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Uncertain Refuge, Dangerous Return: Iraq's Uprooted Minorities
Since the start of conflict in Iraq in 2003, the country’s minorities have suffered disproportionate levels of targeted violence because of their religions and ethnicities. Inside Iraq they continue to suffer this violence. Outside, they form a large proportion of those displaced, either by fleeing to neighbouring countries or seeking asylum further afield. But as this report clearly shows: having passed Iraq’s borders is no guarantee of safety.
48 pages, Paperback
Published September 24, 2009
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September 5, 2018
This is a 2009 study by an NGO called Minority Rights Group International about the plight of minorities in Iraq post the 2003 Iraq War. The descriptions of what the various groups have faced in Iraq as public safety crumbled into sectarian violence are harrowing, and the arguments they make as to why they should be admitted as refugees by the countries in the alliance that invaded Iraq, are compelling. Although I'd heard of one or two of the minority groups (such as the Yazidis and the Christians), I had no idea there were several more. This report gives brief descriptions of the minorities, which are interesting in and of themselves, together with the struggle they have faced as Iraq spun into chaos. Sadly, things only got worse once ISIS invaded Iraq in 2012 - as we all heard in the news, with the slaughter of the Yazidis, and the many instances of mistreatment of various minorities at the hands of the cruel fanatics. The study as a whole is convincing - the international community must give refuge to these minority group members that manage to escape Iraq, because central gov is (or at least circa 2009, was) mostly ineffectual in protecting them, or even admitting members into the police or having them represented in government. Some of these groups have been in Iraq for millennia, such as the Jews - unfortunately, at least as of 2009, some may no longer exist in Iraq because of concerns for safety. They have reconstituted themselves outside of Iraq, and then the challenge will be to preserve their cultures despite assimilationist pressure.
Here are the quotes:
"Minorities in Iraq
Baha'is
Baha'is are considered 'apostates' or heretics under Sharia law due to their belief in a post-Islamic religion. The Baha'i prophet Baha'ullah denied that Muhammad was the last prophet and claimed that he, Baha'ullah, was the latest prophet of God.
Black Iraqis
Black Iraqis are believed to have migrated from East Africa to Iraq around 1500 years ago... They protest prejudicial treatment, such as being referred to as 'abd', or slave.
Christians
Iraqi Christians include Armenians and Chaldo-Assyrians, who belong to one of four churches: The Chaldean (Uniate), Jacobite or Syrian Orthodox, Nestorian, and the Syrian Catholic. Christians are at particular risk because of their religious ties with the East...
Armenians
The ethnic and linguistic Armenian minority settled in Iraq before the birth of Christ. After the Armenian genocide committed by Ottoman Turks in 1915, more Armenians settled in Iraq...
Chaldo-Assyrians
Descendants of ancient Mesopotamian peoples, Assyrians live mainly in the major cities and in the rural areas of north-eastern Iraq where they tend to be professionals and business people or Independent farmers. They speak Syriac, which is derived from Aramaic, the language of the New Testament.
Circassians
The Circassians are non-Arab Sunni Muslims, originally from the Northern Caucasus, numbering no more than 2,000 in Iraq.
Faili Kurds
The Faili Kurds are Shi'a Muslims by religion (Kurds are predominately Sunni and have lived in Iraq since the days of the Ottoman Empire. ...Under the Ba'ath regime, they were specifically targeted and stripped of their Iraqi citizenship, and many were expelled to Iran on the charge that their Shi'a faith made them 'Iranian.'
Jews
The history of the Jewish community in Iraq goes back 2,600 years. Once numbering over 15,000, almost all have now left voluntarily or been forced out. ... Since 2003, the population has been reduced...now possibly numbering no more than 10 people.
Palestinians
In 2003 Iraq's Palestinian community, who are mostly Sunni Muslims, numbered approximately 35,000; between 10,000 and 15,000 remain.
Sabian Mandaeans
The Sabian Mandaean religion is one of the oldest surviving Gnostic religions in the world, dating back to the Mesopotamian civilization. John the Baptist is its central prophet... ..... There are thought to be around 6,000-70,000 Sabian Mandaeans worldwide, many of whom lived in Iraq prior to 2003. Today it is believed that there are around 5,000 left in Iraq.
Shabaks
The Shabak people of Iraq have lived mainly in the Nineveh plains, on a strip of land between the Tigris and Khazir, since 1502. There is also a small population of Shabak people in Mosul. They are culturally distinct from Kurds and Arabs, have their own traditions, and speak a language that is a mix of Arabic, Farsi, Kurdish and Turkish. About 70 per cent are Shi'a Muslim; the rest are Sunni. ...their status and lands are disputed by both the Kurds and Arabs wishing to extend land claims into the Nineveh governorate. Like other minorities in this position Shabaks are suffering targeted persecution and assimilation.
