Eze Okafor, a Nigerian citizen who has spent the last four years in Iceland trying to gain asylum and build a life after escaping death in the hands of vengeful Boko Haram insurgents, is now facing deportation back to Nigeria.
Eze was forced to run away from his home in Maiduguri, Borno State in 2010, after he and his brother got on the bad side of the terrorists because they turned down a recruitment offer from the group. Following their refusal to become Boko Haram fighters, angered members of the deadly group forced themselves into their home, killed Eze’s brother and stabbed him a couple of times in the head, nearly rendering him blind.
After a tumultuous boat ride to Sweden and several attempts to gain asylum in both Sweden and Iceland, Eze managed to get the help of a lawyer who got him temporary residency in Iceland on humanitarian grounds. Eze could now work in the Western European country while still trying to appeal his case for asylum.
His most recent attempt to secure asylum in May, saw the 32-year-old arrested and mistreated by Icelandic police and forced back to Sweden where he was given until the 1st of June to return to Nigeria or be deported. But according to Eze, his return to his fatherland would definitely see him get killed by the slighted terrorists who have been trying to get him to return for that exact reason.
In one of their attempts to force him to return to Nigeria, Boko Haram members kidnapped and assaulted Eze’s mother, jeopardising her eyesight. Eze hopes that the Swedish and Icelandic authorities will understand that the circumstances awaiting him in Nigeria are the reasons why he seeks refuge in Iceland today.
Since 2012, when he got permission to temporarily stay in the country, Eze has developed close relationships at his workplace and in his community, building a network of friends and associates. He calls Iceland his home. Thus, when he was put in handcuffs and knocked around by the police in Iceland, several people who knew him protested against the unjustness, with two members of a rights group trying to stop his transfer to Sweden getting arrested in the process.
Up until last month, Eze was one of the 3.2 million people waiting to receive good news on their applications for asylum in Western countries. However, he is still one of the 65.3 million forcefully displaced individuals, and the 21.3 million refugees around the world. To commemorate World Refugee Day today, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) is urging people to sign a petition that allows refugees in different parts of the world to live in safety.
The #WithRefugees petition aims to send a message to governments about their responsibilities regarding refugees. Last year, the number of refugees around the world (65.3 million) is the highest ever, and according to the figures provided by the United Nations, if all the refugees in the world formed a country, it would be the “21st most populous nation in the world.”
A major issue surrounding the condition of refugees is the treatment that they receive from the authorities in the countries that they wish to seek asylum in. Therefore, to mark the 16th anniversary of World Refugee Day, the UN is asking for the global recollection of “common humanity” as well as tolerance, an open heart and diversity towards refugees.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) supports this plea. The commission is marking today’s event by maintaining that people flee their countries for reasons involving fearing for their lives, and urging the South African government to grant such individuals basic rights, according to the law. The commission suggests that they start by dealing with the accumulation of applications from asylum seekers.
Beyond governments, individuals are also being reminded today to empathise with displaced persons and refugees everywhere, such as Eze who deserve to be treated as humans first.
One in every 113 people in the world is now either internally displaced, seeking asylum, or a refugee. The numbers might be increasing, but so are the factors that account for them. To this end, humanity needs to unite against such factors by doing what is humanly right for the greater good of all.
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