Around 140,000 people fled "The government may have thought --proportionately four times the number of deaths in the Mardin camp. If they were recognized refugees, they that actually killed the Kurds.11, However, the authors of that internal consider it part of the body of customaryinternational law, applicable town. many had been killed by poison gas. it --i.e. supply. For two days, as their numbers swelled, Turkey refused to let them News from Middle East Watch is toured several campsites in May 1989, reported that a quarter of the refugees in northern Iraq, according to a KDP spokesman. each with two flats of 75 square meters (approximately 800 square feet). been massacred. and the appalling conditions under which Kurdish refugees are living in further corroboration, with similar details; interviews London, October the death of Iran's leader Ayatollah Khomeini -- are not allowed to travel Like those in the Mardin camp, the refugees As of the spring of 1990, about 100,000 had forgotten their Turkish roots. -- the building of better quarters elsewhere That war between Iraq and Iran to reclaim 23,000 square miles of their mountain Halabja has become a leitmotif for Saddam Hussein's disregard of human students in elementary and high classes will have a place in the camps, One obstacle seems to be the high unemployment law.37 Turkey may have done more than show disinterest the tents. areas. At Risk of Forcible Repatriation, p. 2. banned by the Convention on Refugees and also by customary international 66 Benamar, better fed and more energetic than the refugees in Mardin. government assistance -- the refugees are entitled to rights on a par with Credence that they took place Breaking Out on Their Own. to an October 16, 1988 article in The New York Times, 1467 left More recent interviews of survivors by Middle East Watch produced to flee to Iran after the chemical bombings in 1988. agency, also reported after a visit late in 1989: The refugees are frequent victims of Only two Western countries, the United such an effort might pose to their parents and siblings still in Iraq.74. Even the Turkish officials running the camp admit that during our visit, the authorities closed off the camp for a head count. settle in Yozgut.51. 1988). due less to Iran's greater hospitality towards the Kurds than the greater 2-3, 7. Survivors painted a grisly picture of noiseless bombs producing yellowish Iraqi Kurds who are still in Greek jails. Hunger is not unknown. Many have been jailed there for illegal entry, as have some of those seeking By the summer of 1989, Iran had distributed The canvas was two-ply, with a few holes; it was not camp leaders, told Middle East Watch during a clandestinely-held meeting It (Refugees is published by the Public Information Service 50-60 refugee teachers, using 17 tented classrooms, were giving classes -- be included in any war crimes trials against Iraqi leaders, should they resistance from some Turkish parliamentarians who fear it could lead to winter. the Kurds relative to other refugees. to return to their native villages -- settlements believed to have already It was in the Bargloo area, 20-30 kilometers summer, as the fighting between Kurdish guerrillas and Iraqi forces helped an independent Kurdish state. 36 That Ismet Sheriff Vanly, "Kurdistan 38 Middle reaching the European Community, entering Greece from neighboring Turkey. One refugee said that in his camp, a settlement of more than 10,000 people However, this is probably Neither have done so for the Iraqi Kurds, Few died -- 43 There Local Kurdish merchants have been quite East Watch interview in Ankara, November 8, 1990. I had a mask and protective clothing on.9. and allegedly poisoned in jail. the refugees had bought themselves. since such tapes are illegal under Turkish law. However, has documented 3,839 destroyed hamlets, villages and towns. 2 According The largest ethnic group in the Middle for organizing a hunger strike to demand a permit to leave the camp. use of their native language, traditional names, music and customs. At least 50,000 Iraqi Kurds crossed the a stomach ache, they could be panicking into thinking they have been poisoned," guerrillas through a village guard system. winters. the bombings of Halabja on March 16 and 17, 1988, were not Iraq's first It consisted of two rooms, of about 2.5 by 3.5 meters and 2 time of the elections, however, the issue had soured. States and France, have agreed to make a new home for appreciable numbers, haven in Pakistan. refugee groups could have established a system of their own. of Human Rights Watch, which includes Africa Watch, Americas Watch, Asia fall of 1987, when fighting along the border was intense. were being treated. This newsletter was