Press release by Roma Thüringen concerning the group deportation of December 16, 2015
Every deportation is a crime
For several weeks, mass deportations of Romanies and other refugees from so-called 'safe countries of origin' have been taking place. The fact that these countries are not safe, in particular for Romanies and other minorities, which been proven by Romany organisation as well as other NGOs many times. Even the notification of a violent abduction to other countries that people have fled from is a threat to their very existence. This holds true all the more for the actual execution of such a violent deportation by the German police. Every deportation is a crime and not tolerable.
In the following, we will report on the deportation of December 16 of several Romany families from Erfurt to Belgrade / Serbia. We received these information from those affected themselves and are in contact with them.
2 activists of Roma Thüringen and their three children have been deported from a detention center in Magdeburger Allee. They woke up in the afore-said night by police suddenly standing in their room by the side of the bed and turning on the light. Beforehand, they had neither ringed the bell nor had they knocked on the door. The Romanies were even taken away their telephon when they were trying to inform others about their deportation. This is also how they were denied contact with lawyers.
A family of Roma Thüringen activists from a refugee home center in Juri Gagarin Ring were deported. The father of the abducted family reports that somebody of the foreigners' registration office (Ausländerbehörde) was present at the deportation. The family had a medical certificate for their sick child with the recommandation to suspend the family's deportation because it would be dangerous to the child. The certificate was shown to the officer who thereupon answered that it doesn't matter now and that they will be deported. Now, in Serbia, they have to live six persons in one room. Temporarily, they found shelter at the place of other people but in 2 months they will be homeless because they dont' have an own apartment. The children are sick. Doctors reject them because they're Romanies.
In a refugee center in Stauffenbergalle, one family could not be found in their room during the night of the deportation. The next day, the children went to Thomas Mann regular school and Humboldt elemtanry school, as usual. Police was waiting in front of Thomas Mann school in order to take one of the children (aged 14) - unaccompanied. Subsequently, together with this child, police went to Humboldt elementary school in order to take the other and younger child, too. The grown-up brother wanted to pick up the child from Humboldt elementary school. Under the pretext that he was not allowed to do that and that the father of the family should come in order to pick up the children they were hold there and the father had to come. In the meantime, police were called by the school and when the father came he and his children were taken by police. Subsequently, the whole family was brought to Thüringenhalle. There they were supposed to wait until their deportation. In Thüringenhalle detention center visitors are registered as in an open prison. Food is served only at certain hours. The children were not allowed anymore to attend school. The family did not receive their money anymore but only non-cash benefits. At the same day, all their personal belongings, electronic devices, clothes - basically everything - from their previous refugee center in Stauffenbergalle was put onto the street. Passers-by took things as if they were rubbish.
After the group deportation, upon their arrival in Belgrade, still in the airport, people were threatened by police, in part at gunpoint, and all their things were searched. They were intimidated and insulted in a racist way. They were told that they have no place and Serbia and that they should leave. They were turned in on the grounds of defamation because they had talked down the Serbian state abroad. For the next two years, they will be denied all social benefits and health insurance by the Serbian state and they have been banned from working.1 Only with the beginning of the next school year, the children are allowed to attaend school again. Furthermore, the parents have to pay a fine of 350 euros for each child and for each month the child did not go to school in Serbia.
„Every deportation is a crime. That's why we demand an immediate and general ban on deporting. Furthermore we demand that the deportees be brought back and be compensated“, said Roma Thüringen spokesperson Chani Cangovic.
Roma Community inThüringen
Information Contact: 0172 8020398 oder 0152 17921642
Email: roma-thueringen@posteo.de
http://breakdeportation.blogsport.de
– der serbische Ministerpräsident informiert bei einem Treffen mit A. Merkel über die Sanktionen gegen aus der BRD abgeschobene AsylbewerberInnen in Serbien * http://www.teleprompter.rs/vucic-kaznjava-srpske-azilante-ukidamo-socij…
Nachfragen unter: 0172 8020398 oder 0152 17921642
Deutsch:
Pressemitteilung von Roma Thüringen zu der Sammelabschiebung vom 16.12.2015
Jede Abschiebung ist ein Verbrechen
https://thevoiceforum.org/node/4076