Rehab Qassem sits outside Danish Parliament Square from morning to night, awaiting her unknown fate after receiving the deportation order, alone without her children. Among hundreds of other Syrian refugees, the Danish authorities have deemed their country safe to welcome them.
Rehab Qassem, 65, protests against the immigration department’s final decision to deport him to Syria and believes it is an unfair decision and that all of his family live in Denmark and that there is no one left for her in Syria, even at home. in the Yarmouk camp in Damascus was destroyed during the 2012 bombing. Read also Le Figaro: The return of Syrian refugees … is it impossible? Liberation: Syrian refugees and impossible return Syrian refugees in Turkey stimulate production and sales
She added in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net: “I am very scared and I cannot return to Syria, and my fate there is unknown. My husband was martyred during the bombing of Yarmouk, and what I saw in Syria of death and pain is something unforgettable. “
Rehab does not rely on security assurances in her country, nor is she hampered by the financial “lures” presented to her by the Danish authorities.
She points out that the immigration official told her that she could get a sum of money, nearly $ 3,000, to help her live with dignity in Syria, but her response is that she has to ‘first need for security
Hundreds of people are threatened with deportation
Rehab Kassem is not the only refugee who has been included in the decision of the Danish authorities to annul the residency of those seeking protection in Denmark and to deport them to Damascus and its countryside as safe areas.
The Danish authorities have decided not to renew the residency of hundreds of Syrians, who have temporary protection residence.
The Danish authorities estimate the number of people whose residence permit will be withdrawn at around 500, the majority of whom are women and the elderly.
Denmark is the only European country that has started withdrawing protection from Syrian refugees and sending them back to Damascus.
justifications
The Danish government justifies its controversial decision on what it sees as a change in security conditions in Syria and indicates that tens of thousands of people from several countries have been able to return to Syria safely.
In this regard, Danish Immigration and Integration Affairs Minister Matthias Tesfay said in a previous statement posted on the government website that there were around 100,000 refugees who have returned to Syria since the countries surrounding Syria, so the Syrians in Denmark should also return. , if circumstances permit.
In his statement, the Danish minister underlines that the Damascus region and its countryside are considered safe, which means that the protection law (7.3) granted by the Danish authorities to refugees is no longer valid for people from there.
But he stresses that Denmark is ready to give money back to those who have to return and rebuild their lives in Syria.
According to the Danish Refugee Grievance Council, conditions in Damascus are no longer dangerous, at the level that pays for the granting or extension of temporary residence permits as stipulated in the Aliens Act (temporary protection status ).
The Danish government also based this estimate on testimonies from 11 people who said Damascus was considered a safe area.
However, human rights activist and one responsible for the open sit-in in front of Danish Parliament Square, Muhammad Ziyad al-Abdullah, said that among these testimonies is the testimony of a Syrian immigration and passport officer, the government relied on its decision to tighten immigration laws as part of the so-called paradigm shift.
He adds that & lt; & lt; 11 out of 12 people who based the report on their testimonies denied that the report had come about after it was released by Danish authorities, and it was found to be based on
Resentment of my rights
The Danish government’s decision to revoke the residence of Syrian refugees in Damascus has sparked discontent among human rights organizations, activists and party representatives in Denmark.
And organized numerous protests against the deportation of refugees in several cities of Denmark, in which thousands of people participated, and an open sit-in was organized in front of the seat of the parliament in the capital, Copenhagen, to demand the government to abolish deportation laws.
Al-Abdullah says the sit-in currently open before Parliament rejecting deportation decisions will continue until the government revokes decisions related to the withdrawal of residence permits and considers Syria insecure of the existence of the current regime.
He stressed that they are also calling on the government to abolish “the model law on change which restricts the lives of immigrants and deprives them of their rights”.
Since the start of the revolution in Syria, around 1.5 million Syrians have applied for asylum in Europe, of which 35,000 have been granted residence permits in Denmark, including permanent residence permits usually granted to those who fled due to personal persecution, in addition to temporary protection permits. , which are given to people coming from conflict zones.