A ten day old article from the Jerusalem Post caught my eye today, Palestinians Who Fled From Iraq Seeking Shelter in Sudan. I had to inquire.
Apparently:
Some 2,000 Palestinian refugees who fled from Iraq are seeking shelter in Sudan.
Several parties are trying to negotiate a solution for the Palestinian refugees who sit stranded on the border between Iraq and Syria and in camps near the border, a spokeswoman for the United Nation's refugee agency said.
Abeer Etefa, Middle East and North Africa spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told The Media Line that talks were ongoing between the UNHCR, the Sudanese government, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League.
All questions regarding resettlement of the refugees have been finalized, apart from the accommodation problem due to a housing shortage in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, Etefa said.
Palestinian refugees look outside their home in a Gaza camp in north of Amman -- Reuters (via TribuneIndia.com)After another quick Google News search, I stumbled along this from the Kansas City Star:
So, which country stepped up to end this suffering? Sudan, of all places.Perfect!!! Our government which cannot provide for the millions of its own citizens all over the country, is trying to do WHAT??? This absurd and ludicrous move is another attempt by the ruling regime to push their Arabization (a word I hate to use) policy. How will it justify this? I really can't wait to find out. There are literally tens of thousands of Sudanese citizens which have had to violently flee their homes in Darfur, south Sudan, the East and Kordofan areas. These camps, most of which I have personally visited, such as Mayo-Mandella, Jebel Awliya and Al-Selama are homes to people who have literally nothing but the clothes on their backs and the mud brick shacks they build to pretend they have something to their own in this world.
Al-Ahram, a state-backed Egyptian newspaper, reported this week on an announcement that Sudan has agreed to accept the Palestinians who fled sectarian violence in Iraq.
The Al-Ahram story said Khartoum will scoop up 2,500 refugees in all, emptying the miserable Tanaf and Walid camps. The government also agreed to accept some other Palestinians who had made it to Damascus.
Sudan is not exactly Sweden, and anyone following the Darfur conflict knows that the Sudanese government doesn't always act in such a model humanitarian fashion. Still, the dusty tableau of Khartoum should be a welcome sight for a community that spent so many agonizing months in a place even the United Nations referred to as "no-man's land."--Kansascity.com
Young Sudanese kids from Darfur in a refugee camp in Chad I believe -- WFPDon't get me wrong, I am not trying to belittle the situation of the Palestinian refugees. They are very unfortunate, but the government of a people has the responsibility to protect its citizens first, then look after its Arab (or African) "brethren." I cannot believe this government has the audacity to even propose such a move. This is without a doubt a move by the NCP to further align itself with the Arab countries and score some (cheap) points with Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and the rest of these (failed) regimes. How will it explain this to the SPLA (its partner in this so-called Government of National Unity?) and the millions of Sudanese who are homeless as I am writing this right now? This is utterly disgusting and inexcusable. But for some weird reason, I have a feeling this move will go through (if it already hasn't) and the people of Sudan will continue to suffer.
3 comments:
i have no words. WTF!
Salam ya AK, it's a pathetic PR move by the government... I blogged about this before:
http://www.sudanesethinker.com/2007/09/07/sudan-to-help-iraqs-palestinian-refugees/
And thanks for the comments on my blog. Don't have to agree on everything. Diversity of ideas is a good thing as long as we work together towards the same goal of making Sudan a better place.
Regards,
Drima :)
HAT,
Tell me about!
Drima,
Good point, I must have missed that one. Not only is it pathetic, it is disgusting!
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