The issue of displacement and refugee status is considered one of the most prominent consequences of political and military conflict in the contemporary history of Kurdistan. The Kurdish people in South Kurdistan have been forced in several different stages, due to the repressive policies and violent attacks of the successive regimes of Iraq, to leave their homeland and take refuge in neighboring countries. ''In many stages, the Kurds in the parts where they live have been forced to be displaced, whether within their own country or by crossing the borders to neighboring countries as a result of pressure and violence beyond the people's ability to endure. Therefore, many times, by the leadership of the revolutions, to protect the lives of citizens from the dangers of war and clashes, the decision for mass migration and displacement was forced.'' (Abdulrahman Ali Kurda, 2018: 34).
In the modern history of the Kurds, the beginning of the waves of mass migration dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century and the emergence of the Barzan revolutions. In the year 1932, and after the British and the then-monarchical government of Iraq tried with all their might to defeat the First Barzan Revolution, due to military pressures, the ground was prepared for migration towards North Kurdistan, which is under the control of Turkey: ''With the arrival of the month of June, the way was paved for entering Turkey and leaving Iraq, in 10/6/1932 families and children gathered in (Zet Valley) and the surrounding villages in preparation for entering Turkey'' (Masoud Barzani, 2020: 46).
This process in the year 1945 and during the Second Barzan Revolution took on a wider dimension when the Iraqi government forces attacked the region with tanks and artillery: ''On 11 of October 1945, the last Peshmerga of the Barzan Revolution, accompanied by Mustafa Barzani, along with 35 thousand women, men, and youth, under the pressure of the tanks and artillery of the Iraqi government, crossed the border via Keleshin and crossed into East Kurdistan.'' (Mustafa Muhammad Karim, 2022: 237-238).
In the book ''Barzani and the Kurdish People's Liberation Movement'', the details of entering the territory of the East are presented as follows: ''When the Barzanis entered Iranian Kurdistan in 11/10/1945 via the Keleshin-Margavar (Dalanpar) route, Iraqi aircraft were following the families and households to the very edge of the border. This withdrawal was carried out very carefully and in an orderly manner, such that not a single family was left behind and not a single person fell into the hands of the enemy. Sheikh Ahmed Barzani himself walked with the families and shared their fatigue and hardship. The revolutionaries were also following the families, and upon their arrival in Iranian Kurdistan, they were welcomed very warmly, and the Kurdish brothers of Iran began to help them and distributed them among (49) villages, where they shared their homes and food with them'' (Masoud Barzani, 2020: 46). These thousands of people remained in East Kurdistan until the fall of the Republic of Kurdistan in the East, but in 1947 they were forced to leave that place and head back to their homes.
The displaced of the Aylul Revolution and the refugees after the collapse of 1975
This stage is considered one of the most difficult and widespread stages of refugee status, which lasted from the 11 of March 1974 to the 6 of March 1975: ''The first stage from the 11 of March 1974 - the 6 of March 1975, due to the attack of the Iraqi army on the areas under the authority of the Aylul Revolution, a number of civilians left their homes and property and headed to more distant places and became internally displaced persons in Kurdistan, but with the continuation of those attacks, the number of refugees also increased day by day, and their situation became worse from all sides, because those areas were mostly mountainous and the weather was still very cold and the places of shelter were very few, therefore a mass wave which the Kurdistan Democratic Party in its leaflets had estimated at (80000) people, in the period of two months from April until the end of May in the year 1974 due to the fear of those attacks became refugees in the country of Iran and a small number also secretly went into the border of Turkey. (Fattah Muhammad Wlatjeri, 2024: 60). The entry of more than eighty thousand people into the liberated areas under the authority of the revolution was an unexpected catastrophe, because a large part of those people who were displaced did not know much about village life and did not have much of a financial source, and the revolution did not have that great financial ability to provide them with the most basic necessities, and even more difficult than this; was the lack of any help and support from international charitable organizations.
The cause of this catastrophe was also more so: ''The government did not only displace the people of the revolution areas, but it did not spare its hand from the Kurdish citizens residing in Kirkuk, Mosul, and Baghdad, and whoever had a connection with the revolution, if the regime knew, they would throw their families out of their homes'' (Fattah Muhammad Wlatjeri, 2024: 63).
