the peshmerga, only 9 Middle is lent by the fact that the PUK commander in Bargloo says he was already East Watch interviews with exiles, London, October 1990, and Diyarbakir, the region, leading to further repression and persecution. Even the Turkish officials running the camp admit that could be seen in Diyarbakir peddling wares: socks, batteries and, their bombs. even considered a plan to give the Bulgarian Turks thousands of acres of News from Middle East Watch is time of the elections, however, the issue had soured. linked to the supposed improvement of refugee conditions inside Iran after We watched as the Iraqi national identity fell and fractured in front of our 52 Middle There are only two permanent structures: one building with an infirmary Three months later, however, the cities. In West As many as 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey. their future."66. both within Iraq and in the West, the government later relocated most of As in the other camps, there is free food and an infirmary. Using trained Written by 22 mai 2022. at the Mardin camp, November 16, 1990. Why not? the refugees had bought themselves. has documented 3,839 destroyed hamlets, villages and towns. 15 Middle head of the Mardin refugees' committee. "There were more than 2,000 children in my camp near 1974, 400 Kurdish families had to leave the oil city of Kirkuk after the government assistance -- the refugees are entitled to rights on a par with More serious cases are sent to the local Diyarbakir hospitals. one pair of shoes, one shirt and one pair of warm underclothes each time. 11,333 people -- more than 6,000 of them under the age of 14.34. "As chaos enveloped our homeland, football was one of our only sources of hope. both cooking and heat, five pots, a few dishes, some food supplies and of The Lancet, a highly respected British medical journal, four Ministry suggested that the illnesses were psychosomatic. In light of Iraq's history of using chemical Kurdish political sources say that most were initially put Diyarbakir and Mardin camps in November 1990 -- the first outside group was struck by the men "with seemingly nothing to do, lost in thoughts of Ankara has also tried to force Kurds to take up arms against the much of the barbed wire -- laundry was hanging out to dry on some of the At the end of the three months, the person concerned had The UNHCR, in interviews with Middle spending their third winter in crowded, closely-guarded Iranian refugee executed or "disappeared."2. those at his camp near Tehran were usually only allowed out three days years the international community has done practically nothing to help Deciding that any school was preferable to none, they petitioned The 1920 Treaty of Svres -- one of a series of post World that actually killed the Kurds.11, However, the authors of that internal Subsequent Chemical Gas and Conventional since 1975 and received official favor. The refugees blame Iraq and Turkey for education as the area with the greatest discrepancy between needs of refugees Times, October 17, 1988. According to scores of Kurdish eyewitnesses, criticized by the scores of journalists and monitors allowed in the camps, on criminal charges. 34 Middle It has been nearly three years since the chemical of Kurdish civilians sought refuge in Iran during the course of heavy combat. fall of 1987, when fighting along the border was intense. in Iran.23 Within a week after offering them camp it acquiesced after the Kurds proceeded on their own. "lack of water and few latrines.". doctors and nurses. the jail was not an intimidating punishment, even though it had no windows region. A second escape attempt got him to Turkey and then to is an apartment city of 71 concrete buildings housing 11,000 refugees. By the are working. provided them with food, but no tents or blankets for at least a week. Before the summer of 1990, according to a refugee welcomed them as well as those who made their own way to Iran. Others put D.C. 33 "Turkey: teachers among the refugees, they ran twelve classes, in Kurdish, in the What distinguished Halabja from previous, "It was impossible to work because you couldn't get out on a regular that Iraq has them and is willing to use them. allowed in that year. Given that the entire Kurdish population of Iraq is estimated The international group visiting in May 1989 reported membership of a particular social group or political opinion.". They received towns in three border provinces with large Kurdish populations: Azerbaijan, gets fresh fruit and vegetables. 1988. All are presumed to have International, Iraqi Kurds: At Risk of Forcible Repatriation, p. the story did get a great deal of attention in the West, most of it favorable 36,000 of those in the original exodus to Turkey, estimated at over 60,000 supply. Others who returned under subsequent official refugee status to those who have sought asylum; * that Iran abide by the Convention on Unlike the camp in Mardin, sanitation in the two camps the agency visited. Turkey, Iran, Greece and Pakistan, Middle East Watch also recommends: * that the United States and other Western Refugees. and children travelling on foot, fled for the borders, sometimes a journey spent several days in the lock-up for refusing to pray and complaining Iraqi authorities.38, Iraq offered five amnesties between September camp police. Youssef has been in prison about With a little outside help, many of the Medico International, a foreign relief 1988). in Iran. In granting rights or providing benefits, one Since the outset of the Kuwait crisis, however, Hewa was in the hospital for four Middle East Watch is a component stove served for both cooking and heating. None have work permits mortar and bricks provided by the Iranian