German authorities had deported asylum seekers back to Ethiopia in 2020, despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and the conflict in Tigray. The opposition politicians and the human rights groups all condemned the inhumane move.
In December 2020, asylum seekers were forced on a flight back to Ethiopia by German police officers to escort them. According to advocacy groups, the immigrants came to Germany in 2009 after facing prosecution by the Ethiopian government for being an opposition member. Female asylum seekers also suffered from sexual abuse and arrest in Ethiopia; they could get treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Wiebke Judith from the German advocacy group ProAsyl, told DW “She was in a dire psychological state and had tried to commit suicide while in detention pending deportation. In the end, she was dropped off in Addis Ababa in a wheelchair, still wearing her prison attire. She has no family there and didn’t know anyone.”
Germany Defends Deportations
In November 2020, at least 10 people were flown to Addis Ababa on a chartered Ethiopian Airlines flight. According to the German government, all legal provisions were followed during the deportations.
For Germany’s federal interior ministry, a spokeswoman released a written statement that said, “The legal requirements for the admissibility of a deportation result from the Residence Act. Prohibitions of deportation are always examined on a case-by-case basis. For example, a foreigner should not be deported to another country if there is a considerable, concrete danger to life, physical well-being or freedom.”
However, critics disagree. Ulla Jelpke, a German Member of Parliament for the opposition Left party, “Ethiopia is a country affected by civil war, flooding, the Corona pandemic, and a locust plague. There is no sign that the conditions will improve soon. Deporting people there in such a situation is not only unacceptable but also inhuman.”
Tigray’s Dire Humanitarian Situation
The Tigray conflict had escalated in November 2020 after the Ethiopian National Defense Force launched an offensive against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front or TPLF that administered the region.
Thousands of people are said to have died in the conflict. According to the UN, at least two million people require aid. In a phone call, German Chancellor Angela Market urged Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to find a peaceful solution and allow humanitarian aid to those in need.
However, that announcement has not changed the German government’s stance when it comes to asylum seekers “Deportations to Ethiopia through the relevant authorities in the [German] provinces are still possible.”
Judith added, “They would argue that there are areas in Ethiopia that are safe, such as the capital. But that does not take into account that the situation could change quickly and that the whole region could be destabilized.”
Numbers released by the ministry of home affairs after a written request by Jelpke show that German authorities have taken a different approach to asylum applications from Ethiopians in the past few years. In 2015, more than half of all applicants whose cases were determined were recognized as refugees or given some other form of protection. In 2019, that number of Deportations to Ethiopia seemed to continue in 2021.