Jordan Times
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Palestinian refugees leave Ruweished camp to return to Iraq
AMMAN (AP) Twenty-six Palestinian refugees left
Ruweished camp on Tuesday to return to Iraq, the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees said.
The refugees were expected to cross the border into Iraq later in the day as
their refugee camp at Ruweished, in the eastern desert, is only 50 kilometres
east of the Iraqi border.
One of the Palestinians remaining in the camp, Salem Mohammad Rawhi, said he
hopes to return to Iraq later this week. Rawhi, a baker, fled to Jordan with his
wife and three children in May 2003, two months after US-led forces invaded
Iraq.
It is better for me and for my children to return to our home in Baghdad than
to remain (here) for an unknown future, Rawhi told The Associated Press in a
telephone interview from the camp.
Rawhi said another group of 20 Palestinian refugees is expected to leave the
camp for Iraq on Wednesday.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says it is not advising people to return
to Iraq because of the country's insecurity, but it will assist those who want
to go back.
For the 26 Palestinians who headed back on Tuesday, the agency provided money to
cover their travel expenses and several months of rent for their first months in
Baghdad, as well as various other assistance items, the statement said. Those
returning included a family of nine persons.
Last year, the agency registered some 23,000 Palestinians in Baghdad.
Some Palestinians say they fled Iraq because after the US-led forces overthrew
Saddam Hussein, Iraqis accused them of having been favoured by the ousted
president and abused and threatened them.
The UNHCR says 736 Palestinians arrived in the camp from Iraq last year. Most
have now left either returning to Iraq or going to third countries. The camp
currently holds about 350 Palestinians.