UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...
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Ghraib and was known for its strong connections with former president Abdel-Salam<br />
Arif. 471<br />
Baghdad’s red-light districts, including Kamalia, an area inhabited by Kawliyah, have been<br />
“cleaned up” by religious militias aiming at eliminating “prostitution, Gypsy dancers and<br />
video parlors, as well as the selling of alcohol”. 472 The Kawliyah residents, some 200<br />
families, were expelled and the name of the district, Kamalia, which was known for its<br />
brothels since the 1970s, has been changed to Hay Al-Zahra, after the Prophet<br />
Mohammed’s daughter. 473<br />
It was reported that Babel’s Governorate Council decided to expel those “Gypsies” from<br />
the Governorate who do not have an identity card issued in the Governorate. 474<br />
Since 2003, most Kawliyah have been displaced. Some remain in Iraq, 475 often trying to<br />
hide their identity. An unknown number left the country altogether, many to Syria and the<br />
Gulf countries. In Iraq, they remain at the lower bottom of the social system, living in<br />
former military camps or tents, with limited or no access to health care, education,<br />
electricity and water and facing discrimination in employment. Many find no other option<br />
but to engage in activities such as prostitution. 476<br />
The Kawliyah community in Iraq has been subjected to persecution for a variety of reasons.<br />
It has always been isolated from majority populations around them and viewed with<br />
distrust, its members seen as outsiders and a threat. Their dark complexion and sharp facial<br />
features make it easy to distinguish them. They are collectively reputed as alcohol sellers<br />
and prostitutes, both considered “un-Islamic”. 477 Furthermore, there have been cases in<br />
which Kawliyah offered shelter to women at risk of “honour killings”, thereby further<br />
contributing to their negative image in Iraqi society. 478 Finally, they are considered to have<br />
received privileges and protection from the former regime and, through their work, to be<br />
associated with the Ba’athists. 479 Partly linked to the Kawliyah openly praising former<br />
471<br />
Imam El-Liethy, Iraq’s Gypsies Struggle for Life After Saddam’s Fall, 2003, http://www.domresearch<br />
center.com/news/iraq/iraq1.html.<br />
472<br />
Constable, see above footnote 269. See also: Babington, see above footnote 469.<br />
473<br />
Bahadur, see above footnote 469.<br />
474<br />
Al-Sabaah, Babel Council decides departing Gypsies families, 12 December 2006,<br />
http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php?refid=DH-S-13-12-2006&article=1258.<br />
475<br />
By early 2006, IOM identified 428 Kawliyah families who had been displaced post-2003. Of those,<br />
179 families originated from the Governorate of Qadissiyah (Al-Fawar village), 139 families from the<br />
Governorate of Baghdad (Huzairan, Kamalia, Tamoz and Al-Kansa areas/villages and from Baghdad city<br />
centre), 100 families from Ninewa Governorate (Sinjar District) and 10 families from Diyala Governorate<br />
(Kana’an District). Most sought refuge in other areas in the Governorates of Baghdad, Kirkuk and<br />
Qadissiyah; human rights violations and armed conflict and violence were provided as reasons for<br />
displacement. See: IOM Mission in Iraq, Phase II Monitoring, January 2006, http://www.iomiraq.net/library.html#IDP_pashe2_reports.<br />
More updated figures reflecting the situation after the Samarra<br />
bombing in February 2006, which led to an escalation in sectarian violence, are not available.<br />
476<br />
IRIN, Iraq: Gypsies call for greater rights, see above footnote 463.<br />
477<br />
See also “Persons Accused of “Un-Islamic” Behaviour”.<br />
478<br />
IWPR, Gypsies Seek Government Protection, see above footnote 463. See also “Women”.<br />
479<br />
According to the Brookings Institution / University of Bern Project on Internal Displacement<br />
95