uruknet.info
  اوروكنت.إنفو
     
    informazione dal medio oriente
    information from middle east
    المعلومات من الشرق الأوسط

[ home page] | [ tutte le notizie/all news ] | [ download banner] | [ ultimo aggiornamento/last update 01/01/1970 01:00 ] 53399


english italiano

  [ Subscribe our newsletter!   -   Iscriviti alla nostra newsletter! ]  



Deserted


What does it feel like to raise a newborn baby in an inhospitable desert where scorpions crawl about and sandstorms threaten to bring down one’s tent? Lubna Falah is about to find out. She will soon deliver her baby. This is not her first child, but she has never tried to raise one in a tent. In Baghdad, Lubna had a beautiful home. That was then. Now she is left with bad dreams and repeated nightmares. Lubna is an Iraqi Palestinian, a double refugee, living in the desert close to the border with Syria. Her ancestors fled Palestine 60 years ago when Jewish forces took control of their home in Haifa, and now she is trying to flee Iraq. She is the sister of my friend Lina. The sisters never thought they would end up in a tent. Nor did they foresee what would happen to Lina’s husband: One sunny afternoon he was taken from his home by Shiite militia, then brutally tortured and later beheaded. Then acid was poured over his head. His facial features were gone, and his family’s life in Baghdad was forever gone. For days after that, Lina was unable to speak. She would open her mouth but not a single word would come out. Lina was born in Baghdad, raised in Baghdad and loved Baghdad. But after the Americans invaded, Palestinians were no longer welcome in Iraq. They are seen as Saddam’s people — he gave them free housing and utilities...

[53399]



Uruknet on Alexa


End Gaza Siege
End Gaza Siege

>

:: Segnala Uruknet agli amici. Clicka qui.
:: Invite your friends to Uruknet. Click here.




:: Segnalaci un articolo
:: Tell us of an article






Deserted

By SIGRIDUR VIDIS JONSDOTTIR, NYTimes

palestino_2.jpg

April 11, 2009


AL WALEED, IRAQ — What does it feel like to raise a newborn baby in an inhospitable desert where scorpions crawl about and sandstorms threaten to bring down one’s tent?

Lubna Falah is about to find out. She will soon deliver her baby. This is not her first child, but she has never tried to raise one in a tent.

In Baghdad, Lubna had a beautiful home. That was then. Now she is left with bad dreams and repeated nightmares. Lubna is an Iraqi Palestinian, a double refugee, living in the desert close to the border with Syria. Her ancestors fled Palestine 60 years ago when Jewish forces took control of their home in Haifa, and now she is trying to flee Iraq. She is the sister of my friend Lina.

The sisters never thought they would end up in a tent. Nor did they foresee what would happen to Lina’s husband: One sunny afternoon he was taken from his home by Shiite militia, then brutally tortured and later beheaded. Then acid was poured over his head. His facial features were gone, and his family’s life in Baghdad was forever gone.

For days after that, Lina was unable to speak. She would open her mouth but not a single word would come out.

Lina was born in Baghdad, raised in Baghdad and loved Baghdad. But after the Americans invaded, Palestinians were no longer welcome in Iraq. They are seen as Saddam’s people — he gave them free housing and utilities, although he never granted them citizenship.

So Lina could not stay and could not leave. A second generation Palestinian refugee, she had no nationality and no passport.

The only thing Lubna and Lina could do was pitch a tent in the desert, far from the violence and the death threats in Baghdad (the militia threatened to give Lina’s sons the same treatment their father got), and hope that someone, somewhere, would hear about their plight.

Fortunately, the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees provides the people in Al Waleed with assistance. Sadly, UNHCR does not have the capacity to resolve their situation. It cannot provide them with a nationality or homes. A political decision is needed.

Lina was among the few lucky ones who got out. After roasting for two summers and freezing for two winters in the desert, the Icelandic government offered her and 28 other women and children to resettle in Iceland. They ended up in my hometown, Akranes (they arrived 15 minutes before the economic meltdown).

