32-year-old Nigerian man Eze Okafor lived in Iceland for four years
before he was deported. He was taken to Stockholm and later he was
handed papers by the Swedish immigration authorities, which gave him
until June 1 to leave Sweden or be deported back to Nigeria, Al Jazeera
reports.
As Eze sat in the pews at a
church where he goes most mornings to pray, his phone buzzed with a new
message. His Icelandic teacher was checking in on him, giving him
support.
A calm and composed man, Eze began to cry, the emotion intensifying as
he continued to read. His friends in Iceland were standing with him, the
message said, they would fight for him.
Eze Okafor had been living in Iceland for the last four years, working
as a cook in a local restaurant, learning Icelandic language, building a
community.
“Iceland is my home now. I have contributed to the society here. Many
people know me. My friends have become my family,” he told Al Jazeera.
Eze fled Nigera after being targeted by Boko Haram. In 2010, he and his
younger brother, Okwy, were attacked in retaliation for not joining the
armed group. “They tried to recruit me, but I refused.”
Members of Boko Haram stormed their house in Maiduguri, Borno State, in
northeastern Nigeria. Eze was stabbed in the head and face. Okwy was
killed.
Soon after, Eze fled Nigeria and made a long and dangerous boat journey
to Europe, where in 2011 he sought asylum in Sweden. He told his story
and showed his still fresh and infected wounds, including the gash over
his eye, which he feared would cost him his eyesight. He was denied
asylum and made his way to Iceland.
He applied for asylum in Iceland in 2012 but was denied.
He has been working with a lawyer, Katrin Theodorsdottir, who then
applied for permission for Eze to stay in Iceland on humanitarian
grounds, as his case has slowly made its way through the system. Eze
said in October he was given temporary residency and could work.
His case in Iceland has hinged on what time limit is relevant to his
asylum request, as defined by Article 19 of the Dublin Regulation, which
determines which EU member state is responsible for asylum seekers.
Article 19 lays out a timeframe of six months within which an asylum
seeker must be sent back to the country where they were originally
asking for asylum, otherwise the current country is responsible for
processing their asylum case.
After many rejections, appeals and back and forths between various
immigration authorities, Theodorsdottir said there was a “twist”. A
special immigration committee reviewing Eze’s case said the time limit
to send Eze back to Sweden might have expired, and advised him to go to
the immigration office and have his application for asylum processed.
Eze went to the immigration office as instructed to pick up the
paperwork, and was told to wait 45 minutes, which he did. According to
Theodorsdottir, unbeknownst to him, the police officer was calling the
immigration office. And then another twist.
“The police said I should come to sign and all of a sudden they took me
into custody. They arrested me. I spent the night in jail,” Eze
recalled. “They next morning they said they were deporting me. I said I
should go and get my stuff from my house. They said no. They took me to
the airport and manhandled me. In Iceland, I have been integrated into
society, with so many friends. A lot of people know me. So when the
police was beating me, when I was arrested, there was a lot of
reaction.”
Early on May 26, Eze was put handcuffed onto a plane for deportation.
Two members of the rights group No Borders Iceland boarded the plane and
stood up in protest, asking other passengers to stand up as well to
protest Eze’s deportation. After about 10 minutes, they were arrested by
Iceland’s police.
He was taken to Stockholm. At the airport, he thought the Icelandic
authorities would give him back the only ID he had – his Nigerian
driver’s license. They took it back to Iceland. He was handed papers by
the Swedish immigration authorities, which gave him until June 1 to
leave Sweden or be deported back to Nigeria.
He was also given a piece of paper saying he had no right to financial
assistance. Without money or any identification, he was turned out onto
the street where he spent the first night.
Boko Haram is an ongoing threat in Nigeria with members and supporters,
Eze said, at all levels of government and the police. Several years ago,
members of Boko Haram kidnapped his mother in what Eze said was a bid
to force him to return to Nigeria. After brutalising her – including an
attack to her face that compromised her eyesight – the kidnappers
demanded a ransom.
“What I am facing in Nigeria is that this Islamic group is after my life. My life is in danger.”
He said he believes that when he lands at the airport in Nigeria he
fears he will be apprehended by the police. “Boko Haram has a network.
They have been looking for me since then.”
Today, Eze is uncertain about his future. His does know one thing for
sure. If he were to return to Nigeria, he believes it would mean death
for him. With his friends, he is working hard to find a lawyer who could
take his case in Sweden. His dream is to return to his home in Iceland.
Theodorsdottir said there is something the immigration office could do.
She has requested that he be granted permission to live in Iceland on
humanitarian grounds, a request that is still pending.
Eze said his mother, Celina, taught him how to cook at an early age and
it is his passion. He loved working in the restaurant in Iceland and had
a good relationship with his boss. He loves to cook Nigerian food.
Maybe, he said, once he is back in Iceland, and his life has found
balance again, he could pursue a dream. There is no Nigerian restaurant
in Iceland.
“Maybe one day, when I am back in Iceland, I could open a restaurant”,
Eze said, smiling. When I was in handcuffs on my way to Sweden, I was
pleading with them,” Eze said. “I am not a criminal. I did not commit
any crime. I am asking for refuge. They should treat me like a human.”
Source: Al Jazeera
