BURIED ALIVE

are available, it is said that most families havehad at least one member smuggled to anothercountry. Foreign officials confirm thatindividuals making asylum requests say theyuse traffickers to arrange their departure.Smugglers usually send from 50-100 peopleabroad at a time. There was a cited example ofone person who was able to obtain a Syrianpassport with a SYP 1 million bribe (US$20,000) paid to the government. Anotherperson described how his son plans to go withpeople smugglers to Germany because he hada medical license but is unable to practicelegally as a doctor in Syria. With no traveldocuments, individuals take tremendousrisks attempting to leave Syria, entrustingtheir safety to human smugglers and payingsums between SYP 150,000 and 600,000(US $3,000 to 12,000) per person. They riskdeath, deportation, and imprisonment asconsequences. One stateless family, who wascaught in Cyprus and deported back to Syria,spent more than three months in prison untilthey could bribe their way out. Another manspent a year and a half in prison, where hewas tortured and was rumored to have beenkilled. Many have died at sea in shipwrecks orwhile detained in prisons.Some stateless Kurds attempt to leave thecountry with false passports in order to studyand practice professions. One womandescribed how her brother went to Kazakhstanto study dentistry. He purchased anIraqi passport for US $200, added his photo,and left Syria. He is now unable to return toSyria because the false passport has expired.Another man went to Russia on an illegalpassport to study medicine and received alicense to practice. He returned to Syria andwas arrested at the border. His family had topay hefty bribes for his release.Some returnees who have red cards escapedSyria, sought political asylum in Europe,were rejected for refugee status, and thendeported back to Syria where they werereportedly detained and tortured. One man,deported from Germany after a failed asylumapplication, was sentenced to two years inprison by the high security court andseverely tortured. The average length ofdetention for seeking political asylum abroadwas reported to be three to six months.Another man died on the road while fleeingSyria, and the government refused to allowhis body to be returned to his family in Syria.One young Ajnabi student described a familyhe knows with five children who went withpeople smugglers to Egypt and were leftstranded there for six months until theyagreed to pay the smugglers SYP 1 million(US $20,000) to go to Europe. They wereafraid to return to Syria because they fearedarrest and prolonged detention.Arbitrary Detention & TortureSome Kurds have been subjected to arbitrarydetention and torture as a consequence oftheir efforts to rally for the political and legalrecognition of stateless Kurds in Syria. InJuly 2005, following the children’s demonstrationfor the rights of stateless Kurdishchildren in Syria in front of UNICEF, eightaccompanying adults were detained. Oneformer detainee explained how he wastortured and kept in solitary confinement forfourteen months. Another said his captorsput shoes in his mouth and on his head.They tortured him with electric shock and byusing “the chicken,” a technique thatinvolves stretching the persons out along along rod, binding the hands and feet ateither end, and then rotating them.In 1992 M. Jamil, an Ajnabi lawyer interviewedby Refugees International, wasarrested for his alleged involvement in acampaign to return nationality to the familiesof stateless Kurds who were deprived of it in1962. Ajanib and nationals alike participatedin the protest by posting banners and signsdemanding the stateless Kurds be given theirrights and nationality in Syria, and morethan 300 people were arrested, many ofwhom were sentenced to up to three years inprison. Mr. Jamil was detained withoutThe authoritiesaccused M. Jamil ofbeing an oppositionmember: “You Kurdsare living on ourland as guests. Youare living in ourcountry, but areagainst us... Wesaved you fromthe Turkish regime,and now you wantrights. Peoplewithout nationalityin Syria do notexceed 5–10families.”www.refugeesinternational.org