Iraqi refugees continue strike over halting re-settlement process in Scandinavia, the US
Saudi Arabia-Iraq, Politics, 6/30/2001

Several Iraqi refugees in Rafhaa camp at the Saudi- Iraqi borders on Friday continued their food strike they had started several days ago in protest of halting the process of re-settlement of the refugees in the Scandinavian states and the US since 1997.

The Saudi daily al-Watan said in its Friday's issue that the reason behind halting the settlement process is because of the US rejection in that when it ( the US ) offered a proposal to settle 3000 refugees in 1997, the Iraqis refused to fill the settlement applications because of the reason that the Iraqis in the US find it difficult to find works and receive no assistance, in contrary for refugees in the Scandinavian states, where they are afford housing and monthly payment.

The paper added that the Iraqi refugees refused the American request because they had ambitions to get Scandinavian offers and waited for the applications given by these countries, but these countries ( the Scandinavian states) stopped all settlement requests, and noted that the Saudi government raised the sum given to every Iraqi individual from 3000 Saudi riyals to 5000 Saudi riyals for voluntary return back to Iraq. However, those Iraqis refused this sum under the pretext that their houses in Iraq were demolished and that they have need for great spending. They submitted a request through the UNHCR in al-Riyadh to be conveyed to the Saudi authorities to increase this sum. The answer from the Saudi side was a consent and to increase the sum to 10, 000 Saudi Riyals and the first three months of this year ( 2001) was set for departure.

But, again, those Iraqis asked for additional grace period until the end of the school year and when the school year ended the Iraqis refused the Saudi offer and asked to increase the sum to 25,000 riyals to every person living in the camp.

Worthy mentioning that number of the Iraqi refugees in al-Rafhaa camp is 5118 out of 30,000 refugees who entered Saudi Arabia during the year of liberating Kuwait, when huge number of them were re-settled in several world countries and many others returned back to Iraq.

Previous Stories:
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