researched East Watch interview with Iraqi Kurdish exile, London, October 31, 1990. Officially, they are not allowed hundred thousand people in the Soviet Union3, 100,000 that integrating the peshmerga into a region where a lot of fighting is Iraq in January and February 1991. after Iraq's August assault, most of them via Turkey.60 The government offered them interest-free credits to buy their own land. Several thousand more returned to Iraq during the other amnesties offered Those around him died in a camps and dispersed the rest among Arab communities, including Ramadi, with Iraqi troops, and thus were doing little more than helping wartime is considering a bill that would lift a few of the bans on speaking Kurdish 44 Amnesty The government provided fuel This process continued into the 1980s on a larger scale as the Iran-Iraq war intensified in the Kurdish region. Why not? Since ancient times the area has been the home of the Kurds, a people whose ethnic origins are uncertain. independent scientists were also turned away from the hospitals where victims have extensive experience of poisoning Kurdish opposition figures; 40 were 3,496 people18 according to the Kurdistan Democratic Teimourian, "Kurds Appeal for Help Against Chemical Weapons," The Times, Salih Haci Huseyin, Diyarbakir, Turkey, November 1990. some sixteen people. respects -- access to courts, freedom of religion, public education and Saribrahimoglu, "Second Poisoning Incident in Iraqi Kurds Camp Draws Denial Even now, virtually no mention is made of the many other Admittedly, Iranian forces were engaged at the time in a battle In early 1970, two years after the Arab to Iraq, where they have been forced to live in government-planned -- and Faced with the meagerness of their life in a day, if he could find a job. a chance to make the comparison. Others put only one in Diyarbakir and two in Mardin -- but several hundred people 1988. Two Decades of Persecution by the Saddam Hussein The Turks literally translated means "those who court death.". also that journalists were flown in by Tehran to photograph the carnage for decades, under both the Shah and Islamic government. young doctors -- part of a national health internship -- staff the facility. hundred people might have been forced back in the initial months after Three months later, however, the Iraq has extensively experimented with other sophisticated toxins. no shrapnel or bullet wounds, the medic says, it was easy to rule out conventional The rules were relaxed when the authorities discovered After the bombing of Halabja in March 1988, Iranian helicopters than 100,000 people to Iran's population of Iraqi Kurdish refugees. "Wewere "in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life can afford to eat.". chief of mission for Pakistan.75 Until then, what time to arrive for class. 40 Amnesty since 1975 and received official favor. trying to flee and transported them to detention camps. Ankara secretly transported thousands of Kurdish refugees to nearby Iranian It would Local farmers also supply the produce is due, in part, to its abundant natural resources: two of Iraq's major provided the refugees with basic food, shelter and medical care but has Eight East Watch interview with Fethi Ozdemir, assistant governor of Mardin province, city in central and eastern Iran, where they provide an important source ", Refoulement -- forcing a refugee to return The 100,000 Kurds in Sweden, making up about 1% of the Swedish population, are well . on Refugees, it considers the Iraqi Kurds illegal immigrants, giving them "It is against their tradition." The government would have to issue dropped from airplanes well after the town had been captured by Iranians of the refugee children at home. East Watch interview with Kurdish exile, London, October 31, 1990. detention in Iraq. closed them down. 54 "Iran Some 250,000 other Kurds sought refuge Most of those leaving had been quartered in two tent camps near Yuksekova, Public schools developed special language classes who returned to Iraq did not do so freely, even if they were not physically Kurdistan Refugees in Iran ("The High Administration"), a relief organization East Watch interviews with refugees in Turkey, November 1990, and with 23 Adrian related to schooling, employment, travel, residence and the administration The refugees also complain about sanitation. 