They started an open sit-in, in front of UNHCR's office in Beirut.

Iraqi refugees are equally susceptible to arrest or deportation regardless of whether or not their refugee status has been granted.

The United States agreed upon their resettlement, but then changed their opinion after September 11th.

Dihya'a Haidar

From the evening open sit-in in front of the office of refugees in Almatihaff. (Hasin Asal).

<<Welcome to the United States>> the actual title of the book in Arabic. This was a book, which was distributed amongst Iraqi refugees during a three-day session in Beirut following their acceptance for what is called << resettlement >>, by the government of the USA. This all happened a little before September the 11th, and since then the families have had to stay in the small apartments that are for the doorkeepers of the buildings or very small miserable apartments in a southern suburb, men and their families are suffering behind walls, despite their promise of travel to USA, the Lebanese government still considers them <<illegal residents>>.

They’re frightened of leaving the small circle that’s limiting their movements, within 50 meters only, especially for the men fearing arrest, jail and deportation to Iraq or northern Iraq where unknown destinies awaiting them or known to some; including execution or a life in a camp of the Iraqi opposition, working months to earn the two-hundred dollars or more "fee" paid to a <<smuggler>> to take the <<journey of pain>> clandestinely from the north of Iraq, through Syria, back to Lebanon where they face possible arrest or death from hunger.

These Iraqis obtained on an agreement to travel. They estimated, maybe around four hundred Iraqi refugees [they're from different nationalities, but the majority are Iraqis], tens of them carried out a sit-in yesterday in front of the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] building in Lebanon, with different density of security presence 1* during the day. They wanted a clear decision for their cases, or to continue with the promises of traveling to the USA, or cancellation of their travel and refer their files to another governments like Canadian or Australian..

The office of the refugees [UNHCR] says, that they were not able to impose upon the United States, nor refer the cases to another government, nor oppose the procedures of the Lebanese government. Mr. Mustapha Djemali, the Regional Representative in Lebanon said that he does not possess the ability to assist refugees. Also, the refugees were told by the United States Embassy could not defend them because they are not citizens, and the only thing that the refugees possess is the sit-in in front of the UNHCR office. 2*

There in their homes maybe you will not see

You don't know how possible to use a single room as a dwelling [the house is only one room] for a whole family; a mother, father, three children and the husband's brother, since year 2000! There is nothing much in the room, only 1 pillow to share. One chair for the family, a wardrobe where folded the few clothes the inhabitants own, used as a table and no beds, they all sleep on the floor.

Maybe that isn't strange if we knew that the father (who doesn't show in the picture cause he is <<The wanted man>> by the Iraqi authorities) he earns two hundred thousand pounds a month ($133), He doesn't pay the rent of the room, cause he is the doorkeeper of the building himself in <<the white district>>. A tooth of the man that had been smashed in one of the Iraqi jails as the same for the toes of his foot also his right leg that had been hit by gunshot during his crossing from Iraq to Syria clandestinely, all of them << Stamps>> [signs] for what he passed by, but the other << The stamp>> that is more painful in his dramatic life, his three young girls whom became vagabonds in northern Iraq since 1993 inside an open tent on the cold air of the Iraqi northern mountains (they still have a picture of them in there), afterwards in a small room in that camp, then is that expatriation from the father who preceded them before two years to Lebanon, then this room, where their small world ended at the limits of the small entrance of this large building. Their ages are 4, 7 and 9 years, two of them didn't go to school only for one year, and the youngest never attend a school. They missed the school this year by the waiting for the traveling which had been promised on the 26 of August last year (2001), and the reason the Lebanese schools don't accept refugees whom don't have legal documents there wasn't any chance to learn because of the Kurdish language when they were in north of Iraq. Maybe the small broken mirror that hangs from the small cupboard will help them pass the time whilst they are combing their smooth black braids.

In another small room not distant from the first room, there is a TV programmed on <<Palestine>> channel, it's the only thing helping another Iraqi family, but bigger on passing the time, it's also the room of a doorkeeper which a family of seven members live, five boys, two of them born here, and the rest like all Iraqis faced all kinds of vagabondage and fear between Iraq, the north of Iraq and Lebanon.

