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AMMAN, Jordan, Dec 10 (UNHCR) – For more than a
year and a half, they had lived under tents in the
inhospitable desert of the no man's land between
Jordan and Iraq. In the early hours of Thursday,
waiting for the plane that was to take them to their
new life in Sweden, the group of 185 Iranian Kurd
refugees at Amman airport could hardly believe their
luck.
"I am finally going to live as a human being again,"
said Salim Kare, a father of five who had fled Iran
during the start of the Khomeiny era. "We were
taught about the life, the schools, the laws in
Sweden. When I arrive in Sweden, in Advalla, the
place chosen for me, I will live like a Swede."
The 185 were part of a group of 387 Iranian Kurds
who were accepted for permanent resettlement in
Sweden. The first 202 travelled to Stockholm late
last month. Until only a few weeks ago, they had all
been living under tents in the no man's land where
they had become stuck when they tried to flee Iraq
and leave refugee life behind in the spring of 2003.
Most had spent almost a quarter of a century in Al
Tash refugee camp, near Ramadi in Iraq, after
fleeing Iran in the aftermath of the Islamic
Revolution there.
Salim has spent more than half of his life as a
refugee. Surrounded by heaps of luggage, he did
nothing but smile in anticipation of his new life.
"We are happy to go, to start a new life, to learn
mechanics and art," said brothers Payman Saiful, 22,
and Zaman, 27. "But we are sad about the ones we are
leaving behind in that horrible place, no man's
land. It is not fair, they should get a chance too.
UNHCR should do their best."
There are still 741 refugees, 664 of whom are
Iranian Kurds, stuck in the no man's land, while 137
Palestinians are still at the Ruweished camp, some
60 km inside Jordan. In both locations, refugees
have been living under very harsh conditions since
the spring of 2003, staying under tents in a desert
area subject to extreme climatic variations. They
now face a second winter of freezing temperatures
with no immediate solution in sight to help them.
For the past one-and-a-half years, UNHCR has been
calling on the generosity of countries around the
world to help those stranded refugees. The agency
has submitted 880 cases for resettlement to such
countries as the United States, Australia, Ireland
and the Scandinavian countries. To date, despite the
generosity of Sweden and other countries, hundreds
of these requests remain pending.
UNHCR also wrote to many Arab countries requesting
them to grant shelter, even on a temporary basis, to
Palestinian refugees stranded at the Jordanian
border. Last year, Jordan itself agreed to give
temporary asylum to 386 Palestinians with Jordanian
spouses; while 250 Palestinians chose to leave
Ruweished to go back to Iraq. The refugee agency has
undertaken to assist countries with the financial
cost of hosting Palestinian refugees and hopes for a
positive reaction from Arab states.
"We can only do our best and we have been doing it
for a long time," said Jacqueline Parlevliet, UNHCR
Jordan's senior protection officer. "We have
submitted cases to many countries in and outside the
region. We can do little more than draw attention to
the desperate needs of these refugees, highlight
their suffering and call for help in finding a
solution for them. Unfortunately we do not have the
power to resettle them elsewhere, only nation states
can take that decision."
A decision can make the difference between a life
full of opportunities and a hopeless future. In
Amman Airport on Wednesday night, it was the
children who were the most excited to leave.
"When we arrive in Sweden, I will send my daughter
back to school," said Karim Kosadi, surrounded by
his five children. His daughter is so happy, she
cannot wait to leave. "I want to learn English and
Swedish, and everything," she interrupted. "In the
camp I did not have the chance to learn anymore, and
I have felt frustrated ever since."
Next to her, a little baby girl gazed around the
messy departure hall with a serious look on her
face.
"Sonia was born in the no man's land, one year and
four months ago, she was the first baby born there,"
her mother said. "Nowadays all she says is Lolo, the
town we are heading for in Sweden."
Sonia is young enough that she will not even
remember her life as a refugee; she will only be
reminded by her parents of the years they spent in
the camps. She has the chance of a normal life in a
country she can call home. Dozens of children still
in the no man's land are waiting for a similar
chance.
By Astrid Van Genderen Stort
In Jordan
Reuters
Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
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