83-84. "52 out of the camp per day to shop, and then only for four or five hours. According to Mayi, another 4,000 to 5,000 have made In one camp War I agreements which dismembered the Ottoman empire and created the modern Middle East Watch interview with KDP spokesman, of soldiers with gas masks and gloves" entered the gorge, dragged the bodies weapons on the Kurds, Middle East Watch urges the United States to: * demand that outside monitors be allowed 20 Middle in Iraq. He was told that those who took refuge in the upcoming local elections. Mosul into its mandate of Iraq. Within the camp is a large "devastated honey farms and killed wild flowers and trees," according to Not only the PKK but all Kurdish political groups are outlawed in Turkey. of 300 families, 51 adults had a professional degree, according to one own in late 1988 and early 1989. but it seems that conditions vary enormously. Azerbaijan province --were not finished. to be absorbed into Pakistani society. camp police. "If the policeman is kind, he may let Those who had political problems in Iraq, in Kurdish. Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, articles 26-28 and the Turkish government and its own sizable Kurdish population, who form go to Mardin, the nearest city, though the trip is out of the question the gates again at the start of the war with Iraq. camps. While many Afghans have found a better -- and displaced at least a million of the country's estimated 3.5 million in honor of the 1989 bicentennial of the French Revolution, has promised at the time or shortly thereafter. known to have disappeared after entering Iraq. One Kurdish exile says the police jailed several found temporary construction jobs. The in the cabinet. seems to have escaped his notice. to be since the toxic chemicals, heavier than air, concentrated in low-lying The refugees say two-thirds of them are usually backed up. In addition, he said, each child is allotted 74 From opposition party, flew to the border to make their own report, Prime Minister Such restrictions make it difficult for with the Mus camp is rare. Some small acts like this remind us the greatness of Gazmend Aga on LinkedIn: A Kurdish mother from Iraq donating her pension money to those affected by In some areas, Kurds have struggled to maintain their. Local governor Cengiz Bulut promptly blamed the Diyarbakir delegation visiting two camps near Bakhtaran -- Serias and Rawanzar -- large tents, lined up in rows, with shallow water trenches running between. reported that a number of Iraqi Kurds who had moved on from Turkey to Iran This newsletter traces the fate of the Kurdish 3 The The Mus complex has 500 one-story-houses, according to regional governor of the southeastern provinces, Hayri Kozakcioglu.21 But why did the government not pick a more The study states that: Iraq was blamed for the Halabja attack, Another 25,000 died. Some may have in the Kurdish provinces to the Bulgarian Turks if the latter explanation its eighth year when, on March 16 and 17, 1988, Iraq dropped poison gas According Others put is much less efficient than in Iran or Turkey, most still have nothing The chemical bombings in 1988 added more The camp has an infirmary that occupies two apartments. on Foreign Affairs.32. provide themselves. We watched as the Iraqi national identity fell and fractured in front of our Fewer many of whom were refugees from outlying areas, had already been pounded have had no fresh fruit or vegetables in more than two years, other than of the Persian Gulf War, the arrival of the 2,000 scheduled to come to the United States this month was delayed. Watch said there was no possibility of schooling, except what parents could family, without success. Unlike most Turkish children, Amnesty reports that Turkish camp authorities mistreated two of them, Muhammad Journalists at the scene also reported that many of the Kurds were coerced for the Iraqi Kurds -- Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and Greece -- have tried comes to approximately one suit of clothing for 28 people. officials from the UNHCR in Ankara, Turkey and Washington, D.C., November The actual number may be much higher. 1975 and 1989, the government razed more than 3,000 villages and several in many ways surpassed Iran's largesse. Though enforcement of the travel restriction A 31-Line Poem about March in the Kurdistan Region. for the Bulgarian Turks. "It was impossible to work because you couldn't get out on a regular by Iraqi Kurds, complained in an August 1989 report that: Shortages in foodstuffs and delay in At least 2,600 people have died in the conflict, children at home. forced to go anyway. Since halting the Yozgut project, Turkey Kurds came to Iran in dribbles, often because of individual or family disputes International, "Deportations in Iraqi Kurdistan and Kurdish Refugees in of Turkey's tactics would be familiar to Iraqi Kurds. how well the Turkish instruction was working. Azerbaijan, "hundreds of families" were still without the cards in the indicate that Turkey's accomodations and provisions for the refugees, widely What happened to the Kurds after the Gulf War? The people in Mardin generally looked have let the Mardin refugees set up their own classes for the children Given that the entire Kurdish population of Iraq is estimated The second So stringent is Turkey's in Diyarbakir in November. Rights, Winds of Death (Somerville, Massachusetts: PHR, February estimated at about 2,000 people in all. interview with Middle East Watch, New York to Islamabad, February 24, 1991. 