Kurds under pressure

Story: Stuart Crosthwaite

On Wednesday 8th March at 5.15pm Spital Hill was blocked to rush hour traffic. Police cordoned off an area between the Kashmir Curry Centre and Burngreave Library. When I asked why, I was given the standard ‘We don’t comment on operational matters’, but an offer to provide a Kurdish/English interpreter prompted interest. Ari Moustafa, Chair at the Kurdish Community Centre, was however already at the scene, trying to mediate.

Frightening journey

There had been some serious fighting between about twelve young Kurdish men. Three were injured, taken to Rotherham hospital and released after treatment for stab wounds and a facial injury. Five men were arrested. One asylum seeker without leave to remain in the UK, was taken into detention by the immigration service. The other four were charged with violent disorder and remanded to appear at Sheffield Magistrates Court on 13th April.

I asked Ari Moustafa what caused the violence. He explained that it related to an incident that occurred during the frightening journey from war-torn northern Iraq to the UK. He was quick to add: “I feel really ashamed. It’s a shame for all Kurdish people,” and explained that the local Kurdish community was ‘surprised, angry and sad’ at the fighting.

Government blackmail

There is a lot of desperation in the Kurdish community in South Yorkshire. Burngreave has the highest concentration of Kurds in the region. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work and basic government support is conditional on their agreement to return to northern Iraq. This is a very dangerous prospect for most, fearing the violence and corruption which caused them to leave Iraq in the first place. As the Messenger reported in December, their refusal to be blackmailed into returning has left hundreds of Iraqi Kurdish asylum seekers in Sheffield without any income or accommodation.

The Government’s aim of forcing thousands of Iraqi Kurdish asylum seekers to leave the UK has, according to Ari, “Pushed people the wrong way. They are tired and angry. Destitute people make trouble.”