What can people in other countries do to support this important campaign, are there any online petitions to sign or authorities to email/fax/write to?
Franck
Find on this blog a brief overview on the 2 years history of the We Are
Here movement in Amsterdam and some current (very sad) circumstances:
http://dreaminginexile.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/the-nature-of-a-society-is-exposed-at-its-margins/
The nature of a society is exposed at its margins
Posted on September 2, 2014
Human rights and refused asylum seekers in the Netherlands.
Since 2012, a group of people from a number of countries have formed a
group in Amsterdam called “We Are Here”. There are men and women, old and
young. Some have been here for many years. Others are relative newcomers.
What do they have in common? They all came to the Netherlands in search of
protection. Another common factor is that they have all since been denied
residence. Their asylum claims refused, or their temporary refugee status
taken away. They have been ordered to leave the country but have refused
to do so, either because they fear for their lives if returned to their
countries of origin, or because they don’t have the paperwork necessary to
return.
In the Netherlands, refused asylum seekers who do not cooperate with their
deportation do not receive provisions, such as food or shelter, from the
state. Since 2010, municipalities are banned from offering them emergency
shelter.[1] This means that these people end up on the street, and are
dependent on churches and charities for help.[2] They live in the shadows,
struggling to survive.
In September 2012, a number of people in this situation came together in
Amsterdam and decided it was time for change. They wanted to be visible
and to make their situation known. They stepped out of the shadows and
declared “We Are Here”, and ‘we need solutions’. The group gained national
attention when they set up a tent camp in Osdorp, where they lived for
over two months. When the tent camp was evicted, some members of the group
were put in immigration detention and the rest were turned back out onto
the streets.
We Are Here (https://www.facebook.com/WijZijnHier?fref=photo)
We Are Here (https://www.facebook.com/WijZijnHier?fref=photo)
Their next ‘home’ was the Vluchtkerk (refugee church) a squatted empty
church that was turned into a cold, but at least dry, shelter where the
group spent the winter. They stayed here for six months before being
evicted again. Since then, the group has moved 8 more times, as buildings
are squatted and then after varying amounts of time, evicted.
At one point the authorities in Amsterdam offered the group six months
shelter in a former prison known as Vluchthaven (Refugee Haven). Many of
them took up the offer, but others were refused as they were not on the
original lists of those that had handed their cases over to the Dutch
Council for Refugees. Other members of the group refused the offer
themselves due to traumas with prisons arising from earlier spells in
immigration detention or persecution in their own countries. Temporary
shelter was found for a number of women and sick people. The others were
literally back on the street again.
Throughout all this, the group has done everything they can to draw
attention to their plight. They have held many demonstrations, engaged
with local and national politicians, and held campaigns through social
media. They have built a large group of supporters from all walks of life,
who have helped them to survive.
The group is currently split over a number of locations including a garage
(Vluchtgarage) and a squatted building (Vluchtgebouw). The conditions in
these buildings are abhorrent. More than 100 asylum seekers are cramped
into small spaces and there is often no running water, sanitation,
electricity or heating. They are dependent on supporters to bring them
food and clothing, and often to give them a place to shower or wash their
clothes.
Asylum seekers in the Refugee Garage (Vluchtgarage) – In English from 01.40
The conditions have been taking their toll on the asylum seekers in both
locations, both physically and mentally. There is often not enough food
for everyone and the stress of the conditions combined with constant
uncertainty about the future, fears of detention or deportation, and
traumas from the past have a heavy psychological impact. Many of the group
have fled from violence and conflict situations, and suffer from Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Organisations such as Amnesty International, Kerk in Actie (Church in
Action), and the Dutch Council for Human Rights have spoken out numerous
times about the unsafe conditions and volatile situation in which the
group exists.
On 18 June 2014 the Dutch Council for Human Rights (College voor de
Rechten van de Mens) visited the Refugee Garage and reported the
following:
“More than 100 men aged between 18 and 65 years currently live in the
‘vluchtgarage’. They come from (amongst other places) Sudan, Eritrea,
Somalia and Ethiopia. The property has toilets, but no showers or hot
water. It is difficult for them to wash themselves and their clothes.
Also, the power supply is not working properly. The men are dependent
on donations for food, clothing and beds. Twice a week volunteers
bring food, but this is not enough. The result is that disputes arise
about food. The men have no privacy, and sleep and live close together
in small rooms. Due to a shortage of space, the inhabitants now spread
out into the garages and parking deck. The living conditions lead to
tensions. The ‘vluchtgarage’ offers them although a roof over their
heads, but it is not a safe place. Some men also indicated that they
had requested medical care in the hospital but had been turned away
because they have no insurance.”[3]
The Council initiated talks with the city government and the Ministry of
Security and Justice amongst others, and issued the following warning:
“The situation in the Amsterdam ‘vluchtgarage’ is getting out of hand.