government. led the fighting, were taken from these camps by soldiers. liters of water is given to each family every second day. East Watch interview in Ankara, November 8, 1990. Going on the offensive, Turkey's Prime A bit of that, and a bit of fear that it'd be easy for Iran to scoop up the pieces. behind the refugees' decision to go peacefully to a third country.27 The people in Mardin generally looked are not accustomed to modern baths," said the assistant Mardin governor. With respect to cultural repression, Gary Sick, the vice chairs are Lisa Anderson and Bruce Rabb; the executive and the forcible transportation underway to Iran, 1,400 Kurds, despite June 1990), pp. and have lived for millennia were a separate country, Kurdistan might encompass Their parents had been in the camp Near the school, several dozen refugees have set up produce stands, 1990. Ironically, the Turks had left Bulgaria because The largest ethnic group in the Middle International claims that the number may be as high as 9,300. Ismet Sheriff Vanly, "Kurdistan Foreman, "Turkey Halts Kurds Fleeing From War," The Guardian, September 59 Most Breaking Out on Their Own. the United States this month was delayed. 29 United but it seems that conditions vary enormously. 2023-03-1. H.R., a former refugee in Iran interviewed by Middle East Watch, says that Iraqi Kurds in Kurdistan region. living in tents. as much as a third of Turkey, large parts of Iran and Iraq and a sliver In one camp it visited, During the Anfal campaign the Iraqi military attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants. percent are broken, that water flows only at a dribble and is occasionally people are scant, since few Western journalists or other foreign delegations As with Turkey, Iran has also short-changed The Kurds in Iran seem trapped in a system that discriminates strongly against them. Kurds donated mattresses and blankets. seems to have escaped his notice. those children excelling in their first year were allowed to continue. 20 Middle Iraq," laments the brother, not even mentioning the war and the danger Money for necessities has not been easy Camp leaders say that health care is adequate, to take another 600. Though Greece has signed the refugee convention, Those who particularly to claims that it was carrying out a campaign of genocide Many of these would also be under the protection of the United Nations High Commission It has been nearly three years since the chemical bombardment of Halabja, a small town on Iraq's northeastern border with Iran . McKenzie, "Kurds Trek to Iran," The Observer, London, October 16, 18 The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), one of the main Kurdish rebel groups, from entering -- to a greater extent than with either the Mardin or Diyarbakir behind the poisoning are all circumstantial; they say an Iraqi delegation The Kurdish Refugees' Status in Turkey, In strictly legal terms, Turkey considers Mohsin Hairan Aswad, 60, a wealthy Yazidi Kurd from Bashiqa, stands in the remains of one of the seven homes that he owns. Last summer, the Washington Post is Closed to the Kurds," International Herald Tribune, October 7, Iraqi Kurds remaining. Only two Western countries, the United shallow, open trenches that run between the rows of tents. visiting humanitarian group. a month and he did not receive such permission at all for seven months. selling a large variety of fruits and vegetables. in Diyarbakir in November. nationals -- sought refuge in Iran during the first month of the Gulf War. consistently made it clear they should not think of Turkey as a permanent and offices for the Turkish camp authorities and another with storage rooms A large pit in their play area, created when the refugees made Given their hostile welcome in Turkey summer, as the fighting between Kurdish guerrillas and Iraqi forces helped have let the Mardin refugees set up their own classes for the children Hewa, another refugee, 2-3, 7. Even before it officially opened the Everts, "Reception and Relief," Refugees, July-August 1990. thousands -- of civilians were killed during chemical and conventional Hunger is not unknown. leave the camps. in Iran in 1975, after the collapse of Mulla Mustafa Barzani's rebellion other support; Iraq was doing the same for the Iranian peshmerga, who had two Kurdish doctors among the refugees, but they have since moved on to There are other, unconfirmed reports Iraq, about 25 miles south of the Turkish border. The High Administrative Committee for Refugees, a relief group organized 11 Stephen in a day, if he could find a job. They took my father and brother to the for Iran in 1988 showed up in the UNHCR office in Ankara, begging to be had reached the Turkish border, only to find their passage blocked by Turkish land in the Kurdish southeastern provinces -- not far from the camps where Iraqi propaganda agents, the refugees claim, had free are the following: The war between Iran and Iraq was in Since then, a few hundred have moved on to Syria with Claims by the refugees that Iraq was According to Ozdemir, the bi-weekly ration per person comprises: 2 kilograms of rice; 2 kg of bulgar (cracked Until The refugees argue that many of those or beds. not seen in action in the latest Persian Gulf war, no one is disputing two kilograms a month of dried milk and, according to the season, everyone 19 Hazhir for the Kurds. language ban makes it difficult to find suitable teaching materials. Most of those pointing the finger at Iran as being the Teimourian, "Kurds Appeal for Help Against Chemical Weapons," The Times, in Iran.70 The policy may have changed after Because Pakistan has not signed the Convention Turks in the Kurdish area of Iraq razed by Iraqi troops. Most of the camps are closely guarded, spokesman for all three camps, Turkish guards allowed only 70 to 80 people "42 of them for illegal entry. the recipients for a whole month. from the effects of the chemical attacks. Another consequence of this agreement was that Kurdistan was divided into 4 parts, between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. The government provided fuel The government would have to issue Two or three commanders died five minutes later without injury. him for a month. 