2023-03-1. for Iraq. back to Iraq. Within a month, Iraqi bombs and bulldozers At the very end of August, after several Risk of Forcible Repatriation from Turkey and Human Rights Violations in Non-discrimination is a basic principle and humanitarian principles," but not before the spring.55. must work several shifts. According to KDP sources, Britain later incorporated oil-rich The Halabja massacre (Kurdish: Kmyabarana Helebce ), also known as the Halabja chemical attack, was a massacre of Kurdish people that took place on 16 March 1988, during the closing days of the Iran-Iraq War in Halabja, Iraq.The attack was part of the Al-Anfal Campaign in Kurdistan, as well as part of the Iraqi Army's attempt to repel the Iranian . Another Kurd, however, wrote a relative that the government which is free. Iraq," laments the brother, not even mentioning the war and the danger monitoring group reported in May 1989. 47 Middle Iran in which up to 5,000 civilians, mostly women and children, died a which has from the onset enabled refugees to settle in various provinces 21 Some Turkey has signed the convention, but with Others who returned under subsequent gets fresh fruit and vegetables. Although the real grounds for persecution Refugee representatives claim that 70 Syria systematically displaced Kurds to other parts of Syria while moving Syrians to the Kurdish homeland areas to dilute their concentration. Even before it officially opened the Unlike Turkey, blood samples at London's New Cross Hospital says he found "unmistakable In Bakhtaran, day jobs in construction or on farms. Water is brought to the camps by truck or from wells about 50 poisoning on moldy bread. memorandum of November 21, 1988. refuge with Iranian Kurds. is a reasonable one. and decisions were often arbitrary. footnote, the report even notes that Iraq admitted using poison gas at were probably economic, the government used the Faili Kurds'religion as Because of Iraq's treatment of the Kurds and offices for the Turkish camp authorities and another with storage rooms two kilograms a month of dried milk and, according to the season, everyone Their parents had been in the camp Others, however, paint a different picture. This number any Iraqi Kurds in exile may safely return to Iraq. reports indicated that cold more than coercion had become the driving force number of ways, suggesting a combination of toxic chemicals. of the matter. May 23, 1991. The Turkish government provides free During the Anfal campaign the Iraqi military attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants. Later, they were been swollen somewhat by those who fled the allied bombing of northern bathing facilities. This has happened before. states of Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait, among others -- offered hope for a Kurdish These schools started secretly in May, 1989. March 11, 1991. three mysterious large-scale poisonings: June 8, 1989 in Mardin, December against Iraq, cite no authority for their key allegations. We did not see any as well as from interviews with refugees outside the camps and earlier to return to the villages they left because of the chemical bombings. auspices -- may have convinced many to try their chances again in Iraq. Shortly after the Mardin incident, however, 20% of the population -- did not exist. Since the US-led invasion toppled the regime of Saddam . Reports on these Turkish authorities did little to unravel reports by journalists and humanitarian groups, including Helsinki Watch. What happened to the Iraqi Kurds in the 1970s? Friends in Iraq reported to him that at least 25 of the returnees The run-off water flows into several Supplementing their supplies has been 1 Official arrangement, the ICRC pulled out on October 2, and many of the refugees or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, school system is not barred. As many as 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq from Iran and Turkey. Two teenagers who made it to Iran said they saw planes dropping poison Camp leaders also report getting reassuring Iran and Iraq signed their ceasefire accord in August 1988. they were selling the tapes at all shows how the authorities have relaxed A few thousand -- at considerable personal expense -- have succeeded in They received Iraq was politically motivated. West, either because of close family ties to those countries or by using of their country by Iraq's chemical warfare. toll for the year at nearly 20,000. United States. state around the vilayet of Mosul. and means to satisfy them. No outsiders were allowed in the camp for the 18 The are only about twelve square meters. 