Another Iranian woman trapped in the Transit Hall of Casablanca, Morocco!

Parisa and her 4 year old daughter have been trapped in the Transit Hall of Casablanca Airport since 3 March 2007

Parisa Soraya Ivrigh is yet another Iranian woman who is experiencing the dreadful pains of bewilderment as an asylum seeker, but this time in the Transit Hall of Casablanca Airport, Morocco. The IFIR’s Secretariat was informed of this new case not long after the celebrations of the end of its successful international campaign to save Zahra Kamalfar.

Parisa Soraya Ivrigh is a woman who is the victim of sexual abuse and harassments of one of the elements of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Her entire life has been subjected to daily intimidation and repeated abuse by this influential element of the Islamic Republic.

The unequal state of women within the Islamic Republic’s system and the absence of any protection for women against any sexual abuse and harassment leave more and more women vulnerable to such abuses and the violation of their dignity.

There is no legal or judiciary enforcement to preserve or protect the rights of such victims. Parisa is one of the victims of such medieval and reactionary Islamic treatment of women in Iran who has been forced to leave the country in order to rid herself of such anguish.

Parisa along with her 4 year old daughter, Aysa, was planning to enter Europe via Turkey and Casablanca, Morocco in February 2007. They were arrested and deported back to Turkey on their arrival at Casablanca Airport on producing forged passports.

Parisa applies for asylum on their return to turkey but the Turkish authorities reject her application outright and deport her back to Casablanca. In Casablanca         she tries to apply for asylum again but this time the Moroccan authorities in connection with the Iranian embassy attempt to deport her back to Iran instead of dealing with her application. Parisa resists her deportation and states that she would not return to that hell under any circumstances as this would endanger her life and would result in the abduction of her child by the man in her life who’s one of the elements of the Islamic republic regime.

Consequently, Parisa and her daughter were abandoned in the Transit Hall of Casablanca to no avail without the least of considerations or any protection.

As soon as the Secretariat of the IFIR was informed about this, it took immediate action by contacting the Moroccan Interior Office, Foreign Ministry and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asking for their urgent attention towards this case.

Farshad Hosseini, the General Secretary of the IFIR held talks with the representatives of the UNHCR in Rabat at some length and requested their urgent involvement in this case in order to prevent their deportation and to arrange their transfer to a safe place. The UNHCR authorities promised Farshad Hosseini to follow up the case and hold an interview with this woman and help her avoid deportation back to Iran.

In the meantime, the IFIR has contacted tens of human rights and women’s rights organisations in Morocco and has spread the news about the urgent and dire situation of Parisa and her daughter Aysa.

The IFIR Secretariat in connection with Parisa’s mother and the rest of her family recognised the fact that the most effective method of saving Parisa and her child would be to launch an immediate international campaign and seek the attention of the international community for help.

What should we do?

We mustn’t allow the repeat of Mrs Kamalfar’s experience of 23 months of ordeal in Moscow’s airport to happen this time in Casablanca Airport. We mustn’t allow each and every time for an asylum seeker to go through the same painstaking scenario in order to be recognised as a refugee.    

We must act now with full force to help Parisa. We must put pressure on The UNHCR and the Moroccan authorities and once more demonstrate our international solidarity to defend the rights of the refugees.

Hambastegi, The International Federation of Iranian Refugees has already prepared a petition for this purpose. Please sign this petition.

http://www.petitiononline.com/ivirgh/petition.html

We have also prepared a template for an urgent letter, found on our website:

http://www.hambastegi.org/urgent/03-28-parisa_soaraya_irvigh.html

Please sign this letter as soon as possible and post it to the following addresses of the UNHCR, The Moroccan Ministry of Interior and Foreign Trade:

Minister of Interior

M.Chakib Benmoussa

Secretariat du Ministre:

Phone:             +(212)37765660 , +(212)37760526

Fax:                +(212)37762056

Minister of Foreign Trade

Mr. Mustapha Mechahouri

Address: Avenue F. Roosevelt, Rabat, Morocco

Phone:             +(212)37761583, +(212)37761123, +(212)37762195

Fax:                 +(212)37765508, +(212)37764679

e-mail:             mail@maec.gov.ma

                        minister@mce.gov.ma

UNHCR

Address: 21 Rue de Moineaux

Casablanca

Phone:             +(212)22253314/ 31/ 36

Fax:                 +(212)22253648

e-mail:             morca@unhcr.ch

Please also forward a copy of your correspondence to us.

Hambastegi, the International Federation of Iranian Refugees, requests the immediate involvement of all noble and freedom loving people of the world to help this family.

Let’s once again demonstrate our international solidarity in defending humanity and the human values. 

For further information, please contact Farshad Hosseini:

Phone:             +(316)30414073

e-mail:             farshadhosseini@yahoo.com

Hambastegi International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR)

29 March 2007