No Easy Route from Iraq to Europe

Life continues to worsen for ordinary Iraqis. Indeed so bad has it become that more than 4 million have fled their homes, according to UN estimates - something like one in six of the population. Half of these are still in Iraq, sheltering where best they can but more than two million have sought refuge in neighbouring states which now face an overwhelming problem of providing for the new arrivals.

"The magnitude of the crisis is staggering," said Jennifer Pagonis, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently. Jordan and Syria are carrying most of the burden but calls for increased international support for governments in the region have so far brought few results.

Beyond Iraq's immediate neighbours - particularly in Europe - recognition rates of Iraqis remain low, says UNHCR.

What this can mean is well illustrated by the plight of an Iraqi couple - Christians as it happens - who remain in a safe but unedifying limbo as two European countries dispute whose responsibility they are.

To protect them UNHCR has not released their names. They are currently being held in the Steenokkerzeel Detention Centre near Brussels Airport, unable to communicate with staff, confused about the reasons for their four-month detention and angry about their treatment as asylum seekers,” the agency said.

The agency has called on the Belgian authorities to allow the couple to remain in Belgian were their son is in the process of becoming a Belgian citizen. But their case reflects the problems that many asylum seekers face.

Under the provisions of the European Union's 2003 Dublin Regulations the country where a refugee arrives first has the responsibility for examining any claim for asylum. In practice, this can lead to people being held in detention in
one European member state prior to being sent back to another European country considered responsible for their claim.

In this case the Iraqi couple have been shuttled back and forth between Greece and Belgium. Originally from Zakho in northern Iraq, they lived for 30 years in Baghdad, running a grocery store and raising their four children. The family fled after armed men raided their home in December 2004 threatening to kill them if they
did not produce $50,000 within 10 days.

In Greece, they were detained for three months on the grounds of illegal entry. They applied for asylum during this time, but this was rejected. Nor could they appeal as Greece has suspended all decision-making on Iraqi cases at the appeal level since 2003.

In November 2005, the couple paid a human trafficker to bring them to Belgium, where their son is about to become a Belgian citizen. On arrival, they asked for asylum. Again, they were detained and then sent back to Greece, where they were held for two weeks at the airport.

Belgium argued that Greece was responsible for their asylum claim under the Dublin rule. But UNHCR point out that the regulation allows a member state to take over processing of a case for humanitarian reasons, particularly where there are family considerations.

The Greek authorities again issued an order for the couple to leave – on the grounds that their case had already been considered and was now closed. With the help of a local priest, they tried to apply for asylum again. They were told they had only been freed because of their age and must leave the country immediately, even though they had nowhere to go.

Earlier this year, they then paid another "agent" to get them back into Belgium and they were detained on arrival at Brussels Airport on 7 February. “They are now hoping that another hearing into their case will end their ordeal and reunite the family,” said UNHCR.

Posted by Peter Sain ley Berry