There are also different opinions on the general statistics of this stage due to the lack of an accurate census agency in that era: ''There are many differences between sources on the number of Kurdish refugees in Iran in this historical period, the reason for this also returns to the fact that the leadership of the Aylul Revolution did not have any accurate statistics at hand.. But the common point in these statistics is that those people who left Iraqi Kurdistan from the beginning of the war in the year 1974 until after the end of the Aylul Revolution in March 1975 and became refugees towards the country of Iran were around (210000) people. Here it becomes clear that from the total of (1500000) people under the authority of the Aylul Revolution, nearly (%14) of its people were refugees. This was also a very large number for that time'' (Fattah Muhammad Wlatjeri, 2024: 92).
After the 1975 collapse and the Algiers Agreement, the situation became more difficult: 'With the announcement of the ominous Algiers Agreement, a large number of the people of Kurdistan chose displacement and tied their fate to Barzani and the revolution, setting off toward an uncertain future. The collapse of the year 1975 was so great and dangerous that even a number of those who previously held high ranks and positions within the revolution suffered from collapse and despair and could not hold themselves together, so a number of them turned to the outside. Yet, a large number of the loyalists and the poor of our people held their ground and faced all kinds of hardships, displacement, and pain, and were not prepared to abandon their path and their leader under any threat or pressure. From the threats and pressures of SAVAK, bombardment, and the heavy burden of the life of displacement and exile, to the incitement and pouring of money and positions under various names in order to attract refugees and distance them from the Party.' (Masoud Barzani, 2021: 156-157). This is exactly what led President Masoud Barzani to write this in his historical book: 'I find it necessary here to express my endless gratitude to my refugee sisters and brothers throughout Iran, and especially those refugees who settled in Eastern Kurdistan, who, despite all the difficulties, pressures, and the poor state of their living and livelihood, were resilient and ready for every sacrifice for the sake of national and patriotic goals and the path of the Party and its revolution, because the poor living conditions had placed a very heavy burden on their shoulders, and even most of them relied on their daily work for their livelihood.' (Masoud Barzani, 2021: 156-157)
The resilience of the masses and followers of the Barzani path in this phase became the dynamo for reorganizing the forces: 'For the purpose of better managing affairs, Kak Idris and I agreed that he would dedicate himself to managing and supervising the affairs of the refugees and displaced persons, who were about one hundred and eighty thousand people. I would take on the task of reorganizing the ranks of the Party, and in the second phase, we would restart the revolution and struggle; we took all our steps together and with each other's knowledge' (Masoud Barzani, 2021: 21). Idris Barzani With the help of a number of revolution cadres, he formed a special committee to supervise the camps (camps such as Zewe, Sarpol-e Zahab, Karaj, and other places). The first goal was the provision of basic necessities such as housing, food, and medicine through coordination with the Iranian Red Crescent and humanitarian organizations, and after this, the issue of the education of children was very important to him, so he made every effort for Kurdish children to go to school.
Despite being distributed across different regions, the new generation of refugees were pioneers in education: 'Thank God, many young people among the refugees were able to study in that difficult situation and develop themselves, and even record very high levels in educational centers. Our refugee students in Iranian schools, despite poverty and lack of means, were always among the smart and top students of the schools. Our refugee sisters and brothers, who had been scattered and dispersed across all provinces and remote areas due to the Shah's regime's program, preserved their language and customs in exile and maintained their belief in the Barzani path and Kurdishness.' (Masoud Barzani, 2021: 156-157), and this was very evident after the return of Kurdish refugees from Iran and other countries, and the vast majority of them, at different levels, either held degrees or were studying.
- The second phase of refugees 1979-1987
The regime of Bakr and later Saddam had obtained good money from selling oil, and because of this, they had equipped their military with very new weapons. Saddam started the war with Iran and stripped tens of thousands of Faili Kurds of their identity and forced them to leave Iraq and become refugees in Iran. After this, the Anfal campaign began and he Anfalized more than eight thousand young men and men of Barzan, so any Barzani who could cross the border at that time would become a refugee in Iran, because he was sure that if he stayed here, he would face an unknown fate.
The different phases of Anfal that were carried out against the Kurds during that period were another reason that made innocent citizens leave their homes and property and head to neighboring countries. Also, because of the Iraq-Iran war, the Ba'ath regime emptied all the border villages, which caused a number of citizens to become refugees in Iran. This is in addition to the fact that dozens of young Kurds left Kurdistan due to forced military service.
