Scandalous deportation: Yazidi family from Uckermark to Iraq!

Scandalous deportation: Yazidi family from Uckermark to Iraq!

In Brandenburg, the deportation of a Yazidi family to Iraq is causing heated discussions and outrage. A few days ago, the family, which lived in Lychen with four underage children and had integrated well into the community, was torn from their living situation in the middle of the night. The Brandenburg Refugee Council has criticized these measures to return home as “scandalous” because it took place shortly after a court decision that upheld the family’s rights and upheld their lawsuit against the rejection of the asylum decision. This became known while the family was already on the plane to Baghdad, as rbb24 reports.

Kirstin Neumann from the Refugee Council commented on these events that the assessment of the genocide against Iraqi Yazidis that took place in 2014 was not sufficiently taken into account when the asylum application was rejected. Neumann was particularly warm to the criticism of the procedure, as the deportation at night was enormously traumatizing for the children. According to Neumann, the Iraqi origin of the family, who are Kurdish Yazidis, should not lead to rejection.

Local resistance

The mayor of Lychen, Karola Gundlach, expressed her dismay at the situation. She found out about the deportation from the head of the Pannwitz elementary school, which the family's son attended. Classmates of twelve-year-old Maatz have already started an online petition that emphasizes the risk for the family in Iraq and their successful integration in the Uckermark. Deutschlandfunk has reported that the refugee council is calling for the family to be re-entered immediately.

The Uckermark district is more friendly. The responsible authorities have not issued a statement and declined an interview request from rbb in order not to comment until the proceedings have been concluded. The Brandenburg Ministry of the Interior also rejected criticism of the deportation and pointed out that responsibility for further actions lies with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.

The situation raises questions: How can it be that deportation takes place despite a positive court ruling? And what consequences does this have for the affected family, which appeared to be well integrated? The incident clearly shows how complicated and often incomprehensible refugee policy in Germany is. The discontent among the population is growing, while concerns about the Yazidi family continue.