Figure 1.-- On Karamlesh, as in other towns in the Nineveh Plain, reconstruction after the destruction Isis left in its wake. Christians in particular were targetted. Work has begun, but return is still far away, which feeds the desire to go back. Even without ISIS, the securiutt fir Chrustians is very much in doubt.

The Middle East since the end of World War II had been awash with regugees. Aran sources would like to blame the refugee problem on outside, non-Muslim forces. This is normally Jews, America, and Britain--anyone but themselves. Im fact not aonly have not all the refugees been Arabs, but the orimnary cause of the refugee crusis had been Arab countries and Aran terror groups of one form or another. The first and best known Arab refugee group is the Palestinians which is blamed on the Jews abd the United States, but even her here Arab goovernmebt and Arab terror groups have played central roles. Some of the refigees are the resukt of Cold War tensions, but many are the result of deepseeded tebsions in Arab sociery and centuries old conflicts, many more than a melennia old The Sunni-Shi'ia split continues to be a major source of tensions resulting in condfict and refugees. This in the modern world has been conined with economuc failire. Arab siciety had been such a failure than more anbd nore people want to reach Europe si they can leas stable prosperous lives. The economic problens are in karge oart dur to risng and ibcreasibky violent fundamnentalism. Not only are many Arabs fleeing the region, but they are increasingly attacking non Mislim people (Christians, Jews and groups like Yazidis).

Jewish Eastern Refugees: The Mizrahim

Less well known than the European immigrants who came to Israel is that a similar number of Jews were expelled from Muslim countries where their ancestors had lived for centuries, in some cases predating Islam. Jewish communities were founded in Europe, North Africa, Central Asia, and India. This process began with the Babylonian Captivity (6th century BC), but most significantly with the Roman suppression of the Jewish revolt (1st century AD). Thus Jewish communities in Arab countries were founded 400- 1,000 years before Islam. There were even Jewish communities in Saudi Arabia before Islam. (They are mentioned in the Koran.) These Jewish communities had various experiences after the Islamic conquests. Arabs contend that Jews and Arabs coexisted in harmony before Israel was established. It is true that during the Medieval era that Islam was more tolerant of Jews than Christians. It is also true that there were incidence of extreme intolerance in the Islamic world. And these incidents continued into the modern era. Arabs massacred Jews in Morocco (1912), Algeria (1933), Iraq (1941), and Libya (1945), all these incidents of course pre-dated the establishment of Israel. The Mizrahim, now integrated into Israel, never left the Middle East, can hardly be called Western interlopers. They are as much a part of the Middle East as the Arabs. The Oriental Jews or Mizrahim were expelled from Arab and other countries such as Iran. Jews were expelled by countries like Iraq, Egypt and Algeria. Other Arab countries (such as Morocco and Tunisia) did not formally expel Jews, but pursued policies of marginalization and intimidation. Historians report that there were about 870,000 Mizrahi refugees. The majority or about 600,000 sought refuge in Israel, where they now constitute about half of the Israeli Jewish population. The Oriental Jews are important to be recognized. One of the Arab charges against Israel is that the Jews are western colonial interlopers-- essentially a colonial phenomenon. The Arabs complain that these Western Jews stole the land from the native Plistiniand Arabs. They conveniently forget the Oriental Jews that form such a large part of the Israeli population.

Kuwait

Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein bankupted Iraq by invasing Iran, leading to the a decade-long Iran-Iraq War (1980-88). Saddam demanded money from Kiwait and other Arab states to oay his mounting bills--essentially extorion mone nusing his large army as a threat. Saddam also accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi petroleum through slant drilling, The Iraqi Army invased (August 2, 1990) in a 2-day boperation. Kuwait's small army was not capable of effective resistance. Along with the Iraqi Army came Iraqi security forces with orders to root out any opposition ro Iraqi rule. Saddam claimed that Kuwait was Iraq's lost 19th province. Saddam first set up a puppet government and then annexed it outrightm caiming it was Iraq's lost 19th province. Many Kuwaits had cars and piled into them to escape to Saido Arabia and Bahrain, The Emir of Kuwait, Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, fled to Saudi Arabian accross the desert and set ip a governmenmt in exile. His younger half brother, Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, was shot and killed by the Iraqis as he defend Dasman Palace. The Iraqis placed his body in front of a tank and run over it. Iraqi forces were at first not vuolent toward tge civilains. Kuwai=tis were ordered to replace their Kuwaiti license plates with Iraqi ones. The Irais up an extensive system of security checkpoints to control the Kuwaiti people. Within only a few weeks, Kuwaitis began participating in non-violent resistance. People negan staying home from work and keeping their kids out of school. Kuwaitis also began printing anti-Iraqi pamphlets. The Iraqi military and security forces soon turned to repression. Some 0.4 million Luwaiti citizens fled the country. A network of safe houses was established for those who remained and joined the resistance. Iraqi security police searched the homes of those suspected of hiding foreigners or covertly smuggling money to the resistance movement. This continued intil the International Coaltion led by the United States liberated Kuwait (Jamuary 1991). Hundreds of people arrested by the Iraqis diting the 7-nonth occupation are still missing and unaccounted for. [Aljamra]

