User:Iven86/sandbox
Iven Leni Fernandez (born in Basra, Iraq; 31 March 1986) is an Anglo-Indian /aŋɡləʊˈɪndɪən/ roots from my grandfathers they came to Iraq in 1920 and I grow up in Iraq till 2016 I left Iraq to Jordan as a refugee.
Here I want to share with the world my suffering that I lived through, and until now my dream is to be treated as a human being and to live a human life. This is the reason that prompted me to write a brief biography of my life here.
Life and career
[edit]Early life and education
[edit]I grew up with war life, when my mom was pregnant there was a war between Iraq and Iran (September 22, 1980 – August 20, 1988), at the first year of my life our house was bombed and my family keeps shifting to different locations.
In (1990) our house was also bombed during the war between Iraq war with Kuwait (The Gulf War August 2, 1990 – February 28, 1991 1990-1991 Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm).
On (16 December 1998), (The 1998 bombing of Iraq (code-named Operation Desert Fox)) our house was also get damaged by a bombing telecommunication base close to our house I'll never forget this moment when I was sleeping at midnight and suddenly woke up after a huge explosion sound and flashing and see my house filled with the dust and smoke and there are no windows and doors everything is crashed and later the first explosion followed with five a Tomahawk cruise missile the sound of explosion keeps me unable to hear anything for a few hours.
I completed my studies in Basra, where I studied in these schools, and I had good memories and some bad situations with people I met, despite that, I had beautiful childhood memories during the time of the economic siege imposed on a country at that time and the effects of wars. Below are listed in sequence the schools in which I studied:
- (مدرسة الثغر الابتدائية المختلطة - Al-Thaghr Elementary Mixed School).
- (ابتدائية المعقل للبنين - Al Maqal Elementary for Boys).
- (مدرسة الجبيلة للمتميزين - Al Jubaila School for the Distinguished).
- (اعدادية المعقل للبنين - Maqal prep school for boys).
And I finished my university at (University of Basra).
And speaking of the sectarianism and racism that I experienced for a period of my life in Iraq, which appeared clearly after the end of the rule of Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq (I am not here to talk about the politics or defense of a particular person), where I faced the first situation that became clear that the environment in which I live would not be safe The first of these happened in Al-Maqal High School for Boys, where one of my colleagues in I was shaking hands with him and greeting him. I was surprised when he said to me: Do not touch me, you're impure Christian. I was replayed to him, obviously, your thought is impure.
After that period, events followed and the era of sectarianism and racism began in Iraq clearly, where assassinations, kidnappings, and killings increased, as nine houses of my neighbors were killed and their families were displaced due to their different sects.
In 2006 I displacement to the north of Iraq to Erbil after receiving a death threat by terrorist militias, Because I'm Christian, not a Muslim.
I thought my life will be good and I can live in peace based on all media saying about the north of Iraq which is A Muslim region that is more coexisting with religions than other Muslim countries in the Middle East. But the truth is not what I heard it's totally different from when I lived there, especially I faced From the ethnic discrimination because I am not Kurdish, as I faced humiliation at the checkpoints distributed between regions, and I had to obtain a residence permit in order to be able to stay within the borders of this region (Yes, do not be surprised that I am inside my country, and I must obtain a residence permit in order to live in it). In addition to the process of obtaining residency, it was not easy. I have to get someone to be my sponsor he should be a Kurdish person, and that was not for free. I have to pay not small amounts in order for that person agrees to be my sponsor, and at the security centers that were called Asayish, where they made us wait for a full working day in their offices, and at the end of the day they Informing us that they must be reviewed after a week or a month, and this mechanism for renewing residency took six to seven months, and you did not have the freedom to move easily for fear of checkpoints.
2016: Emigration to the Jordan
[edit]I left Iraq on 2016 to Jordan and And I went directly to the registration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but I did not see any interest or someone actually hearing me. Even the employee who was registering us was not interested in hearing my story, so he did not make me finish writing the story of my suffering in a registration form, He talked to me in a way like I low-level class, and I included as Asylum seekers, not a refugee!!.
And every time when I visit their office to follow up on my case I got the same replay every time, which is your file has not been opened or looked at yet or Iraq is a safe country.
But till this moment, I have not been recognized as a refugee after more than six years of waiting in the host country, Jordan, despite the difficult life we live here. Even UNHCR did not help me or ask about me.
Every day here is a very difficult challenge, especially when you are of Iraqi nationality, where you are not allowed to work legally, you cannot live in a healthy house, and you cannot buy healthy food or clothes.
Even the education scholarships when I tried to continue study master's while I staying here without doing anything I found all education scholarships for Syrian only!!.
Throughout this period, as a result of my unhealthy living situation, my symptoms of pain and joint problems began, and going to a doctor is very expensive for a person like me who is not allowed to work and has no income or health insurance, as I was forced from time to time to take financial loans from people I know and as a result accumulated debts on me.
