Friday, November 23, 2007

Iraq's Mandaeans


The Quran groups together "Believers, Jews, Christians and Sabians" (or Sabaeans, also known as Mandaeans) as those who believe in God and the Last Day and do what is right (Sura 2:62 and 5:69). Despite that, Shi'ite clerics in Iraq have issued fatwas against the Mandaeans, deeming they are not "People of the Book" and therefore not considered worthy of "protection": right to life in exchange for subjugation and payment (Sura 9:29).

As followers of John the Baptist, Mandaeans traditionally live close to rivers where they regularly participate in ceremonial baptismal cleansing. They speak a dialect of Eastern Aramaic and traditionally work as fine craftsmen, primarily jewellers. They are pacifists and their Mandaean faith prohibits the bearing of arms. As totally un-protected non-Muslims, Iraq's Sabian Mandaeans are amongst the most endangered and vulnerable people in Iraq. The situation for thousands of Mandaean refugees and asylum seekers in Jordan and Syria is not much better.

On 14 November, SBS radio in Australia broadcast a documentary by Czech investigative reporter Ika de Detrich entitled "Mandaeans -- the last Gnostic community at the brink of extinction?" The 32-minute audio can be accessed at http://www.radio.sbs.com.au/language.p! hp?happening=5595&language=Czech .

MANDAEANS -- AT THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION?

Ika de Detrich's radio documentary addresses both the suffering of the Mandaean remnant in Iraq who are just hoping against all odds to get out of the country alive and the suffering of the thousands of Mandaean refugees and asylum seekers who are struggling with trauma and terrible hardship in Syria and Jordan.

De Detrich speaks with John Clugston, the legal advisor for the Sabian Mandaean Association of Australia (SMAA). Clugston is certain that Muslim fundamentalists are waging a systematic campaign to eradicate the Mandaean community and its culture through killings, rapes, forced conversions and terrorism.

Importantly, Clugston observes that while other groups are also suffering -- notably the Christians -- the suffering of the Mandaeans is particularly acute because they are such! a small and localised community. The Mandaeans do not hav e co-religionists in Turkey, Syria or Jordan to assist them, shelter them or care for them in their distress. Furthermore, unlike some other ethnic-religious diasporas, the Mandaean Diaspora in the West is truly miniscule and without funds or political influence.

Ika de Detrich explains that in Iraq the Mandaean remnant has no rights because the law is based on Islamic Sharia. They have no Mandaean schools and no Mandaean publications. Mandaean children are forced to attend Islamic schools where they face aggression and constant pressure to convert to Islam. They are always at risk.

De Detrich reports that in 2003, before the US-led invasion, there were around 60,000 Mandaeans in Iraq living between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Attacks on the community commenced as soon as the regime was toppled. Multitudes of Mandaeans have been killed while thousands have fled for their lives. Today only 5,000 remain. Some 2,000 Mandaeans are refugees or asylum seekers in! Jordan while some 10,000 are in Syria. They are a small, vulnerable and relatively voiceless minority amongst 4.2 million displaced Iraqis.

The radio documentary contains a moving testimony from SMAA founder, Alla Khamas, who migrated to Australia in 1981. Khamas recently made a visit to Jordan to assist relatives who had fled Iraq. He laments that conditions in Jordan were far worse than he ever could have imagined. He says he could not hold back his tears when he saw the suffering and hardship of Mandaean refugees and asylum seekers forced to live with no money, little food, limited electricity, poor sanitation and deteriorating health.

As Ika de Detrich notes, Jordan closed its borders two years ago due to the difficulties it was having coping with the influx of refugees. Then on 15 October 2007 Syria closed its borders. (Note: This will be disastrous for Iraq's Christian and Mandaean remnants if/when conflict erupts in northern Iraq over the status of Kirkuk.)

De Ditrich talks by phone to Taniana Onano, an ! Australian immigration agent visiting clients in Damascus. Onano describes the suffering of Mandaean refugees in Syria as "heartbreaking" and "unbelievable". She says that because the refugees do not have the right to work, they have no money for rent or for school or for anything. Some refugees work illegally for cash, out of desperation, but they are exploited: underpaid for their work and overcharged for rents. Onano says they are all terrified of being arrested or deported and they are all terribly depressed. She believes the suffering is much worse than she is able to observe. Onano explains that, while Syrian authorities give some assistance to those formally recognised as refugees, those with only Temporary Protection status get no assistance at all. (Note: Syria's "open door" policy was in the name of pan-Arabism, so Assyrians and Sabian Mandaeans might not be as welcome as Arabs.)

