Dana' Story : My appeal is simple: We paperless deserve a life.

Norway's paperless Palestinians
My appeal is simple: We paperless deserve a life.

It is not common for an Arab woman to go public with personal details about her life, but I've been brought up to think of myself as a human being worthy of respect. I have also done it to avoid the worse. Therefore I have chosen to tell openly how it is to live as an undocumented in Norway.

I decided to seek help by going openly and tell my story in case the Norwegian authorities would continue to insist rejecting my family's asylum application. I'm glad I did. Many have shown solidarity with me and my family, many have encouraged us not to give up, and that we must continue to share our concerns and our fears with others.

When I came in contact with the Palestinians who live in a tent camp outside the Jacob Church in Oslo, I felt almost a little relieved because I was not alone. I was not the only one with concerns, the only person who were on the verge of a nervous breakdown, without a clear vision of what the future have been hiding for us. I was not the only stateless persons who had come here with an education, and work experience to see all my dreams of shattered in front of my eyes, my ambition to show both the Norwegians and myself that I can be a good citizen no matter where I live, doing that with my university degree, my work experience and a big smile on my face. Among the residents in the camp there are engineers, doctors, lawyers and journalists with the same broken dreams.

There are more than 10,000 paperless in Norway, including children and women who are denied their basic human rights, this fact encouraged me to speak out, to be one of the voices that demand justice for them and me, or at least decent living conditions. I do not want to end up as one of the women who are forced to share a bed with a man she has nothing in common with, just to ensure a roof over her head, or to work illegally to get her next meal. If I am not mistaken, we live in 2011 and not in the dark ages, where women were worth nothing and were sold like commodities.

The fact that I was undocumented forced me to think about a hundred different questions. I began to ask myself what will be next for me, my mother and my sister? Should I move into the tent camp and be protected by the men there? Can I avoid being placed in a boarding house for asylum seekers? Why I'm forced to become a criminal, illegal immigrant while I tried my best to avoid this?
Should I just give up and wait? In short: What should I do?

International Organization for Migration (IOM) has sent me a letter that they can not help me return to the United Arab Emirates, where the place of Immigration Appeals Board has asked me to go back to. Also all my personal efforts to travel back have failed. So here I am, an illegal immigrant, deprived of all rights, while I wait for the immigration police every second to knock on my door. I have no right to work so I can help myself and my family. I simply do not have permission to live a normal life as a person and a human.

I still hope that someone can clarify this for me: According to the Norwegian authorities are "paperless" people who have chosen to live this way. They have a country to return to, but they chose not to go there, or they hide their real identity. The Norwegian authorities will continue to push them until they break down and go back. However, what about us Palestinians? I have given all the documents I can to prove my identity. I have given all possible information to clarify my past, so nobody can make me a criminal. I simply do not have any land to return to, no country that will accept me as their "own", so in addition to being paperless, I am also stateless.

Should I be denied the opportunity to a warm home simply because I am a Palestinian born in the wrong place at the wrong time? I see in fact no other errors I have made that I should deserve to be punished for, and should I be denied access to medical care if I get sick, as they did with the young Palestinian man in camp who tried to burn himself alive. I feel as a superfluous person, a second-class human being, just because I am missing a piece of paper. Is this really the way people are supposed to treat each other in 2011, when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article 15 clearly states that everyone has the right to a nationality?

Whom should I turn to for justice? I have addressed myself to the Norwegian government for protection and been honest and open about all the circumstances that forced me to seek asylum here, and yet I got off. I have contacted many NGOs that have made it clear that as long as I am in Norway they cannot help me. None of them proposed a place I can actually go to.

The last arena I can address myself to is you, as a newspaper reader, as a fellow humans and Norwegian citizens, I ask you to show active solidarity with the Palestinians and other undocumented in Norway. I ask you to talk to the responsible politicians and challenge them on why they do not they do anything to protect these vulnerable people. I ask you to appeal to the Prime Minister and the Justice Minister’s human side; I think the people are my safe cards. My appeal is simple: We paperless deserve a life. It is not my fault that I was born without a country. Similarly, it is not the paperless kids’ fault that they have been born in Norway of parents who may have made some bad choices in life, or whom have been forced by circumstances to run away for their lives.

As Palestinians, we know something about injustice. We know the Israeli injustice. We are familiar with the injustice of the Arab countries. Now we have also become acquainted with Norwegian injustice. What we still hope for is to learn something about, empathy and solidarity of the Norwegian people.

Published in Dagsavisen debate pages on the same day.