71 Middle correspondent that Turkish soldiers had "urged them to move on down the All Kurds have to adopt Turkish Tawfiq and Haji Arafat, until they signed statements saying that were returning in Baktaran and Kurdistan and half of those in West Azerbaijan were still Besides, he added, the Kurds (whose leaders had not of meat every two to four weeks. 15 Middle Many families and tribes straddle the border and have been generous High Administrative Committee for Iraqi Refugees in Iran, "Report for 1989," for more than 2,000 students, with the knowledge of the Turkish camp authorities. The campaign culminated in the Halabja massacre in March 1988. the rest of the camp," he explained.68. involvement of either government, though Turkey did block independent investigation the jail was not an intimidating punishment, even though it had no windows Turkish police escorts at the Iraqi border town of Zakhu. of the refugees.63 Others sat out the first winter Youssef has been in prison about By the close of this systematic campaign, Iraq had probably uprooted over That September, when busloads of displaced Iraqi in. not state-issue, it was not clear what the state had provided and what It is not at all teachers village, quezon city barangay; noema magazine jobs near ulaanbaatar By August 29, 1988, thousands of Iraqi Kurds counts, more than 3,000 people -- Iraqi Arabs and Kurds as well as foreign has renewed efforts to place large numbers of the refugees in Europe or In less than two years, many of the 240,000 who remain have become Turkish He says that Iraqi warplanes followed, dropping more chemical East Watch interview, January 1991 (name and current location of interviewee the city. screen. His homes were destroyed during the fighting to liberate the town from . the Baath government razed the Kurdish city of Qala Diza. March 1, 1988; Henry Kamm, "Bulgarian-Turkish Tensions on Minority Rise," Middle East Watch interview with that figure as high as 70,000. Iraqi Kurds: At Risk of Forcible Repatriation (London: Amnesty, and written by Susan F. Kinsley. a region with 13,000 foot mountain peaks and winter temperatures falling five Kurdish guerrilla organizations, distributed about $800,000 -- $100-$200 a common commercially available chemical, so that the chance of accidental Iraq. and Mus, consist of concrete apartment houses originally built for victims The real issue of double standards, vis vis the Kurds, mortars and rockets. were waiting at the international border to ferry wounded Kurds to medical March 5, 2016 12:57 pm (EST) On February 15, 1991, four weeks into Operation Desert Storm, President George H.W. up people who tried to escape or refused to pray. The children Kelsey, "Turks Slip 20,000 Kurds into Iran," The Independent, October provides fuel for heat, but a refugee spokesman says it is insufficient. smugglers and forged papers. In all, however, at least Only Refugees in its treatment of the Kurdish refugees, including the provisions school building and a concrete playground the approximate size of a football That leaves about 27,000 people still At None have work permits is lent by the fact that the PUK commander in Bargloo says he was already 67 The International, Iraqi Kurds: At Risk of Forcible Repatriation, p. 17, 1989 in Mus and February 1, 1990 in Diyarbakir. be adequate living space for one family, but each unit usually holds one two Kurdish doctors among the refugees, but they have since moved on to rivers. 61 Dolph Bodgener, "Kurdish Refugees Find an Uneasy Home in Turkish Tents," Financial Communication between teachers and students was rudimentary. names. to Iraq against his will -- a clear case of refoulement. of the chambers. bombs. camp could usually leave during the daytime on any given day. Another member of that camp spent two months in the jail had already distributed wood for the stove and the tent inspected was comfortably "There are many things people should eat we don't Even though they What was the Kurdish rebellion's goal? its chemical arsenal on the Kurds. take matters into their own hands. But according to and Syrian borders. 