PRM-FUNDED RELOCATION OF AL TASH KURDS TO ERBIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BAGHDAD 000277

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

AMMAN FOR REFCOORD CLAIRE KANESHIRO
CAIRO FOR REFCOORD GERRY CHEYNE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2016
TAGS: PREF EAID SOCI PHUM PREL IZ IR JO UNHCR PRM
SUBJECT: PRM-FUNDED RELOCATION OF AL TASH KURDS TO ERBIL
IS A SUCCESS

REF: A. 05 STATE 180059

B. 05 BAGHDAD 3918

C. 05 KIRKUK 188

D. 05 AMMAN 6270

E. 05 AMMAN 297

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD FOR
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: On January 25, RefCoord accompanied
UNHCR to Kawa to monitor and evaluate the PRM-funded,
UNHCR-implemented relocation site for Iranian Kurds
formerly resident in the Al Tash refugee camp near Ramadi
in Al Anbar governorate. All but a small percentage of
the approximately 3000 Al Tash residents have now left Al
Anbar for Kawa or Sulaymianiyah. 1273 Al Tash Kurds
relocated to Kawa, where they seem to be settling in
well. RefCoord will work with UNHCR on ways to convince
the relatively small number of individuals remaining in
the Al Tash Camp and the Al Tash Kurds on the Jordanian
border to follow their brethren north. Meetings with
local government officials discussed septel. END
SUMMARY.

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BACKGROUND ON AL TASH RELOCATION
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2. (SBU) The Al Tash Refugee Camp for Iranian Kurds in
Al Anbar is no longer viable. Security concerns have
undermined provision of adequate humanitarian assistance
and protection. The Government of Jordan has been
anxious to see the camp moved out of Al Anbar to northern
Iraq. Hundreds of refugees from Al Tash have already
flooded into Jordan; the GOJ is concerned about future
flows (refs D and E). 97 percent of the Al Tash Kurds
wanted to go to Sulaymaniyah, to join some 2,000 former
Al Tash residents who had previously been relocated.
NEA, PRM and UNHCR wanted them settled above the green
line so that they would not become pawns to increase
Kurdish presence below the green line. Efforts to
persuade the Kurdish Regional Government - Sulaymaniyah
(KRG-S) to accept the some 3,000 Iranian Kurds left at Al
Tash ultimately proved fruitless, but the KRG-Erbil (KRG-
E) agreed to relocate 2000 Al Tash Kurds to Erbil and
offered an acceptable site above the green line at Kawa
(refs B and C).

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CONCERNS OF REFUGEE COMMITTEE MEN
--------------


3. (C) BETTER THAN ANBAR: UNHCR and RefCoord held
separate meetings with the men and women of the Kawa
refugee committee. The men characterized Kawa as a vast
improvement over Al Tash. One refugee said: "We
suffered there -- kidnappings, killings. Here is very
different. We suffer only small things." These "small
things" included: 1) unemployment, 2) ID issues limiting
freedom of movement, and 3) lack of drivers' licenses.
The refugees indicated that although there are no
restrictions on their movements, the Anbar IDs they have
are not always recognized as valid by the local
authorities. Police at static check points near Kawa are
used to seeing the Anbar IDs, but the mobile police
patrols are less familiar with the Anbar IDs and
sometimes detain refugees for several hours for
investigation. UNHCR undertook to raise the issue of the
mobile patrols with the local authorities.


4. (C) UNEMPLOYMENT: The refugees said that
approximately 25 percent of men 30-35 have found work.
Women are not working. One refugee complained, "We came
from Anbar, the main area of terrorism, and the people
here are suspecting us." He cited the example of a group
of day laborers who were going with a contractor into a
PUK controlled area. They were told their Ramadi IDs
were not valid there and if they tried to enter with them
again they would be arrested.


5. (C) HEALTH ISSUES: The refugees said health services
at the camp are very limited, with a doctor on duty only
four to five hours a day. They have basic health care at
the camp, but no specialists and no facilities for
emergency care. They have no ambulance, and lack
drivers' licenses to allow them to transport patients in
private vehicles. One refugee said he knew of a refugee

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who was arrested for driving without a license while
trying to transport a female refugee with appendicitis to
the hospital. The driver allegedly paid a large fine to
avoid a one-month jail sentence.


