Help for our brothers and sisters in MINEO
We invite all women and all men showing solidarity
to support our demands! The Italian government needs to immediately issue
humanitarian residence permits to all those who were forced to flee from Libya
due to the war, through the establishment of the temporary protection mechanism
(Art. 20 TU) or other forms provided for by the legal system.We came from Libya
to Italy because of the war that took place there last year, a war that
exploded unexpectedly over our heads. We had to flee leaving behind everything
we had.
We had arrived in Libya after
having left our home countries for various reasons and in Libya, we found work.
Our countries of origin are many: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad,
Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Libya, Mali,
Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Syria, Somalia,
Sudan. In Libya, we could build a life. None of us had thought about coming to
Italy or Europe. It was only the war that compelled us to cross the
Mediterranean, risking our lives to escape the bombs. Other brothers were able
to return to their countries of origin, but for us this was impossible. Do you
think that if we could have re-entered our country, our families, we would now
be here? There's no place like home! We were forced to make an inevitable
choice: the open sea was the only way out. Some of us had never seen the sea in
their lives and most were terrified taking this path. Many, unfortunately, did
not make it.
We cannot return to Libya, where
we lived for years. There, we risk our lives, because ever since the war broke
out, the situation has become dangerous for us foreigners. Many believe that we
were mercenaries for Gaddafi. We cannot return to our home countries due to
grave political and social problems. We cannot remain in Italy because, without
permit, we would be illegal and treated as criminals: it’s impossible to live
like that. We are stuck, waiting for an answer of which we do not know when it
will arrive. How can you live without documents? What can you do? In this
situation of uncertainty we feel sadness, disappointment, frustration,
hopelessness, and are drawn into depression.
THIS IS AN INJUSTICE, AND WE CANNOT CONTINUE TO LIVE LIKE THAT!
We want a life worthy of that name!
We need documents to rebuild our lives and be able to imagine our futures. Italian law provides for the granting of residence permits for humanitarian purposes to those who escaped from a war, but this was not applied to us. The only thing we could reach for was the request for asylum, but the path is long, expensive and the outcome is uncertain. Many of us have already received a negative decision and are at the point of departure.
We invite all women and men in
solidarity to participate in this appeal so that we will be given the
opportunity to rebuild our lives by being issued a permit that allows us to
find a job and live with dignity. So that we could contribute to building the
society of the future together. We are able and intelligent and have a great
desire work in a just world and to live free, away from war!
By sharing and signing the appeal of our brothers and sisters of the assembly of asylum seekers in Trento, the asylum seekers in the CARA Mineo denounce the amount of time passing before many asylum applications are examined (there are some who have been waiting for over 10 months). The slowness of the process is partly caused by the Commission assessing less than half of the amount of applications per week than were processed each week last year – despite the CARA being fully occupied.
By sharing and signing the appeal of our brothers and sisters of the assembly of asylum seekers in Trento, the asylum seekers in the CARA Mineo denounce the amount of time passing before many asylum applications are examined (there are some who have been waiting for over 10 months). The slowness of the process is partly caused by the Commission assessing less than half of the amount of applications per week than were processed each week last year – despite the CARA being fully occupied.
The refugees and asylum seekers of Trento
