Don´t Send Afghans Back - Europeans against deportations to Afghanistan!

About Afghanistan

Since the US/British invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the country's people have been living under constant threat of violence and terror. Last year (2017) only (1st of January - 30rd of September), 8090 civilians got either killed or wounded as a result of the ongoing war between Taliban and government/international forces. At the moment, war conflicts are occurring in the country at a rate of 80 incidents per day and numbers of casualties are rising steadily over the past years.

In the last months, the Taliban have regained territories they lost during the invasion and peacekeeping of the international coalition, hd to name the conflict in Afghanistan being an "active conflict", instead of a "post-conflict situation".

The number of traumatized civilians is shocking. In 2009, the Afghan Ministry of Public Health stated that at least two-third of the Afghan population suffer from mental health issues, which are unlikely to be treated properly in one of the most instable countries on the planet.

And it's not just about the staggering and sharply rising numbers of incidents, wounded or killed civilians. Although those numbers should be more than enough reason to grant the Afghans the protection they deserve, they won't convince our European governments. The Global Peace Index of 2017 classifies Afghanistan as the most insecure country in the world, coming second after Syria. Still, our governments won't listen.

The percentage of granted asylums to Afghans in European Union differs strongly between the different members states. Some countries won't protect almost anyone (Hungary accepts a shocking 7.4% of Afghan refugee status claims), others are doing slightly better. But the EU countries have proven to be unwilling to protect Afghans, as the EU pressured Afghanistan to take back their people, under the threat of stopping all financial aid to the country.

The stories of deported Afghans will most likely never reach the european mainstream media, but numerous human rights organizations, such as Amnesty, have reported multiple killings of deported people, when they arrived "home". Even now these people have proven to be in danger, the european governments continue to send back the people searching for protection in the EU. 3260 people were send back in 2015. In 2016, the number almost tripled, as 9460 people were deported.

The international institutions stated Afghanistan being a war zone. The UN downgraded Afghanistan from 'post-conflict' to 'active war' a few months ago, and the Global Peace Index 2017 classifies Afghanistan as the 2nd most dangerous country on earth, surpassed only by Syria. If you think this makes a quite clear case that Afghanistan is too dangerous for a refugee to return to, you will find you have a different opinion than the responsible governments.

The leading human right organizations have called on the EU and its member stated to accept Afghan refugees. The people who are sent back, are not unlikely to die. And still, the deportations continues.

It's time to act. So we unite against deportations to Afghanistan for quite a simple reason: Afghanistan is not safe at all. Join us in taking action!

Protest weekend 17-18 February 2018

In the weekend of 17 and 18 February 2018, all over Europe people will protest against deportations to Afghanistan. Put your values into practice and join us on the 18th. Find a protest near you or add one yourself.

The idea is simple: you can join this Europe-wide event by organising or joining an event in your city. To help you prepare and show our common solidarity, take in mind that promotion materials are prepared for this campaign, but you are also free to make your own.

As common symbol the red kite is used to show solidarity across the different protests. The color red is chosen as common color of solidarity. Use it in your clothes, banners and promotion to reinforce our message.

As far, following protests are anounced:
On 17th of February in Valencia, Genua, Bern, Radolfzell, Simrishamn, Porvoo, Bremen, München, Cork, Rostock, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Helsinki, Regensburg, Lahti, Regensburg, Würzburg, Bayreuth, Oberwart, Salzburg and Oberalm.
On 18th of February in Nürnberg, Warsaw, Malmö, Parchim, Umeå, Stockholm, Kalmar, Boden, Dublin, Göteborg, Hudiksvall, Luleå, Maastricht, Riga, Brüssel, Amsterdam, Gävle, Dortmund, Nijmegen, Östersund, Utrecht, Berlin, Lamprechtshausen, Innsbruck, Ostermiething and Vienna.

For further information, promotion materials or announcing your own protests visit :: dontsendafghansback.eu.