AYS Daily Digest 10/02/20: Deportations in the midst of a pandemic
26 people deported to Afghanistan // Two Ethiopian camps to be closed // IOM condemns pushbacks to Bosnia // New evictions in Northern France // Germany does not meet migration quota
Afghanistan: New deportations
Today three explosions took place in Kabul, according to journalist Emran Feroz. At the same time — and in the midst of the pandemic — 26 people were deported from Germany. The newspaper Die Tageszeitung adds, that it was the 36th deportation flight since December 2016 and a total of 989 men were deported. Afghan authorities turned away one man and he was transferred to a guest house. Although the German interior ministry says that 23 of them were sentenced criminals, some said that they don’t know the reason for their deportation. “I studied there. I was rejected three times. I don’t know, why they deport us,” one deportee said. Before the deportation, almost 100 organizations criticized the policy.
Ethiopia: Two camps to be closed
The Ethiopian government plans to close two camps for displaced people, which were damaged in the Tigray conflict. They were run by UNHCR; one is said to be too close to the Eritrean border and the other in an uninhabitable location, writes Bloomberg. Some 20,000 people are accommodated at these places.
Sea: Pullback witnessed
Around 200 people on two boats were pulled back by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, as witnessed by Alarmphone and Open Arms. “They tried to escape, but the servile watchdogs of the EU did what they are paid to do: Deportations”, comments Alarmphone.
The group further reveals, that 20, who went missing on 4 February, have arrived in Sardinia. They were rescued by a merchant vessel.
Italy
In a court case in Milano about “falsifying documents to profit from accommodation”, a woman is facing up to 13.5 years in prison. She is accused of providing the people she hosted with little to nothing while she skimmed off the profits for herself, committing fraud against the state and money-laundering. The trial involves ten other defendants, reports InfoMigrants: “She allegedly ran an illegal ‘system’ of non-profit organizations: Volontari Senza Frontiere (Volunteers Without Borders), Milano Solidale (Milan Solidarity), Amici di Madre Teresa Giuliani (Friends of Mother Teresa Giuliani), and Area Solidale (Solidarity Area)”. Reportedly she used more than €4.5 million for “personal reasons”; around €7.5 million may have been obtained illegally.
Bosnia
Journalist Franziska Grillmeier highlights the situation at the Bosnian-Croatian border. In her Twitter thread she explains that the Danish Refugee Council recorded more than 15,000 pushbacks between January and November 2020: “More than 60% of cases reportedly involved violence!”. Further she points out the ways these people have suffered:
- No access to medical care
- Severe injuries from #pushbacks
- No legal advice
- Dangerous threats and attacks by anti-migrant groups “on the hunt”
- Counting on the goodwill of dozens of Bosnians/NGOs, support with food
In a statement IOM also called on the EU and its member states to end pushbacks.
“The use of excessive force and violence against civilians is unjustifiable,” says IOM Chief of Staff Eugenio Ambrosi.
The UN agency describes the reports and the situation as “alarming” and welcomes an independent border monitoring mechanism.
France: New evictions
Today seven sites have been evicted by authorities, reports Human Right Observers. People were not allowed to take their tents. Utopia 56 reminds us, that temperatures are as low as -10° Celsius.
Germany: Below the quota
Fewer than 67,500 people arrived in Germany in 2020, according to data of the Interior Ministry. Including children born in the country during the year, the number increases to 94,000, InfoMigrants writes. However, this number is far below the targeted flexible annual quota the ministry introduced in 2018. It is between 180,000 and 220,000 per year. At the same time, Germany is not meeting its goals and duties on family reunions and relocations.
Austria: New helpline
SOS Balkanroute reminds us that they have established a new hotline for pushbacks from Austria. If people are rejected at the border and denied their right to ask for asylum, they can call +43 1345 1444 and receive remote support.
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