Following the example of other countries that have already withdrawn from Iraq the Polish government decided to offer assistance to Iraqis who had worked for the Polish Army there, including the interpreters and their families. The first group of those who had decided to settle in Poland arrived to Warsaw.
Danuta Isler reports
28-year-old Mohammad worked as an interpreter for the Polish Army since the beginning of its operations. Shortly before the Polish mission there ended over a hundred Iraqi interpreters worked for the Polish contingent and many of them, like Mohammad, expressed their desire to relocate with the troops fearing for their lives: "Whenever I was going on patrol I was always treated badly by other Iraqis because I was an Iraqi on a Polish patrol in a Polish car so this was a big problem for me. I was perceived as if I were a traitor. What's important for me now is to get a good job and then I can start a new life".
The Polish government prepared a special assistance program for people like Mohammad. Approved last month it envisaged three ways of helping those who worked for the Polish contingent for a minimum of six months: paying out financial aid, providing money for starting a new life in one of the neighbouring countries of Iraq and the possibility of a move to Poland. Wojciech Łuczak of "Raport" military magazine says these people could not be left behind after the Polish mission in Iraq ended: "Those people were the assistance core in Iraq. They were able to penetrate those social circles which could be closed to Polish speakers, their work was absolutely essential and their knowledge of the social strata in such peculiar areas was also absolutely key for understanding what's going on and providing security so we owe them much and we have to do much to provide them with relatively safe life after Polish withdrawal".
The majority of Iraqis decided to take advantage of the $40,000 payment which will help them start a new life in their own country. A small group of 25 and their families decided to settle in this country and they are now under the supervision of the Polish Office for Foreigners staying in a specially set up transition center. Once granted refugee status they will join a one year integration program during which they will learn the Polish language as well as try to find jobs and assimilate with the Polish society.
Grzegorz Sikora of the Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights says once in Poland this group of refugees should not pose additional challanges for the society for one simple reason: "Iraqis have been working and living in Polish society for many years. We have clients from Iraq and, as we know, they are finding work and simply they are integrating with the Polish society. As for the Iraqi interpreters working for the Polish Army it may be a question of their security here within the Polish territory. They may be afraid of other refugees and they may ask to stay outside the refugee camp and to live by their own".
The Polish Army is not be first one that decided to offer help, including asylum to Iraqi interpreters. Last August Danish army took with them 200 Iraqis , including 80 interpreters. They got visas and were eventually able to seek asylum in Denmark. Also the US government has already offered 1,000 special immigration visas for Iraqis and Afghans working with American forces.