Appel urgent ! Lettre des réfugiés palestiniens en Norvège (en français, in English)

40 Palestiniens vivent dans un camp de tentes depuis le 5 avril 2011 !

Chers vous tous,

Nous sommes un groupe de réfugiés Palestiniens, et demandons l'asile en Norvège; nous l'avons fait pour obtenir une protection et pour pouvoir vivre dans un pays en sécurité. Sans état qui nous appartienne, nous ne sommes que des apatrides; nous sommes privés des droits humains élémentaires.

Nous sommes venus en Norvège pour obtenir la liberté et échapper aux forces armées et aux oppressions, auxquels nous devions faire face en Palestine ou dans les états dans lesquels nous avions regagné des camps de réfugiés, à l'instar de l'Iraq, l'Egypte et le Liban. Nous voulons la liberté, pour échapper à toutes les répressions et ses conséquences ; nous sommes des êtres humains aimant la paix, nous ne cherchons qu'à vivre dans la dignité, à élever nos enfants dans un environnement sain sans avoir à nous demander sans cesse si nous serons encore vivants le lendemain; si nous survivrons au prochain bombardement israélien. Cela fait soixante ans que nous sommes exposés aux affres de la guerre en Palestine. Certains d'entre nous, depuis 1948, et suite aux conséquences du conflit israélien, n'ont ni patrie, ni endroit où aller.

Après des années et des années d'attente, la Norvège nous a refusé le droit à l'asile et nous a notifié une décision de refoulement en Palestine (aussi bien vers la Bande de Gaza que vers la Cisjordanie). Certains autres se sont vus demander de retourner dans des pays où ils étaient déjà réfugiés; d'autres encore vers des pays qu'on ne peut regagner sans un visa ou un permis de travail. Ces solutions ne sont pas viables! Et elles le sont encore moins pour les femmes et les enfants!

Nous formons un groupe de quarante personnes qui a décidé d'organiser un sit-in pacifique aux abords de l'Eglise culturelle de Jakob à Oslo, sit-in ayant a débuté le 5 avril 2011. Nous avons également organisé quelques manifestations pacifiques devant le Parlement norvégien. Nous avons établi un camp avec quelques tentes, où nous avons cuisiné, dormi, et discuté avec les passants de notre situation. Nous sommes sans abri depuis cette date. Aujourd'hui encore, nous dépendons du soutien des cœurs généreux de Norvégiens qui croient en nous et en notre cause!

Nous supportons cette situation depuis plus de 200 jours, exposés à la pluie, endurant des conditions de vie inhumaines, tout cela en espérant gagner la sympathie du gouvernement norvégien et être traité avec justice, ni plus ni moins!

Nous vous écrivons car nous sentons que nos conditions difficiles ne vont pas changer, pas plus que nous allons réussir à convaincre le gouvernement de nous considérer comme des humains plutôt que comme des chiffres à traiter. La plupart d'entre nous souffrons à ce stade de dépression, se sentant abandonné, et en butte à des problèmes de santé. Nous désespérons d'obtenir de l'aide et du secours, partagés entre la tristesse d'être loin de nos familles et la crainte pour nos vies. Nous sommes littéralement déchirés, ayant l'impression de ne plus savoir quels sont nos droits légaux et humains. Mais ce dont nous sommes certains c'est que nous envoyer vers la mort ou vivre dans les limbes n'est pas le meilleur choix que le gouvernement puisse nous offrir. Nous vous écrivons pour obtenir de vous un soutien, pour que vous puissiez témoigner de solidarité envers votre prochain. Nous avons juste besoin d'être sauvés de cette situation dans laquelle nous sommes empêtrés, et de ce futur incertain qui nous attend.

Nous espérons vous voir et vous entendre très bientôt, avant que l'hiver norvégien ne nous attrape dans les rues d'Oslo...

Avec toute notre amitié,

Le Groupe de Réfugiés palestiniens en Norvège, Abords de l'Eglise culturelle de Jakob,

Pour tous contacts et infos: Mohamed Ganam +47 455 55025 et Ashraf Khoffas +47 968 20 774

Adresse :

Kulturkirken Jakob

Hausmannsgate 14

N-0182 Oslo

Dear…,
we are a group of Palestinian refugees who applied for asylum in Norway; we have done this to be able to get protection and to live in a safe country. We are stateless without a country; we are deprived from basic human rights in this life.
We came to Norway to seek freedom from all kind of military and security oppressions, that we previously were exposed to back in Palestine or countries we were refugees in, i.e. Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon. We are seeking freedom from all war repression and consequences, we are peace loving humans, who are looking to live a dignified life, be able to raise our kids in safe environment without wondering if we’ll be alive tomorrow or we’ll be dead, whither we’ll survive another Israeli air-strike or not. Back in Palestine we have been exposed to war for over sixty years. Some of us due to the war and the Israeli conflict since the 1948 have had no land or country even to go back to.
After years of waiting, Norway rejected our asylum applications and gave us a final decision of deportation, back to Palestine (Gaza, west bank) others were asked to leave back to countries they already were refugees in, or to countries Palestinians can’t enter without a work visa or permit. These solutions are not viable ones, Specially for women, kids or even men!