6. (SBU) DESIRE FOR RESETTLEMENT: The refugees were
eager to discuss third country resettlement. They wanted
to talk about the details of individual cases which they
said had been accepted for resettlement or promised
interviews with various countries. They seemed to
believe that these cases were still pending. UNHCR
informed the refugees that there are no pending cases and
that resettlement is not being considered for this
population. UNHCR undertook to try and arrange a meeting
at another time to discuss individual cases in detail
since resettlement can be confusing.



7. (SBU) CONCERN ABOUT VULNERABLES: The men were
concerned about the most vulnerable individuals at the
Kawa site -- the handicapped, orphans, the frail elderly,
etc. UNHCR advised them that its NGO partner, Qandil,
was compiling information on such cases. UNCHR will
formulate a plan for those cases when it receives that
information.


8. (SBU) LITERACY AND TRANSPORT: The men wanted adult
literacy classes for refugees who had not been able to
attend school as children. They also wanted bus service
from Kawa to Erbil. UNCHR will consider the former and
will raise the latter with the local government.


9. (C) PREFERRED DURABLE SOLUTIONS OF KAWA RESIDENTS:
The men said there are three groups in Kawa: 1)
political refugees, 2) those who want to repatriate to
Iran, and 3) those who want to locally integrate in
Kurdistan. The political refugees want third country
resettlement. According to the men, those interested in
repatriation would be interested in UNHCR assisted
returns and perhaps 75% of the Kawa population want to
return to Iran -- but only if the Iranian government is
helpful on issues like identity documents, compensation,
and jobs for returnees. The men called on UNHCR to
approach the Iranians on these issues. The men had heard
reports that some Iranian families who had tried to
repatriate experienced "all kinds of problems" and have
come back to Iraq.


10. (C) KURDS ON THE JORDANIAN BORDER: The men said
they cannot help convince the 189 at the Jordanian border
to move to Kawa, as the group on the border expect to be
offered resettlement through the Ruweished Camp in Jordan
like the previous group of Al Tash refugees who
spontaneously migrated to the No Man's Land between
Jordan and Iraq(ref E). The men alleged that said some
of the previous group were not registered with UNCHR and
did not have protection claims, but were resettled
anyway. UNCHR told the men that Jordan is never going to
admit the 189 on the border and they will not be
resettled from where they are now either. The men
indicated that the 189 on the border are stubbornly
demanding resettlement because: 1) they have relatives in
Europe and elsewhere who are encouraging them and 2) the
previous group got access to resettlement through Jordan.


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CONCERNS OF REFUGEE COMMITTEE WOMEN
--------------


11. (SBU) WHAT THE WOMEN WANT: The women of the refugee
committee want training in sewing and in making flat-
weave carpets (mahfouth). They want literacy training,
with the most interest in Kurdish and English and some
interest in Farsi. They want mobile phones. They want
courses in first aid, an ambulance, and a female
physician on site every day that stays until at least 2
pm. They called for distribution of sanitary napkins,
clothing for those over 16, winter clothing, shoes.
UNHCR said Qandil was preparing a list of vulnerable
individuals for clothing distribution.


12. (C) SOCIAL CONDITIONS FOR WOMEN OF KAWA: The women
spoke freely about social conditions for female camp
residents. Girls left secondary school in Al Anbar for
security reasons, but in Kawa more girls attend high
school. No Al-Tash girls are in university yet. Women

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tend to marry between 15 and 25. Sometimes the marriages
are arranged, but the youngest female present said that
did not happen in her family because "my parents are
educated." If a woman refuses to marry, she is socially
ostracized. The women wanted to go on shopping trips
without their husbands or male family members. They
cannot go alone now for two reasons: 1) The Ramadi ID
cards were issued one per family and the male heads of
households have the family ID card and 2) Their husbands
won't let them go alone. It is socially acceptable for
women to go shopping in groups, if they can work out the
ID problem. Women and girls who do something to
embarrass the family are sometimes beaten. When asked
about honor crimes, the women mentioned only one incident
from 1999, involving a family whose abused daughter ran
off. When they caught her, they shaved her head and
humiliated her publicly, and she went crazy. She
disappeared and no one knew what had happened to her.

