Cycling to Paris, September – October 2022
Cycling from Sweden to Paris: how come?
I’m doing this action in order to put the light on the fact that many Afghan refugees are denied asylum in Sweden and are forced to flee again, now to France.
They are supposed to be deported to Afghanistan, according to the Swedish Migration Office’s (Migrationsverket, MV) decisions, when diplomatic agreements will have been settled between the two countries.
Afghanistan is not a safe country to live in.
It’s a country where girls over 12 can’t go to school and where women can’t work and study. Returnee’s possibility to survive has radically changed since the new Taliban regime in August 2021.
MV declared at that time that all the persons being particularly at risk, that have a decision for being deported, could get a new trial.
But, as for now, September 2022, MV goes on deciding to deport to Afghanistan and Sweden is one of the countries that denies the most asylum to Afghan citizens. That is why Afghan refugees are forced to flee again, now FROM Sweden to France or Germany.
When will Sweden understand that the Taliban Afghan state is a country one cannot deport to?
When will Sweden understand that the International Convention on the Rights of the Child concerns all children?
When will Sweden understand that it is against Human Rights to decide to deport to Afghanistan?
With this cycling trip from Sweden to France, through Germany, I want to show the trip that many Afghan friends are forced to do.
Families, children, women and men have no other choice than to try again.
They must start from all over again.
In a new country, with a new language, a new culture and new friends – hopefully a new job shortly.
Despite the fact that they are established here in Sweden, having studied, having a job and friends AND many of these refugees speak fluent Swedish.
I also want to show the inhumane treatment as well as the economic absurdity to deny residence permits to persons fleeing from Afghanistan who have finished their studies. I want to show how cruel it is to deny asylum to lonely women, young women and families with children.
And I want to put forward the illogical choice of denying asylum to persons who are needed in different sectors: health care, elder care, construction sites, restaurants and so on.
I will bike with a Swedish, an Afghan and a French flag on my bike and I will gather money during the trip for LAMSF (Les amis des migrants suédophones en France, the French association helping Swedish speaking refugees) and to Guldkråkan (the golden crow), an 11-years old girl who was expelled in 2018 with her father.
This is the only alternative that is given to Afghan refugees today: to flee to another country!
To return to Afghanistan is not an alternative.
Eva Hållsten, September 2022
To support the action, send some money to LAMSF and mark your transfer : Cycling to Paris Eva Hallsten:
IBAN FR76 1010 7001 3400 1190 6973 570, BIC BREDFRPPXXX
70% of your donation will go to LAMSF, and the remaining 30% will be sent to Guldkråkan, the girl in Afghanistan that Eva is supporting.
På cykel till Paris 