South Sudan

Well before independence, South Sudan society was badly fractured between the historically dominant Dinka and the Neur. A substantial number of civilian casualties were the result of this ethnic tension while headlkines covered mostlt the conflict with the fundamentalist-dominated Islamic Government in Khartoum. An effort was made to end the ethnic tensions in the south at indepandence, Salva Kiir a Dinka became president and supporter Riek Machar, a Neur, became vice president. The power sharing did not work. President Kiir dismissed Machar and accused him of pllanning a coup. Fighting broke out between the Dinka-dominated Government and Neur rebels. And the ethnic tensiions involved has led to apauling attrocities. A U.N. official who conducted a fact-findung missiion described 'horror', including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, and massacres committed at the hands of both the Dinka and Dur. Some 2.5 million people are believed to have died in the civil war between gthe north and south as a result of the fighting, attrocities, disease, and famine. Authorities are concerned that the rift between Machar and Kiir and their temperment may make the initial round of fighting the precursor of a long, brutal conflict is high. The issue appears to be historic dominant role of the Dinka, the largest tribal group in South Sudan. The conflict is not a simple matter. They like other tribal grouops are divided into different clans and subclans over a huge expanse of East Africa. After the Civil War with the south ended, manu military commandrs (often Dinka) claimed land. This appears to have been the case around Juba which is part of the reason why fighting broke out there. Also at issue is the countrty's oil resource. Much of it is located in Machar's home region, Unity State, south of the border with Sudan. This was one reasion the Sudan Government did not want to grant independence to the south. Machar complains that the local people are not benefitting from the oil exports. He charges that the oil money has been used as a personal reward for the Dinka military commanders who fought the war for wimming the war against the Khartoum Government.

Darfur

The Sudanese Government is engaged in a genocide against the Darfur people, Black Muslims of the western Sudan. There appear to be two elements involved. One is the racial element. The Khartoum Government looks down on the Black Darfurs. Two the Darfurs do not accept the strict shihira code promoted Law promoted by the Khartoum Government. The numbers of people being killed in military actions by the Khartoum Government is substantial. Even more significant is the efforts by the Khartoum Government to deny relief shipments. Some reports suggest that as of mid-2004 about 30,000 people have been killed. Human rights groups estimate that 0.3-0.5 million may die if Sudan succeeds in preventing relief supplies reaching these beleagered peoples. There is virtually no coverage of this in the Arab press or satellite news like Al Jazeera. Here is not just the Arabs that covering up the genocide. Nor has the United Nations been willing to address this outrage.

Somalia

Kurds

In modern times the Kurds came inder pressure during the final years of the Ottoman Empire as the young Turks worked to build a more ethnically pure Turkish state. It was nothing like the Armenian genocide, but thre were incidents. The difference is that the Kirds werebpromarily Muslim. The Kurdish tribal confederations were split as to their lualty to the Ottomans. Agter World War and the firmation of Iraq, tgvFertike Cressent was removed from Ottoman control. The Kurds attempted to achieve autonmay/indeoendencevfrom the Arab-dominated Baghdad Government which included armed conflict---the 1919 Mahmud Barzanji revolt. The tension reached a new level mof violence after the Bathist overthre the monarchy (1968). The Government Arabization pooicy reached new levels of violence under the Bathists, especially after Saddam Hussein seized power (1979). Saddam sought to cleanse northern Iraq of its Kurdish majority. Tens of thousands of Kurds fled the war zones following First and Second Kurdish Iraqi Wars (1960s and 1970s). The Iran–Iraq War (1980-88) and the first Gulf War resulted in a faileddupeusing af=gainst Saddam resulted in a brutral repression campaign aimed at the Shi'ia, Marsh Arabs in the south and the Kurds in the north. The Iraqi campaihm botderd on genocode. The conflicted resulted in several million refuggess, the largest refugee group was the Kurds. Saddam used poison gas on the Kurds. Many fled to Iran. Others became part of the Kurdish diaspora in Europe and the Americas. Iran provided asylum for some 1.4 million Iraqi refugees, again mostly Kurds. The United States provided himanitarian aid and military assustance. As a result, today more kirds live outside the Kurdish raeas of Iraq than in Iraq.

Christian Refugees

Iraq

Syria

Yeman

ISIS

Yazidis

Sources

Aljamra, Helal Aljamra. "28 Years after Iraq invaded Kuwait hundreds are still missing or unaccounted for," Inside Arabia (April 1, 2019).

Created: 5:50 AM 7/5/2020
Last updated: 5:51 AM 7/5/2020