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Iraqi refugees return home
08/12/2003 18:22 - (SA)
Basra - Hundreds of Iraqi refugees arrived back on home soil on Monday after years in exile in Iran, a correspondent reported.
The group, the third to return through the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) since the March-April war, was led by 210 heads of families who were taken to Maackhal harbour at this southern city for processing.
The majority had fled their homes in the aftermath of a Shi'ite uprising in southern Iraq put down brutally by Saddam Hussein's forces following the 1991 Gulf War.
"The return of the refugees is related to security conditions," said Burak al-Hamedi, local head of the UNHCR in Basra.
"The better the security conditions, the more refugee returns will be organised," he said.
Each family received a tent, kerosene heater, clean sheets and blankets and food.
"We used to live in a camp in very difficult conditions for all the Iraqis there," said Ali Hadi, 17.
"Every man must come back to his country one day, and after the fall of the regime we decided to come back to Iraq directly, but the poor financial conditions and the security problems delayed our return," he said.
"Until we have the means to live, we will stay in the house of one of our relatives because the former regime confiscated our property.
"Now we are armed with hope."
He was in a family of 13 led by an elder brother who crossed the border at Shalamcheh, 20km east of Basra.
After months of arduous talks and a variety of logistical headaches, the UN's refugee agency carried out a pilot repatriation of 69 Iraqi refugees from Iran on November 19.
In the absence of a formal repatriation process, many refugees had chosen to go it alone and cross the porous border illegally - despite the danger of landmines or the risk of being arrested by coalition forces.
Officials believe many of the 202 000 Iraqi refugees who were in Iran prior to the toppling of Saddam Hussein have since gone home by crossing the border but without any form of humanitarian assistance.
But about 50 000 are still waiting to go home.
The UNHCR hopes up to 20 000 more will follow in the coming months - much to the relief of Iran, home to the world's largest refugee population, most of them Afghans.
- AFP
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