PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Anwar Salem Al-Awawdeh, Head of the Palestinian Red Crescent
Society,
Iraq
Ewa Jasiewicz or Caoimhe Butterly (Voices in the Wilderness; Occupation
Watch)
001-914-360-9080 / 914-360-3634 /914 360 9079 or 008821 66 33 22 56 53

International Activists Begin 7 Day Hunger Strike with Palestinian
Refugees in Baghdad

BAGHDAD (11 JULY) – Today, as part of a week of protest and activities
organized by representatives of the Al-Awda (Right of Return) Temporary
Refugee Camp in the Haifa Cultural Centre, in the Baladiyat district of
Baghdad, international and local Palestinian-Iraqi activists embark on
a
seven day hunger strike, beginning 11 July, in solidarity with the
camp's
demands for permanent homes. Other activities will include a letter
writing campaign, demonstrations, and actions to be announced.

Activists from Ireland, Poland, Britain, Iraq, Lebanon, France, Iraq,
Palestine, Lebanon and Italy will be maintaining a seven-day solidarity
tent and fast inside Al-Awda in an attempt to draw international
attention to the deteriorating conditions of the camp. Groups
represented
include: Voices in the Wilderness, Bridges to Baghdad, Christian
Peacemaker Teams, and Occupation Watch.

Following the fall of the Ba'ath regime and the subsequent occupation
of
Iraq by US and UK dominated forces, approximately 300 families living
in
Baghdad were evicted by their landlords from their homes. Under Saddam,
some Palestinian families living in Iraq were given subsidized housing,
which generated resentment within impoverished Iraqi communities. There
are a further 600 Palestinian families living in Baghdad which have
been
given eviction notices and the population of the camp is expected to
swell in the coming weeks. It should be noted that not all Palestinian
families currently threatened with eviction were receiving subsidized
housing.

For the past 3 and a half months, Palestinian families have been living
in the Haifa Cultural Center's soccer field in canvas tents, with
insufficient water, electricity, medical and food supplies, plus
inadequate3 sanitation facilities, in soaring summer temperatures,
expected to reach up to 60 centigrade by next month. These conditions
are
exacerbated by the intensification of security risks throughout Iraq
(Al-Kindi Hospital reports a 150-fold increase in violent crimes), such
as a drastic rise in cases of rape, kidnapping, and murder following
the
'stabilization' of Iraq.

In addition, three members of the Palestinian embassy staff were
arrested
on May 28 by US Occupation troops. They have been denied access to
legal
representation, human rights groups or relatives. No reason has been
publicly given for their arrest and subsequent indefinite detention.

This, coupled with the increase in targeted attacks against Palestinian
in Baghdad as well as escalating human rights abuses by Occupation
Forces
all over Iraq, demands international action and resolution.

Despite continued attempts at negotiation with the American Occupation
Administration, and promises of imminent re-housing, no action has been
taken to alleviate the deteriorating conditions in Al-Awda.

The Camp representatives have made the following demands as part of
their
week of action:

- Secure housing with basic amenities (i.e. running water and
electricity) for all the evicted families.
- UNRWA's mandate be expanded to include Palestinian refugees living in
Iraq, in addition to the agency's current aid provision for Palestinian
refugees living in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and the West Bank and Gaza.
- The immediate release of the three Palestinian embassy staff.
- Palestinian refugees all over the world be given their historical and
internationally recognized, yet systematically denied, Right of Return
to
their homeland, occupied since 1948.

The families living in the Haifa Cultural Center have undergone a
double
experience of forced transfer. From their roots - many of them are from
Haifa itself, and other 1948 Palestinian towns and villages - to their
current situation, the dynamics of discrimination, racism, and
violation
of basic human rights are mirrored in the political status and living
conditions of their families in Occupied Palestine and the world over.

For further details on the Palestinian and Iraqi struggles, see:
www.electronicintifada.net
www.electroniciraq.net
www.occupationwatch.org
www.vitw.org