Two refugee support groups say 2400 Gambians awaiting deportation from Germany
Banjul, Gambia ( PANA)- Two refugee support groups said here Monday at least 2,400 Gambians in Germany were awaiting possibledeportation.
The two, Flüchtlingsrat Baden-Württemberg (Refugee Council Baden-Württemberg), a non-profit organization that advises refugees and advocates for their rights, and the Gambia Helfernetz (Gambia Helpers Network), made this known in a letter to Gambian President Adama Barrow and received by PANA here.
The groups drew the attention of President Barrow and Speaker of the National Assembly Mariam Denton to the plight of Gambian refugees in Germany.
The groups also disclosed that the German authorities deported more than 100 Gambian refugees between November 2018 and March 2019, and expressed concern that “German politicians are determined to send back at least another 2,400 Gambians illegal migrants”.
The groups expressed concern that German politicians and authorities would have other options than the deportation of rejected asylum seekers, saying social peace in The Gambia could be endangered by a large number of hopeless returnees.
“This does not mean that only criminals will be deported to The Gambia, as it is wrongly assumed and claimed. People are also deported who have been living in Germany for several years, have a steady job, earn their own living and pay taxes to the German State. They learned the difficult German language and went to schools and many of the deportees were well integrated into German society, had a permanent job, made their own living and never came into conflict with German laws.
“They do good work in German companies, successfully play in German football clubs, get involved in sports and cultural clubs and have German friends. Most of them did not get into conflict with the law and were not to be blamed for anything,” the groups said.
The groups said even after the Gambian government placed moratorium on deportation of Gambian migrants following the last mass deportation of Gambian refugees from Germany through chartered flights, at least 12 people were reported to have been deported to The Gambia through other means.
-0- PANA MSS/RA 26Aug2019
