Van is Beautiful, But Not for Refugees -- July 3, 2001

          The city of “Van” in Kurdistan part of Turkey, with its beautiful and natural lake, is absorbing thousands of refuge-seekers who for various political, economic and social reasons have gone into exile, and in the direction of their hard and tiresome journey towards refuge-taking countries, have unwillingly taken abode in this city.  Although within this huge swarm of refugees, Afghani citizens, Iraqi and other nationalities can be seen, Iranian refugees especially the Kurds comprise the majority of them.  The narrated hardship and painful life conditions of these refuge-less that their numbers increase every movement, is the suffering story of thousands of humans that every hour and day of their life is filled with undesirable poverty, deprivation, contempt, insult and other tormenting psychological and physical pressures.  Refugees who disappointment, despair and confusion have seized their life, and an unknown and ambiguous future is waiting for them, any flashes of hope within them has been transformed into uncertainty.  Together, we will turn a few pages of this suffering book.

            Most of these refugees residing in the city of Van have reached the city via the borders of Kurdistan between Iran and Turkey by human traffickers, and of course by paying lots of money.  Passing through the land mine fields and border patrol ambuscades of both sides, and crossing unreachable mountains that in cold season can be deadly, are threats that these people have to face.  Within recent years, people along with their spouses and children have been trapped in the ambuscades of border patrol forces, and they have been mass murdered or traffickers have left them in mountain ranges after stripping them of their precious possessions.  Or after so much sacrifices and passing the above dangers, before being able to report themselves to the UN, they have been detained by the Turkish police, and have been handed back to the Iranian forces along the borderlines.  Currently in Mahabad and Urmieh city prisons and other frontier cities, there are many people who have been deported back to Iran by police and border patrol forces.  These people, based on various accusations must spend some time in these jails, and of course in such a case the danger of brutal punishment always threatens political activists and people related or connected to opposition groups.

            The composition of the UN refugee applicants in the city of Van is very diverse; independent or organizational political activists, Zartoshti and Bahai religious minorities or refugees who due to poverty and indigency sell their little possessions, and in the attempt to seek a better life stage such a dangerous journey.  People who have been forced to flee because of financial offences, while others who have started such a journey with the passion to live in the  West, can be seem among the refugees.  Most of these people who have no past political activity experiences, fail in their first interview with the UN officials; therefore, the police avoids the renewal of the temporary residency, so they have to stay in the city secretly.  The failed applicants are given another chance to give any other evidence to support their claims; otherwise, they have to cross the seas this time and head towards Greece and other central European countries with what ever left over again via human traffickers.  Or soon or later, they will be detained by the police and after tolerating so much hardship, they find themselves in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s prisons.

            Refugees must go to the police after identifying themselves to the UN for admission interview, and while receiving an identification card; they must explain to them in detail how they have entered Turkey.  At this stage too, the possibility of deportation, especially threatens those who are known as political activists, and the regime of Iran officially requests their hand over.  There have been numerous cases where such people have been returned.  Especially, lately with the trip of Saadat-adin Tatan, Turkey’s Interior Minister to Iran and his negotiations with his Iranian counterpart, Mousavi Lari, an agreement was signed by both sides that one of its contents was the tightening of borders, and deporting those who “illegally” enter the Turkish soil.  Aside from these, the officials from the two main frontier provinces meet in the city of Van or Urumieh occasionally, and exchange information in regards to border issues and the name of people who have entered Turkey from Iran; therefore, the risk of being deported is a danger that threatens every Iranian refugee.

            Aside from all of these, life conditions of refugees in this city is sorrow and dangerous.  Most of the refugees live in an extreme poverty and their income consists of assistance that they receive from their parents or relatives in Iran or abroad, or a hard work that they get paid very little in exchange for such exploitation.  The Turkish government officially prevents refugees to seek employment, and if any one caught while working, aside from being jailed, will be fined along with the employer.  Such a policy has led to employers hiring refugees who are ready to work for less than normal wage and hours.  Within the last year, and along with economic crisis in Turkey that has led to an increasing unemployment, the extreme of the police action has also increased in this respect.

            Some of the shelter-less Iranian refugees live in crypts that are less like a human shelter.  Despite such conditions, finding such so-called homes is also hard and the rent is relatively high.  Therefore, a few families are forced to rent a place together each with several children living in a room.  Also, because cheaper houses can be found in the suburbs, refugees despite shortage of safe drinking water, health services, and etc… live in these areas.  On top of this poverty and indigency, some people who due to various reasons have fled Iran, commit illegal deeds to escape such conditions, and such issue has presented an unpleasant image of the refugees in the mentality of the people in this city; consequently, this has led to the Friday Prayer of the city to call upon the government to expel them from the city.  In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the Iranian regime has more than ever turned the public opinion in this city against the refugees by sending his corrupt mercenaries into the ranks of these refugees to spread its narcotic networks by people on the pay of the regime who creep into the refugee ranks.

            The danger of terror and abduction is also another hazard that threatens the refugees particularly the political refugees.  Regime with the aim of infiltrating his agents among the refugees attempts to identify their places and finally hunt them.  Within the last few years, dozens of past political activists have been murdered in very tragic ways, or have been abducted and after a while they have found themselves in regime’s prisons.  If not cooperation, but the Turkish security forces’ silence, more and more has led to the regime’s increased intelligence operations among the refugees.  No doubt that the conditions of the Iranian refugees and among them the Kurds depends on the relations between the two countries; meaning, whenever their relations for whatever reasons has been tense, the refugees’ conditions in the country in general and particularly in this city have been better, and the danger of deportation has lessened.  On the other hand, whenever their relations are better, their conditions start to deteriorate and the possibility of their handing back escalates.

            In response to such deteriorating and inhumane conditions of refugees in the city of Van in Turkish part of Kurdistan, the UN center in this city and in Turkey in general, have been unable to accommodate the increasing number of refugees and their just demands despite efforts for better conditions.

            In this regard, before taking any measures, it is appropriate that the UN attempts to prevent the turning over of refugees to Iran by adopting more humanatarian policies, and by pressuring these countries accepting refugees attempt to dispatch these refugees, especially those with past political history who in case of deportation to Iran will face prosecution by the cleric authorities.  At the same time, it is necessary that the UN should take drastic and immediate measures in regards to the livelihood and fundamental living rights of refugees consisting of employment rights, suitable accommodation, health services, and providing educational services to children.

            No doubt, refugee rights entrenched in the international laws and norms are one of the legitimate rights, and refugees have the right to take advantage of it.  We hope that Kurdish and Iranian refugees be freed from such hardship by being allowed to take advantage of this legal right as soon as possible.

Article translated from KURDISTAN, Organ of the Central Committee of PDKI