Deportation of A Disabled Hazara Asylum Seeker From Norway To Afghanistan

On October 25, 2014, the Norvegian government deported Gholam Nabi, a Hazara asylum seeker who came from Ghazni province, a province in the south of Afghanistan. According to afghanistan independent Human Rights Commission, in November 1998 the Taliban killed dozens of Hazaras in Ghazni province, and four of the victims were Gholam Nabi’s close relatives. Yesterday, Nabi on his wheelchair was brought at the Gardermoen airport, Oslo.

In February 2008, Nabi arrived in Norway when he was17 years-old. His only desire was to have a normal life, away from violence and not being killed. He applied for refugee status. A few months later, while he was leaving a cafe in the center of Oslo with some friends, he was hit by a car in the crosswalk. The news was published in many newspapers in Oslo, and some of the cafe customers even have photographed the incident.

After the accident, Nabi was in coma for two days. When he woke up from coma, the doctor told him that some vertebrae of the spine were broken, and if he had not had a surgery, he might not be able to move.

While in the hospital, Nabi received the denial of international protection from UDI (the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration). According to the UDI, Nabi would not have any problem in Afghanistan. After UDI rejected Nabi, the hospital rejected more treatment. Then Nabi called the police to find the person who hit him.

At the police station, he was told that because his request for protection was rejected, he would not have been able to file any complain. The police told him to go to Afghanistan, hire a lawyer, and file a complaint from there.

I met Gholam Nabi in April during my trip to Norway. When I heard his story, I was very impressed and disappointed. I copied some of his documents and listened to his painful stories.

Nabi still takes six types of medications to not feel the pain. Nabi told me that he had knocked on everyone’s door to get help, but no one has helped him. Without taking Nabi’s site, his lawyer also told him that perhaps his spine was broken even before he arrived in Norway.

Symbolically, Norway is presented as the home of human rights; now, we know this is not true. In 2013 five Hazara asylum seekers have been deported from Norway to Afghanistan. When they arrived in Ghazni province, they have been killed by the Taliban.

This case has been reported by the France Press journalist, Rahmatullah Alizadah. This is just one example; up to now, several refugees who deported from Norway and Australia have been killed by the Taliban.

With the help of the journalist Kamran Mir Hazar, Kawa Gharji and Irene Peroni we tried everything to help Nabi. We called lawyers, human rights activists, and Norwegian organizations, but nobody answered our calls.

Many airlines companies refuse to take deported asylum seekers but not Turkish Airlines. We need a boycott action toward this company.