Kurdish refugees

The problem of Kurdish refugees and displaced people arose in the 20th century in the Middle East, and continues to loom today. The Kurds (Kurdish: کورد, Kurd‎), are an ethnic group in Western Asia, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. ^[1][2]

In Iraq, the Kurdish strive for autonomy and independence loomed into armed conflicts since 1919 Mahmud Barzanji revolt. The displacement however became most significant during the Iraqi-Kurdish conflict and parallel active Arabizations programs of the Ba'athist regime,^[3] which looked to cleanse northern Iraq of its Kurdish majority. Tens of thousands of Kurds turned displaced and fled the war zones following First and Second Kurdish Iraqi Wars in 1960s and 1970s. The Iran–Iraq War, which spanned from 1980 to 1988, the first Gulf War and subsequent rebellions all together generated several millions of primarily Kurdish refugees, who mostly found refuge in Iran, while others dispersed into Kurdish diaspora in Europe and the Americas. Iran alone provided asylum for 1,400,000 Iraqi refugees, mostly Kurds, who had been uprooted as a result of the Persian Gulf War (1990–91) and the subsequent rebellions Today, a large portion of the Kurdish population is composed of Kurdish refugees and displaced and their descendants. Refugees themselves still comprise a significant proportion of

Refugee crises

Refugees of the Kurdish-Iraqi conflict

Second Kurdish Iraqi War and the Arabization campaign in North Iraq

For decades, Saddam Hussein 'Arabized' northern Iraq.^[3] Sunni Arabs have driven out at least 70,000 Kurds from the Mosul’s western half.^[4] Nowadays, eastern Mosul is Kurdish and western Mosul is Sunni Arab.^[5]

Persian Gulf war and consequent rebellions

U.S. Marines construct a refugee camp to house Kurdish refugees, 1997

In 1991, when suppression of Kurdish rebellion in the north was initiated by Saddam and massacres of the Kurdish population appeared, Turkey ended being host to 200,000 Iraqi Kurds in a few days.^[6][7] Four days later, 1,500 refugees had died from exposure. One month later, the vast majority of refugees returned back to Iraq.^[6] Following the 1991 uprising of the Iraqi people against Saddam Hussein, many Kurds were forced to flee the country to become refugees in bordering regions of Iran and Turkey. A northern no-fly zone was established following the First Gulf War in 1991 to facilitate the return of Kurdish refugees.

Displacement during the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978-present)

In total up to 3,000,000 people (mainly Kurds) have been displaced in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict,^[8] an estimated 1,000,000 of which were still internally displaced as of 2009.^[9]

Refugees of Kurdish-Iranian conflict

Large-scale confrontations between Iranian military and PJAK resulted also in displacement of Kurdish civilians. By July 26, more than 50 PJAK fighters and 8 Revolutionary Guards had been killed,^[10] and at least 100 PJAK fighters had been wounded according to Iranian sources,^[11] while over 800 people had been displaced by the fighting.^[12]

Moqebleh (Moquoble) refugee camp

After the 2004 events in Qamishli, thousands of Kurds fled Syria to the Kurdish Region of Iraq.^[13] Local authorities there, the UNHCR and other UN agencies established the Moqebleh camp at a former Army base near Dohuk.

Syrian civil war

In response to the crisis in Syria, the Kurdish Regional Government and UNHCR established the Domiz Refugee Camp, across the border from Kurdish Syrian territories in the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. The camp, which is majority Kurdish, accommodates thousands of Syrian Kurds, offering shelter and medical care. A nearby camp offers men the option of military training, with the intention of protecting Kurdish-held territories in Syria.^[14]

Kobane crisis

Kurdish refugees from Kobanî in a refugee camp, on the Turkish side of the Syria–Turkey border.

As of result of the Kobane crisis in September 2014, most of the Syrian Kurdish population of the Kobane Canton fled into Turkey. More than 300,000 Syrian refugees are estimated to have flowed into Turkey.^[15]

Kurdish diaspora out of the Middle East

Kurds make up 80 to 90 percent of all Turkish refugees in Germany.^[16][17][18] Among Iraqi refugees in Germany, about 50 percent are Kurds.^[19] In the UK, about 65-70% of people orginating from Iraq are Kurdish, and 70% of those from Turkey and 15% of those from iran are Kurds. ^[20]

According to a report by the Council of Europe, approximately 1.3 million Kurds live in Western Europe. The earliest immigrants were Kurds from Turkey, who settled in Germany, Austria, the Benelux countries, Great Britain, Switzerland and France during the 1960s. Successive periods of political and social turmoil in the region during the 1980s and 1990s brought new waves of Kurdish refugees, mostly from Iran and Iraq under Saddam Hussein, came to Europe.^[21] In recent years, many Kurdish asylum seekers from both Iran and Iraq have settled in the United Kingdom (especially in the town of Dewsbury and in some northern areas of London), which has sometimes caused media controversy over their right to remain.^[22] There have been tensions between Kurds and the established Muslim community in Dewsbury,^[23][24] which is home to very traditional mosques such as the Markazi. Since the beginning of the turmoil in Syria many of the refugees of the Syrian Civil War are Syrian Kurds and as a result many of the current Syrian asylum seekers in Germany are of Kurdish descent.^[25][26]

There was substantial immigration of ethnic Kurds in Canada and the United States, who are mainly political refugees and immigrants seeking economic opportunity. According to a 2011 Statistics Canada household survey, there were 11,685 people of Kurdish ethnic background living in Canada,^[27] and according to the 2011 Census, more than 10,000 Canadians spoke Kurdish language.^[28] In the United States, Kurdish immigrants started to settle in large numbers in Nashville in 1976,^[29] which is now home to the largest Kurdish community in the United States and is nicknamed Little Kurdistan.^[30] Kurdish population in Nashville is estimated to be around 11,000.^[31] Total number of ethnic Kurds residing in the United States is estimated by the US Census Bureau to be around 15,000.^[32]

The Japanese government has not granted refugee status to any of the Kurds in Japan who usually file it citing human rights issues and persecution in Turkey and resulted in them living in destitution, with no education and having no legal residency status.^[33]

A clash took place outside the Turkish embassy in Tokyo in October 2015 between Kurds and Turks in Japan which began when the Turks assaulted the Kurds after a Kurdish party flag was shown at the embassy.^{[34][35][36][37][38]}

Related ethno-religious groups

Kurdish Jews

Almost all of the Kurdish Jews of north Iraq, who were numbered around 30,000 in 1950, were evacuated to Israel during operation Ezra and Nehemiah. A significant portion of those Jews self-identified as part of the Kurdish nation, despite their Jewish ethnicity and religion, and some still consider themselves as Kurds. All together 150,000 Iraqi and Kurdish Jews were encouraged to leave in 1950 by the Iraqi Government, which had eventually ordered in 1951 "the expulsion of Jews who refused to sign a statement of anti-Zionism."^[39] Significant number of Kurdish Jews composed the exodus wave of Jews from Iran in the 1950s, with only tiny communities remaining today in Sanandaj and Mahabad. Most of the newly arriving Kurdish Jews were housed in Israeli transition camps, known as Maabarot, later incorporated into development towns. Today they and their descendants are a major part of the 150,000-200,000 strong Kurdish Jewish community in Israel.

Yazidis

As many as 50,000 Yazidi refugees from Iraq arrived in Syria during the Iraq War.^[40]

See also

• Kurdish rebellions

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kurdish refugees.

References