Palestinian refugees from Iraq heading to Brazil

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Palestinian refugees from Iraq heading to Brazil

The Electronic Intifada, 9 July 2007

AMMAN, 4 July 2007 (IRIN) - After spending over four years languishing in a refugee camp in the Jordanian desert, 100 Palestinian refugees from Iraq will finally be heading to their new home -- Brazil.

A statement by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said the group, which includes children and the elderly, will start moving from Rweished refugee camp, 60km from the Jordanian-Iraqi border, to Brazil by September.

"The UNHCR is grateful to ... the government of Brazil for resettling an estimated 100 Palestinian refugees who formerly lived in Iraq," said the statement made available to IRIN.

The refugees will be sent to their new country in three batches, with priority given to the elderly and families with children.

According to the plan, an estimated 22 families will be settled in Sao Paulo state, while 18 families will go to Rio Grande do Sul, in the southeast and southern regions of Brazil, said the statement.

Unaccompanied elderly refugees will be settled in a home for the elderly where medical treatment is to be provided.

Assistance for 24 months

All will receive rented accommodation, furniture and material assistance for up to 24 months. Employment profiles are being analysed to ensure job opportunities for all, while a network of volunteers and local communities is being established to provide moral support during their integration.

Children will attend classes in Portuguese, before being enrolled in Brazilian schools in March 2008.

The group is currently receiving training by a team of humanitarian professionals from Brazil on Brazilian culture and is being given Portuguese lessons.

Rweished refugee camp

The Jordanian government set up the camp in 2003 in the middle of the desert with the help of international humanitarian groups to accommodate an expected influx of refugees in light of the war on Iraq.

The camp housed more than 2,000 people during the first days of war, before the Jordanian authorities decided to stop receiving more asylum seekers for fear of attracting millions of refugees from the war-torn country.

Over the past four years, most of the refugees -- from Sudan, Iran, Kurdistan, Iraq and Palestine -- were resettled in third countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Scandinavian countries and the USA.

Residents of the Rweished camp have been complaining of arduous living conditions due to the extreme weather, with blinding sandstorms in summer and bone-penetrating cold in winter.

"[Camp residents] have faced extremely harsh conditions in a dusty and scorpion-infested desert camp with nowhere to go," said the statement.

The Palestinians are the first group of refugees from outside Latin America to benefit from the "solidarity resettlement programmes" which were proposed in the 2004 Mexico Plan of Action, the statement said.

Humanitarian solution

The plan, which was adopted by 20 Latin American countries, has so far only benefited refugees from the region -- mainly Colombians. Brazil's offer will provide a humanitarian solution for Palestinians who have been in the Jordanian camp since 2003.

The UNHCR office in Brazil will also help the new arrivals better integrate into the Brazilian community by hiring bilingual (Arabic-Portuguese) staff who will be trained in Palestinian traditions and culture.

With the departure of the Palestinian refugees, only a handful of Iraqi families will be left facing an uncertain future.

Jordan, already hosting 1.2 million Palestinian refugees and nearly 700,000 Iraqis, repeatedly has threatened to shut down the camp and transfer the residents to the border. Officials from the UNHCR, however, were able to persuade Jordanian officials to keep the camp open until a permanent solution was found for the group.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article7094.shtml

Hat tip to Brazil

[homesick_american 1]

That's nice; Brazil has huge expat communities from around the world. Apparently Sao Paulo has a giant Japanese diaspora community and I hear the south of Brazil was once very popular with Polish immigrants.

[Nessa 23]

south Brazil are mostly german, portuguese and italian immigrants and also spanish, polish, russian, japanese and ukrainian, oh, and some middle-eastern.

[almaty 19]

tip of the hat to Brazil....

[natty bumppo 293]

Brazil is considered colonized by "refugees" in many ways...due to the war in Europe..each Region has its colonies... The northest has a lot of French, Netherland and others ..most decending from pirates rsrsrs. The south is really more German, when there you feel in Europe..... The Japanese colony in Sao Paulo is huge...and beautiful.... Brazil is very friendly....and welcome everybody. A piece of the world... all nations are there

[mawilson 2,133]

Good stuff. 100 down, 3,999,900 to go.

[natty bumppo 293]

Good stuff. 100 down, 3,999,900 to go.

I agree ... good stuff.

only 3,999,900 ?

we can probably find another 12 million locally

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Good stuff. 100 down, 3,999,900 to go.

I agree ... good stuff.

only 3,999,900 ?

we can probably find another 12 million locally

That number only refers to the total of Palestinian Arabs (including in Lebanon, Jordan, ...) which is about 4 million (the only groups of Arabs who have more than 11 million are Iraqis, Egyptians and Syrians).

[natty bumppo 293]

Good stuff. 100 down, 3,999,900 to go.

I agree ... good stuff.

only 3,999,900 ?

we can probably find another 12 million locally

That number only refers to the total of Palestinian Arabs (including in Lebanon, Jordan, ...) which is about 4 million (the only groups of Arabs who have more than 11 million are Iraqis, Egyptians and Syrians).

oops ... sorry ... was referencing the US illegal aliens ...

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

That number only refers to the total of Palestinian Arabs (including in Lebanon, Jordan, ...) which is about 4 million (the only groups of Arabs who have more than 11 million are Iraqis, Egyptians and Syrians).

It's not clear if you are referring to only "refugees" with your 4 million estimate here (maybe you were) but just to clarify:

More than 4.2 million Palestinians are registered as refugees with the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency.) Worldwide, the number of Palestinian people are estimated at 10.5 million.

[mawilson 2,133]

More than 4.2 million Palestinians are registered as refugees with the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency.) Worldwide, the number of Palestinian people are estimated at 10.5 million.

Not that many people, eh?

Why not just create a small state for them somewhere in Uganda?