We are a group of 40 people decided to hold a peaceful sit-in outside the Jacob-church in Oslo, starting April 5th, 2011, we’ve organized few peaceful demonstrations in front of the Norwegian parliament; we’ve build a tent camp and started cooking, sleeping and talking to people passing by about our cause, we have been without shelter since that date. as of today, we are living of the support of the kind hearted Norwegians who believed in us and in our cause!

We have tolerated more than 200 days as of today, been exposed to rain, experiencing inhumane conditions so we can gain sympathy from the Norwegian government and to be treated fairly with no use so far!
We are writing to you after we felt that our conditions will not change nor we’ll succeed to convince the government to look at us as humans instead of being case numbers to them, most of us at this point are suffering from depression, feeling helpless and have many physical health related issues. We are desperate for rescue and help, between missing our families and be worried for our lives, we are torn, not sure what are our legal and human rights are, but we are pretty sure, sending us to die or living in limbo is not the best option this government can offer us. We are writing to you so you can support our cause, show solidarity with your fellow humans. We just need to be rescued from the current situation we found ourselves in and from the vague future that is awaiting us.
We look forward to hear from you soon before the Norwegian winter catch up with us in the streets of Oslo.
Yours, 

Group of Palestinian refugees in Norway, Outside the Jacob Church

 
For contacts: Mohamed Ganam +47 455 55025 and Ashraf Khoffas +47 968 20 774

Email:kontakt@palestinerleir.no

Address:

Kulturkirken Jakob

Hausmannsgate 14

N-0182 Oslo

SVP : Envoyez cette lettre à l'ambassade novégienne et demandez une réponse à cette lettre 

Adresse de l'Ambassade Royale de Norvège, Rue Archimède 17,1000 Bruxelles

 Téléphone

+ 32 (0) 2 238 73 00 (en déhors des heures d'ouverture, et uniquement en cas d'urgence: 0474 95 01 37)

 Fax

+ 32 (0) 2 238 73 90

 Courriel

emb.brussels@mfa.no

Dana’s Story : Norway refuses asylum to Palestinian refugees

Dana Mahmoud is a Palestinian refugee in Norway. 

She has a bachelor degree in business administration, but as a refugee, she has no right to work. 

So she works as a freelancer and volunteer for Ufree, The European Network to Support the Rights of Palestinian Prisoners (UFree). 

Here is her story as told by Women News Network, the Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen, the Islamic Human Rights commission and in a Radio interview (in English).

 

To whom it may concern

My family is originally Palestinian from Haifa. My grandparents (from both sides) were born in Haifa, which is now part of Israel. In 1948, during the conflict that followed the 1947 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (11) ‘Future Government of Palestine’ (also called the Partition Plan for Palestine), my grandparents, on both sides, left for safety to Basra, Iraq. For 6 months they were in flight because of the violence and death that broke out in the Haifa region. Then they moved to Baghdad, Iraq.

I call myself a Palestinian Iraqi female. I used to hold an Iraqi document that allowed me to legally live in Iraq and other countries, including the UAE – United Arab Emirates. This document was valid for me and my family until 2006. That was when the new Iraqi Government took over. It was this government that decided not to renew our document. Why?

Because our family suddenly became the wrong (Sunni Muslim) religion. As a result of this action my family and I became stateless.

Let me give you some of my history: My dad (born in Haifa) and my mother (born in Baghdad) met in Baghdad in 1977. After marrying they moved to the UAE where I, and my 3 sisters, were born. My dad was an electrical engineer who worked in the UAE Ministry of Information and Culture. My mother worked for the UAE Ministry of Health.

We had a very normal and good life until 1989 when my dad discovered that he has lung cancer. He was in and out of hospitals for treatment for almost 10 years. In 1997, my father passed away.
It was then our lives started to be really bad.

We had to move from our big house to a small house, 60km away, losing many of the privileges we had from my dad’s job. Having nothing except faith that one day I’ll achieve something, I continued to work and study toward my university degree.

It was like that. I worked as my sisters finished high school. Two of them got married, as I and the youngest stayed home continuing to work and study.

In 2006, when our documents were no longer valid, everyone in my family was suddenly not legal anymore in the UAE (or any other country for that matter).
We started to look for a legal way out.