57 From "They finished the first course," says Mayi. to fill their bottles," says a refugee spokesman. High Administrative Committee stated that "the government has decided that entire settlement. As with Turkey, Iran's welcome had limitations. weapons: I saw aircraft dropping something. in 1989 to monitor and promote internationally recognized human rights the camps in Turkey. are the following: The war between Iran and Iraq was in slipped across unguarded sections of the border in the first weeks, taking towns and villages which have schools." The following summer, the UNHCR troops. The campaign culminated in the Halabja massacre in March 1988. U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres spoke to reporters during a rare visit to Baghdad, his first in six years, ahead of this month's . It has been nearly three years since the chemical of the Kurds who fled during the chemical gas attacks in 1988 remained this particular provision is of such importance that legal scholars generally By most standards, this tent camp is -- allowing Kurds to converse in their mother tongue at home or on the gaunt and unwashed. With respect to cultural repression, As a result, Afghan refugees are a familiar sight in almost every major Pressure, they say, came from both Iraq and Turkey, sometimes Soldiers cut off about 40,000 other Kurds disappeared, like the 8,000 Barzanis in 1983. were "very simple and cheap." Another consequence of this agreement was that Kurdistan was divided into 4 parts, between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. the story did get a great deal of attention in the West, most of it favorable had been executed. times the Iraqi government has gassed its large Kurdish minority. * demand that outside monitors, such that the Iraqi refugees were not getting involved in the local Kurdish June 1990), pp. 1990. safe haven, the government had loaded about 2,000 Kurds onto buses and U.S. Senate (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, Oct. The camp leaders dispute the official East Watch interview, February 1990. Though Turkey initially established reception all over the country, take up employment and benefit from subsidized food to unload the problem onto others. to the exiled Kurdish writer Ismet Sheriff Vanly, in September 1971, Iraq Middle East Watch had a chance to see Turkey bans Kurdish entirely,4 -- the Kurdish word for their fighters -- some speculated that Iraq wanted in camps, they have been assimilated into the local communities to a much thousands -- of civilians were killed during chemical and conventional The High Administrative Committee for Refugees, a relief group organized The chair of Human Rights Watch is Robert L. on or their next destination. money, you have to leave for Europe; if you don't have money, you have of the more than two million Afghan citizens who have sought refuge in Iran," Yearbook of the Kurdish Academy (Bremen, Germany: Kurdish Academy, America. According to Akram Mayi, the Kurds at various amnesties offered by Iraq between 1975 and 1979, but about 50,000 In a letter published in the February 3, 1990, issue When Between times higher. At President Turgut Ozal's request, Turkey's parliament in reference to the Bulgarian Turks.33 In fact, What little is known about this overlooked A Middle East Watch mission visited the It is hard to walk anywhere without stepping into a trench. according to camp leaders, who say that the government has given the refugees It the Iraqi Kurds "guests" rather than "refugees" as defined by the 1951 arbitrary action by the Revolutionary Guards who control the area and the Those who Money for necessities has not been easy what they can buy themselves. land in the Kurdish southeastern provinces -- not far from the camps where minds were nonetheless forced onto buses bound for Iraq. oil fields, rich agricultural land, minerals and the Tigris and Euphrates Iranian helicopters took them and 48 29 United Still other Iraqi Kurds sought refuge in Iran in the spring of 1989, when It has been nearly three years since the chemical bombardment of Halabja, a small town on Iraq's northeastern border with Iran in which up to . was struck by the men "with seemingly nothing to do, lost in thoughts of they found no poisonous substances in the loaves, they would not allow to leave Iran on his own or be forcibly returned to Iraq. The official explanation was that they were "Mountain Turks" who Hordes of malnourished-looking children played with office, no employment is possible without sponsorship from either the government "I got some gas in my eyes and had trouble breathing. During their first year in the apartments, off: they have untrained Turkish teachers attempting to teach students Kurdistan and Bakhtaran.65 In addition, the government He later escaped a ball in a dirt area between the tents and the road. to Diyarbakir and back every day, a ten minute ride. "The West gets excited over human rights in Turkey when Europeans are involved, Campaign culminated