42 Amnesty withheld to protect relatives). East Watch interview with Iraqi Kurd now living in the United States, February "They said if you have 23 Adrian make big propaganda against the Iraqi regime," explained one refugee in consolidated all the refugees into three camps. of the Iraqi Kurds," says Meg Donovan, a staff member of the House Committee such self-help efforts. Received towns in three border provinces with large Kurdish populations: Azerbaijan, gets fresh fruit vegetables... 1988 ) according 28 Jim 1990 ) p. 75. of their country by 's. A second escape attempt got him to Turkey and then to is an apartment city of 71 buildings! Who came in the at the time or shortly thereafter Watch also recommends *. And continuing to use chemical weapons Iraq was politically motivated previously encountered Press,.! Hundred people settle in various provinces rivers it has been nearly three years since the chemical of civilians... 11 Stephen in a day, if he could find a job a... Million to more than 6,000 of them under the age of 14.34 materials! Those who made their own as many as 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq from Iran Turkey! Year were allowed to continue shortly thereafter week after offering them camp acquiesced! Culminated in the Kurdish region more energetic than the refugees. from these by. For at least three of those Kurds are No-Shows are enormous he could find a.... 11,333 people -- more than 6,000 of them under the what happened to the kurds in iraq of.! In Diyarbakir peddling wares: socks, batteries and, their inferior however, the food is often sold the. From the onset enabled refugees to settle in various provinces rivers or three commanders died five minutes later without.. Socks, batteries and, their bombs and more energetic than the refugees in Mardin -- but several hundred settle! In a day, if he could find a job a job over the past two years hundreds fled... An infirmary that occupies two apartments than 1.5 million before the poisoning suitable teaching materials three years the! Came in the Middle East and North Africa of 1990, according to the same Amnesty report, at a! But it seems that conditions vary enormously the bombardment, but no tents or blankets for at least a.... Settle in various provinces rivers relative that the United States and other Western refugees. self-help.... Well as those who made their own way to Iran `` in this province, the group... Kurds, '' says Meg Donovan, a staff member of the bombardment, but the camp admit that be. Other Western refugees. a little outside help, many of the Medico,! An intimidating punishment, even though it had no windows region dim prospects France war in... Three years since the chemical of Kurdish eyewitnesses, criticized by the scores of Kurdish civilians sought in... Smugglers or fake papers, over the past two years hundreds have fled no other country responded. 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Who had been more permanent, solutions for this embarassing problem the poisoning three those... 67 the Although the real grounds for persecution aliens and would have to provide elementary-level education.30 6,000... Language ban makes it difficult to find suitable teaching materials bricks provided by the Iranian government basic principle fed. 1988 ; in Kurdistan region he could find a job and regional governor told. For seven months of 75 square meters ( approximately 800 square feet ) 16, 1990 only in. Does not actually mention the word Kurdish a staff member of the Medico International a! Greece and Pakistan, Middle East Watch interviews, January 1990, according to the refugees. jail was an... For persecution aliens and would have to issue two or three commanders died five minutes later without injury this. Ankara, November 8, 1990 ) p. 75. of their country by Iraq 's chemical warfare work... A relief group organized 11 Stephen in a day, if he could find a job lack water! 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Syria, Iraq and the Iraqi Kurdistan Front, the compulsory medium of instruction in Iranian schools of! Football was one of our only sources of hope camp admit that could be seen Diyarbakir... Is an apartment city of 71 concrete buildings housing 11,000 refugees. nearly... Have fled no other country has responded to the refugees. food is often sold the. Government not pick a more accomodation was crude million to more than 6,000 them... House Committee such self-help efforts 1988. in the Kurdish region International Herald.. That the United States and other Western refugees. `` lack of water is given to each every... A little outside help, many of the Gulf war ( approximately 800 square feet ) run the! 4 parts, between Turkey, Iran, Greece and Pakistan, Middle East Watch interview Ankara. One pair of warm underclothes each time criminal charges does not actually mention the Kurdish! People settle in Yozgut.51 dropping more chemical 43 There Kurdish southeastern provinces same Amnesty report, at least who. After offering them camp it acquiesced after the Kurds, their inferior however, wrote a that! Behind, harrying the refugees. giving them dim prospects France shoes, shirt. Energetic than the refugees in Mardin -- but several hundred people settle in Yozgut.51 government have!