Iceland review - 2019, Page 16

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Iceland Review
Greece. It is believed that she suffers from
severe stress disorder, severe depression,
anxiety, and insomnia, all largely traced
to her experiences in Greece. Her brother
is also believed to be battling severe
depression, stress disorder, anxiety, and
problems sleeping.
Bleak in Greece
Conditions faced by refugees in Greece
have been criticised by the Council of
Europe, among others. International
organisations such as the Red Cross have
assessed that although children may have
received international protection in the
country, their living conditions are far
from adequate. There’s a severe lack of
basic services for refugees in the country,
including healthcare, education, and hous-
ing. Greece is facing economic doldrums,
making it even more difficult to handle the
influx of refugees from the Middle East
and Africa. In fact, many international
organisations believe that deporting the
children back to Greece is in violation of
the UN Convention for Children’s Rights.
Therefore, it’s not in the children’s best
interest to be sent back to Greece.
Protest
Zainab Safari is currently a 9th grade
student at Hagaskóli school and has talked
of her ambitions to become a doctor or
a teacher in the future. She has received
tremendous support from her fellow
students, who organised a march to the
Directorate of Immigration to protest her
family’s deportation. The children deliv-
ered a petition with 6,000 signatures urg-
ing authorities to handle the family’s case
humanely. When the Safari family received
a deportation order shortly after, a large
crowd gathered at Austurvöllur square in
support of the families.
Authorities’ handling of the cases
has been met with severe backlash from
people from all walks of life. Surveys have
repeatedly shown that the majority of
Icelanders are in favour of receiving more
refugees to the country. There is mounting
pressure on authorities and government
to stop the deportations, and to abide
by international laws. UNICEF in Iceland
released a statement reminding authori-
ties that the deportations are in violation
of the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child, which Iceland is party to. Along
with this, Red Cross officials have called
on the government to rescind the decision
to deport the families, as well as the Office
of the Ombudsman for Children asking to
discuss the matter with authorities.
Quota refugees vs. asylum seekers
The Icelandic government has been
criticised for the vast difference in their
treatment of quota refugees on the one
hand, and asylum seekers on the other.
Asylum seekers who come to Iceland on
their own initiative are regularly deported
using the Dublin Regulation, while quota
refugees who are invited to Iceland via the
United Nations Refugee Program receive
humane treatment, basic services, and
support in their resettlement. So far this
year, Icelandic authorities have denied
75 refugee children seeking asylum. On
average, 12 children are denied asylum in
Iceland every month.
Authorities react
Both Minister of Justice Þórdís Kolbrún
Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir and Prime Minister
Katrín Jakobsdóttir have involved them-
selves in the cases and intend to provide
additional funds towards the matter.
Þórdís Kolbrún has already amended the
rules for handling refugees and intends
to reveal further initiatives in coming
weeks in order to ensure swifter handling
of cases. Applicants for asylum in Iceland
find themselves in a precarious situa-
tion, and often in a fragile mental state.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance to
handle their cases swiftly and justly.
On the other hand, the government
had prepared a bill earlier this year which
would weaken the position of asylum
seekers such as the Safari and Sarwari
families. The legal amendments would
prevent authorities from being able to
handle cases where individuals have
already received international protection
in another country. If the amendment had
been passed, the families would have long
ago been deported to Greece. Instead, the
deportation was postponed due to the pre-
carious mental and physical conditions of
family members. The law currently allows
for due processing of the application if the
applicant has a special connection to the
country, or if special circumstances allow.
Status of children
Minister of Social Affairs and Children
Ásmundur Einar Daðason met with
Bergsteinn Jónsson, director of UNICEF
in Iceland, to discuss how to improve the
handling of children seeking asylum in
Iceland. Bergþór had previously criticised
the government’s handling of these affairs
and released a statement on behalf of
UNICEF to remind the government to
adhere to the UN Convention on the Rights
of the Child. The new plans include a recep-
tion home for unaccompanied children
which arrive in the country. Furthermore,
authorities intend to improve the quality
of healthcare, information, and support for
the parents of young children.
Next steps
As of now, authorities have yet to review
the applications of the two families offi-
cially. However, the deportation of the two
families has been delayed due to the fragile
mental health of the children. People have
called for authorities to handle applica-
tions on a case by case basis, rather than
blindly sending children and families in a
precarious position towards the unaccept-
able situation in Greece. The children’s
mental health should allow for due process
in this case.
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“Maybe the authorities sleep soundly
because they do not care”
– Zainab Safari