Migrant Tales received a phone call today about a young nineteen-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker who was apprehended by the police in Tampere and locked up in a cell awaiting possible deportation. The police offered him two options: Either return to Iraq “voluntarily” or by force. He refused to sign either document.
The Iraqi asylum seeker, who has only two rejections for asylum, is still waiting for a decision by the supreme administrative court.
Another familiar view from a police cell, another sad case of an asylum seeker possibly facing deportation in Finland.
“This is what we are all wondering about,” said a friend, who has a power of attorney to represent the asylum seeker. “How can they deport him if the supreme [administrative] court hasn’t passed sentence on his second rejection?”
Like so many asylum seekers that are facing deportation to “safe” Iraq, he too has experienced near-constant uncertainty for about two years, when he came to Finland as a minor.
“He is a good person who cares for others and he does a lot of voluntary work for the church,” said his friend. “He has converted to Christianity and is really scared about what will happen to him if he’s sent forcibly back to Iraq. He wants to stay in Finland and be a part of this society.”
Migrant Tales will follow this story and we hope that his fate will be similar to another young Iraqi asylum seeker who was detained for 32 days in Lappeenranta but was freed on November 23.
If you want to send the asylum seeker words of encouragement or want to wish him well, send your messages through [email protected] (not the asylum seeker’s email).
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