Futher to this Ika de Ditrich reports that Temporary Protection status is no longer given. Iraqi refugees in Syria are now given an "appoi! ntment card". This means that until refugee status is appr oved the Iraqi refugees have no legal protection or status in Syria and are forced to wait an anxious six months or more before they can even talk to a UNHCR official. Furthermore, there is great concern that the Iraqis will be deported as soon as their visas expire.

As Ika de Detrich reports, fatwas issued against Mandaeans are valid everywhere, not just in Iraq. Mandaean priests are especially at risk because they are seen as the bearers of Mandaean religion and culture and their distinctive appearance makes them easily recognisable. De Ditrich reports that many Mandaean priests have become hunted fugitives, forced to stay on the move.
Doubtless Ika de Ditrich is right when she asserts that the Mandaeans are unlikely to be ever able to return to Iraq safely, even after "stabilisation". Their fate and future is in the hands of other countries prepared to take them.

"Who will take them?" she asks. "According to the 1949 Geneva Convention and 1977 addition! al protocols, governments waging an armed intervention in another country have a duty to the affected civilian populations."

De Detrich reports that in four years the USA has only accepted some 500 Iraqi refugees including a handful of Mandaeans. However, American policy has been changing and De Detrich's figures are not up to date. America is finally opening its doors, albeit slowly (details at link 1).

According to de Detrich, no Mandaeans have ever been accepted into the UK.

The SMAA reports that since January this year, 7 Mandaean families have been accepted into Australia while 184 applications have been refused. Refugees applying from Syria and Jordan have no right of appeal after rejection. According to de Detrich, in August 2007 the Australian government, under pressure from the UNHCR, agreed to take in 13,000 Iraqi refugees, 35 percent of them Christians and Mandaeans. However, Mandaean applications continue to fall on deaf ears.

SBS subsequently challenged the Minister for Immigration, MP Kevin A! ndrews, over this. His response can be heard at link 2. An drews contradicts de Detrich and claims that the "35 percent" relates of the percentage of refugees that would come from the Middle East. Apart from that, Andrews says the policy remains "non-discriminatory". Be that as it may; surely the policy would be more humanitarian if it were to prioritise and be quick to take in those who are most desperately in need.

The SMAA is "baffled" and "bewildered" by this pattern of rejections. . The Mandaeans, they note, are just "desperate for help".

Links

1) U.S. to allow 7,000 Iraqi refugees. 15 February 2007
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/14/us.iraq.refugees/index.html 

AND
U.S. Will Speed Entry Of Refugees From Iraq
Officials Say New Measures Will Allow 12,000 to Be Admitted in the Next Year
By Paul Lewis, 22 Sep 2007
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/21/AR2007092101333.html 

ALSO

Invaders and allies ignore Iraq's humanitarian crisis
By Haroon Siddiqui, 18 Nov 2007
http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/277233 

AND

Refugees International reports: "Despite the US government's promise to resettle 7,000 Iraqi refugees in FY 07, only 1,608 were admitted by September 30; only 450 were admitted in October towards an FY 08 goal of 12,000. UNHCR has referred 12,607 cases to the US, and will continue to refer more in the future. Until now, the processes have been unforgivably slow, leading to large numbers of vulnerable Iraqis becoming more destitute as they anxiously wait for their interviews or final approval."
2) Mandaean refugee rejections: A case of Yes Minister? Andrews replies.
Caroline Davey, SBS, 16 Nov 2007
http://www.radio.sbs.com.au/index.php?page=wv&newsID=165706

SEE ALSO:

http://www.unhcr.org/iraq.html 

Mandaeans in Iraq (published March 2006)
After centuries of persecution - Today their very survival is threatened
By Sarah Reinke, Gesellschaft für bedrohte Volker (GfbV) (Society for Threatened Peoples)
http://www.gfbv.de/inhaltsDok.php?id=694 

Obscure Mandaean Faith Risks Extinction in Iraq
By Ian Wilheim, 2 Nov 2007
http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2007/11/obscure-mandaean-faith-risks-e.php 

Sabians of the Qur'an
http://www.geocities.com/mandaeans/Sabians8.html