Europe is Betraying Afghanistan By Sending Its Refugees Home

“If Norway had believed us, my husband would be alive today,” Sadeqa tells me. She had fled to Norway with her family in 2015 after Hadi, her husband, had been kidnapped and beaten, but Norwegian authorities rejected their claim for asylum and returned them and their children to Afghanistan. A few months after their arrival, Hadi was killed. Sadeqa and her three young children are living in constant fear. Sadeqa is one of thousands of Afghans who have been returned from Europe to Afghanistan in the last two years. They are sent back despite evidence that people are at real risk of serious human rights violations in a country that has become even more dangerous since they fled. A new report by Amnesty International, released today, details harrowing cases of Afghans who have been returned from Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany only to be killed, injured in bomb attacks, or left to live in constant fear of being persecuted for their sexual orientation or because of their religion. In 2016 alone, almost 10,000 Afghans have been put in harm’s way. Afghanistan is deeply unsafe, and has become more so in recent years. Currently, the government and its security forces are battling more than 20 armed groups operating across the country, including the Taliban and the group calling itself the Islamic State. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported that 2016 was the deadliest year on record for civilians, with 11,418 people killed or injured, and th...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Afghan refugees Afghanistan Europe refugee crisis European Union Source Type: news