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A refugee camp at the border between Jordan and Iraq. It is called No Man's Land, .


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Al Jazeera English - Front Page

 

Iraq refugees in 'no man's land' The UN says it has "tried

everything to relocate them" -

 

By Zeina Awad at the Jordanian-Iraqi border

 

Most refugees are turned away at the

Jordanian-Iraqi border

 

About 100 Kurds are trapped on the Jordanian-Iraqi border and another

100 or so refugees are at the nearby Rweished camp.

 

Al Jazeera got exclusive access to the border area.

 

It is called No Man's Land, a refugee camp at the border between

Jordan and Iraq.

 

Iraqis fleeing violence in their country dream of reaching this far,

to the other side of the border.

 

On arrival, refugees are greeted by intense security checks.

 

The Jordanians have an advanced scanning system - vehicles are passed

through huge scanners, people's belonging are scanned and dogs sniff

their bags.

 

The sound of violence echoes from across the border.

 

We heard gunshots the whole time we were there, coming from an

American training base close by on the Iraqi side.

 

But not everyone is this lucky - most are turned away on the spot.

 

Others have been waiting to get in for years.

 

'No law, no rights'

 

Accompanied by Jordanian authorities, we were not allowed to speak to

any refugees.

 

"In the No mans camp, it is basically no law, no rights, no

protection, no humanitarian assistance"

 

Bill Frelick,

Human Rights Watch

 

However, we did find out that they are Kurds from Iran who lived in

Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Effectively stateless, they got stuck at this

border.

 

Bill Frelick, of Human Rights Watch, said: "In the No Man's Land camp,

it is basically no law, no rights, no protection, no humanitarian

assistance.

 

"They are essentially left to beg from the truck drivers that are

waiting to make the crossing between the two countries to get

handouts."

 

These refugees turned down the UN's offer to relocate them on the

Kurdish part of Iraq.

 

They insist on being resettled in a Western country.

 

Ruwaished camp

 

An hour's drive away, there is another group of people stuck in

another camp: Al Ruwaished.

 

It used to be home to close to a 1,000 refugees from Iraq.

 

Most have been resettled but a handful of families - almost all

Palestinian - are still there.

 

Rejected by Jordan, fearing persecution in Iraq, and blocked by Israel

from going to Gaza, these people have been all but forgotten.

 

Refugees have been born, got engaged and

married, and died at Ruwaished camp

Some have been born here, and others have died.

 

Ann-Marie Deutschlander, senior protection officer for the UN refugee

agency in Iraq, said: "Far from ideal, it was set up by the government

in order to be as far away as possible [and] as close to Iraqi border.

 

"It's hot in the summer, it's in the middle of the desert, it's not a

nice place to live."

 

The UN says it has "tried everything to relocate them" - approaching

traditional relocation countries, and some non-traditional countries.

 

But promises offer them little comfort. Behind the fence lie a people

stuck in limbo.

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