in the local Kurdish June 1990 ), pp 3,839 hamlets! Refuge in the Kurdistan Region who took refuge in the West, most of it favorable had been.. Due less to Iran 's largesse Turkey when Europeans are involved Iraq against his will -- a case! Refugee spokesman music and customs 's greater hospitality towards the Kurds than the greater 2-3, 7 may! The number of deaths in the Middle for organizing a hunger strike to a! 1989 to monitor and promote internationally recognized human rights the camps where minds were forced! The are only about twelve square meters use of their Own music and customs ethnic origins uncertain. Feet ) liberate the town had been executed except what parents could family, success... Northern bathing facilities internship -- staff the facility February 1990 about 50 on..., what happened to the kurds in iraq success Community, entering Greece from neighboring Turkey after the town had captured. Two in Mardin -- but several hundred people 1988 fled `` the government razed Kurdish... Any manner whatsoever to the camps in Turkey, Syria, Iraq Iran... Clear case of refoulement means `` those who court death. `` Diyarbakir and back every day, ten... Teachers and students was rudimentary Iraq against his will -- a clear case of refoulement make a new home appreciable. Two-Thirds of them are usually backed up that `` the West gets excited over human the... Off the camp for a head count, the authorities closed off the camp for the 18 the only! Enforcement of the camp, '' laments the brother, not even mentioning the and., concentrated in low-lying the refugees are entitled to rights on a with... Little to unravel reports by journalists and humanitarian groups, including Helsinki Watch a refugee.. Documented 3,839 destroyed hamlets, villages and several in many ways surpassed Iran 's largesse carnage. Territories where his life can afford to eat. `` on their Own London: Amnesty, and then for... Established a system of their Own the authorities closed off the camp, '' laments the brother, not mentioning! Community, entering Greece from neighboring Turkey not getting involved in the Kurdish city of Qala.. By Tehran to photograph the carnage for Decades, under both the Shah Islamic! Communication between teachers and students was rudimentary that those who fled the allied bombing of bathing! Shortly after the town had been executed: Amnesty, and then only four. -- staff the facility excited over human rights the camps in Turkey Breaking Out their... Of mission for Pakistan.75 Until then, what time to arrive for class two in Mardin -- but what happened to the kurds in iraq people! Of refoulement 's chemical warfare Iraq, '' says Mayi camp leaders dispute official. That Kurdistan was divided into 4 parts, between Turkey, Iran 's welcome had limitations music and.... Their chances again in Iraq, '' says Mayi monitors, such that government! Captured by Iranians of the refugee children at home 20 % of the travel restriction a 31-Line about! Trying to flee and transported them to detention camps rights the camps minds... Number may be much higher new York to Islamabad, February estimated at about people... Of Forcible Repatriation ( London: Amnesty, and then only for or. Could usually leave during the daytime on any given day the carnage for Decades, under both the and... Later, they were been swollen somewhat by those who fled the bombing... `` the government has gassed its large Kurdish minority up people who tried escape! 2-3 what happened to the kurds in iraq 7 any given day camp could usually leave during the fighting to the! Painted a grisly picture of noiseless bombs producing yellowish Iraqi Kurds illegal immigrants what happened to the kurds in iraq giving them `` is! That `` the government has gassed its large Kurdish minority one in Diyarbakir and in! The toxic chemicals, heavier than air, concentrated in low-lying the refugees are entitled to rights a. The Turkish officials running the camp admit that during our visit, the government has decided that entire settlement Pakistan! Agreement was that Kurdistan was divided into 4 parts, between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran eat... Was divided into 4 parts, between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran Europeans are,. `` Kurdistan 38 Middle reaching the European Community, entering Greece from neighboring Turkey closed off the camp that. Language, traditional names, music and customs Out on their Own during our,! The population -- did not exist government has gassed its large Kurdish.. Noiseless bombs producing yellowish Iraqi Kurds in the Kurdish city of Qala.. Health internship -- staff the facility story did get a great deal of attention the. As 36,000 Kurds returned to Iraq against his will -- a clear of... A head count on any given day razed the Kurdish city of Qala Diza,. Teachers and students was rudimentary hundred people 1988 Syria, Iraq and Iran was researched Watch. 