Lies and forgeries

Since I was an Iraqi and there was no way for the Lebanese to get rid of me, I had nothing and no one so they just kept the me in jail like other Iraqis for some time then they released us and granted us 2 weeks permission to bring a visa for any country and to leave ourselves.

After this I went to look for work in Al bqa'a valley, east of Lebanon, there I found work in gas station recommended by a friend I made in jail. After the bad experience in the jail and my disappointment with UNHCR I was ready to accept anything. My boss made good use of my situation, I was a disappointed man without any legal documents or friends so he offered me third of the normal wages and double time work. I started working 15 hours a day for 100$ a month, without any holidays when the average work is 9 hours for 250$, I agreed because I didn’t have another choice. I worked there for 3 years. Meanwhile I tried hard to find anyway I could to leave Lebanon, without any luck.

There I met an Iraqi refugee who had been recognized by the UNHCR as a refugee, he told me if I want to have recognition he could help me by forging a document for 100$ but I refused. I’m an honest man, who in the past had been forced to do things against my nature and I did not want to lie to have my proper human rights as a refugee. I was left with this feeling, to be successful as a refugee you have to be a liar, which enforced my feelings about UNHCR. In a climate like that honest people don’t have a chance because the liars have a better chance with their made up stories.

After 11th of September many people advised me to get a new forged Iraqi identity with another name so I can get a new file, because they told me the UNHCR will refuse me because of my previous rejection from them. I know one of my friends did this and now he has to live with another name, not his own but I didn’t want this and I insisted to continue the procedures with my real name with my old file even though it was 7 years old! Stories like these opened my eyes on many important issues with the procedures of the UNHCR.

I found that their system has worked the same without any changes for over six years. So what I'm saying here isn't just my problem; this is a problem on a huge scale that effects thousands of asylum seekers looking for refugee status, all needing the help of the "United Nations" This is an organization that is based on humanitarian principles and contributions to the community and to help people when they need it most. Strange, don’t you think that the organization is unwilling to help the asylum seekers and refugees when that is their purpose, and so much help is needed.

So now I ask; why are they there? And why don't they tell the truth? For us and for all the refugee community, we aren't safe and we are unprotected. There is simply no protection or future at all. Anyone without a legal residence permit is unprotected by the system. Especially someone from Iraq who could face deportation back to their country if they are arrested by the police, and it doesn’t matter if they are a refugee or an asylum seeker, there is simply no protection for them from the UNHCR.

I repeat, it's not my problem alone, this is a problem that is faced by many thousands of people that have fled their own countries looking for protection. Many thousands of people have risked their lives, and for what! To arrive somewhere they should be safe only to find they have become invisible to the people who should be helping them.

That were the feelings that I had after my first real experience with UNHCR as an Iraqi asylum seeker, I gained it after many kinds of suffering and pain, which dug deep groves of sadness into my soul. All about that and what happened next in part 2. Also how my experience with UNHCR as refugee made me an activist for human rights, peace and democracy.

I also consider myself a humble representative of the refugee/asylum seekers community, or at least an example of them. This is part 1 of my experience with UNHCR. I pray that God will give you the patience to read the next part for the sake of the voiceless and helpless people (asylum seekers and refugees). My speech about the UNHCR is not a complaint or just moaning, it's one drop in the ocean and a shout for Justice, freedom and democracy. My targets are; to show you the real picture about UNHCR, tell you the real story about refugees, discuss publicly UNHCR’ procedures to find what is not good and not working and to improve the situation of the refugees in the world.