Call to Action For 'Family Torn Apart'
Dear supporter of the Women's Centre,
I'm writing to you to give you an update on the situation regarding Maryam, her baby and her husband. As you might already know from previous publications, Maryam was released from retention and her baby returned. Activists involved in this case, like ourselves, believed that her husband would similarly be released, with a form instructing him to leave the French territory. So far, this is how deportations to Afghanistan have been dealt with - unless the Afghan national had reasons to be sent to a third-party country.
The signature of an accord between Afghanistan and EU countries in 2016 changed this. By placing economic pressure on Afghanistan, which relies hugely on EU aid, European countries persuaded the country into accepting the return of Afghan nationals. As a reminder, the country remains on the "red" list for travel agencies and insurances in many countries including the USA, the UK and France, as EU nationals are strongly advised against travelling there; the justification for such measures were made clear by a recent blast that killed 90 people and injured more than 400.
Despite those circumstances, the French government is readying the first forced departures to Afghanistan. This is, in itself, inhumane. On top of that, such a departure would, for Maryam's husband, mean being separated from his wife and child forever. As Maryam and their baby hold a different nationality, the couple had fled to Europe in the hope of finding a country where they could live together and build a family - which was not, and remains not possible in Afghanistan.
Please help us prevent such a deportation from happening we urge you to sign and widely share this petition written by Maryam.
Additionally, please help us mass-communicate our discontent to the Sous-préfecture of Pas-de-Calais, which is responsible for the arrest and potential deportation of Maryam's husband:
- You can phone them at: +33 3 21 21 20 00
(ask for the "service d'eloignement" and say that you are calling about the case of Mr. Hedayat Ismaili)
- You can fax them at: +33 3 21 55 30 30
- You can fill in a contact form
- You can write to them at: Rue Ferdinand Buisson, 62020 ARRAS Cedex 9.
Thank you for your solidarity,
Maryam and the Women's Centre