A lost homeland, and a missing boat
The family of Omar Melhem (Palestinian-Iraqi) as an example.. Part 1
Yousef Alreemawi
(ASPIRE) Founder and director- Melbourne
Ameera (junior) was 5 years old when her father, Omar Melhem, mother Ameera Al-Shabaan and two siblings boarded the plane from Cyprus to Indonesia, 5 months ago. Despite their two-month tourist visa, Omar and Ameera were not in Indonesia to enjoy its lush Archipelago islands, and though theirs was a return ticket, it was not in their intention to return to Cyprus.
Ameera (junior) was 5 years old when her father, Omar Melhem, mother Ameera Al-Shabaan and two siblings boarded the plane from Cyprus to Indonesia, 5 months ago. Despite their two-month tourist visa, Omar and Ameera were not in Indonesia to enjoy its lush Archipelago islands, and though theirs was a return ticket, it was not in their intention to return to Cyprus.
Little Ameera with her mother at Jakarta Airport- March 2012 (source: Omar Shabaan- Ameera's uncle)
Indonesia’s closeness to Australian shores makes it the ideal transit destination for immigrants from war-torn, poverty stricken countries that are in Australia’s scope such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran or Sri Lanka. In the case of little Ameera, she is one of the fourth generation of the Diaspora Palestinians, whose parents had been driven out of Haifa in Palestine and sought asylum in Iraq in 1948.
Born in 1977, Omar Melhem had not known a home other than Iraq, he had not even ventured out of Baghdad. He grew up there; went to high school and later opened up a sweetshop there. It was in Baghdad that he had his small family, that he heard from the elders, stories of his Palestinian heritage. It was in Baghdad that he forged his identity, fused between the suburbs of Baghdad and Haifa. He lived amongst the Iraqi people and shared in their toil and struggles.
Born in 1977, Omar Melhem had not known a home other than Iraq, he had not even ventured out of Baghdad. He grew up there; went to high school and later opened up a sweetshop there. It was in Baghdad that he had his small family, that he heard from the elders, stories of his Palestinian heritage. It was in Baghdad that he forged his identity, fused between the suburbs of Baghdad and Haifa. He lived amongst the Iraqi people and shared in their toil and struggles.
Omer Melhem (source: www.paliraq.com)
The fall of Saddam Hussein.s regime in April 2003 shifted the country to unprecedented levels of internal polarisation and violence that struck all colours of the Iraqi political, ethnic, religious spectrum, especially the minority groups of Iraq being the most vulnerable. Given that the Palestinian community of Iraq is one of the smallest groups of the 15, or so, minorities of Iraq, they paid the heaviest price of systematic uprooting, persecution, kidnapping, sectarian violence and ruthless killing at the hands of Iraqi government death squads as well as various militia groups that stemmed from the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Some political and sectarian Iraqi entities claim that the Palestinian Iraqis, entirely Sunni Muslims, were treated favourably under the Ba'thist regime. This caused some resentment among some segments of Iraqi society toward Palestinians despite the fact that Palestinian Iraqis were mostly living in poorly maintained suburbs and the majority of them were living below the poverty line. Compounding such negative attitudes, some Iraqis partially blamed the Palestinians for the eight-year war with Iran (1980- 1988) and the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, which resulted in the heavy bombardment of Iraq followed by 13 years of harsh sanctions. This was attributed to the discourse of the Ba'thist regime that regularly made a clear linkage between its military aspirations and Palestine in its speeches.
The peak of violence against the Palestinians took place after the bombing of the two Shiite mosques in the city of Samarra in February 2006. The circumstances of those Palestinians living in Iraq worsened considerably as they became scapegoats, synonymous with terrorists, insurgents and/or Saddamists. Human Rights Watch reported that in mid-March 2006, an unknown militia group calling itself the Judgment Day Brigades distributed leaflets in Palestinian neighborhoods, accusing the Palestinians of collaborating with the insurgents.
Official Iraqi news agencies played a large part in stoking ethnic tensions. One story is narrated by Kamal Ghannam, one of 68 stateless Palestinians who were granted humanitarian asylum by Australia in 2009 after ASPIRE had translated and lodged applications on their behalf to the Australian government. Kamal had spent years stranded in Al-Hol desert-camps on the border between Iraq and Syria. He told me how in 2006 he was kidnapped, severely tortured and threatened, and forced to make false confessions on official Iraqi television of terrorist bombings targeting Shiites.
Like the majority of Iraq's 30,000 Palestinians (approx.), Omar Melhem decided in 2007 that he had to leave Iraq, the country in which he was born and where he had lived for 30 years, to escape the prospect of certain death which threatened his family.
However leaving Iraq is a highly complex issue for Palestinians. The travel documents given to Palestinians during the Saddam regime could not be renewed now. Partly because of new complications and regulations imposed by the new regime, and partly because the simple act of going to that particular department in Civil Status building makes you an easy target for assassination by identity. And in any case, most Arab countries did not accept these documents even back in the 1980s and 1990s. Sometimes, even Iraq would not allow the holders of its own travel documents to leave the country. A few weeks ago, I heard about the bribes that had to be paid during the 1990s to an official in the Olympic committee to get a few extra names registered in the list of sports participants just so they could leave the country.
The only way out for Omar then was to pay US$4000 for forged Iraqi passports for himself and Ameerah and their two children Yusra and Ibrahim. Little Ameerah was not born yet back then.
Like the majority of Iraq's 30,000 Palestinians (approx.), Omar Melhem decided in 2007 that he had to leave Iraq, the country in which he was born and where he had lived for 30 years, to escape the prospect of certain death which threatened his family.
However leaving Iraq is a highly complex issue for Palestinians. The travel documents given to Palestinians during the Saddam regime could not be renewed now. Partly because of new complications and regulations imposed by the new regime, and partly because the simple act of going to that particular department in Civil Status building makes you an easy target for assassination by identity. And in any case, most Arab countries did not accept these documents even back in the 1980s and 1990s. Sometimes, even Iraq would not allow the holders of its own travel documents to leave the country. A few weeks ago, I heard about the bribes that had to be paid during the 1990s to an official in the Olympic committee to get a few extra names registered in the list of sports participants just so they could leave the country.
The only way out for Omar then was to pay US$4000 for forged Iraqi passports for himself and Ameerah and their two children Yusra and Ibrahim. Little Ameerah was not born yet back then.
Yusra (12 yo) and her brother Ibrahim (10 yo) in Indonesia- April 2012 (Source: Omar Shabaan, the uncle)
Their first destination was Turkey through Syria, and through there to make contact with a smuggler to take them to Greek Cyprus.
This was done in two stages; the first is to take a plane from Turkey to Turkish Cyprus, which is an immense risk because of the possibility of the forged passports being detected, and so the smuggler arranged for individuals to facilitate the safe passing from Turkey to Turkish Cyprus. The second stage was a life or death journey by car through barbed wire and mine-laden borders which separate Turkish Cyprus to Greek Cyprus. Omar had paid US$ 12000 to be taken here; US$4000 each for him and his wife, and $2000 for each child.
Their long-awaited arrival to Larnaca had marked the beginning of a new chapter of life in limbo..
To be continued..
