Although in my interviews with Tiara Sahar Ataii, I shared many details surrounding various aspects of my dire situation in Greece, but despite everything that is happening here not much really had eventually found its way to the New Arab’s article.

Considering everything that I have been through, In fact, I was hoping that they would at least dedicate an entire article to my case, but not only that did not happen, more shockingly they did not even put a single picture of my protest in their Article.

Over 5-years long continued protest outside the office of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) which carried out in complete deprivation and isolation under the harshest conditions imaginable.

You can read the New Arab’s article at the given link below:

=> https://english.alaraby.co.uk/analysis/how-europe-offshoring-its-refugee-responsibilities?amp

Below, I am also including those parts of their article that are reporting my case.

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Anwar Nillufary is just one of many refugees caught in the crossfires of the Dublin regulation. A stateless Kurdish man from Iran, he crossed the Aegean between Turkey and Greece in 2014 hoping to find refuge on the European continent.

When he arrived in his first EU country of entry, Greece, he approached the UNHCR hoping for resettlement to a third country. The officials informed him that if he gained asylum in Greece, he could then make his way onto Western Europe legally to seek protection there. So, he made his way on to Sweden.

Here, disaster befell: “In Sweden they asked me nothing, just if I had applied for asylum anywhere else in Europe,” he told The New Arab. When he mentioned Greece, he was sent to an open deportation camp, his documents seized, and sent back to Greece before his appeal had been heard. He was threatened with a ban on entry to Sweden for five years if he appealed a second time.

Under international law, there are three durable solutions for refugees that fall under the mandate of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR): resettlement to a third country, integration into the country, and return home.

Like many refugees, the UNHCR’s mandate didn’t translate into reality for Anwar. Resettlement was denied, return is impossible, and integration into Greece equally unattainable: “There’s no prospect of finding any sort of protection in Greece any longer, nor any livelihood. I tried to rent an apartment, but if you’re a refugee, landlords ask for two years of rent in advance.” His experience is terrifyingly common: Athens is notorious for refugee homelessness.

Anwar began to peacefully protest outside UNHCR on 21st March 2017, and continues to date. He’s now on his third hunger strike, which is approaching the ten-month mark, following a 64-day long and a 73-day long hunger strike in 2017 and 2020 respectively.

But after five years camped outside UNHCR and little progress in his case, his story is symbolic of the failures of the international community to implement any solution for refugees. Since the start of his protest in 2017, he reports being detained more than 300 times, his belongings destroyed on five of those occasions.

His hunger strike reflects the contradictions of the asylum regime today. He points out astutely that in 2014 when he had sought asylum in Greece in hope of resettlement to Sweden, the borders were open across Europe. This means, had he continued onto Sweden without alerting the attention of the Greek authorities, he wouldn’t have been fingerprinted, and would have been able to lodge an asylum claim there.

In fact, it was his misplaced trust in international law and agencies that resulted in him being criminalized.

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Overall, this was the part of the New Arab’s Article covering my case.

Please spread the word. Sign my online Petition now and make a Donation if you can.

Thank you for your solidarity and support.

Yours Respectfully;

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Hostage of Europe

Anwar Nillufary

Email: anwar.nillufary@gmail.com

Tel: +30 690 683 8657 / +30 698 118 7157

#JusticeAndFreedomForHostageOfEurope #HumanRights #Refugees

Thursday, June 23rd, 2022

[Digitally Signed]

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