Austria in outraged after three girls from Georgia and Armenia were deported. The situation had led to a showdown between the green party and the conservatives in Austria.
Numerous people criticized the government for deporting the children who were considered to be well integrated. A 12-year-old and a 5-year-old from Georgia, and an Armenian student, were deported from Austria on January 28, despite protests.
Governing Coalition in Conflict
The Green party, currently in coalition with the conservative OVP party, criticized the girls’ deportation. Green Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler said in a statement, “It is inhumane and irresponsible that well-integrated girls were deported in the morning hours.”
Kogler stated that the OVP-run interior ministry had gone with the deportation of the three girls. However, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer had promised that the cases would be investigated properly.
The Austrian president, Alexander Van der Bellen, said on Twitter, “This is deeply concerning. I cannot and will not believe that we live in a country where such a step is essential.”
Van der Bellen also called on the authorities to take a more humane and measured approach and prioritize the children’s well-being.
SPO head Pamela Randi-Wagner tweeted, “As a mother, I am stunned that well-integrated children are uprooted from their lives and deported to a foreign country.”
Meanwhile, Karl Nehammer justified the deportation of the three children “This is also not an easy duty for the deployed police officers, but it’s necessary to help the state under the rule of law breakthrough.”
The deportations of the children immediately garnered national attention in Austria after the schoolmates of the 12-year-old Tina from Georgia, who is slated for deportation, launched an online petition that has gathered more than 34,000 signatures.
On January 28, ahead of the girls’ deportations, there were massive protests at the deportation center that the children were staying at on the outskirts of Vienna, the capital of Austria. According to DPA, around 160 protestors set up a roadblock to stop the police from deporting the children and their families. Several politicians were among the demonstrators, and they are members of the green party, the liberal Neos, and the social-democratic SPO.
The editor of the Vienna weekly Falter, Florian Klenk, had tweeted out the blockade’s pictures, stating that the demonstrators had brought massive garbage and several shopping carts to block all of the access to the deportation center.
The police broke up the protest and eventually deported the three girls and their families. On social media, numerous videos and pictures were posted and shared, showing massive police presence during the deportation, and it leads to criticism from some activists and politicians, including the Greens spokesperson on the country’s immigration issues, Georg Burstmayr, as he said that the police presence had been excessive.
Those who called for the girls to not be deported pointed to their roots in Austria and how well integrated the girls and their families were. The girls then argued that they knew Austria is a much better country than the home countries of the three girls.