Today the outlook in Iceland is gloomy, but nothing compared to that of Al Waleed. Iceland, with its tiny population of 320,000 people, is proud to have offered 29 refugees the possibility of a future free of hazards.

Lina is adapting well and learning Icelandic. But she worries about her sister and other family members left behind in the camp. She has reasons to. Despite improved security, Iraqi Palestinians still cannot return to Baghdad.

A handful of other governments have invited refugees in Al Waleed to resettle in their countries. But about 1,500 people are still stuck there. Ahead is the unbearable summer heat, which makes the tents boiling hot. Lubna’s baby will be born in one of them.

Sigridur Vidis Jonsdottir is writing a book about the Iraqi Palestinians in Iceland.





:: Article nr. 53399 sent on 14-apr-2009 05:38 ECT

www.uruknet.info?p=53399

Link: www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/opinion/11iht-edjonsdottir.html?_r=2&sq=%20sigridur%2
   0vidis%20jonsdottir&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print




:: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website.

The section for the comments of our readers has been closed, because of many out-of-topics.
Now you can post your own comments into our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/uruknet





       
[ Printable version ] | [ Send it to a friend ]


[ Contatto/Contact ] | [ Home Page ] | [Tutte le notizie/All news ]







Uruknet on Twitter




:: RSS updated to 2.0

:: English
:: Italiano



:: Uruknet for your mobile phone:
www.uruknet.mobi


Uruknet on Facebook






:: Motore di ricerca / Search Engine


uruknet
the web



:: Immagini / Pictures


Initial
Middle




The newsletter archive




L'Impero si è fermato a Bahgdad, by Valeria Poletti


Modulo per ordini




subscribe

:: Newsletter

:: Comments


Haq Agency
Haq Agency - English

Haq Agency - Arabic


AMSI
AMSI - Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq - English

AMSI - Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq - Arabic




Font size
Carattere
1 2 3





:: All events








     

[ home page] | [ tutte le notizie/all news ] | [ download banner] | [ ultimo aggiornamento/last update 01/01/1970 01:00 ]




Uruknet receives daily many hacking attempts. To prevent this, we have 10 websites on 6 servers in different places. So, if the website is slow or it does not answer, you can recall one of the other web sites: www.uruknet.info www.uruknet.de www.uruknet.biz www.uruknet.org.uk www.uruknet.com www.uruknet.org - www.uruknet.it www.uruknet.eu www.uruknet.net www.uruknet.web.at.it




:: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more info go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
::  We always mention the author and link the original site and page of every article.
uruknet, uruklink, iraq, uruqlink, iraq, irak, irakeno, iraqui, uruk, uruqlink, saddam hussein, baghdad, mesopotamia, babilonia, uday, qusay, udai, qusai,hussein, feddayn, fedayn saddam, mujaheddin, mojahidin, tarek aziz, chalabi, iraqui, baath, ba'ht, Aljazira, aljazeera, Iraq, Saddam Hussein, Palestina, Sharon, Israele, Nasser, ahram, hayat, sharq awsat, iraqwar,irakwar All pictures

url originale



 

I nostri partner - Our Partners:


TEV S.r.l.

TEV S.r.l.: hosting

www.tev.it

Progetto Niz

niz: news management

www.niz.it

Digitbrand

digitbrand: ".it" domains

www.digitbrand.com

Worlwide Mirror Web-Sites:
www.uruknet.info (Main)
www.uruknet.com
www.uruknet.net
www.uruknet.org
www.uruknet.us (USA)
www.uruknet.su (Soviet Union)
www.uruknet.ru (Russia)
www.uruknet.it (Association)
www.uruknet.web.at.it
www.uruknet.biz
www.uruknet.mobi (For Mobile Phones)
www.uruknet.org.uk (UK)
www.uruknet.de (Germany)
www.uruknet.ir (Iran)
www.uruknet.eu (Europe)
wap.uruknet.info (For Mobile Phones)
rss.uruknet.info (For Rss Feeds)
www.uruknet.tel

Vat Number: IT-97475012153