September 23, 2005

President George W. Bush

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC  20500

Re:  Help Protect Stranded Iranian Kurdish Refugees in Iraq

Dear President Bush:

Kurdish Human Rights Watch, Inc. (KHRW) would like to urge you to take immediate steps to protect imperiled refugees in Iraq as it is clear that the situation on the ground is far from contained.  We demand a durable solution that ensures their protection, provides humanitarian assistance and local integration to safe areas within Iraq, and if needed, supports third-country resettlement.

Thousands of innocent refugees have been displaced two, three or more times since the U.S. and allied forces overthrew the Iraqi Baathist regime.  The refugees that are affected the worse are those located in the Al Tash refugee camp, located south of Fallujah—a city nearly destroyed in ongoing battles between U.S. military forces and insurgents.  The Al Tash camp was a place of refuge for nearly thirty years for many Iranian Kurds who have become caught in the recent crossfire.  Thousands of these refugees have been forced to seek safety elsewhere.  Many refugees fled to Jordan, only to face a closed border and had no alternative, but to live in the Al Tash camp, a region in the Sunni Triangle that affords little protection. 

KHRW is gravely concerned with the approximately, 3,500 Iranian Kurdish refugees who remain in the Al Tash camp, unable to leave, but unable to stay.  With humanitarian agencies such as UNHCR still unable to access these refugees, they experience frequent water shortages and an overall lack of security.  During a recent field visit by KHRW, many refugees expressed their desire to move north to the Sulaimanya Governorate, in Kalar and Kifri, an area where other Al Tash refugees relocated. 

The Al Tash refugees will face increasingly dire conditions if this opportunity to assist them is ignored.  To save their lives, they must not be forgotten. They need secure shelter and life’s daily necessities. They ask for a chance to live their lives with security and dignity, a chance that other Al Tash refugees and many Anfal Kurdish victims never received.  Let us not walk away from this responsibility.  

A clear and coherent action plan should be developed that ensures protection, offers humanitarian assistance, and concentrates on local integration or resettlement for the Al Tash refugees.  As a key player on the ground with a capacity to assist those most in need, it is the duty of the United States and UNHCR to ensure that refugees in Iraq do not become forgotten victims in the transition.

Your attention to this important issue is deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,

Dr. Pary Karadaghi

KHRW- Executive Director