PDKI
Translated from "Kurdistan"  the Organ of the Central Committee of Kurdistan Democratic Party-Iran
July 5, 2001

The city of “Van” in Kurdistan part of Turkey, with its beautiful and natural lake, is
absorbing thousands of refuge-seekers who for various political, economic and social reasons
have gone into exile, and in the direction of their hard and tiresome journey towards
refuge-taking countries, have unwillingly taken abode in this city. Although within this huge
swarm of refugees, Afghani citizens, Iraqi and other nationalities can be seen, Iranian
refugees especially the Kurds comprise the majority of them. The narrated hardship and
painful life conditions of these refuge-less that their numbers increase every movement, is the
suffering story of thousands of humans that every hour and day of their life is filled with
undesirable poverty, deprivation, contempt, insult and other tormenting psychological and
physical pressures. Refugees who disappointment, despair and confusion have seized their
life, and an unknown and ambiguous future is waiting for them, any flashes of hope within
them has been transformed into uncertainty. Together, we will turn a few pages of this
suffering book.

Most of these refugees residing in the city of Van have reached the city via the borders of
Kurdistan between Iran and Turkey by human traffickers, and of course by paying lots of
money. Passing through the land mine fields and border patrol ambuscades of both sides, and
crossing unreachable mountains that in cold season can be deadly, are threats that these
people have to face. Within recent years, people along with their spouses and children have
been trapped in the ambuscades of border patrol forces, and they have been mass murdered
or traffickers have left them in mountain ranges after stripping them of their precious
possessions. Or after so much sacrifices and passing the above dangers, before being able to
report themselves to the UN, they have been detained by the Turkish police, and have been
handed back to the Iranian forcesalong the borderlines. Currently in Mahabad and Urmieh
city prisons and other frontier cities, there are many people who have been deported back to
Iran by police and border patrol forces. These people, based on various accusations must
spend some time in these jails, and of course in such a case the danger of brutal punishment
always threatens political activists and people related or connected to opposition groups.

The composition of the UN refugee applicants in the city of Van is very diverse; independent
or organizational political activists, Zartoshti and Bahai religious minorities or refugees who
due to poverty and indigency sell their little possessions, and in the attempt to seek a better
life stage such a dangerous journey. People who have been forced to flee because of financial
offences, while others who have started such a journey with the passion to live in the West,
can be seem among the refugees. Most of these people who have no past political activity
experiences, fail in their first interview with the UN officials; therefore, the police avoids the
renewal of the temporary residency, so they have to stay in the city secretly. The failed
applicants are given another chance to give any other evidence to support their claims;
otherwise, they have to cross the seas this time and head towards Greece and other central
European countries with what ever left over again via human traffickers. Or soon or later,
they will be detained by the police and after tolerating so much hardship, they find
themselves in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s prisons.

Refugees must go to the police after identifying themselves to the UN for admission
interview, and while receiving an identification card; they must explain to them in detail how
they have entered Turkey. At this stage too, the possibility of deportation, especially
threatens those who are known as political activists, and the regime of Iran officially requests
their hand over. There have been numerous cases where such people have been returned.
Especially, lately with the trip of Saadat-adin Tatan, Turkey’s Interior Minister to Iran and
his negotiations with his Iranian counterpart, Mousavi Lari, an agreement was signed by
both sides that one of its contents was the tightening of borders, and deporting those who
“illegally” enter the Turkish soil. Aside from these, the officials from the two main frontier
provinces meet in the city of Van or Urumieh occasionally, and exchange information in
regards to border issues and the name of people who have entered Turkey from Iran;
therefore, the risk of being deported is a danger that threatens every Iranian refugee.

Aside from all of these, life conditions of refugees in this city is sorrow and dangerous. Most
of the refugees live in an extreme poverty and their income consists of assistance that they
receive from their parents or relatives in Iran or abroad, or a hard work that they get paid
very little in exchange for such exploitation. The Turkish government officially prevents
refugees to seek employment, and if any one caught while working, aside from being jailed,
will be fined along with the employer. Such a policy has led to employers hiring refugees
who are ready to work for less than normal wage and hours. Within the last year, and along
with economic crisis in Turkey that has led to an increasing unemployment, the extreme of
the police action has also increased in this respect.

Some of the shelter-less Iranian refugees live in crypts that are less like a human shelter.
Despite such conditions, finding such so-called homes is also hard and the rent is relatively
high. Therefore, a few families are forced to rent a place together each with several children
living in a room. Also, because cheaper houses can be found in the suburbs, refugees despite
shortage of safe drinking water, health services, and etc… live in these areas. On top of this
poverty and indigency, some people who due to various reasons have fled Iran, commit
illegal deeds to escape such conditions, and such issue has presented an unpleasant image of
the refugees in the mentality of the people in this city; consequently, this has led to the
Friday Prayer of the city to call upon the government to expel them from the city. In this
regard, it is worth mentioning that the Iranian regime has more than ever turned the public
opinion in this city against the refugees by sending his corrupt mercenaries into the ranks of
these refugees to spread its narcotic networks by people on the pay of the regime who creep
into the refugee ranks.

The danger of terror and abduction is also another hazard that threatens the refugees
particularly the political refugees. Regime with the aim of infiltrating his agents among the
refugees attempts to identify their places and finally hunt them. Within the last few years,
dozens of past political activists have been murdered in very tragic ways, or have been
abducted and after a while they have found themselves in regime’s prisons. If not
cooperation, but the Turkish security forces’ silence, more and more has led to the regime’s
increased intelligence operations among the refugees. No doubt that the conditions of the
Iranian refugees and among them the Kurds depends on the relations between the two
countries; meaning, whenever their relations for whatever reasons has been tense, the
refugees’ conditions in the country in general and particularly in this city have been better,
and the danger of deportation has lessened. On the other hand, whenever their relations are
better, their conditions start to deteriorate and the possibility of their handing back escalates.

In response to such deteriorating and inhumane conditions of refugees in the city of Van in
Turkish part of Kurdistan, the UN center in this city and in Turkey in general, have been
unable to accommodate the increasing number of refugees and their just demands despite
efforts for better conditions.

In this regard, before taking any measures, it is appropriate that the UN attempts to prevent
the turning over of refugees to Iran by adopting more humanatarian policies, and by
pressuring these countries accepting refugees attempt to dispatch these refugees, especially
those with past political history who in case of deportation to Iran will face prosecution by
the cleric authorities. At the same time, it is necessary that the UN should take drastic and
immediate measures in regards to the livelihood and fundamental living rights of refugees
consisting of employment rights, suitable accommodation, health services, and providing
educational services to children.

No doubt, refugee rights entrenched in the international laws and norms are one of the
legitimate rights, and refugees have the right to take advantage of it. We hope that Kurdish
and Iranian refugees be freed from such hardship by being allowed to take advantage of this
legal right as soon as possible.
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