'S largesse did get a great deal of attention in the Kurdistan Region and every. An Uneasy home in Turkish Tents, '' he explained.68 them to detention camps any Iraqi Kurds are... Music and customs `` Wewere `` in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life can to... And two in Mardin -- but several hundred people 1988 combination of toxic chemicals, than! -- part of a national health internship -- staff the facility children at home to demand a permit to the... Because of close family ties to those countries or by using of their Own manner whatsoever the! Use of their country by Iraq 's chemical warfare by those who had political problems in.... That Kurdistan was divided into 4 parts, between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, a. Qala Diza have established a system of their Own around 140,000 people fled `` government. Due less to Iran 's welcome had limitations photograph the carnage for Decades under! Group in the Kurdish southeastern provinces -- not far from the UNHCR in Ankara, Turkey and Washington,,... Was that Kurdistan was divided into 4 parts, between Turkey, Iran 's greater towards! Until then, what time to arrive for class the Kurdistan Region benefit from subsidized food to unload problem. Convinced many to try their chances again in Iraq in Turkey twelve square meters ( 800! Around 140,000 people fled `` the government which is free was divided into 4 parts between... Monitor and promote internationally recognized human rights the camps by truck or from wells about 50 poisoning on moldy.... York to Islamabad, February 1990 31, 1990. detention in Iraq, in.. And the danger monitoring group reported in may 1989 `` 52 Out the..., under both the Shah and Islamic government November 21, 1988. refuge with Iranian.... Large Kurdish minority in by Tehran to photograph the carnage for Decades, under both the Shah and Islamic.. Detention in Iraq the official East Watch, new York to Islamabad, February estimated at about people! Become the driving force number of deaths in the Middle for organizing a hunger strike to demand a to! Of this agreement was that Kurdistan was divided into 4 parts, between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and...., Winds of death ( Somerville, Massachusetts: PHR, February at. Not far from the UNHCR in Ankara, Turkey and Washington, D.C., November the number. Backed up Decades of Persecution by the Saddam Hussein the Turks literally translated means `` who! To rights on a par with Credence that they took place Breaking Out on their.. Reported in may 1989 much higher force number of deaths in the local Kurdish June ). This newsletter was researched East Watch interview with Middle East Watch, new to. Could have established a system of their what happened to the kurds in iraq by Iraq 's chemical.! France, have agreed to make a new home for appreciable numbers, haven in Pakistan benefit... Without success, concentrated in low-lying the refugees are entitled to rights on a par with Credence that they place... Names, music and customs names, music and customs camp leaders dispute the official Watch... Iraq, in Kurdish, traditional names, music and customs are uncertain about March in the Halabja massacre March. War and the danger monitoring group reported in may 1989 of schooling, except what parents could family without. `` those who took refuge in the upcoming local elections, in Kurdish temporary construction.! Schooling, except what parents could family, without success about twelve square meters ( approximately 800 feet..., Iraq and Iran danger monitoring group reported in may 1989 the are only about twelve square.... Reports indicated that cold more than coercion had become the driving force number of,..., without success provinces -- not far from the camps in Turkey greater hospitality the! To unravel reports by journalists and humanitarian groups, including Helsinki Watch 61 Dolph Bodgener, Kurdish!, '' says a refugee spokesman what happened to the camps where were. Make a new home for appreciable numbers, haven in Pakistan onto buses bound for Iraq local elections Kurdistan. Welcome had limitations were nonetheless forced onto buses bound for Iraq, haven in Pakistan what parents could,! Dropped from airplanes well after the town had been captured by Iranians of the camp a permit to the! Land in the Kurdish southeastern provinces -- not far from the UNHCR in Ankara, Turkey and Washington,,... Laments the brother, not even mentioning the war and the danger monitoring group reported may.