Therefore the Dutch Council for Human Rights calls on both the city of
Amsterdam and the State Secretary for Security and Justice to take
direct measures to remedy the extreme hardship. Prevent that things go
so far that people actually die.”[4]
Nothing was done.
Last week, the fears of the Council came true.
Somali asylum seeker Nasir Guled died in hospital after ending up in a
coma following a fight with several others at the garage. He had been in
the Netherlands since 2008, after fleeing Somalia because he feared for
his life after his brother was a victim of violence.[5] With tensions
running so high in the garage this was not the first fight to have broken
out. It was however the first to leave a man dead, another two in police
custody, and the rest of the group with another trauma to deal with.
https://www.facebook.com/WijZijnHier/photos/pb.423445664355669.-2207520000.1409661055./818425198191045/?type=3&theater
Nasir Guled
Another man, Ibrahim Toure, also ended up in hospital last week after
falling through a banister in the stairwell of the other building where
the “We Are Here” group is living. He is still in intensive care with
extremely serious head and back injuries.
The huge numbers of asylum seekers dying at the borders of Europe has been
making headlines recently. Much less attention is given to those living in
the margins of our own society.
Human rights, it seems, are not guaranteed for all, even in the
Netherlands. The “We Are Here” group has done a lot to make visible the
plight of refused asylum seekers. There are however many more people in
the same position as this group currently in the Netherlands. The
conditions in which these people are living, or existing, are no less
shocking.
Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the
health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food,
clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and
the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness,
disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in
circumstances beyond his control.”
This is elaborated further in the following legislation:
– International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
- The European Social Charter (ESC)
- International Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
- European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
- International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(ICERD)[6]
In January 2013 the Conference of European Churches (CEC) lodged a
complaint against the Netherlands with the European Committee of Social
Rights regarding the lack of basic provisions afforded to refused asylum
seekers. (Conference of European Churches (CEC) v. the Netherlands
(Complaint No. 90/2013).[7]
In a preliminary ruling in October 2013, the European Committee of Social
Rights issued a ‘decision on immediate measures’[8], stating that
undocumented migrants “evidently find themselves at risk of serious
irreparable harm to their lives and their integrity when being excluded
from access to shelter, food and clothing.”
The ECSR implored the Dutch government to:
“Adopt all possible measures with a view to avoiding serious,
irreparable injury to the integrity of persons at immediate risk of
destitution, through the implementation of a coordinated approach at
national and municipal levels with a view to ensuring that their basic
needs (shelter, clothes and food) are met.”[9]
As of yet, no action has been taken by the Dutch government. In July 2014
the ECSR issued their final ruling in the case. In line with the ECSR
rules of usual procedure, this statement was first sent to the Committee
of Ministers of the Council of Europe and confidentially made
​​known to the parties involved. It is only after a resolution
by the Committee of Ministers, or after a maximum time span of four
months, that a decision will be published. Until now, the State Secretary
for Security and Justice, Mr. Fred Teeven, has made it clear that he is
not yet going to take any steps to comply with the recommendations of the
ECSR.
Since the death of Nasir Guled, organisations including Kerk in Actie,
Amnesty International and The Dutch Council for Human Rights have again
called upon the Dutch government to take immediate action and offer basic
provisions to refused asylum seekers at risk of destitution. The Mayor of
Amsterdam, Mr. Eberhard van der Laan, has again said that his hands are
tied, maintaining that as long as national policy forbids municipalities
from offering provisions to refused asylum seekers, he can do nothing.
Again, the State Secretary, Mr. Teeven has refused to take immediate
measures, proclaiming that to offer provisions to those who do not have
the right papers to be on Dutch soil, would be to declare the asylum
system “bust”.
The decision of the ECSR was not the only time that the Netherlands has
received such a signal from the international community. In May 2014 a
German court refused to send a Somali asylum seeker back to the
Netherlands. Although the man had previously applied for asylum in the
Netherlands and had been refused, the German court refused to apply the
Dublin Regulation, which asserts that an asylum claim must be dealt with
in the first EU country in which an asylum seeker sets foot. The court
stated that the man, if returned to the Netherlands, ran a considerable
risk of being subjected to ‘inhumane treatment’.[10]
The German court affirmed that ‘Human values cannot be qualified by
asylum policy,’[11]
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our
nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour,
religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to
our human rights without discrimination.[12] The Netherlands is a party to
many international human rights agreements, is currently ranked 4th in the
world in the Human Development Index (HDI)[13] and often holds a very high
position in Human Rights rank indicators. As such, the country plays an
exemplary role in the area of human rights.
