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Occupation Forces Deny Thousands Of Iraqis Home Return
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The tragedy of Iraqis seems like soap operas
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By
Reda Hammad, IOL Dubai Correspondent
DUBAI,
UAE, May 5 (IslamOnline.net) – Several thousand Iraqis, who left
Iraq to neighboring Gulf States just before the U.S.-British invasion,
have been denied their right to return home due to non-existence of a
civil administration.
In
Dubai, more than a thousand Iraqis have gathered with their families
in UAE Rashid seaport, demanding to embark on ships that would carry
them back home.
A
thousand Iraqis have protested Monday, May 5, due to the failure of
two maritime companies to obtain a permit into Umm Qasr seaport,
controlled by the British forces, under the pretext that there has
been no administrative and security body to perform the necessary
steps for their return to Iraq.
British
forces allow ships carrying food and medical supplies into the port,
but ban commercial ones.
Thousands
of Iraqis have been staying in the seaport for nearly 2 weeks, amidst
tragic circumstances that UAE authorities have attempted to alleviate
through providing material and in kind assistance and setting up tents
for women and children.
A
Family Tragedy
Amer
Hafez, an Iraqi citizen, told IslamOnline.net that he went with his
family to UAE after his brother, who resided there, had obtained for
him a visa for visiting the Gulf state. Yet, when he decided to return
home, Anglo-American occupation denied him that right.
“I
have read an advertisement for a maritime company about organizing a
journey to Iraq via Umm Qasr seaport and booked places to return home,
particularly that the money I had was about to run out. The expenses
in UAE were pretty much high.”
“Ever
since that moment, the journey haven’t been operated yet. We refer
to the company every single day but they demand us to wait,” he
added.
He
pointed out that his problem now lies in the fact the lease of the
furnished flat they live in is about to expire. “What would I do
with a wife and four children?” he wondered.
“My
brother’s flat can’t accommodate all of us. We fled war to be
rendered homeless and denied to return home by the occupying
troops.”
Suliman
Rashid Hussein said that he resorted to sleep in the port after
staying several nights in mosques of Dubai.
“We
don’t need anybody’s help. We only ask to return home. We fled
from the attacks, yet the occupation insists to chase us outside Iraq
in order to humiliate us all,” he said.
“We
thought that once the war ends, we would simply return home. I booked
a place in a maritime journey heading towards Iraq, yet here I’m
living on the street for more than two weeks, as British troops
don’t allow commercial ships to enter Umm Qasr,” He elaborated.
Occupation
Refuses
Mohamed
Sabah said that he had resorted to both U.S. and British consulates in
Dubai to inquire about the delay of such trips heading for Umm Qasr
port, and was told by some officials that commercial ships were not
allowed to enter Umm Qasr.
“Is
this the so-called liberation claimed by Bushand his
administration?” Adel Nafie wondered in sadness.
“We
departed Iraq during the era of Saddam Hussein, whom they depicted as
dictator. They claim to have come to liberate us, yet we aren’t able
to return home and we have become homeless,” he added.
“I’ve
tried to return home via Jordan but failed to cross the Jordanian
borders into Iraq. No hope to return now via UAE. All states currently
close their borders in our faces, and nobody dares to confront the
occupation.”
Aids,
Accommodation Tents
Dubai
police, on their part, attempt to help the Iraqis who desire to return
home through constant contacts with several bodies, including the U.S.
and British consulates in order to allow commercial ships into Umm
Qasr.
The
crisis is about to be settled, as contacts are being made with UN
refugee body in order to allow Iraqis to return home via Saudi
borders, an informed source in the Dubai police told IslamOnline.net.
“Residence
permits and visas of Iraqis will be renewed till the current crisis is
solved,” Major General Sharafel Din Hussein, Dubai deputy police
chief for criminal research affairs, said.
Human
rights administration has sought to alleviate the suffering of Iraqis
and has arranged with the UAE Red Crescent Committee to provide them
with the necessary aid.
Three
tents have been set up inside Rashid seaport to provide those refugees
with a suitable place. The Red Crescent Committee has provided
financial aids amounting to about 300 Dollars per person.
It
is worth noting that UAE has restored maritime navigation with Iraq
since 1998, as number of commercial ships has increased on a large
scale.
Another
Tragedy in Bahrain
Same
chapters of the tragedy occur in Bahrain, as Iraqi families have
resorted to the Bahraini Red Crescent Committee as well as human
rights organizations and the Bahraini foreign ministry to facilitate
their return to Iraq after their savings have run out.
The
Bahraini Al-Ayam Daily has quoted on Monday, May 5, an Iraqi visiting
Bahrain before the fall of Baghdad as saying that “he left his home
with the hope of returning once the crisis is settled. Yet, his crisis
has been complicated as he and his family were denied returning to
Iraq via Damascus or Amman.”
He
contacted two Arab embassies to obtain a visa, yet was asked to wait
until things become clear.
The
paper quoted Maged Al-Hakim, the Syrian consul in Bahrain, as saying,
“Arab citizens don’t need a visa to enter Syria, yet things are
different with Iraqis, as Iraq is currently dominated by occupation
forces and their permission should be sought.”
He
said that he has been given strict instructions by Damascus to the
effect that any Iraqi should be given a permit before entering the
Syrian territories.
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