By Sarah Hannan
Three weeks on, the Pakistani refugees who were driven out of their rented homes in Negombo are still seeking shelter at the Negombo Police station. During our recent visit, we inquired after their health and questioned them regarding the next steps they were following to move on after the alleged attacks and emergency evictions they faced.
This week, we managed to speak to some of the Christian Pakistanis who are in transit in Sri Lanka until their asylum papers were processed.
Since 22 April, about 160 people have been huddled into a structure at the Negombo Police station. With no place to go, the refugees were relieved to have a structure that has an elevated foundation a few columns up on which a roof rests. It clearly is a police station building under construction.
To make thing a bit more homely and comfortable, mats have been laid out on the ground in several sections. The refugees are using their suitcases and provision boxes to demarcate areas for a group of 10 people. Some of them were seated on plastic chairs and as we entered the shelter, we were met with distressed faces that were attempting to smile through their difficulties.
We were told that each family had a different reason to flee Pakistan during various years. While asylum papers are supposed to take a maximum of three years to process, some have been stuck in Sri Lanka for close to 10-12 years with their asylum papers rejected several times.
Fleeing domestic abuse
Sumbal arrived in Sri Lanka in 2013. She fled Islamabad due to domestic violence, and the growing oppression against religious minorities was also threatening her life. “I am a Christian; my reason to leave Pakistan was primarily to find a safe place to live away from my abusive estranged husband. My religious faith was the second reason for me to leave,” she iterated.
When asked whether the people from Negombo were kind to them before 21 April, Sumbal stated that they were very considerate about them and were very kind. “No one ever questioned as to why we fled Pakistan. In all the six years that I have been living in Negombo, I felt very much at home. In fact, it was and is better than Islamabad. I think they got defensive against us mainly because we were Pakistani. With the attacks linked to the extremists, they thought we were supporting their cause.”
Sumbal is waiting for her asylum papers to be processed and said that it is in the final stages: “I have to submit my medical report and it is scheduled to take place next week. Once that is submitted, I can hopefully go to the US, where I would be granted asylum status.”
For now, she is thankful that the Negombo Police station agreed to provide them protection during this troubled time. “For me, this is better than living in an environment that is filled with fear. We hope that the UNHCR can find a suitable solution to house us in a safer environment hereafter.”
Fleeing oppression
We then spoke with Eric who arrived in Sri Lanka in 2016; he fled Lahore due to oppression. “The Christians and Hindus of Pakistan amounts to 3% of the population and we feel oppressed in a Muslim-majority country. Radical Islamists have brought death upon Christians in Pakistan on several occasions. Christians are persecuted under the country’s notorious blasphemy laws and in some cases, death sentences have been passed.”
Eric considers Sri Lanka as a more tolerant nation where Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam is practiced. “In Sri Lanka, no person will be sent to jail or sentenced to death for following a religion of their preference. It is the first time I am applying for asylum status in the US and hopefully in a month or so I will be transferred to the US.”
When inquired about their displacement following the attacks on 21 April, Eric stated that they had alerted the Negombo Police station and the UNHCR about the unrest that was building up in the area that they were residing in.
“We are very grateful that the Negombo Police promptly acted on our request and brought us all to the police station on Monday evening for protection. Within the past three weeks, there was about four-five attempts to relocate us. They tried to relocate us to a Catholic seminary in Colombo, a hostel near the Colombo Police Headquarters, and then a Muslim school in Periyamulla. But all those attempts failed.”
Persecuted for blasphemy
According to the World Christian Database, Pakistan’s population comprises 96.4% Muslims, 2% Christians, 1.3% Hindus, and the rest of the 0.3% are Buddhist, Ethno-religionist, Jewish, Bahai, Agnostic, Atheist, Chinese folk, New-religionist, Sikh, Spiritualist, Taoist, Confucians, Jain, Shintoist, and Zoroastrian.
With Pakistan officially becoming a Muslim country after its independence in 1947, the place for other religious minorities became more complex. Even among the 96% of the Muslims, the majority are Sunni Muslims with a 10-15% Shiite minority who are Hazara and Ahmadi and suffer persecution.
Lately, there have been frequent attacks on churches which have taken place in Lahore in September 2013, March 2015, the Easter Sunday Attack of 2016, and the attack against the Methodist Church in Quetta in December 2017. Even with some of these churches provided security guards, attacks continued to take place.
The new Government of Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave the blasphemy laws untouched following the protests launched by radical Islamist groups after the Supreme Court acquitted Asia Bibi of blasphemy on 31 October 2018. The draconian law has a significant impact on Christians, threatening their job security and their lives itself. Incidents continue to take place where Christian girls are abducted, forcefully converted to Islam, and married and raped by extremists.
40 asylum seekers to be repatriated
In his address during Wednesday’s Parliament session State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne informed that at present there were 1,698 asylum seekers in the country who were awaiting their paperwork to be approved by the US, UK, Canada, and other countries.
