Young Afghan asylum-seekers heading for Nordic countries through Paris

Afghan boys line up to get a roof over their heads for the night

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By Heli Suominen
     
      Afghani teenager Asif, aged 15, intends to travel to Norway, Britain, or Finland.
      The plan is no adolescent's daydreaming, as the boy has already made his way from Pakistan to Paris through Turkey, Greece, and Italy.
      A year on the road has not managed to snuff out his persistence.
      ”In Afghanistan, our future means war. I would like to learn and work”, the boy says.
      Nazrullah, 26, next to him, intends to travel to Finland.
      ”I have heard from my relatives that Finland is better than France. That once I am granted asylum, I can get my family there, too”, he says.
      In Afghanistan, Nazrullah supported his wife and three-and-a-half-year-old daughter by importing chocolate and biscuits, but he had to leave the country, as his support for the now-exiled Abdul Rahman, a converted Christian, made his life dangerous.
     
The war in Afghanistan has continued for seven yearsand more, continuously pushing refugees to neighbouring countries and even to Europe.
      In Paris, unaccompanied adolescent asylum-seekers gather in the parks and squares in the north of the city. People have began to call the district ”Little Kabul”.
      According to the 2007 statistics, the 3.1 million Afghans are the largest refugee group in the world. Only a fraction of them are officially seeking asylum status.
      However, the fact that the worldwide number of Afghan asylum-seekers increased in 2008 by 85 % from the previous year - rising to 18,500 - tells its own tale.
      Pierre Henry, the director general of France Terre D’Asile, an organisation promoting asylum and migrants’ rights in France and Europe, says that Europeans have abandoned Afghans.
      ”The war in Afghanistan and the European soldiers who have been sent there to fight have certain repercussions. They are bound to increase immigrants flowing in. Europe should acknowledge this fact”, Henry says.
     
Around 40 fellow Afghans are standing around Asif and Nazrulla on the banks of the Saint-Martin Canal.
      At sunset, buses pick up those who need accommodation for the night, taking them to dormitories.
      Blankets and sleeping bags given by aid organisations are carried along in worn-out plastic bags.
      16-year-old Ali does not catch the bus tonight. The adolescent, who intends to end up in Norway, takes it coolly.
      ”I will sleep in the park - again. It is not dangerous there - just cold”, he says.
     
The number of illegal asylum-seekers in Paris has increased, particularly after France closed down the Sangatte refugee camp in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of Northern France in 2002.
      Allegedly, the camp was used as a base for the flow of immigrants crossing the English Channel into the UK.
      The aid organisations in Paris have noticed that increasing numbers of unaccompanied minor boys are arriving from Afghanistan.
      At present the organisations are facing an overwhelming task.
      ”The state does not assume any responsibility for the boys. According to French legislation, minors should be provided with education, food, and health care”, says Jean-Michel Centres, an active member of the neighbourhood organisation.
      ”Offering them harsh conditions, the state wants to encourage the Afghans to leave France, to continue their journey”, Centres notes.
     
It is true that finding help for some Afghans is not easy, as they tend to avoid the authorities like the plague, hoping that they could continue their journey from Paris northwards.
      The most popular destination is Norway, and Finland comes second, when young Afghans wandering in Paris are asked about their plans.
      Only few of them speak good English, and most of them do not have any exact information about the immigration policy of European states - just rumours and hearsay.
      The Finnish journalist’s questions are soon replaced by the curiosity expressed by the interviewees.
      Are the circumstances in Finland good?
      Is it easier to find a job in Finland than in Sweden? Is an asylum-seeker allowed to bring his wife and children to Finland?
     
According to the Dublin Convention, the member-state through which an asylum-seeker first entered the EU is responsible for his or her application.
      Most of the Afghans have entered the EU through Greece, and for example the human rights organisation Amnesty International has reprimanded Greece for deficient procedures relating to refugee applications.
      According to Pierre Henry, the number of asylum applications approved in Greece is negligible.
      ”In any case, the Dublin Convention is unreasonable, as it puts the burden of responsibility for refugees or asylum-seekers squarely on the member-state through which they first enter the EU”, Henry adds.
     
When it comes to Finland, many Afghans have heard that the country does not send minors back to Greece.
      The fact is confirmed by manager Juha Similä from the Finnish Immigration Service.
      According to Similä, the conditions for receiving underage asylum-seekers in Greece are inadequate.
      Nazrullah says that the Greek police are chasing illegal immigrants with truncheons. In Greece and Italy refugees have to stay overnight in the street.
      ”In Finland we could sleep in a house, couldn’t we?” he asks.
      ”I myself can manage in the street, but my wife and daughter cannot sleep there”, Nazrullah adds.
     
According to Finnish statistics, the number of asylum-seekers of Afghan origin increased sharply in 2008 and at the beginning of 2009.
      Last year, a total of 254 Afghans applied for asylum in Finland, while in the course of the first three months of the current year a total of 105 Afghan-born asylum-seekers filed their applications in the country.
      In 2006 and 2007, the number of asylum-seekers was just below 100 for the entire year.
      In 2008, the Afghans were the third-largest group of asylum-seekers in Finland, right after the Iraqis and Somalis.
      A total of 72 Afghans were granted asylum in 2008, while 19 applicants received a negative decision.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 20.4.2009


Links:
  The Dublin Convention (Wikipedia)
  The Finnish Immigration Service
  Abdul Rahman (Wikipedia)
  France Terre D’Asile
  Amnesty International

HELI SUOMINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
heli.suominen@hs.fi