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Radio Sweden
Dec 31 2014
Protest grows against Armenian family's deportation
A photographer who refused to take passport photos of a toddler is the
latest person to join a protest against the Swedish Migration Board's
decision to deny the girl and her family asylum.
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The photographer was asked to take pictures of the family's youngest
member, a two-year-old girl, but refused. He thereby joined several
politicians, church leaders and NGOs in objecting to the Migration
Board's decision.
The passport photos were to be used in the deportation process, local
media reported.
"I don't want to play a part in her deportation," the photographer,
Martin Karlsson, told local newspaper Piteå-tidningen. "If the
Migration Board has made its mind up, then they can take the picture
themselves," Karlsson added.
The girl, who will turn three in March, was born in Sweden to Armenian
parents who are suffering from psychological problems and are not well
enough to care for her or her two year older brother. The parents and
the older child came to Sweden in 2010.
The girl has been living with a foster family outside Piteå in
northern Sweden since she was seven days old. Her brother lives with a
foster family in the town of Skellefteå. In Armenia, the two children
reportedly risk being placed in orphanages since the parents are
unwell. The mother receives psychiatric care in Sweden, having been
apathetic for several years.
The Migration Board's decision to deport the family came just before
Easter after their asylum application was denied for the third time.
The Board said there is not enough evidence to support the family's
story. The mother claims she and her son were assaulted and threatened
in Armenia, while the father claims he was tortured by security
services.
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid54&artikel=6058148
Dec 31 2014
Protest grows against Armenian family's deportation
A photographer who refused to take passport photos of a toddler is the
latest person to join a protest against the Swedish Migration Board's
decision to deny the girl and her family asylum.
Share
The photographer was asked to take pictures of the family's youngest
member, a two-year-old girl, but refused. He thereby joined several
politicians, church leaders and NGOs in objecting to the Migration
Board's decision.
The passport photos were to be used in the deportation process, local
media reported.
"I don't want to play a part in her deportation," the photographer,
Martin Karlsson, told local newspaper Piteå-tidningen. "If the
Migration Board has made its mind up, then they can take the picture
themselves," Karlsson added.
The girl, who will turn three in March, was born in Sweden to Armenian
parents who are suffering from psychological problems and are not well
enough to care for her or her two year older brother. The parents and
the older child came to Sweden in 2010.
The girl has been living with a foster family outside Piteå in
northern Sweden since she was seven days old. Her brother lives with a
foster family in the town of Skellefteå. In Armenia, the two children
reportedly risk being placed in orphanages since the parents are
unwell. The mother receives psychiatric care in Sweden, having been
apathetic for several years.
The Migration Board's decision to deport the family came just before
Easter after their asylum application was denied for the third time.
The Board said there is not enough evidence to support the family's
story. The mother claims she and her son were assaulted and threatened
in Armenia, while the father claims he was tortured by security
services.
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid54&artikel=6058148