Kurdish Rzgar Hama (32) had dreams of a life in Europe. Now he risks being sent to a country he does not know; Rwanda.
– This is a real nightmare, he says to TV 2 in Norwegian.
Hama is originally from Iran, and came to Norway as an asylum seeker in 2015. He applied to Norway for protection and claims his life is in danger because he has been politically active in his home country.
– UNWANTED: Rzgar Hama was unwanted in Norway, so he went to Britain. Photo: Private
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He moved to an asylum reception center in Vang in Valdres, but the UDI did not believe his story, and his asylum application was rejected.
– The UDI says Iran is a safe country for me, but I risk being killed or tortured, the 32-year-old states.
25,000 kroner
The UDI’s rejection should not be the end of his dreams of a life in Europe. He came in contact with the human traffickers and for 25,000 kroner he could get a new opportunity. This time he fled from Norway.
He traveled to Dunkirk in France. From there, he was to cross the English Channel with 40 other asylum seekers in an inflatable boat. The journey took about six hours.
This was March 22 this year. He escaped unscathed to Britain, and sought asylum again.
But then Hama heard something he had no idea about: Britain had entered into an agreement with Rwanda.
Must stay in Rwanda
According to the agreement, asylum seekers who have entered the UK in small boats after 1 January 2022 will be sent to Rwanda. They must stay there while their asylum applications are processed.
In addition, Rwanda will be responsible for the people who come. If granted asylum, they are offered residence and encouraged to establish themselves in Rwanda, but not in the United Kingdom.
– HELPER: Sonya Sceats is the CEO of Freedom from Torture. Photo: Joe Pike
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Asylum seekers will receive financial assistance for up to six years, and the agreement is funded by the United Kingdom.
One-way ticket
The controversial agreement has aroused strong criticism in the UK. One of the organizations criticizing the plan is Freedom From Torture, which provides legal and mental health care to asylum seekers.
– Is the Rwanda plan a one-way ticket?
– Yes, the UK is sending them there permanently. Even those found in need of protection must stay in Rwanda. They are not allowed to return to the UK, Sonya Sceats told TV 2. She is the CEO of Freedom from Torture.
The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, claims that this is a plan to prevent the flow of refugees to the country in the form of boat refugees across the canal.
“Smugglers are abusing the vulnerable and turning the canal into a wet cemetery, with men, women and children drowning in rubber boats,” said the prime minister.
– CRITICISM: The British Home Secretary Priti Patel has aroused strong criticism in the country. Photo: JESSICA TAYLOR
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– Heartless
Sceats strongly disagree. According to her, the Rwanda plan is immoral, illegal and cruel.
In addition, the plan will create new smuggling routes and get people to embark on increasingly dangerous journeys to get to the UK.
– This is a heartless and inhuman attempt to abdicate responsibility for protecting refugees, and send them to a poorer country in exchange for money, she says.
Torture
The director adds that the Rwanda agreement will cause endless suffering for some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
– Why is Rwanda not safe for refugees?
– The British government reprimanded the security forces in Rwanda for the use of torture last year. We are deeply concerned that the British government has failed to assess the risk to refugees in Rwanda, especially marginalized and vulnerable groups such as torture survivors and LGBTQ people, she said.
– AGREEMENT: British Home Secretary Priti Patel signs agreement with Rwandan Home Secretary Vincent Biruta Photo: Muhizi Olivier
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Freedom from Torture also offers mental health care to refugees. Sceats says the organizations’ therapists report increased trauma symptoms, not only those who are to be sent out of the country, but also those refugees who are not at risk for this scheme, she says.
12 straight
according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) is Britain’s rwanda plan cruel. They cite examples of how Rwanda treats asylum seekers.
HRW claims that Rwandan security forces shot and killed at least 12 refugees when they demonstrated against cuts in food supplies in 2018.
Over 60 of the protesters were subsequently arrested and charged with sedition and “spreading false information with the intention of creating a hostile international opinion against the Rwandan state”.
“While the British open their hearts and homes to Ukrainian refugees, the government chooses to act with cruelty and tear up its obligations to others fleeing war and persecution,” writes HRW.
– Catastrophic example
Activists went to court to prevent the plan from being implemented, but failed. The appeal was rejected on Monday.
The first plane with asylum seekers is scheduled to depart for the Central African country on Tuesday.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi believes the plan will serve as a “catastrophic” example.
– This is completely wrong, he says in the first comment to the ruling on Monday night.
The UN is also seriously concerned about whether Rwanda has the capacity to receive them.
Redd
Now awaits Kurdish Rzgar Hama. He is scared and worried. So far, he has not been specifically told that he will be sent, but life has been turned upside down.
– The only thing I want is to have a safe life. I do not want to end up in a refugee camp in Rwanda, he says.
The journalist behind the article, Aysun Yazici, is a journalist from Turkey who lives in exile in Norway. She is affiliated with TV 2’s foreign department.
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