US embassy cable - 04ISTANBUL266

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000266 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, TU, Istanbul 
SUBJECT: CHALDEANS LEAVING IRAQ THROUGH ISTANBUL 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A significant number of Chaldean-Iraqis 
have left Iraq, and are currently taking refuge in Istanbul. 
Estimates vary on the size of the group, with Turkey's de 
facto Chaldean leader estimating 4,600, while Catholic relief 
Charity Caritas thinks around 1,500 refugees may currently be 
in Istanbul.  Adverse conditions in Iraq and pressure from 
other Iraqi ethnic groups appear to be the prime reason for 
the exodus.  The tiny local Chaldean community is overwhelmed 
by the number of new refugees.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
Chaldeans Seeking Refuge 
------------------------ 
 
 
2. (SBU) Poloff met January 21 with Fr. Francois Yakan, 
Vicar-General of the Chaldeans of Turkey.  Due to the fact 
that the Chaldean Bishop of Turkey is very old and infirm, 
Yakan is the de facto leader of Turkey's tiny Chaldean 
community, constituting some 300 believers.  Yakan believes 
that there are currently 4,600 Chaldeans who have fled Iraq 
and are living in Istanbul.  Per Yakan, some are legally 
present in Turkey, others arrived legally but have overstayed 
their visa, and some illegally crossed into Turkey.  Most of 
these refugees are going to Canada and Australia, and a small 
number to the United States.  Yakan reports he was surprised 
to find that, in addition to Arabic and Chaldean, most of 
these refugees also speak English. 
 
 
3. (SBU) Yakan said that Turkish Chaldeans find themselves in 
a considerable bind because of the migration.  With such a 
tiny community, they have little to no means of assisting so 
many of their fellow believers.  Yakan himself has borrowed 
money from relatives to assist the refugees, and says he 
spends most of his time in the Istanbul Police Foreign 
Citizen's Section.  According to Yakan, Turkish police who 
arrest a Chaldean in Turkey illegally are willing to release 
the person to relatives or friends.  If none can be found, 
the detainee is returned to Iraq.  Yakan assists the refugees 
in filling out Turkish-language paperwork and finding 
relatives in Turkey. 
 
 
4. (SBU) Yakan's estimate of 4,600 refugees in Turkey may be 
inflated.  Francis Teoh at UNHCR-Ankara reports that they 
have had very few claims to refugee status from Iraq since 
the conflict began, and the number of those applying for 
refugee status is approximately the same as prior to the 
conflict.  Teoh reports that the MFA has assured him that 
there are no forcible deportations to Iraq.  Since refugees 
from Iraq can neither be resettled nor deported, their status 
after application with UNHCR is "frozen."  However, UNHCR can 
provide applicants with letters indicating their refugee 
status, which may be helpful if the refugees are detained by 
Turkish police. 
 
 
5. (SBU) Caritas, a Catholic relief organization, reports 
that there is a sizeable community of Christian-Iraqi 
refugees in Istanbul, mostly Chaldeans and some Suriyanis. 
Per Caritas estimate, 304 families have applied to them for 
assistance.  Caritas estimates that the families are fairly 
large, averaging 5 people per family.  Caritas reports that 
the refugees come from various regions of Iraq, including 
North, South, and Baghdad. 
 
 
Need for Outside Assistance 
--------------------------- 
 
 
6. (SBU) Yakan says that outside support is being solicited 
from many other groups, with no assistance to date.  The 
Papal Nuncio in Istanbul has permitted the Chaldeans to use 
St. Antoine Church for services, due to the large number of 
worshippers.  Yakan is soliciting support from Chaldean 
communities abroad, which include approximately 270,000 
Chaldeans in the US and 80,000 in the EU.  Yakan will be 
attending meetings with European and American Chaldeans in 
Paris and Brussels in the near future to discuss possible 
assistance. 
 
 
7. (SBU) Ideally, Yakan would prefer that the Chaldeans not 
leave Iraq at all, as the community there (which he believes 
numbered 1 million before the most recent war) has shrunk to 
700,000 people.  Yakan believes discrimination by other 
minorities in Iraq, coupled with an unstable political 
situation, account for the migration.  Per Yakan, Kurds and 
Shi'a in particular are making life uncomfortable for the 
Chaldeans, seeking to cement their own hold on various towns, 
and even jobs, by removing the Chaldeans already present. 
Yakan related one story of 3 Chaldean nurses in Kirkuk who 
were all fired form their jobs so that Kurds could be hired. 
 
 
Fears of a Wave to Come 
----------------------- 
 
 
8. (SBU) In tandem with Iraq's larger infrastructural 
problems, Chaldeans have been hit even harder, Yakan reports. 
 Chaldean schools and hospitals all are currently defunct, he 
says.  Yakan fears that, as Shi'a and Kurds consolidate their 
hold, the Chaldeans will be more and more marginalized. 
Yakan fears that "since Turkomans, Armenians, and others have 
whole countries paying attention to their minorities' 
concerns, Chaldeans will be easily forgotten." 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
ARNETT