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European Council: Stop deporting human beings from Europe to Turkey
Phil J.
started this petition to
European Council
Update 2016/04/18: EU Council President Donald Tusk and Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel are travelling to Turkey on Saturday 23 April. Ahead of their visit I have written to them to deliver this petition as it stands. I will also email later in the week to try and ensure they see that hundreds of us want them to stop deporting people to Turkey. You can read more here: http://philmikejones.me/2016/04/18/petition-to-eu-council/
Update 2016/04/08: Europe has resumed deportations to Turkey despite concerns for the welfare and human rights of those deported, and the conditions and risks awaiting those who arrive http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/08/second-ferry-leaves-lesbos-for-turkey-eu-migrant-deal
I had some good news last night though: Muhammed and his family are safe and have not been deported, at least for now.
The young man in this photograph is Muhammed. He is not much older than my own son and, like my own son, was confident, fun, and just a little bit cheeky. He is wearing one of a number of superhero capes sewn by my wife and some of our friends. I met him, his mother, and his father two weeks ago in the olive grove, an informal overspill camp set up next to Moria camp, near Mytilini on Lesvos. In short, Muhammed was a happy young man who was safe, cared for, and could play, even if it wasn't in the best of surroundings.
Today Muhammed and his family are at risk of deportation to Turkey at the hands of the European Council http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/03/18-eu-turkey-statement/. He may already have been deported, I don't know. I can't begin to imagine what circumstances his family must have been fleeing to risk travelling across the Aegean Sea at the mercy of greedy, reckless, and even violent smugglers with their young son, but I know it's not a decision I would make lightly with my own family. Like everyone else I met and talked to in the Moria camp, his family just wanted a chance to provide for themselves with dignity.
Europe prides itself on being enlightened, civilised, and humane. What our European leaders are doing now – deporting people by the hundreds back to Turkey – is none of these things. That's why I started this petition. Please will you sign it and share it to let the European Council – our leaders – know that we will not stand idly by while fellow human beings are being put at further and increased risk in our name, and join me in calling for all deportations to be stopped immediately.
Thank you.
Update 2016/04/08: Europe has resumed deportations to Turkey despite concerns for the welfare and human rights of those deported, and the conditions and risks awaiting those who arrive http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/08/second-ferry-leaves-lesbos-for-turkey-eu-migrant-deal
I had some good news last night though: Muhammed and his family are safe and have not been deported, at least for now.
The young man in this photograph is Muhammed. He is not much older than my own son and, like my own son, was confident, fun, and just a little bit cheeky. He is wearing one of a number of superhero capes sewn by my wife and some of our friends. I met him, his mother, and his father two weeks ago in the olive grove, an informal overspill camp set up next to Moria camp, near Mytilini on Lesvos. In short, Muhammed was a happy young man who was safe, cared for, and could play, even if it wasn't in the best of surroundings.
Today Muhammed and his family are at risk of deportation to Turkey at the hands of the European Council http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/03/18-eu-turkey-statement/. He may already have been deported, I don't know. I can't begin to imagine what circumstances his family must have been fleeing to risk travelling across the Aegean Sea at the mercy of greedy, reckless, and even violent smugglers with their young son, but I know it's not a decision I would make lightly with my own family. Like everyone else I met and talked to in the Moria camp, his family just wanted a chance to provide for themselves with dignity.
Europe prides itself on being enlightened, civilised, and humane. What our European leaders are doing now – deporting people by the hundreds back to Turkey – is none of these things. That's why I started this petition. Please will you sign it and share it to let the European Council – our leaders – know that we will not stand idly by while fellow human beings are being put at further and increased risk in our name, and join me in calling for all deportations to be stopped immediately.
Thank you.
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