Wickramaratne confirmed that paperwork for 869 persons was approved and they would be transferred to their respective host countries in the coming weeks. However, closer to 40 applications had been rejected and the Government of Sri Lanka was taking measures to repatriate them to their countries of origin in the coming days.
“We are closely working with the UNHCR to deal with the remaining asylum seekers and are looking at moving them out of the Police stations no sooner their transitional shelters are made available possibly in the Northern and Southern Province.”
All attempts made to contact UNHCR Sri Lanka office for comment on the next steps that would be taken with regard to the refugees that are held in police stations and other religious institutions for the time being failed.
Agencies urge GoSL to protect the refugees
Raising their concerns on the safety of refugees that are now displaced, 15 agencies* in a joint appeal statement released recently, urged the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) with the support of the UNHCR to take steps to maintain order and prevent retaliatory vigilante actions.
While recognising and welcoming the gestures to share spiritual and professional spaces in order to provide protection in times of crisis, the agencies alerted that these shelters were extremely insecure.
The agencies now appeal the GoSL to:
· Ensure that refugees and asylum seekers are not deported or otherwise forced to return to their countries of origin or any other place where their lives or freedoms would be at risk, which would represent a violation of the international legal principle of non-refoulement;
· Deploy adequate law enforcement officers to ensure the protection and security of vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, especially those who are now displaced, and provide basic humanitarian assistance including food, water, shelter, sanitation, and other social services in line with the minimum core content of their economic, social, and cultural rights;
· Urgently relocate the refugees sheltering in a police station and places of worship to appropriate locations with adequate sanitation, sleeping space, and security. Work with UNHCR to ensure the welfare of the many small children among the refugees;
· Seek UNHCR assistance in managing settlements so that they are not de facto detention camps and make efforts to ensure their safety;
· Clarify publicly that any attacks on these vulnerable groups will not be tolerated, and reiterate that these attacks will be investigated with the view of bringing perpetrators to justice;
· Work with third countries who have already agreed to resettle some of the refugees to urgently expedite the settlement process.
Amnesty International, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Franciscans International, Freedom from Torture, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, International Human Rights Committee, International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), Medico international, Minority Rights Group, South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), Sri Lanka Advocacy in Germany, The All Survivors Project, The International Working Group on Sri Lanka, The Sri Lanka Campaign UK, The US Counsel on Sri Lanka.
Three weeks on, the Pakistani refugees who were driven out of their rented homes in Negombo are still seeking shelter at the Negombo Police station. During our recent visit, we inquired after their health and questioned them regarding the next steps they were following to move on after the alleged attacks and emergency evictions they faced.
This week, we managed to speak to some of the Christian Pakistanis who are in transit in Sri Lanka until their asylum papers were processed.
Since 22 April, about 160 people have been huddled into a structure at the Negombo Police station. With no place to go, the refugees were relieved to have a structure that has an elevated foundation a few columns up on which a roof rests. It clearly is a police station building under construction.
To make thing a bit more homely and comfortable, mats have been laid out on the ground in several sections. The refugees are using their suitcases and provision boxes to demarcate areas for a group of 10 people. Some of them were seated on plastic chairs and as we entered the shelter, we were met with distressed faces that were attempting to smile through their difficulties.
We were told that each family had a different reason to flee Pakistan during various years. While asylum papers are supposed to take a maximum of three years to process, some have been stuck in Sri Lanka for close to 10-12 years with their asylum papers rejected several times.
Fleeing domestic abuse
Sumbal arrived in Sri Lanka in 2013. She fled Islamabad due to domestic violence, and the growing oppression against religious minorities was also threatening her life. “I am a Christian; my reason to leave Pakistan was primarily to find a safe place to live away from my abusive estranged husband. My religious faith was the second reason for me to leave,” she iterated.
When asked whether the people from Negombo were kind to them before 21 April, Sumbal stated that they were very considerate about them and were very kind. “No one ever questioned as to why we fled Pakistan. In all the six years that I have been living in Negombo, I felt very much at home. In fact, it was and is better than Islamabad. I think they got defensive against us mainly because we were Pakistani. With the attacks linked to the extremists, they thought we were supporting their cause.”
Sumbal is waiting for her asylum papers to be processed and said that it is in the final stages: “I have to submit my medical report and it is scheduled to take place next week. Once that is submitted, I can hopefully go to the US, where I would be granted asylum status.”
For now, she is thankful that the Negombo Police station agreed to provide them protection during this troubled time. “For me, this is better than living in an environment that is filled with fear. We hope that the UNHCR can find a suitable solution to house us in a safer environment hereafter.”