Why they don’t enjoy the protection? 3* 

The office of refugees (UNHCR) was suspended a year ago issuing new refugee cards, and stopped renewing the cards for those who had the <<refugee>> statue from the office which needed to study the files which didn’t achieve anything for a year normally, as Aljamal (UNHCR office) asked <<what the benefit of disrespecting card>> Because the Lebanese state didn’t recognize those people as refugees 4*, in other words the arrest happened with or without this card, therefore; the office attempted to find a solution in negotiations with the Lebanese authorities, << It is impossible for international organization to grant cards, without agreement with the authorities of the country>>, we, as he said, << We are not in a trench of the confrontation with the authorities in the country which we work in with>> he added, that Lebanon didn’t sign the 51UN Convention , that conventions usually exudes legislations and some times official departments to deal with refugee matters 5*, But in opposite of that, Lebanon is a member in the executive UNHCR committee. However, the office of UNHCR in Lebanon established in (had been created in the early) 60s according to orally agreement between the UN and the Lebanese government. But today, the office is trying to make an agreement to establish a formal office for the UNHCR in Lebanon.

A promise of travel also doesn't defend!!!

If the <<refugee>> card doesn't protect its holder, isn't the letter that received by whom had the promise for resettlement to protect the refugee? In its wording included: << that so-and-so, whom had the approval for resettlement in that date, he is a refugee under protection of the UNHCR>> and that letter end with: << that statement had been given as notification for the concerned refugee and it's not applying to any other purpose>>?

Aljmal replied, denying considering that as contradiction! And didn't confirm the ability of that letter to protect the refugee, he spoke: "<< maybe it help in dealing matter between the authority and the refugees>>". "But the commission (UNHCR) can't object on the states ‘regulations’ as he said " it could only remind (the governments) about its obligations toward the refugee, and to ask to release a detained refugee at the date of his travel for resettlement".

What Aljmal speaking about here about finding solution with the authority was a promise he gave to the refugees to be find within maximum one month 6* when they decided to go on the strike before months. But there are a lot of stories about refugees passed the date of their travel while they were in Jail, like the story of the Iraqi refugee whom his ear had cut by Iraqi authority who had been prisoner for 3 months for driving motorbike without a license and had been extend for another 2 months when he missed the travel date.

The American government reconsiders the files

The refugees narrated about distinguish [discrimination] between Iraqi Christian families traveled in this year except one Moslem person and the other refugees, that what Aljamal denied his knowledge of that! On the other hand, the representative of the ICMC whom acting as a mediator between the refugees and the USA government 'Maha Keny' confirmed that among the small number of refugees whom had been traveled to USA there was only one Iraqi from Shi'a, she considered that as approve for no discriminate between Moslem and Christian.

In contact from her office with the regional manager of her organization (ICMC) in Istanbul, she has been informed that the USA government reconsiders the files of the refugee, which had been approved because of the 11 of September, bet she didn't inform yet about any refusal for these files. Also the USA government adopted new tough security procedures not only against the refugees, but it wasn't clear enough wither these new procedures were for all world or only for those refugees in the area (Middle east) 7*. As a reply about what the USA government could offer as protection for approval refugees in principle, "<< I can't answer in behalf of the Americans regarding that subject>>" as speaking the regional manager of the organization (ICMC).

Keny who tried yesterday to negotiate with the striker refugees to convince them to stop their strike without any success, she provoked them to send letter with their demands to the immigration office (in USA), she consider that strike is a harmful for them! The refugees kept saying "<<let the USA to refuse us and to tell us>>" 8*… but that happing actually after that tremendous amount of information that the American government gaining from the deserter Iraqi officers and the workers in very important places (sensitive military places in Iraq) within the interviews that preceding the approval for resettlement applications.

The refugees are the same whether they were refused or accepted or promised with resettlement.. All of them (refugees) are facing the possibility of arrest at any time and deportation to Iraq directly or to its north due to no existence of joint borders with Iraq, but the deported refugees whom succeeded to hide from the Iraqi authorities are trying to come back (to Lebanon) in an endless circle, in a circle which the smuggling gangs participated effectively in, with the advantage of the border and to use the refugees who're running away from fear.

Small refugees, pictured clandestinely from their parents whom reside <<illegally>>