Cork

More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1814782521930195/

On the 17-18 of February, a weekend of protests will take place across several cities in Europe and Ireland against the deportation of asylum seekers from Europe to Afghanistan – country suffering from increasing volatility and rising tensions.

We will stage a demonstration in Dublin on the 18th of February outside the GPO and in Cork in Daunt’s Square on the 17th in solidarity with Afghans in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austriain, the Netherlands, Belgium and France who face the terrifying prospect of forced deportation.

“There is a disconnect somewhere, when all sources including EU bodies confirm a grave and worsening situation in Afghanistan while Member States continue to reject and deport Afghan asylum seekers,” says Claire Rimmer, ECRE Senior Policy & Project Officer(1).

Ireland:
While Ireland does not seem to be deporting to Afghanistan, it is refusing to grant many Afghans permission to land (139 were refused leave to land in 2015).
“People from refugee-producing countries such as Syria, Eritrea, and Afghanistan were refused leave to land in Ireland last year (2015)” says the Irish Refugee Council, calling for a “need for transparency and independent oversight at our borders, to ensure that people who do express fears of persecution or serious harm in their country of origin are properly facilitated in exercising their right to seek protection.” (6)

The Afghan Paradox:
The Taliban are now active in 70% of the country (2) and The Global Peace Index 2017 classifies it as the 2nd most dangerous country on earth, after Syria (3). Afghanistan is not safe – and 72% of returnees are forced to flee again due to violence, says a Norwegian Refugee Council report (4).

The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations factsheets acknowledge UN statistics that ‘more than 8000 civilians were killed or injured in the first 3/4 of 2017, which is close to record levels.’ (1)
Yet, “according to official EU statistics, between 2015 and 2016, the number of Afghans returned by European countries to Afghanistan nearly tripled: from 3,290 to 9,460. The returns correspond to marked fall in recognition of asylum applications, from 68% in September 2015 to 33% in December 2016.”(5)

More information on the protest to follow shortly

1. https://www.ecre.org/the-afghan-paradox-chaos-and-violence-but-safe-for-returns-from-europe/
2. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42863116
3. http://visionofhumanity.org/indexes/global-peace-index/
4. https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/pdf/reports/escaping-war-where-to-next2/nrc_idp_escaping-war_where-to-next.pdf
5. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/10/european-governments-return-nearly-10000-afghans-to-risk-of-death-and-torture/
6. https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/4000-to-be-deported-or-refused-entry-to-ireland-in-2016-highest-number-in-6-years-423461.html