Iraq: Every Syrian in Iraq is scared

BAGHDAD, 14 Jan 2007 (IRIN) - Thousands of Syrian refugees and residents in Iraq face increasing violence and lack of assistance from local NGOs, according to rights groups.

"Our situation in Iraq is worsening daily. Militias have been targeting us, alleging that we are [former Iraqi president] Saddam Hussein's followers. And even after his death, the violence has increased," said Samir Saeed, a Syrian who is the vice-president of the Syrian Peace Association (SPA), a Baghdad-based human rights NGO.

"In the past two weeks, at least four Syrian nationals have disappeared from their homes in the capital. Neighbours said that militias entered their homes and forced them to go with them."

Saeed added that at least 150 Syrians have been killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there were 686 registered Syrian refugees in Iraq at the beginning of January. Of these, 584 were Syrian Arabs, who mainly live in the Baghdad and Ninewa governorates, and 102 were Syrian Kurds, who live in the three northern governorates of Iraq - Ninewa, Dahuk and Arbil.

"In addition to the Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR, we believe there are about 1,000 Syrians in the capital and 500 in different places in Iraq, especially Mosul and Kirkuk," Saeed said.

"Every Syrian in Iraq is scared because of the violence they are facing and most of them have no financial means to leave the country. Also, most of them have built their lives here or are married to Iraqis," he said.

Iraq's Syrian Arab refugees arrived in waves between 1954 and 1993, following a succession of coup d'etats that changed the balance of power there and led to the persecution of Syrians of opposing political views.

"The majority of Syrian Arab refugees inside Iraq were granted asylum by Iraq's pre-2003 Ba'athist government on the basis of their membership in dissident factions within the Syrian Ba'ath Party," said Anita Raman, Associate Reporting Officer for UNHCR Iraq Operation.

Syrian Kurds began arriving in Iraq in 1964 after the Syrian government declared that 100,000 of them were not Syrian citizens and later banned them from owning land, houses and businesses.

According to UNHCR, some 900 Syrian Kurds have sought asylum in Iraq since 2003.

Better in Saddam’s time

In Saddam's time in power, Syrians in Iraq were supported by the Iraqi government. They were granted free education and benefited from the national food rations programme. But since the fall of Saddam's government, Syrians have been pressured to leave the country and no new Syrian students have been accepted in schools and universities.

UNHCR said it had received, and is investigating, a number of reports of recent kidnappings, murders and detentions of Syrian Arabs in Baghdad.

"UNHCR continues to express grave concern regarding the deteriorating protection climate facing refugees inside Iraq, including, in particular, Syrian Arab refugees. [UNHCR] calls on all relevant stakeholders inside Iraq to enhance their [the Syrians’] physical security through strengthened coordination and response," Raman told IRIN.

However, UNHCR denied allegations that the Iraqi government has been preventing Syrians from returning to their home country. The agency said that the Iraqi government has been cooperating with it in exploring durable solutions for this refugee group, including voluntary repatriation or resettlement.

Syrian refugees in Iraq are also in urgent need of financial support, according to the Syrian Peace Association. Even with UNHCR help, they still lack essential supplies and most of them are unemployed because of discrimination against them.

Subhi Ahmed, 39, is a Syrian father of four who recently fled his Baghdad home in fear of being targeted by militias. He has no idea how he can continue to survive in Iraq.

"I haven't had a job for nearly two years. I don't have a family in Syria and my father, who was my only relative there, died six months ago. We were living in peace with Iraqis since we moved to Iraq more than 20 years ago, but in the past two years, we have been discriminated against and have been targeted by the militias," said Ahmed.

Local NGOs say they are finding it hard to help Arab refugees in general because militias have started targeting volunteers bringing aid to refugees’ homes.

"They [militias] have been monitoring us and when they see that we are delivering supplies to an Arab family, especially Syrians and Palestinians, they stop us and force us back," said Fatah Ahmed, a spokesperson for Iraqi Aid Association (IAA).

Reproduced with the kind permission of IRIN
Copyright IRIN 2006
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies

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