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Told to “go back to Syria” after being deported
The main respondent is a 25 year old man from Syria. He first arrived to Bulgaria on the 15th September, 2024.
Sofia airport, where the respondent was deported to
He left Sofia (capital of Bulgaria) on the 30th September. When he tried to enter Serbia, he was caught by the Bulgarian police, who forced him to apply for asylum in Bulgaria. He tried to tell the police that he needed to go to Germany because he has three sisters, and a leg injury that needs surgery. The Bulgarian police didn’t accept this, and told him that he had to apply for asylum in Bulgaria. He described to NNK that he felt he had no choice but to register his asylum application, because he was afraid if he did not apply for asylum in Bulgaria they would push him back to Turkey, and Turkey would send him to Syria. On the 1st October, he entered Germany, and tried to apply for asylum there in Munich. It was immediately rejected. He tried 2 further times to apply for asylum in Germany. He reports that he was told by authorities in Germany that he had a file in Bulgaria, and so he was detained in Germany for 40 days. He described that he tried to plead with the German authorities to give him an expulsion paper so that he had to leave Germany by himself (so he could then go to Italy or Britain), but he was told he had to go to Bulgaria. He also received a ban from entering Germany for 2 years.
In the end, he was deported to Bulgaria by plane to Sofia, on the 12th December 2024. He was given a piece of paper instructing him to go back to a camp. The paperwork instructed him to go to Harmanli camp, and so that same day he went there. He reported that when he arrived it was a Friday, and his paperwork said to arrive on Monday. The camp security told him the camp was closed. He said that they made fun of him, saying “the camp is closed, go back to Syria”. The respondent had friends inside the camp, so he called them and they helped him jump over the fence. He was waiting there for the green card (which proves you are an asylum seeker in Bulgaria, acting as an ID) but was told it would take minimum 6 weeks. Without a green card, if stopped by police when outside the camp, one is at risk of detention or even deportation. The respondent thinks that his previous asylum file was reopened, because he had opened a procedure when he was previously in Bulgaria. He was told the waiting time for asylum, residence, or any other protection was 1 to 6 months. After a month and a half, he was given a green card, but he does not yet have a work permit. He said he had tried to get this green card faster, but each time he asked he was told that he needed to have been there at least 6 weeks. He has been told that he needs to stay in the camp for 3 months before he can have a work permit, and he has only stayed for 2 months (at the time of the interview). The respondent is waiting for that permit. He tried to go to Helsinki Committee (organisation that supports asylum seekers with legal issues in Bulgaria) to get this faster.The respondent has problems accessing healthcare. He has a broken nerve in his leg, and he wants to have an operation for that. He does not want to have the operation in Bulgaria, he wants to have it in Germany so his siblings can take care of him. He is also concerned about the medical treatment in Bulgaria because of his bad experiences in the camps. He reports that he has not enrolled in any language classes or education programmes but that he thinks he has access if he wants to.
overview
1 people ,
from Syria,
aged 25.