IRNA (22 September 2009) - Demanding a quick solution for their festering problems, Palestinian refugees, who were driven away from Iraq, living in India for the last three years, protested here in front of the office of United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

In a telephonic interview with IRNA, a Palestinian, Muhammad Abdallah Aftarah, who is also the spokesperson for the refugees said: “We are in all about 100 refugees stranded in India since 2006-2007, scattered around Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, Malviya Nagar and Arjun Nagar areas. We are not allowed to work or do any business in India. We get a meagre monthly stipend from the UNCHR which is not sufficient to manage our life even for two weeks in a month”.
“At least 50 refugees are still waiting for an interview at the Embassy of Canada which is willing to accept us while the practice is that settlement of a case takes around a year even after the interview takes place, which means a long wait is ahead even for those who have already been accepted” Aftarah said. Adding that some of us have been offered settlement in the United States but we refused to go to the US and pressing UNHCR for the settlement in a European country.

Abdallah, while hoping that UNHCR will find out the solution soon, said: “UNHCR officials ensured for the early settlement of problems faced by the Palestinian refugees in India.