- The phase after the chemical bombardment of Halabja 1988
The Ba'ath regime chemically bombarded the city of Halabja on March 16, 1988, and martyred more than 5000 innocent citizens. On that day, all the citizens of Halabja and its surrounding towns and villages were displaced toward Iran, most of whom were women and children, and a significant number of them were victims of chemical weapons. 'The chemical bombardment of Halabja and several other places in Kurdistan in the year (1988) and the stopping of the eight-year bloody war (Iraq-Iran) on (1988/8/8), thousands of citizens with their families and children had become refugees in Iran and were settled in camps, villages, cities, and towns of Iran in a life of misery, poverty, and destitution.' (Abdulrahman Ali Kurda, 2018: 37). If the previous refugees were a burden due to their large numbers, the displaced persons of this phase created a heavy burden due to their poor health condition, and Iran was the only country that helped the displaced persons, because other countries avoided the issue due to their good relationship with the Ba'ath authorities and the Iraqi government.
The social structure of the refugees
The Kurdish refugee community in Iran was colorful and diverse in terms of religion and nationality: 'At the religious and national level, just as the structure of the Kurdistan society was colorful and diverse, so among the refugees there were a large number of different nationalities and religions such as Assyrians, Yazidis, and Kaka'is' (Fatah Muhammad Walatjeri, 2024: 92).
Administratively, refugees were divided into 10 different groups according to official documents: 'In a document titled (Statute of Affairs for Kurdish Refugees in Iraq), refugees were divided into (10) types, which are: 1- Refugee leaders, 2- Refugees from the Barzan tribe, the family close to Mullah Mustafa Barzani, 3- Officers and ranked personnel of the Iraqi army, police, and security apparatuses, 4- Administrative cadres and government and technical directors of the Kurdish revolution, 5- Health cadres such as doctors, medical assistants, and medics, 6- Peshmerga, 7- Unsupported families (families of Martyrs) and elderly and disabled persons, 8- Ordinary refugees, 9- Students, 10- Teachers' (Fatah Muhammad Walatzheri, 2024: 93), and this likely had a dual purpose; on one hand, the Iranian authorities would have clarity on who was among the displaced, what they were capable of, and what they could be used for, and on the other hand, it would be easy to control them and prevent them from moving around easily.
The Iranian authorities used different forms of identification in different stages to organize the legal affairs of the displaced: 'Every displaced person in the Islamic Republic of Iran had to carry an official displacement identification issued by a specialized authority (Office of Refugee Affairs), which later became (Office of Foreign Nationals Affairs) specialized in this task... The refugees of the year (1974) had a special identification called (Notebook) in Imperial Iran. The refugees after the Islamic Revolution of Iran until the year (1988) had a special identification called (Green Card). The refugees after the chemical attacks, the Anfal campaigns, and the mass migration of this phase from the middle of (1988) onwards were given another identification called (White Card)' (Abdulrahman Ali Kurda, 2018: 59), and each of these cards had several characteristics and distinguished one holder from another; for example, a White Card holder could not leave their city and travel through the cities of Iran as they pleased, but those who had a Notebook could do this more easily.
