Zahir Athari om afghanernes situasjon

Athari åpnet konferansen 90 Dager med en sterk beskrivelse av flyktningenes kamp. Les talen her.

Dear guests, on behalf of the Afghan refugees and my self, I welcome all of you. I will thank you all, from my heart, being here on this conference. I would have loved to talk to you in your language-norsk- but, unfortunately, I was deprived of learning it, as thousands of other refugees. So, you still have to deal with my broken English.

This conference was meant to be held during 90 days after the hunger strike this summer. However, the increase of deportations and arrests of Afghans around the country has increased my workload so much, that the conference is delayed due to lack of time.

This conference gives us the best opportunity to focus on the reality of a deep social problem and recognizing it in an honest and realistic atmosphere, without defensive discussions leading just to the surface. If we could recognize and solve it, it will end a humanitarian problem here in Norway to the benefit of all sides. We cannot ignore it, because it is in front of our eyes every day. We cannot avoid it, because it is affecting thousands of lives. So, now, a deep and detailed discussion about it, without being afraid to admit or point to our mistakes – mistakes that humans always do, especially when they are in power- will help to keep up the international image of Norway, as a country with traditionally peaceful face, as well as help the thousands of war victims that are seeking asylum here to have a safe life.

Dear participants!
It seems we are at the end of the Geneva Convention era for the refugees, an ending that has appeared in such a harmony, that we can not accept it. It is a period during which the breaking of refugees rights no longer is a criminal act, but has come to be considered as modern and even human; It is a period which makes the story of being a refugee look like Dante's Divine Comedy, but without the 3rd part, paradise, and with no soul that leads the lost wanderer.

So now we are in a turning point regarding the refugee issue.

This is why defending and respecting refugee right, to day, are the basic touchstones of being humanitarian, progressive and peace seeking. Any party, organization, NGO and state that violate refugee's rights can not claim that they respect human rights. Human rights today do not mean any thing with out refugee rights.

The decision of Norway to deport afghan refugees back was for us the end of everything, the end of hope, the end of our lives and the end of peace and human ideals on Earth. Because Norway and USA remind and symbolize us two opposing phenomena: war and peace, violation of human right and protection of human rights. When Norway violates refugee rights deliberately, it means the idea of the war has won the world, with out of any refuge for victims of the war.

The hunger strike this summer was a protest against this end, and an effort to not accept it. The hunger strike was a protest against the fact that the sky is looking dark every where and the world seems too occupied and has no capacity for us, even here in Norway!

The hunger strike was not a weapon against any one. We our selves ran away from weapons. We are the direct victims of war and the use of weapons. My generation hates weapons more than anything else. We have experienced long and hard years, filled with fear for bullets to come and end our lives

Fortunately, the hunger strike was ended after 26 days with out losing any life, but unfortunately the problems did not end, instead they increased. The authorities broke all their promises that were given to us. Until now more than 40 afghan refugees have been deported due to an excuse of these refugees being linked to Kabul. We do not know where they are or in what circumstances. Are they alive, dead, imprisoned, in internal flight or in external flight again?

The question is if the human rights standards are world wide or do they depend on the geographical position, the color, ethnicity and the place of birth? If all the hunger strikers become killed in Afghanistan, not in front of the Oslo domkirke in Norway, if the victims are Somalis, colored and not born in Europe, than it is not a violation of human rights?

After the hunger strike several hundreds of Afghans have been thrown out of asylum camps to the streets. They are thrown into the greedy hands of companies for extra exploitation. Since that a heavy wave of fear has dominated afghan refugees' life in Norway. No one is feeling safe. There are no safe places. The police and their handcuffs, is a permanent nightmare, following them day and night, at home, in the street and every where…One of them is working 18 hours per day for 3000 kr per month just to have a place to sleep, another one jumped out of the window at the third flour breaking his feet just to escape from arrest and another one stay with the pain from consequences of the hunger strike but do not dare to go to the hospital….this is happening here in Norway today, not in a third world country….

The questions are, is such a policy in dealing with victims of war, a war that Norway is participating in, human? Is this policy in line with the conventions of human rights and refugee rights? The conventions that even current policy of UN and UNHCR should be following and not breaking.

And, how much war, distraction, explosion and dead bodies are needed for a country to be recognized as unsafe? Is not the fact that Afghanistan is a battle field between war criminals, Islamist fundamentalists, drug dealers and occupation forces, enough to consider it as an unsafe country? If such horrible war that every day destroys tens of houses, kill tens of civilians, disables hundreds and makes other hundreds homeless is not enough to consider Afghanistan as unsafe, then what does safe actually mean?

Which kind of reasons and facts is needed to be defined as a refugee who needs protection? Must we show the bloody bullets of our killers or the rope that we have been hanged with?

If UDI and UNE are investigating us for weaknesses and mistakes to reject our cases, of course they can do so - as they already have done. They select the date of our birth to a date that suits them, a date that make them authorized to reject us, not the time we were born. And In this way they deprived several hundreds innocent under aged refugees from their right to stay in Norway.

But if they are really looking for the reasonable facts that are decided by the conventions, then we can be refugees.

The reality is that Afghan refugees are the scapegoat for a defeated war policy. . It was claimed by the USA and partners that we will win the war and put every things in order in Afghanistan, now since after 5years not only nothing came to the order but also they are losing completely. The Norwegian government has to advertise Afghanistan as being safer and more democratic than Norway, and start to deport afghan refugees back, as quick as possible, to prove the claims and to justify its participation in that war on the Norwegian public view. It is why UDI and UNE are rushing to give rejection to all Afghans to prepare groups for mass deportation. But I feel sad when I see the Norwegian Refugee Council instead defending refugee rights, is taking part to deportation campaign and is not only justifying and humanizing the government anti refugee policy in Norway but also playing the rule of Norwegian War Council advising the government to send more soldiers to the war in order to solve the refugees' problem.
Why is it otherwise such a hurry to deport a few hundreds Afghans that can not be even a little burden on any shoulder?

So, really the question is, where is the Norwegian refugee policy heading?

Dear guests!
it is war that made us run away from our country, not the smell of wealth and kroner! Afghanistan was always one of the poorest countries in the world, but people in Afghanistan are hard working people, they never wanted to leave their home land because of poverty.

There has been three decades of war in Afghanistan. Almost all of us afghan asylum seekers in Norway are from the war generation. A generation that was born in the war, grown up in the war and because of the war we were born refugees. We experienced in our short lifetime, two occupations by two superpowers, in addition to a destructive civil war. We lost our dearest, and witnessed our cities and villages in fire, and tortures and mass graves….we are the survivors of massacres and the greatest sorrows.

We are not here to make conflicts or disturb you. We are here after thousands of klms of deadly roads, passing barbed wires, prisons, drowning by the waves and dying under the truckloads, because we need your protection. Let us, we the children of the war, experience a different life, some days here beside you. So one day, when the war ends and we can return back, we should be able to use our experience from here in our country to build a new life on the ruins of war and to help Afghanistan to build a new society on the basis of peace, human rights, justice, mutual respects and tolerance!

I hope the conference help the war generation to end their suffering and find their lost dreams that are, protection and peace, to be learning, working and living a normal human life, I hope no one judge me neither because of still wanting to reach those lost dreams and nor because of not returning voluntarily to a home that have turned to a slaughterhouse!

Thank you

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