7.15.2008

Palestians Relocating to Sudan- A Violent Game of Hopscotch



In the US, instability in Iraq has focused around government spending, the loss of American lives, and stark political division. However, in the midst of the chaos are roughly 34,000 stateless Palestinians who have lived in Iraq and faced persecution since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. About 3,000 of them fled to the Iraq/Syrian border, where they have been denied entry into Syria and live on extremely limited resources.
UNHCR (The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) has been in seek of a country willing to host this group. Chile and Sweden have been the most welcoming, as most countries have placed a huge stigma on the Palestinian population.
In a sad, but seemingly only, solution to this dilemma the UN will be relocating them to Sudan, the only country willing to accept them.
This decision is compounded with irony. Sudan is in the midst of a multi-actor and enduring civil war that continues to result in the murder and displacement of millions of its own citizens. On Monday, the ICC put out an arrest warrant for President Al-Bashir that many believe will only heighten the level of insecurity in the region. The relocation of thousands of Palestinians to this region is not only a disservice to Palestinians who have had their lives disrupted for decades, but also for the people of Sudan who are in the midst of an internal battle for resources and many of whom have been marginalized and persecuted by their government as well.

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