From Iraq to Greece

I am posting this comment from Panayote Dimitras to the front page in light of this development:

Greece: Norway suspends asylum seekers referrals to Greece because of rights violations. Iraqi asylum seeker alleges ill-treatment and deception.

Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) informs that Norway suspended the referral of asylum seekers to Greece (as first country of entry according to the Dublin II Regulation) on 7 February 2008, “on the basis of the latest information about the possible violations of the rights of asylum seekers in Greece, and on the basis of the need for more information about the conditions of the asylum seekers in this country” Norway’s Immigration Appeal Board announced (see below). This latest information, along with a plea to stop the referrals, was provided on 18 January 2008 by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers (NOAS), (see their letter below) following information provided by Greek Helsinki Monitor. Follows also the interview of Iraqi asylum seeker Ahmad Jwad Ali about all he went through while in Greece, including deception and alleged repeated ill-treatment. He has currently found refuge to Norway to avoid his referral to Greece, something that he is avoiding following the recent developments.

Read the full report here

Here is a personal account of one man’s experience of seeking refuge in Greece and his plea not to be sent back here.

My experiences in Greece

(Interview with NOAS)

I am a young man from Baghdad in Iraq. In Iraq, I have worked with the American forces and as a bodyguard for the Ministry of Culture. It is because of this that I was threatened by armed groups that belong to the Muslim army. Therefore, I was forced to seek refuge from Iraq.

I left Iraq first to Syria and from there to Turkey where I stayed for three months. With the help of some smugglers I went to Greece by sea. We were 45 people in total from different nationalities on a boat. The Turkish police shot in the air to intimidate us. They threw some sort of a lasso rope after us, to catch us or frighten us. At the same time they were causing waves with their boats, until we reached the Greek side of the borders. There, we experienced the same as we did with the Turks. The Greeks were causing waves, and they shot at the boat until we jumped in the sea.

There was an island directly in the vicinity, Chios. We swam to the island where we were caught by the Greek army. After that, the military delivered us to the Greek police. They arrested us in a small room, and they took our fingerprints. I refused to do it because I wanted to travel further in Europe. They threatened me and beat me up brutally. They used an electric stick of which I still have bruises on my nose visible because of the treatment I received there.

Afterwards, they sent us to a prison on the island, Chios. The prison lies on a hill and the length of the building there was around 30 to 40 meters. There were more than 250 persons in the prison from different nationalities. There were two policemen/prison guards, Smadi and George, which had the responsibility over the prison.

After a short while a lawyer on behalf of the Greek police came in and interviewed us. Her name was Natasha [GHM note: Natasha is not a police lawyer, but a NGO lawyer helping asylum seekers in Chios]. She said that our fingerprints would not be registered in the Migration unit but in the register of the border police. She said that this was done just for security reasons and not for the purposes of asylum. Accordingly, these prints would not have any effect in case we wanted to travel further in Europe.

I didn’t declare my real name or my country of origin because I was afraid that I would be sent back. That is why I am now in this country. After a month in prison, I was released, and I travelled further to Athens. Because I didn’t have proper clothing and I looked like a foreigner, I was again caught by the Greek police. They hit me, took all my money that I had and left me in the street by myself. I had no place to go to, didn’t know anyone there and couldn’t speak the language. As a result I had to sleep on the street in two weeks until I found a job with Greek man. I worked as an ironsmith worker every day from 6 in the morning until 1 after midnight for only 20 euro.

The police was looking for immigrants all the time. Therefore, I made a deal with a smuggler in order for him to help me travel to Denmark by plane. As I was about to leave the airport in Athens, I was again caught by the police. They hit me and arrested me for one week. Then, I tried the same another time, and again I was caught and I was arrested for one week. The last time it happened, I was told by a policeman that I should not travel through the airport where the security is very strict. I should instead try to travel through one of two islands [GHM note: he means ports] Komanizia [GHM note: he means Igoumenitsa] or Patra. He said that it was much easier to travel from there. But, as I came there, I couldn’t leave. I tried for the third time through the airport. I made a deal with the smuggler that if he is to succeed that time, I would pay him. I owed him already 200 euro. He gave me a clear message: that if I didn’t send him the money, I wouldn’t be allowed to come back to Greece. He threatened me, but I paid him the whole sum right there and then. I was apprehensive as I know that smugglers use mafia methods in the way they deal with people.

Afterwards, I came to Sweden and applied for asylum there. I stayed there for 8 months. In Sweden, I was told that they have my fingerprints from Greece, and so therefore I must be sent back there. I explained to them that I couldn’t be in Greece as I didn’t get my rights fulfilled there, and I gave them all the documents that I had. I tried to convince them not to send me back there, but they explained to me the Dublin Agreement according to which I must be sent back.

Therefore, I escaped to Norway. I ask for your mercy because of all the obstacles that I have experienced. I ask the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration to evaluate my application for asylum and not to send me back to Greece or Iraq. I swear that my declaration is true.

Ahmad Jwad Ali

Oslo, 7th of February 2008

Technorati: greece, norway, asylum, immigration, dublin agreement