The democracy of monkeys Or the democracy of oil

13* The Lebanese security forces worked according to orders of the director of UNHCR in Beirut Mr. Mustapha Djemali; his family name in Arabic is Aljmal. He is the Regional Representative for the Untied nations high commissioner for refugees.

In past years, the UNHCR worked hard to hide the truth about the situations of the refugees in Lebanon by different ways. That was fixed policy and what happened that day was clear crime against humanity when the UNHCR asked the security forces to prevent an Iraqi doctors and the red cross from give treatment to these refugees whom practiced hunger strike to bring attention to our situation as refugees living in bad conditions in Lebanon and facing inhuman treatment from the UNHCR and other governments. UNHCR isolated the refugees from the outer community. And even it didn’t work with local community to spread more awareness about our problems.

The plan of these refugees was to protest for the longest time possible and bring the attention of the media in hope that'll bring the attention of the local and worldwide communities for our situation. Maybe that'll help to solve some of our problems. The refugees wanted to continue that hunger strike for longest period so they need the serums, which will help them to stand the heat at Lebanon at summer. Maybe the serums will help them to bear for more days with the hunger strike. But unfortunately the people whom working for UNHCR knew the game so they asked the security forces to prevent that.

Please notice that the UNHCR building have diplomatic immunity, the government of Lebanon don’t have the right to control any thing inside the building and in same time it can’t prevent whom go in because the building belong to the UN. The government of Lebanon has one thing to do, is protect the building with full cooperation with the UNHCR. So the government can’t prevent the Red Cross from give treatment to these refugees in side the office of the UNHCR (in the garage) because simply it’s not including among its jurisdiction.

One thing more, these refugees weren’t protest against the government and they didn’t mention any word about the government of Lebanon. All the protest was against inefficiency of the UNHCR in solving our problems and the inhuman treating the refugees facing in side the office beside missing many kinds of help the refugees need for their daily life like housing or any financial support.

This picture is big proof beside what the reporter wrote in the newspaper. Please look well; you see one of the refugees gives his hand to the man working for Red Cross asking for the serum. But the man who working for Red Cross looks helpless; he is qualified to treat people under different emergent situations. He isn't porter working to deliver patients to hospitals like some one moving sacks of potato. For him giving serum to patient in the place of the accident or where it needs is an easy job. But at that day (like you see in the picture) he wasn't able to do any thing for these patients (refugees) because some one prevented him from that. Who did that will not change the fact, that act happened while the refugees are inside the building of the UNHCR and under supervision of the UNHCR's' workers at Beirut. It's clear crime against humanity for political reasons.

These refugees (like what mentioned in the newspaper) asked for investigation about the behavior of Mr. Aljmal against the refugees and they didn't want to investigate the government of Lebanon, but I think the problem is more big than just behavior, it's concern the policies of the UNHCR every where, therefore I'll ask in my new campaign for suit the UNHCR for many cases and this is just one of them as part of my mission to improve the situation of the refugees by changing the bad policies in the UNHCR. That'll prove if there is true democracy not in the world or what is there just democracy of boxes which I don't believe in. My democracy is depend on 3 points:

• The right to know.
• The right to ask.
• The right to speak my opinions.

Maybe you saw the picture of the 3 monkeys, the first one put his hand on his eyes, and the 2d on his ears and the last put his hand on his mouth. That is the symbol of the human who give on of his democratic rights. I like to see how many monkeys are there and they just do one thing ‘put paper in small box every four or five years’. these refugees weren’t monkeys, they were heroes of the refugees and they like other refugees deserve some respect and justice. I advocated myself to provide them with that what ever it’ll need sacrifices.

The trial is not just for punishing some people but it's the only way to change these dictatorial policies the UNHCR used against the refugees. It'll be the way to improve our situation as refugees and to provide us with more humanitarian dealings. I'm sorry to speak that is the only way because the people of UNHCR refused any democratic dialogue with the refugees or even with members of the community! Who come that no one has the right to ask the people whom working for the UNHCR questions? And why nobody asking the refugees about the effect of the UNHCR's policies on him?!

We're subject for these policies and it affects our life deeply. Did you hear before in the past 50 years that any one in the world invited a refugee to intend a conference dealing with refugees' issues? Did you hear before in the past 50 years that some one made a survey for refugees' opinions about UNHCR? Nothing of that happened, I didn't hear about that, if you hear so please tell me.

The trial will be the way to enhance the real democracy and respect for human rights. It'll prevent the people whom working for the UNHCR from hurting the refugees in the future. These refugees in this picture are Iraqi refugees and war against their country declared under liberation the Iraqis from despotism and to spread democracy! But what kind of democracy? The democracy of monkeys, put a paper in a box every some years? Or the democracy of oil. Poor Iraqis. When people need our oil so there is democracy and human rights and when we're the Iraqis need treatment, there will be nothing!!!

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14* No hospital provides treatment for free to any one in Lebanon whether it belongs to the government or to the private sector. Also the fees in hospitals are very expensive. The system the UNHCR uses to provide health treatment to the refugees is like this: when any refugee needs health treatment he must go to specific hospitals that the UNHCR deals with. The refugees must pay all the fees, even if it reaches thousands of dollars and that is what has happened many times, when a refugee needs surgery or treatment for chronic diseases like Asthma or diabetes. After the refugee pays for all the fees he must take the bills from the hospital to the council of churches and submit an application to regain some of the fees that he paid to the hospital. The council will pay back to the refugees only 70% of the fees, but after long procedures. This system has caused many problems for the refugee’s especially in emergency situations or when the refugee doesn't have enough money in advance and in this case he'll not receive any treatment because the refugees are illegal residents and they don't have adequate insurance to use as a guaranty instead of paying cash in advance. Like you read here when the Red Cross refused to take the refugees to hospital unless they paid cash in advance.

The refugees who practiced a hunger strike at the UNHCR' garage, were aware of that fact and if they agreed to go to the hospital they would have to pay money in advance in the hope that the council of churches will pay them back 70%, but if the Red Cross had given them treatment at the scene of the incident then the refugees would not have to pay anything. Unfortunately the UNHCR prevented the Red cross from giving any treatment to those refugees who needed it.

2 years ago and in my campaigns I explained how the UNHCR used the resettlement program as a weapon against the refugees, today you will see how the UNHCR also used health treatment as a weapon against refugees!!

Form more information, please read this article on Lebanese news site: Protesters ask UNHCR to help Iraqi refugee

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