MIDDLE EAST
Al Jazeera English - Front Page
Iraq refugees in 'no man's land' The UN says it has "tried
everything to relocate them" -
By Zeina Awad at the Jordanian-Iraqi border
Most refugees are turned away at the
Jordanian-Iraqi border
About 100 Kurds are trapped on the Jordanian-Iraqi border and another
100 or so refugees are at the nearby Rweished camp.
Al Jazeera got exclusive access to the border area.
It is called No Man's Land, a refugee camp at the border between
Jordan and Iraq.
Iraqis fleeing violence in their country dream of reaching this far,
to the other side of the border.
On arrival, refugees are greeted by intense security checks.
The Jordanians have an advanced scanning system - vehicles are passed
through huge scanners, people's belonging are scanned and dogs sniff
their bags.
The sound of violence echoes from across the border.
We heard gunshots the whole time we were there, coming from an
American training base close by on the Iraqi side.
But not everyone is this lucky - most are turned away on the spot.
Others have been waiting to get in for years.
'No law, no rights'
Accompanied by Jordanian authorities, we were not allowed to speak to
any refugees.
"In the No mans camp, it is basically no law, no rights, no
protection, no humanitarian assistance"
Bill Frelick,
Human Rights Watch
However, we did find out that they are Kurds from Iran who lived in
Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Effectively stateless, they got stuck at this
border.
Bill Frelick, of Human Rights Watch, said: "In the No Man's Land camp,
it is basically no law, no rights, no protection, no humanitarian
assistance.
"They are essentially left to beg from the truck drivers that are
waiting to make the crossing between the two countries to get
handouts."
These refugees turned down the UN's offer to relocate them on the
Kurdish part of Iraq.
They insist on being resettled in a Western country.
Ruwaished camp
An hour's drive away, there is another group of people stuck in
another camp: Al Ruwaished.
It used to be home to close to a 1,000 refugees from Iraq.
Most have been resettled but a handful of families - almost all
Palestinian - are still there.
Rejected by Jordan, fearing persecution in Iraq, and blocked by Israel
from going to Gaza, these people have been all but forgotten.
Refugees have been born, got engaged and
married, and died at Ruwaished camp
Some have been born here, and others have died.
Ann-Marie Deutschlander, senior protection officer for the UN refugee
agency in Iraq, said: "Far from ideal, it was set up by the government
in order to be as far away as possible [and] as close to Iraqi border.
"It's hot in the summer, it's in the middle of the desert, it's not a
nice place to live."
The UN says it has "tried everything to relocate them" - approaching
traditional relocation countries, and some non-traditional countries.
But promises offer them little comfort. Behind the fence lie a people
stuck in limbo.
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