- The role of refugees in restarting the revolution
Despite the hardship and lack of resources, refugees played an important role in the financial support of the revolution: 'At a time when a significant number of them were living in difficult living conditions and poverty, they became, through their resilience, the cause for the restart and advancement of the revolution and the strengthening of the Party in the arena of struggle and fighting. The refugees and the loyalists of our people, through their resilience and patience, became the cause for the defeat of all the vile plans and schemes of the enemies of the people and the success of the Party's will in defending the rights and legitimate demands of our people... The loyalty and resilience of the refugees to the Party and the revolution were such that they would donate half of their daily income as a gift to the battlefronts and the Provision of the needs of the heroic Peshmerga. Those resilient refugees became the yeast for the continuity of the revolution and the successive victories of the heroic Peshmerga on the frontlines of defending the land, the homeland, and the legitimate rights of our people; therefore, history, in its pages, records the resilience and resistance of the refugees in golden ink. Our refugee sisters and brothers spent long years living in displacement, exile, poverty, and a life of tenancy and labor, and they passed that exhausting period proudly, and they were the Support of the revolution and the Peshmerga, and they offered Martyrs and wounded to Kurdistan.' (Masoud Barzani, 2021: 156-157). What can be extracted from the words of President Masoud Barzani is that; despite the fact that people lived in misery, they were willing, besides self-sacrifice and being Peshmerga, to take from the food of their children and give it to the revolution, and they were the real dynamo of the Gulan Revolution. In this, the role of mothers, sisters, and the wives of the Peshmerga is very prominent, and if we read the memoirs of the Peshmerga of that era, it becomes clear to us how proud and heroic they were. When the men were on the frontlines of defense, the burden of managing the family was on the shoulders of the women: 'The men had the weapon of the honor of the revolution on their shoulders, and the women had the duty of raising children and resilience on their shoulders.' (Masoud Barzani, 2021: 156-157). This fact is also reflected in the memories of the Peshmerga: 'When we became Peshmerga, many times for a period of six months or more, we would come to Iraqi Kurdistan in detachments, we would leave our homes and children, our wives played a great role in raising the children and maintaining the home and family and growing and educating the children, they had a great art that they were able to raise those children well' (Haji Mirxan Dolamari, 2021: 242), and in this way, Kurdish mothers raised their children on the love of the land and the homeland.
The Kurdistan Front and the affairs of the displaced
To face humanitarian crises, especially in the year 1988, the political parties of Kurdistan formed their joint institution: 'For the supervision of those people and their settlement, especially after the massive migration of the Anfal campaigns and the chemical attacks, at first both parties, Kurdistan Democratic Party.. and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.. each separately, formed specialized committees to supervise the refugees, which later the other parties of the Kurdistan Front and Outside it such as (Socialist Party, Communist Party, PASOK, and People's Party) and (Islamic Movement) also had coordination in one way or another. Each, according to its size, took steps for this process to welcome this flow of displaced persons and supervise them, and there was full coordination and cooperation between these committees and the relations committees of the parties in most cities, towns, and borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran.' This continues for a while, but later, by a decision of the political leadership of the Kurdistan Front, the committees of the parties were merged and expanded to represent the parties of the Kurdistan Front as well, to supervise and settle these people in camps and cities and towns and coordinate with the relevant institutions and organs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and supervise them. For this purpose, a high committee was formed called (High Committee for the Supervision of Displaced Persons), which initially consisted of representatives of each of the three political parties of the Kurdistan Front (Party, Union, and Socialist), which was directly affiliated with the executive office of the Front, which was later expanded and consisted of the gentlemen: Kurdistan Relief Association' (Abdulrahman Ali Kurda, 2018: 37), meaning the Kurdish parties initially each served the people who were their own, but later they formed a coordination committee and then moved towards more institutionalization and finally, through the Kurdistan Relief Association, they helped the refugees.
Final data and general census of the displaced
A summary of statistics and the number of displaced Kurds by phase and group is recorded as follows, but the data is still not very precise:
''Number of displaced persons:- Displaced persons of the year 1988 ..................................90000-100000
- Displaced persons of the year 1979-1988 ............................... 20000-25000
- Displaced persons of the year 1974 who remained .................. 40000-45000
- Feyli displaced persons ..................................................... more than 200000
- Total displaced persons ................................................ 370000'' (Abdulrahman Ali Kurda, 2018: 62)
It is worth mentioning that after the infamous Anfal campaign and the exodus, a number of Kurdish citizens were displaced to Turkey. Everything said above is proof that the Kurdish people and Kurdistan have used migration and displacement as an important tool for survival, and in the end, it was the exodus, as one of the important factors, that caused the world to support the Kurds, recognize part of their rights, and attempt to protect them.
Sources- Haji Mirxan Dolemari, Searching for Justice, Kurdistan-2021.
- Abdulrahman Ali Kurda, Kurdistan Relief Association, first edition, Rojhalat Printing House, Erbil, 2018.
- Mustafa Muhammad Karim (Dr.), The Second Barzan Revolution, Encyclopedia Board of (P.D.K), Daneshfar Printing House, Erbil-2022.
- Fatah Muhammad Walatzheri, Kurdish Refugees in Iran (1974-1979), Encyclopedia Board of (P.D.K), Salahaddin University Printing House, Erbil-2024.
- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Four-Gulan Revolution, Part One, first edition, Roxana Printing House- 2021.