DUTCH DEPORTATION ASYLUM SEEKERS CONTINUES

After a lot of unrest and tension in the Dutch Christian Democratic party (CDA) the majority of the members voted in favour for the actual deportation of 26.000 asylum seekers with out a status in three years. Even though some of the CDA members held passionate speeches with loads of arguments in favour of a larger pardon for the asylum seekers only a few members voted in favour of this motion for a change of attitude of the Dutch. Also in the Dutch Lower House a majority agreed on the deportation plan.

Another motion that was taken on during the latest congress, will force the CDA members and politicians to take care that asylum seekers that can not go back to their mother country should get a residence permit since they will end up living on the street other wise. It is expected that most of the asylum seekers that already wait for more than 5 years for a residence permit will go underground and stay in The Netherlands or elsewehre in Europe illegally.

The human rights organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticizes the Dutch deportation policy. A spokes man said that the forced deportation will endanger the lives of these people. HRW is especially worried about the people that will be forced to back to countries without a normal administration system like Somalia , and countries that are unsafe, like Afghanistan . According to HRW sending people back to these countries is illegal, since it violates international law. The organisation also states that this is a serious deviation of the historical Dutch role as a protector of human rights.

The HRW especially criticizes the way the children of the asylum seekers and the so called AMA's (single minor asylum seekers) are treated and the fact that asylum seekers (complete families) without papers or with false papers will be locked up in The Netherlands.

After the verdict of the members of the CDA, the Dutch Refugee Aid organisations are now afraid for massive hunger strikes. When people want to do it anyway they advise to do it well organised in large groups. A hunger strike is one of the classical ways to protest against deportation. Sadly enough, the Refugee Aid organisations indicate that although people in hunger strike are usually determined, the actions are practically never successful until now.

It seems that most of the asylum seekers will try to find an other way to survive in The Netherlands or in the rest of Europe by diving underground at the moment they are obliged to leave The Netherlands. Analysing the reactions and actions of a part of the Dutch population these people will get a lot of support from the natives. more features

February 20, 2004