At least 729 Palestinian refugees who have fled Iraq are stranded in appalling conditions in al-Tanf camp in the no-man's land on the Iraq-Syria border, as of 2 April 2008. The narrow strip of land, wedged between a concrete wall and the main transit road from Baghdad to Damascus, is dry and dusty. Temperatures soar to 50 degrees C in summer and plunge to below freezing in winter. Overcrowded tents are the only protection from the heat, the snow and the blinding sandstorms.
Danger is everywhere, especially for the children. The land is infested with scorpions and snakes. The school tents are unprotected from the busy highway, which has already claimed the life of a boy knocked down by a truck. Heating and cooking systems in the tents regularly cause fires that destroy tents - 42 tents in all, according to residents who spoke to Amnesty International delegates visiting the camp in March 2008.
A fire in April 2007, said to have been started by a spark from an electric cable, engulfed much of the camp. Three people were severely burned and 25 others, mostly children, suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation. Many people had their few possessions destroyed.
An official from UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, told Amnesty International that it was the second major fire in the camp: 'It is an example of how inappropriate and dangerous this place is for humans to live in and underlines the need to move these refugees to an appropriate and safe place.'
Despite the unsafe and harsh conditions at al-Tanf, the population of Palestinian refugees from Iraq in the camp is growing.
The camp was initially established in May 2006 when a group of 389 Palestinians fleeing persecution in Iraq went to the Syrian border but were refused entry by the Syrian authorities. The Syrian authorities have allowed in over 1 million refugees fleeing Iraq but are generally not willing to accept Palestinian refugees. The camp continues to expand as some of the approximately 4,000 Palestinians who used forged passports to enter Syria are being picked up by Syrian security forces and deported to the camp on an increasingly regular basis.
Access to services
UNHCR is the main agency helping refugees fleeing Iraq and provides food, water and fuel to those at al-Tanf. UNHCR staff in Syria visit the camp daily. UNRWA, the agency that has been helping Palestinian refugees since 1950, provides basic health, education and social services. Other UN agencies have also assisted at al-Tanf, including UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund, which has set up a child-friendly space for the camp's children, 18 of whom were born after their families arrived in the camp and have known no other life.
UNRWA and UNICEF have established a school in al-Tanf, and teachers from the camp now educate more than 150 children. However, older students forced to quit university in Iraq are unable to continue with their education.
Basic medical care is provided in al-Tanf, but people needing emergency treatment are taken to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society hospital in the Syrian capital, Damascus. Al-Tanf residents say the size of the camp's population demands full medical services on site. In 2007, a man died of kidney failure - he had initially been treated in Damascus, but when his condition suddenly deteriorated the camp could not give him the necessary emergency care and he died.
Trauma and despair
Many camp residents described to Amnesty International the horrific events that prompted them to flee Iraq and have left them traumatized. Some had been kidnapped and tortured. Others had relatives who had been abducted, mutilated and killed. Others spoke of armed militia cutting off ears, gouging out eyes, pouring acid over the head of captives.
Mas'ud Nur al-Din al-Mahdi and 'Adnan 'Abdallah Melham, both now living in al-Tanf, were among four Palestinians arrested in May 2005 and detained by the Iraqi security forces. They were tortured and paraded on television 'confessing' to a bomb attack. The four were released in May 2006 after a court ruled that there was no evidence that they had been involved in bomb attacks. Mas'ud Nur al-Din al-Mahdi told Amnesty International that the torture he suffered included being suspended upside-down for a long time and having a large stone put on his genitals.
Members of one family now at al-Tanf described to Amnesty International the murder of two of their brothers in Baghdad - Mohammad Hussain Sadeq in March 2006, and 'Omar Hussain Sadeq a year later.
The people in al-Tanf are also traumatized by the conditions in the camp and their fear that they may be stuck there for many more years. One resident pleaded with Amnesty International delegates to 'save us from this hell'. He added: 'A human being doesn't live just to eat.' Another said: 'We regret that our plight depends on political decisions rather than humanitarian considerations.'
UNHCR believes that resettlement in third countries is the only possible durable solution for these Palestinians at the present time. It told Amnesty International that the Chilean government offered to resettle an initial group of 116 Palestinians from al-Tanf; their departure is expected in April 2008. A number of other governments outside the Middle East have reportedly said they will resettle some of al-Tanf's residents, but their plight is desperate and safe resettlement cannot come quickly enough.