Ignoring the advice of the European Committee of Social Rights, the Dutch
Council for Human Rights and organisations such as Amnesty International,
while maintaining that to give refused asylum seekers enjoyment of their
human rights through access to basic provisions necessary for their very
survival is not an option because it does not fit with the country’s
current migration policy, is simply not good enough.
The reality remains that although the authorities would prefer that asylum
seekers left the country as soon as their claims are refused, for a number
of reasons there are still large groups of these people living here in
dire situations. It would be naïve to assume that policy in this difficult
area of migration could ever cover all eventualities. Exceptional cases
and situations that do not fit within the tidy edges of the policy will
continue to occur. Third countries will refuse to cooperate in the
provision of travel documents, conflict will cause large numbers of people
to flee and will leave large numbers stranded, mistakes will be made in
asylum procedures and refused asylum seekers will do their best to avoid
deportation back to situations where they fear for their lives. It is
necessary to work on resolving all of these individual issues
simultaneously. It is unacceptable to let people suffer in inhumane
conditions and die on our streets why doing so.
It is therefore imperative that the human rights of all people who are on
Dutch territory are protected, and that basic provisions such as food,
shelter, clothing and medical assistance are available to all people,
irrespective of their immigration status or in the case of refused asylum
seekers – their willingness to cooperate with their deportation.
While considering the situations of the huge numbers of refugees, asylum
seekers and internally displaced people around the world today, we should
not close our eyes to the plight of those in dire situations on our own
doorstep.
They say the nature of a society is exposed at its margins. What does that
say about us?
Yoonis Osman Nuur from the “We Are Here” group tells his story at
TEDxAUCollege.
References
[1] There are some instances where municipalities cooperate in offering
emergency shelter to small numbers of refused asylum seekers. For example
Stichting Noodopvang Dakloze Vreemdelingen Utrecht (SNDVU) which provides
temporary shelter and (legal) support to asylum seekers who are not
entitled to support from the Dutch government e.g. For example if they are
in a regular legal procedure to obtain residence, are involved in the
“Perspectief” programme, are working towards organizing their return to
their country of origin but do not yet have the necessary paperwork, or
they have an acute (medical) condition which means that they would not be
able to survive on the streets. For more information see:
http://www.sndvu.nl/our-mission.html
The municipality of the Hague is currently also offering temporary shelter
to a group of refused asylum seekers (mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan)
http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/3866327/haag-biedt-asielzoekers-sacramentskerk-tijdelijke-opvang.html
(in Dutch)
[2] For example, since December 2013 a group of churches in Utrecht has
provided a night shelter for undocumented men in the city.
http://toevluchtutrecht.nl (in Dutch)
[3]
http://www.mensenrechten.nl/berichten/situatie-vluchtgarage-mensonwaardig
(in Dutch)
[4]
http://www.mensenrechten.nl/berichten/situatie-vluchtgarage-mensonwaardig
(in Dutch)
[5] Letters sent in July 2014 from Nasir Guled’s legal representative to
the State Secretary of Justice and Security and to the Mayor of Amsterdam
asking for help:
http://www.kerkinactie.nl/actueel/2014/08/protestantse-kerk-pleit-voor-veilige-opvang-vluchtelingen-in-nederland
(in Dutch)
[6]
http://www.mensenrechten.nl/toegelicht/de-vluchtgarage-en-mensenrechten
(in Dutch)
[7] Here you can read all the documents related to the complaint including
the initial complaint, subsequent reactions from both the Dutch government
and the Conference of European Churches, and the preliminary ruling from
the European Committee of Social Rights:
http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/socialcharter/Complaints/Complaints_en.asp
[8]
http://www.coe.int/T/DGHL/Monitoring/SocialCharter/Complaints/CC90DecisionImmediateMeasures_en.pdf
[9] Conference of European Churches (CEC) v. the Netherlands, Complaint
No. 90/2013
http://www.coe.int/T/DGHL/Monitoring/SocialCharter/Complaints/CC90DecisionImmediateMeasures_en.pdf
[10] Duits vonnis: asielzoeker loopt risico in Nederland
http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2014/05/10/duits-vonnis-asielzoeker-loopt-risico-in-nederland/
(in Dutch)
[11] Court ruling – full text (Verwaltungsgericht Darmstadt – Beschluss)
http://issuu.com/pimvandendool/docs/uitspraak_darmstadt/6?e=7781744/7802646
[12]http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/pages/whatarehumanrights.aspx
[13] http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/NLD.pdf
For more information about “We Are Here” see:
https://www.facebook.com/WijZijnHier
_______________________________________________
Site: http://wijzijnhier.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WijZijnHier
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wijzijnhierNL
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