The Iraqi refugees starting their hunger strike today

The strikers under compulsory house arrest..

The Iraqi refugees who are sitting-in in the garage of the UNHCR (Almatihaff) they started their hunger strike today, they have been preparing for it since Tuesday, protesting that no one is making a solution for their crisis caused by refusing of  their resettlement in USA. 11*

Whereas the security forces closed the Iron Gate of the garage on the strikers, the scene was similar to house arrest, or even a scene of a prison, one of the refugees described his prison memories where the men were forbidden to speak with their women who they missed very much. They could only see them from behind a fence or under the supervision of security men, also all the things that were brought for the prisoners must pass under strict searching even the food.

Worth mentioning here is that strikers are demanding to put an end to the suffering of nearly 400 Iraqi refugees who had been promised resettlement in USA before September 11th and they hadn't been travel, remaining under security chasing cause the Lebanese government don't recognize them as refugees and it considers them as illegal residents in Lebanon.

The strikers pleaded in their declaration to 'All the international humanitarian organizations and all good people, to intervene in sake to save the lives of the Iraqi citizens and give them all the needed facilities to help them to live and grant them temporary legal residency and help and support them as is promised by the UN human rights declaration and the international protocols concerning human rights'.

And at the same time, the Iraqi coordination community in Lebanon shares solidarity with the strikers and thanked the security forces for their understanding of the case for the strikers and their co-operation in protecting them. They also wished the UNHCR would make more effort to find a just solution for their demands. 12*

Also the ‘Office of the high council of the Iraqi Islamic revolution in Beirut’ requested all the international humanitarian organizations and all good people to intervene to save the lives of Iraqi citizens and to give them all the needed facilities to help them to live and temporary legal residency. Also to help and support them as they are obliged to under the UN human rights declaration and the international protocol concerning human rights.