Turkmen
The Iraqi Turkmen claim to be the third largest ethnic group in Iraq, residing almost exclusively in the north... Before 2003, there were anything from 600,000 to 2 million Turkmen... Approximately 60 per cent are Sunni, while the balance are Ithna'ashari or other Shi'a. ... Although some have been able to preserve their language, the Iraqi Turkmen today are being rapidly assimilated into the general population are are no longer tribally organized.
Yazidis
Yazidis are an ancient religious and ethnic group concentrated in Jabal Sinjar...with a smaller community in Shaikhan, in Nineveh governorate east of Mosul, where their holiest shrine of Shaykh Adi is located. The 4,000-year-old Yazidi religion is a synthesis of pagan, Zoroastrian, Manichean, Jewish, Nestorian Christian and Muslim elements. Yazidis are dualists, believing in a Creator God, now passive, and Malak Ta'us (Peacock Angel), executive organ of divine will. ... Most Yazidis have fled to Syria although there is a small number ... in Jordan.
Sabian Mandaeans have joined communities of existing Sabian Mandaeans in Australia. Germany has a high proportion of Yazidi refugees.
The verdict of minorities, according to testimony collected in Jordan, Syria and Sweden, three countries where the Iraqi minority presence is particularly high, is striking: despite incentives, none of those from minority communities interviewed for this report said they would ever return to reintegrate in Iraq.
As most are also subjected to sectarian abuse during their kidnap ordeals, it is likely that the motives for kidnapping are a mixture of sectarian hatred and economic gain.
Many refugees described the emotional and psychological trauma that they had suffered as a result of their experiences.
...there is much evidence that ritual is of prime importance to displaced people seeking to understand and process their traumatic experiences. Ritual provides a reassuring source of familiarity when everything else is new and confusing; conversely, when rituals cannot be performed, it serves to compound the feeling of disorientation and upheaval.
Testimonies collected by MRG [Minority Rights Group] document persecution of minorities in the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government]-controlled areas particularly Shabaks, Turkmen and Yazidis, by both KRG officials and Asayish (intelligence services).
'The lack of effective government action to protect these communities from abuses has established Iraq among one of the most dangerous places on earth for religious minorities.'
...there is an increasing consensus that the principle...of non-refoulement--that a refugee cannot be sent back to a country whee his or her life or freedom would be threatened due to one or more of the grounds enumerated in the refugee definition -- is an obligation under customary international law.
The people of Iraq are rightly very proud of their heritage as one of the oldest civilizations in the world. As the successor to Mesopotamia, the country lays claim to being the birthplace of writing, the wheel, and the civilizations of Ubaid, Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylon. Some of the communities most closely linked to that ancient heritage are now fleeing the country in large numbers... UNESCO lists eight endangered languages in Iraq. Taking only the criterion of linguistic diversity, the disappearance of these cultures from Iraq would be a great loss to the country, as is the loss of any aspect of cultural heritage. Their presence acts as an invaluable brake on the potential drift towards supremacist ideologies motivated by sectarian hatred and the ultimate division of the country along religious and ethnic lines.
There is an urgent need to resettle a larger number of the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees currently in Iraq's neighboring countries. States who participated in the multinational force have a particular moral obligation to these refugees.
Here are the quotes:
"Minorities in Iraq
Baha'is
Baha'is are considered 'apostates' or heretics under Sharia law due to their belief in a post-Islamic religion. The Baha'i prophet Baha'ullah denied that Muhammad was the last prophet and claimed that he, Baha'ullah, was the latest prophet of God.
Black Iraqis
Black Iraqis are believed to have migrated from East Africa to Iraq around 1500 years ago... They protest prejudicial treatment, such as being referred to as 'abd', or slave.
Christians
Iraqi Christians include Armenians and Chaldo-Assyrians, who belong to one of four churches: The Chaldean (Uniate), Jacobite or Syrian Orthodox, Nestorian, and the Syrian Catholic. Christians are at particular risk because of their religious ties with the East...
Armenians
The ethnic and linguistic Armenian minority settled in Iraq before the birth of Christ. After the Armenian genocide committed by Ottoman Turks in 1915, more Armenians settled in Iraq...
Chaldo-Assyrians
Descendants of ancient Mesopotamian peoples, Assyrians live mainly in the major cities and in the rural areas of north-eastern Iraq where they tend to be professionals and business people or Independent farmers. They speak Syriac, which is derived from Aramaic, the language of the New Testament.
Circassians
The Circassians are non-Arab Sunni Muslims, originally from the Northern Caucasus, numbering no more than 2,000 in Iraq.
