Update: Palestinian Refugees in Iraq

As Palestinians commemorated the 56th anniversary of the Nakba, scores of Palestinian refugees who fled Iraq during the 2003 US-led invasion left UNHCR’s Reweished refugee camp in eastern Jordan and went back to Baghdad. While UNHCR feels that the conditions in the country are not suitable for return, the Palestinians, including a family of nine, felt that they would be better off in Baghdad than in the refugee camp on the Iraqi border.

“We have now waited so long here that we’d rather return to Iraq and die in freedom than remain in a refugee camp where we have no life amidst snakes, scorpions, scorching heat and penetrating sandstorms,” said 53 year old Nasser Hassan Hussein. “Here our life is sand, our food is sand and our water is sand. After a year I know that there is no solution for us here, even hope cannot be found anymore. It is not fair that finding solutions seems to be so much harder for the Palestinians.”

UNHCR provided Palestinian refugees going back to Baghdad with assistance to cover their travel expenses and several months of rent support. In 2003, UNHCR registered some 23,000 Palestinians in Baghdad, although the refugee agency estimates that the actual number of Palestinian refugees in the city is closer to 35 to 42,000. Approximately 35 families are still living in tents at the Haifa Sports Club in the city. Several hundred Palestinian refugees remain in Ruweished refugee camp on the border with Iraq.


Expert on Palestinian Refugees to Work at Negotiations Support Unit, Ramallah, Occupied Palestinian Territories

The purpose of the NSU, a donor funded project, is to provide expert professional advice to the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian ministries on a range of issues related to final status negotiations with the government of Israel including the refugee issues.

Candidates must have:
- At least three years experience advising on, or analyzing, the Palestinian refugee issue.
- Excellent academic qualifications in a relevant subject.
- Very strong reading, writing and speaking skills in English and fluency Arabic.
- A detailed understanding of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Compensation will be above average for the development sector.

Please send both a cover letter and resume before 31st July to: [email protected]