Petition to stop forcible deportation of migrants

A petition calling on both leaders to work together and help refugees reunite with their families in Cyprus rather than be forcefully deported had garnered dozens of supporters on Sunday.

The petition posted on change.org was started by migrant support group Kisa which said that 102 Syrian refugees, of which 69 were children, “are in immediate danger of refoulement (forced deportation)”.

The case dates back to March 20, when a boat carrying 175 migrants was refused permission to dock by Greek Cypriot authorities in light of lockdown measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many migrants said they had families in Cyprus they wanted to be reunited with. Nonetheless, after permission was refused, the boat went to the north where the refugees have since been staying in a sports stadium, the petition said.

According to the petition, ‘authorities’ in the north on Friday forcibly deported 73 of the migrants, all adults, to Turkey. They “are now at grave risk of being deported to Syria, despite their wish to apply for and find protection in an EU member state.”

The remaining 102 migrants are still in the north and the petition called on the leaders of the island to cooperate and find an immediate solution so the refugees could be reunited with their families and are granted protection in Cyprus. It called on them to enforce the law to ensure the migrants are not forcibly deported to Turkey and eventually Syria.

At the time of writing, 79 people had signed the petition which can be found here

 

 

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