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SHELTER AT KAWA SITE
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13. (U) Permanent housing is planned but has not yet
been constructed. Shelter at Kawa camp currently consists
of one concrete-floored UNHCR-issued tent per family,
plus one or more concrete-block-and-mortar shed-like
structures. RefCoord and the UNHCR team visited one of
these houses. The facilities were basic, but adequate
for their purpose.

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WATER AT KAWA SITE
--------------


14. (U) Water is supplied by a tanker truck which moves
through the compound filling individual water storage
containers at each family dwelling.

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HEALTH AT KAWA SITE
--------------


15. (U) The health clinic is contained in a large
warehouse-type tent. It is divided into several
treatment rooms, a pharmacy, a waiting area, and filing
area where the refugees' health records are kept. The
staff of the medical center told us that there is one
male health worker on staff at night on a rotating basis,
but there are no doctors at night. The female doctor
comes only a few days per week. The facility was clean
and appeared well organized, although only minimal
services were available on site.

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EDUCATION AT KAWA SITE
--------------


16. (U) The school consists of two more of the
warehouse-type tents. One contains the teacher's lounge,
the administrative offices, and a few classrooms; the
other is entirely classrooms. School was in session
during the visit. The children seemed to be learning by
rote. The Qandil representative commented that "The
Kurdish education system leaves something to be desired."


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SANITATION AT KAWA SITE
--------------


17. (U) Each family dwelling has its own combined shower
and Turkish toilet. The one at the dwelling RefCoord and
UNHCR visited seemed to be in good condition.

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FOOD AND NON-FOOD ITEMS AT KAWA SITE
--------------


18. (U) The refugees appeared to be eating regularly. A
small number of sheep and goats were kept in mud-brick
pens at the outskirts of the Kawa settlement. A refugee
remarked that the livestock was from Al-Tash, and that
the number of animals was at present because the refugees
had only recently arrived at Kawa. A few chickens
wandered among the tents. Refugees of all ages appeared
to have decent-quality clothing appropriate for the

BAGHDAD 00000277 004 OF 004


winter chill. Some of the refugees, especially the women
and girls and the younger children, wore sandals and
socks rather than closed-toed shoes. The other refugees
wore sneakers or loafers. All the shoes seemed to be in
good repair. The ones wearing sandals were otherwise
dressed in a similar manner to those wearing closed-toed
shoes, suggesting the sandals may be a cultural
preference for ease of removal at the entrance to a
dwelling rather than a mark of relative poverty. The
refugee dwelling visited by RefCoord and UNHCR appeared
to be adequately equipped with essential non-food items
such as blankets, plastic sheeting, cooking
paraphernalia, and even a bicycle.

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UTILITIES AND AMENITIES AT KAWA SITE
--------------


19. (U) Power lines were visible throughout the camp.
Almost every tent seems to have a satellite dish. Some
concrete-block-and-mortar structures under construction
are slated to become shops. Overall, the tent encampment
looked far more modern, and better equipped, than the
mud-brick construction of neighboring Kawa town visible
over the berm at the edge of the relocation site.

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Comment
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20. (C) RefCoord evaluates the Al-Tash relocation to the
Kawa site as a success. PRM's funding for the project
was only dispersed to UNHCR in late September 2005 (ref
A),yet some four months later almost all the refugees
have been moved out of harms way in Al Anbar to safety in
Erbil. The camp facilities, although basic, are in good
repair and generally adequate for the immediate needs of
the population until permanent housing can be built.
RefCoord will continue to work with UNHCR on ways to
persuade the remaining Kurds in the Al-Tash camp and at
the Jordanian border to follow their brethren North to
Kawa.


KHALILZAD