TIPF’s camp in Iraq: Chronology of events

By: Farshad Hoseini

International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR)

• May 2005 – Federation’s telephone rings. I hear the anxious voice of a young man. He introduces himself as Karim and tells me that by taking a lot of danger upon himself he has fled the prison or camp of TIPF in Northern Iraq. He told me that this is the first time he has access to a phone and would like to call the IFIR and tell us about the forgotten people of TIPF who are living the darkest and most frightening scenarios of our time under the 4^th Geneva Convention in Iraq. He told me about TIPF’s people who are being forgotten in purpose, because they represent one of the best examples of human rights violation by the Iranian government, by Mojahedin-e Khalq organization (MKO) and by the American government. And our fight started from that day.
• Who are TIPF prisoners? Following Saddam’s downfall, and by September 2003, many Mojahedin members held at Ashraf camp in Iraq got the opportunity to leave the MKO and took refuge in the American-run Temporary International Presence Facility (TIPF) established outside Ashraf’s walls to await their destiny i.e. to be sent to other European countries as refugees. About 200 members aged 24-50 are residing in TIPF at the present time, living in harsh and improper conditions with no determined future. They can not go back to Iran because of fear of persecution and imprisonment, torture and execution.
• IFIR starts a massive campaign. TIPF prisoners are living under the worst conditions of living, and under emotional and psychological pressures. They are depressed, with no hope for their future life, betrayed by the leadership of Mujahedin, persecuted for years by the Iranian government and finally treated inhumanly by the Americans who run the camp. Since May 2005, IFIR has started a massive and strong campaign with the goal of resettlement of all of them in a safe third country. The campaign includes organizing pickets, demonstrations, meeting with the UNHCR headquarter in Geneva, as well as meeting with the US consulate and tens of other international organizations.

• May 2006- IFIR’s telephone rings. It is a Saturday morning. This time I am not hearing an anxious voice at the other end. It is the happy voice of a young man calling me from TIPF. He tells me that the UNHCR has interviewed 170 of them and has accepted to grant them refugee status! Twenty of them have not been accepted and the remaining 10 have not yet been interviewed. He told me that people are greeting each other and everybody is so happy! Hope has entered TIPF. Our campaign has been successful.
•  August 10, 2006- Today a team of European journalists has entered TIPF. American authorities who met with the team are preventing TIPF refugees to get in contact with the journalists. This is the first time TIPF is being visited by journalists. Refugee’s anger is culminating, and refugees are gathered in front of the main office of the cap and are asking to talk with the journalists. A harsh response from the authorities creates an atmosphere of anger and despair: TIPF’s refugees take a collective protest in the form of sit-in-strike, against this censorship and prevention from contacting the journalists. They form a group of 140 refugees with the following requests:

      1- Immediate resettlement of all the refugees of the camp to a safe third country

      2- Being entitled to the rights and situation of a refugee

3- TIPF authorities should stop all the pressure and limitations imposed on TIPF refugees.

Due to bureaucratic issues, UN’s process of resettlement of these refugees has been slowed down and this is happening while the authorities of the camp have increased their psychological and materialistic pressures on the camp. The Federation is backing the refugees in their protests against these conditions. 

·   August 29, 2006- The sit-in strike is becoming bigger and bigger everyday. After 3 weeks, today they are 160. The authorities also have increased their pressure: They are now talking about moving TIPF camp to a camp with worse conditions! They have cut water and electricity of the refugees, in an attempt to break the resistance. About 30 refugees are already in bad shape due to excessive heat and inappropriate logistic conditions. Few of them are being treated. This is inhuman. After 3 years of living as a limbo, it is their most primitive right to protest against this deplorable condition. The UNHCR will visit the camp in 2 days. We have to make them aware of what is going on here.

·       October 25, 2006 – The Hunger strike. No response from the authorities and the living conditions in TIPF are getting worse. This is 75 days after the start of the sit-in-strike. Today 25 refugees are starting their hunger strike. They know that sooner or later, they will be cut again from the outside world, that’s why in their statement they are asking all freedom lovers and all supporters of refugees to come to their help and to follow up on their problems and living conditions at TIPF.

·        28th of October, 2006 – 37 refugees are in hunger strike. They are kept in 3 tents. Americans have isolated their tents with barbed wire to have close watch on them.

·       End of October, 2006 – I have contacted the refugee’s representative and have told him that the International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) will do all its best to make sure that the world outside of TIPF hears the voice of the refugees.

More than 80 days of sit-in strike and one week of hunger strike were not able to change the situation of hundreds of refugees at TIPF. Americans had planned to send these refugees back to Iran where they will for sure face torture and execution. This plan did not take place because of the massive international campaign of the International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) and the strong unified protest of the TIPF prisoners. The United States treat these people as war captives not as refugees. The 37 refugees on hunger strike are becoming weaker and weaker everyday and there is need for special treatment, but no one has made any effort regarding their health.

·        November 1, 2006 – Based on the news that I have received from TIPF, Sweden, Norway, Germany and the US governments have accepted the files of 30 refugees of TIPF. These 30 people are the ones who have a family or relatives in those countries. The process of their resettlement will be quicker than the others because they have a family member to follow their case.  Today at TIPF there is joy! People shake hands and congratulate each other. The hunger strike should stop now.

 And a question comes into my mind: What about the rest of them?

·    November 25, 2006 – Around 12.00PM, the American authorities at TIPF have called on the representative of the refugees, Mr. Ali Afarinandeh and a second refugee Mr. Javad Assadi. After isolating them from the group, Americans have imprisoned them in individual cells. Why? Because the authorities believe that these 2 are the origin of the protests and should be imprisoned! This is an illegal act against these refugees. These are not war captives. An international campaign needs to be started. This is not a safe place to keep refugees. The UN should take responsibility of its refugees and move them to a safe third country as soon as possible, before other war crimes happen in this camp. We don’t want to witness another Abughareib.