Fleeing oppression
We then spoke with Eric who arrived in Sri Lanka in 2016; he fled Lahore due to oppression. “The Christians and Hindus of Pakistan amounts to 3% of the population and we feel oppressed in a Muslim-majority country. Radical Islamists have brought death upon Christians in Pakistan on several occasions. Christians are persecuted under the country’s notorious blasphemy laws and in some cases, death sentences have been passed.”
Eric considers Sri Lanka as a more tolerant nation where Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam is practiced. “In Sri Lanka, no person will be sent to jail or sentenced to death for following a religion of their preference. It is the first time I am applying for asylum status in the US and hopefully in a month or so I will be transferred to the US.”
When inquired about their displacement following the attacks on 21 April, Eric stated that they had alerted the Negombo Police station and the UNHCR about the unrest that was building up in the area that they were residing in.
“We are very grateful that the Negombo Police promptly acted on our request and brought us all to the police station on Monday evening for protection. Within the past three weeks, there was about four-five attempts to relocate us. They tried to relocate us to a Catholic seminary in Colombo, a hostel near the Colombo Police Headquarters, and then a Muslim school in Periyamulla. But all those attempts failed.”
Persecuted for blasphemy
According to the World Christian Database, Pakistan’s population comprises 96.4% Muslims, 2% Christians, 1.3% Hindus, and the rest of the 0.3% are Buddhist, Ethno-religionist, Jewish, Bahai, Agnostic, Atheist, Chinese folk, New-religionist, Sikh, Spiritualist, Taoist, Confucians, Jain, Shintoist, and Zoroastrian.
With Pakistan officially becoming a Muslim country after its independence in 1947, the place for other religious minorities became more complex. Even among the 96% of the Muslims, the majority are Sunni Muslims with a 10-15% Shiite minority who are Hazara and Ahmadi and suffer persecution.
Lately, there have been frequent attacks on churches which have taken place in Lahore in September 2013, March 2015, the Easter Sunday Attack of 2016, and the attack against the Methodist Church in Quetta in December 2017. Even with some of these churches provided security guards, attacks continued to take place.
The new Government of Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave the blasphemy laws untouched following the protests launched by radical Islamist groups after the Supreme Court acquitted Asia Bibi of blasphemy on 31 October 2018. The draconian law has a significant impact on Christians, threatening their job security and their lives itself. Incidents continue to take place where Christian girls are abducted, forcefully converted to Islam, and married and raped by extremists.
40 asylum seekers to be repatriated
In his address during Wednesday’s Parliament session State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne informed that at present there were 1,698 asylum seekers in the country who were awaiting their paperwork to be approved by the US, UK, Canada, and other countries.
Wickramaratne confirmed that paperwork for 869 persons was approved and they would be transferred to their respective host countries in the coming weeks. However, closer to 40 applications had been rejected and the Government of Sri Lanka was taking measures to repatriate them to their countries of origin in the coming days.
“We are closely working with the UNHCR to deal with the remaining asylum seekers and are looking at moving them out of the Police stations no sooner their transitional shelters are made available possibly in the Northern and Southern Province.”
All attempts made to contact UNHCR Sri Lanka office for comment on the next steps that would be taken with regard to the refugees that are held in police stations and other religious institutions for the time being failed.
Agencies urge GoSL to protect the refugees
Raising their concerns on the safety of refugees that are now displaced, 15 agencies* in a joint appeal statement released recently, urged the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) with the support of the UNHCR to take steps to maintain order and prevent retaliatory vigilante actions.
While recognising and welcoming the gestures to share spiritual and professional spaces in order to provide protection in times of crisis, the agencies alerted that these shelters were extremely insecure.
The agencies now appeal the GoSL to:
· Ensure that refugees and asylum seekers are not deported or otherwise forced to return to their countries of origin or any other place where their lives or freedoms would be at risk, which would represent a violation of the international legal principle of non-refoulement;
· Deploy adequate law enforcement officers to ensure the protection and security of vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, especially those who are now displaced, and provide basic humanitarian assistance including food, water, shelter, sanitation, and other social services in line with the minimum core content of their economic, social, and cultural rights;
· Urgently relocate the refugees sheltering in a police station and places of worship to appropriate locations with adequate sanitation, sleeping space, and security. Work with UNHCR to ensure the welfare of the many small children among the refugees;
· Seek UNHCR assistance in managing settlements so that they are not de facto detention camps and make efforts to ensure their safety;
· Clarify publicly that any attacks on these vulnerable groups will not be tolerated, and reiterate that these attacks will be investigated with the view of bringing perpetrators to justice;
· Work with third countries who have already agreed to resettle some of the refugees to urgently expedite the settlement process.
Amnesty International, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Franciscans International, Freedom from Torture, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, International Human Rights Committee, International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), Medico international, Minority Rights Group, South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), Sri Lanka Advocacy in Germany, The All Survivors Project, The International Working Group on Sri Lanka, The Sri Lanka Campaign UK, The US Counsel on Sri Lanka.