During this time, one of my sister’s had gone to Syria after she and her husband, and his family, were forced to flee Iraq. After starting a small business between Iraq and Syria my brother-in-law was bombed on the road one day. We don’t know who did this to him. My sister was pregnant at the time, with a son, and she fled quickly alone to Cyprus applying for asylum there. Since November 2008 my sister and her son have been living in Cyprus.
In 2008, I applied for asylum, in Norway, for myself and my family. But we were refused legal permissions.

In the process I applied with the UDI – the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration. We were refused after 22 months of waiting. I appealed the decision, but it was rejected. Why?

For two reasons: Because our 1948 document of permissions from Iraq had been discontinued. Also, because we came to Norway, not from Iraq, but via the United Arab Emirates. Because of this, were not considered war victims.

Even though our family had been running from war for generations.
To find assistance, I tried to contact the Palestinian Embassy and the Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm. My mother, my younger sister and I wanted to see if there was any way that we could just go back to where we had lived before. We wanted to do this before we were rejected again by the Norwegian government, but both embassies told me, “It’s not possible,” we could not return to the UAE or to Iraq legally.

The Palestine Embassy informed us that they could not help us because we were not part of a Palestinian family coming from Gaza. The Iraqi Embassy told us that no one could return back to Iraq once they had stayed over 6 months outside the country.

Even on making contact with the UNHCR – United Nations Refugee Agency to ask for help, they offered us little options, saying we should apply to live in UNHCR camps in Turkey or Syria.
Today our new appealed case is coming before the Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board. We pray every day for a resolution to this situation.

We feel we have been left with no life. We have no passports. No way of legal travel. No valid residency. No official recognition from the countries of our past. No recognition inside the country of our future – Norway where we now live.

Now our future is vague. We are adrift, in pain, with no legal place to go. We are stateless and paperless.  I'm currently working hard to help myself and family to stay and live legally in Norway.

I’m not a kind of person who give up easily or feel broken because of small incidents that happen to me, but feeling the huge responsibility on my back toward my family and toward every Palestinian Iraqi who can’t speak for him/herself make me wonder what should I do and where should I turn to, I contacted few media outlets in Norway, Europe and even the middle east to help me spreading the world, I might be away from all the revolutions that happening in the middle east but I feel I’m leading my own revolution against double standards, and how on one hand many countries claiming that Palestine and Palestinians  have their full financial and political support, while 800 Palestinians in Norway alone are paperless and stateless millions around the world still living in refugee camps.

If you really want Palestine to be an independent country one day, let her sons and daughters live a decent life, get their share of education and health care, then and only then they can defend their rights and stand to declare their Own independent state.

"Dana’s family is originally from Haifa, a part of Palestine now claimed by Israel. Her grandparents moved to Iraq in 1948, fearing their safety, following the 1947 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (11) ‘Future Government of Palestine.’

Dana Mahmood, described by herself as a Palestinian-Iraqi female, held a legal document allowing her to live to Iraq and other countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Her document expired in 2006, when the new Iraqi Government took over and decided not to renew it, making her and her family stateless.

Dana’s parents married in Iraq and moved to the UAE where her and her three sisters were born. After an episode of lung cancer, her father passed away in 1997 leaving his family helpless.

In 2006, when their documents expired, they searched for a legal escape. Dana applied for asylum in Norway, in 2008, only to be rejected for two reasons. Firstly, their 1948 document of permission from Iraq had been discontinued, and secondly, since they had been living in the UAE, not Iraq, and were therefore not considered as victims of war.

Dana was desperate for help. She contacted both the Palestinian and Iraqi Embassies in Stockholm. The Palestinian Embassy could not offer help since they did not come from the Gaza strip, and the Iraqi Embassy told them they could not return to Iraq after living abroad for over six months.

On 2 August 2011, Dana’s newly appealed case was faced with a final rejection, leaving her and her family helpless. Dana says she feels as though she has been ‘left with no life’ with no valid residency or official recognition from the countries of their past and the country in which they currently live – Norway.

Dana says “Now our future is vague. We are adrift in pain, with no legal place to go. We are stateless and paperless. I'm currently working hard to help myself and family to settle down in a country that I can call home without fearing being deported...”

Radio interview from Dana (in English)

Verden er mitt fengsel

29 september 2011

Dana Mahmoud kommer fra en familie som har vært flyktninger i over seksti år. De flyktet opprinnelig fra Haifa, Palestina i 1948, og har vært innom Irak og de Arabiske Emirater før de til slutt ankom Norge. Hør henne fortelle sin historie om livet som papirløs og kampen for grunnleggende menneskerettigheter.
Innslag av Jannicke Skrinde Heier.