Letting them die

As many people will be aware, the Government has made only the barest of concessions towards helping Iraqis employed by British forces in Iraq who are being hunted down by death squads who view them as collaborators. Regardless of your opinion or lack thereof on the war in Iraq (for the record, I opposed it), Britain has a responsibility to these people that it put in harm’s way. I’m asking you to read this post, blog about it yourself and write to your MP.

Dan Hardie, the campaign co-ordinator, has had emails from three people claiming to be Iraqi former employees of the British Government. The ISPs confirm that one email was definitely sent from Damascus, the others from satellite networks serving the Middle East. He have spoken to two of them on the phone, using Iraqi telephone numbers. A Times journalist in the region tells Dan that two of them are certainly authentic: she has been in contact with them herself. The other has sent Dan scanned copies of his British Army IDs, and photographs of him with smiling soldiers. I believe all three are who they say they are. All three say that they and their former colleagues are still hiding from the death squads or dodging Syrian policemen.

The most eloquent arguments come from the Iraqis themselves. Here’s an email exchange between Dan and one of the Iraqis.

1) Are you still in Iraq? (I know that this information must be kept secret so that you are not put at risk.)
‘Yes, I’m still hidden in somewhere in the hell of Basra.’

2) Is there any reason you cannot travel to the British Army base at Basra Airbase to ask for asylum?
‘Of course, we cannot travel to BIA (Basra International Airbase) due to the militia keep watched all the ways to BIA and they got their own fake check points there although, we claimed for asylum through the internet (we sent our application to the claim office at BIA) . But we afraid that the British are going to take a long time to process our claims also we are very worried if they will offer just some money instead of asylum, please sir inform all the British people that we looking for asylum and just the asylum will save our lives, also we can’t travel to Syria anymore to claim for asylum there as the Syrian government issued new conditions for Iraqis who want to travel to their country.’

3) Can you tell me how and when the militias threatened you?
‘In 2006 I have threatened by militia that hated me because I work and help coalition forces in Iraq, I told my bosses about that but they said we can’t do anything for you because we have nothing to do with civilian and we don’t have any army rules or orders to help you, then I continued my daily work with British army, few days later the militia attacked my house trying to catch me but I was at the work at that time, they beaten my family and told them: we want your son or we will kill all of you!!!!

Since that day I decided to leave my job and change my home place but until this moment the militia trying to find and kill me, I’m always changing my place trying to hidden from them, they know that I left my job but they don’t care, they just want to kill me they called me collaborator and traitor and they asked everybody know me about my place, they told them: anyone know anything about [name] he should tell us immediately and also they said: we will never give up until we catch [name].

‘They work for ministry of interior so they controlled most of government departments and they work under that cover.’

4) Do you have any family members who are also threatened by militias or who depend on you? If so, how many of them are there and how old are they?
‘Of course, my family depends on me especially in the finance side as I’m the older son between seven sons and daughters they got, on other hand my parents cannot working as they are very old.’

5) Do you have written testimonials from British Army officers saying that you have worked for them? What are their names and what Regiments do they come from? Can you send me scanned copies of the testimonials? What date in 2003 did you start working for the British?
‘Yes, I have recommendations from high ranks British army personnel and I will send it for you in the next few hours and you will see in your eyes all the details you need.
I started in the beginning of the war with Commandos (in 30 of March 2003) then continued with 23 Pioneer Regt, and in 08 / 07 / 2003 I have joined the Labour Support Unit (LSU) as an office Manager.’

Another employee is in Syria, and is applying for aid from the British Embassy in Damascus. He can prove that he has worked for the British for over 12 months, after the magic date of 1st January 2005. But he isn’t safe, either. He is staying illegally in Syria, having considerably over-run the 15-day visa on which he entered the country. He tells me ‘If I see any syrian officer i really get fear , becuase of my expired visa.’ Colleagues of this man are also hiding in Damascus and are even worse off than he is, because they don’t meet the perverse and arbitrary time stipulations. The British Government, which asked us to accept that it was invading Iraq in part because of its horror at the brutality of the Ba’athist dictatorship, is now perfectly happy to leave its own former employees to the mercies of Syrian Ba’athists. One of his emails follows.

‘I know 4 former interpreters worked less than a year (for the British: DH), but they went to the embassy and they filled the paper with out telling the guards we had worked for less than a year. The syrian guards have got instructions from the embassy (British Embassy in Damascus: DH), that (they) do not give that form to any interpreter who worked for British less than a year or any former interpreter who worked in 2003 and fled to syria before 2005.’

You’ve heard this before, but it’s now more important than ever. The last round of emails, letters and pestering meant the Government acknowledged the problem exists, but its response was ill thought-out and grossly inadequate. It only takes a moment to contact your MP. Below are some talking points that you might like to use in an email and/or print letter; do chase them for an answer. Remember to be polite and courteous; an insulted MP will not raise this matter with Ministers, and that will lead to more avoidable deaths. When you get an answer, email Dan at danhardie.blog@gmail.com and let me know what they said. Dan is in direct contact with Iraqi employees.

Your MP’s address is The Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA.
His or her email address is probably SURNAMEINITIAL@parliament.uk (eg BROWNG@parliament.uk ).

Talking points:

• On October 9th David Miliband announced that the British Government would assist former employees in Iraq, so long as they had worked for it after 1st January 2005 and for 12 months or more. That abandons several hundred Iraqis who have been targetd for murder because they worked for the British before that date- and in 2004 fighting between the Mahdi Army and the British was at its peak- or because they worked for less than that period, often leaving their jobs at the end of a British battalion’s six-month tour. The British Government must help Iraqi employees on the basis of the risk they face, not according to an arbitrary time stipulation. This only affects a few hundred Iraqis, whom we are well able to shelter, and for whom we have a direct moral responsibility.
• Even those Iraqi employees who qualify for assistance are not being properly assisted. Iraqis in Basra are not able to apply via the British Army in Basra Interational Airbase, since it is ringed with militia checkpoints. Iraqi ex-employees in Damascus are being screened by Syrian policemen guarding the British Embassy and delayed by lengthy bureaucratic procedures when they apply for asylum, although many of them are illegally overstaying their Syrian visas and face deportation back to Iraq.
• A blogger called Dan Hardie is directly in touch with a number of Iraqi employees via email and phone. He is willilng to brief MPs- as concisely as possible- either over the phone or via email. He can be reached at danhardie.blog@gmail.com

xD.