Faili Kurds
The Faili Kurds are Shi'a Muslims by religion (Kurds are predominately Sunni and have lived in Iraq since the days of the Ottoman Empire. ...Under the Ba'ath regime, they were specifically targeted and stripped of their Iraqi citizenship, and many were expelled to Iran on the charge that their Shi'a faith made them 'Iranian.'
Jews
The history of the Jewish community in Iraq goes back 2,600 years. Once numbering over 15,000, almost all have now left voluntarily or been forced out. ... Since 2003, the population has been reduced...now possibly numbering no more than 10 people.
Palestinians
In 2003 Iraq's Palestinian community, who are mostly Sunni Muslims, numbered approximately 35,000; between 10,000 and 15,000 remain.
Sabian Mandaeans
The Sabian Mandaean religion is one of the oldest surviving Gnostic religions in the world, dating back to the Mesopotamian civilization. John the Baptist is its central prophet... ..... There are thought to be around 6,000-70,000 Sabian Mandaeans worldwide, many of whom lived in Iraq prior to 2003. Today it is believed that there are around 5,000 left in Iraq.
Shabaks
The Shabak people of Iraq have lived mainly in the Nineveh plains, on a strip of land between the Tigris and Khazir, since 1502. There is also a small population of Shabak people in Mosul. They are culturally distinct from Kurds and Arabs, have their own traditions, and speak a language that is a mix of Arabic, Farsi, Kurdish and Turkish. About 70 per cent are Shi'a Muslim; the rest are Sunni. ...their status and lands are disputed by both the Kurds and Arabs wishing to extend land claims into the Nineveh governorate. Like other minorities in this position Shabaks are suffering targeted persecution and assimilation.
Turkmen
The Iraqi Turkmen claim to be the third largest ethnic group in Iraq, residing almost exclusively in the north... Before 2003, there were anything from 600,000 to 2 million Turkmen... Approximately 60 per cent are Sunni, while the balance are Ithna'ashari or other Shi'a. ... Although some have been able to preserve their language, the Iraqi Turkmen today are being rapidly assimilated into the general population are are no longer tribally organized.
Yazidis
Yazidis are an ancient religious and ethnic group concentrated in Jabal Sinjar...with a smaller community in Shaikhan, in Nineveh governorate east of Mosul, where their holiest shrine of Shaykh Adi is located. The 4,000-year-old Yazidi religion is a synthesis of pagan, Zoroastrian, Manichean, Jewish, Nestorian Christian and Muslim elements. Yazidis are dualists, believing in a Creator God, now passive, and Malak Ta'us (Peacock Angel), executive organ of divine will. ... Most Yazidis have fled to Syria although there is a small number ... in Jordan.
Sabian Mandaeans have joined communities of existing Sabian Mandaeans in Australia. Germany has a high proportion of Yazidi refugees.
The verdict of minorities, according to testimony collected in Jordan, Syria and Sweden, three countries where the Iraqi minority presence is particularly high, is striking: despite incentives, none of those from minority communities interviewed for this report said they would ever return to reintegrate in Iraq.
As most are also subjected to sectarian abuse during their kidnap ordeals, it is likely that the motives for kidnapping are a mixture of sectarian hatred and economic gain.
Many refugees described the emotional and psychological trauma that they had suffered as a result of their experiences.
...there is much evidence that ritual is of prime importance to displaced people seeking to understand and process their traumatic experiences. Ritual provides a reassuring source of familiarity when everything else is new and confusing; conversely, when rituals cannot be performed, it serves to compound the feeling of disorientation and upheaval.
Testimonies collected by MRG [Minority Rights Group] document persecution of minorities in the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government]-controlled areas particularly Shabaks, Turkmen and Yazidis, by both KRG officials and Asayish (intelligence services).
'The lack of effective government action to protect these communities from abuses has established Iraq among one of the most dangerous places on earth for religious minorities.'
...there is an increasing consensus that the principle...of non-refoulement--that a refugee cannot be sent back to a country whee his or her life or freedom would be threatened due to one or more of the grounds enumerated in the refugee definition -- is an obligation under customary international law.
The people of Iraq are rightly very proud of their heritage as one of the oldest civilizations in the world. As the successor to Mesopotamia, the country lays claim to being the birthplace of writing, the wheel, and the civilizations of Ubaid, Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylon. Some of the communities most closely linked to that ancient heritage are now fleeing the country in large numbers... UNESCO lists eight endangered languages in Iraq. Taking only the criterion of linguistic diversity, the disappearance of these cultures from Iraq would be a great loss to the country, as is the loss of any aspect of cultural heritage. Their presence acts as an invaluable brake on the potential drift towards supremacist ideologies motivated by sectarian hatred and the ultimate division of the country along religious and ethnic lines.
There is an urgent need to resettle a larger number of the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees currently in Iraq's neighboring countries. States who participated in the multinational force have a particular moral obligation to these refugees.
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