10 NOVEMBER 2013

ASYLUM IN BERLIN
A
t the end of August, Barbara Gladysch,
a ;yearold peace activist Irom Ls
seldorI, uploaded a video onto Youtube.
Luring the z6minute long homemade
nlm, she and a Chechen woman acting as her
translator speak somberly to the camera. Behind
them on the wall hangs a map oI the Caucasian
Russian republic oI Chechnya and a montage oI
pictures oI the city oI Crozny beIore and aIter
the two brutal Chechen wars between jj and
zooo. She implores her !liebe Freunde" not to
listen to the rumours, not to Bee Chechnya Ior
Cermany. There is no humanitarian corridor,"
she says. The Cerman government has OT
invited Chechens here with the promise that they
will receive money or a piece oI land. This is a lie.
Lon't believe the criminals who spread it."
The problem is that many Chechens have
already believed it.
Since last winter, Cermany has been met with
a sudden and unprecedented surge oI asylum
requests Irom Chechen nationals. Following a
parliamentary inquest, the Cerman government
acknowledged that Irom
]anuary to August zo,
,,zz Chechens requested
asylum, almost o times
as many as in the preced
ing nve months and nearly
double the number Ior all
oI zoz. In Iact, Chechens
made up oneseventh oI
the ;,j asylum claims re
corded by the Cerman Fed
eral OBce Ior Migration
and ReIugees (BAMF) Irom
]anuary to September oI
this year, making them the
number one national group
seeking asylum in Cermany.
Lconomic instability in the north Caucasian re
gion and the state oI corruption, persecution and
terror under Vladimir Putin's Chechen strongman,
President Razman Kadyrov, account Ior part oI
this inBux. Rumours have done the rest.
Leaving behind Iamily and homes, Chechens
board a train Ior a twoandahalIday journey
through Russia and Belarus all the way to the city
oI Brest, where they can cross the border into
Poland, an L\ member state. Here, in Polish
Terespol, they can nle a claim Ior reIugee status
and hire one oI many 'private' taxis to take them
to the Cerman, Swiss or Austrian city oI their
choice in exchange Ior a minimum oI -ooo. For
those who make the eight toninehour drive to
Berlin, the nrst stop is the central oBce Ior reIu
gees LACeSo (state oBce oI health and social
aBairs) on Turmstrae in Moabit. Here they'll
be allocated a place in a Heim (reIugee shelter).
until, sooner or later, most oI them are turned
down and sent back to Poland. As pointed out by
Cladysch, Chechens' Iate in Cermany is set to be
a disappointing one. ]ust z. percent oI the total
number oI processed asylum requests Irom the
Russian Federation were granted last year. This
happens all the time," she says. This tragedy has
to come to an end."
The doorbell keeps ringing and groups oI
people, mostly Iamilies and single men, stream in
and out oI the living room oI Lkkehard Maa's
Bat in Prenzlauer Berg, the same one where Allen
Cinsberg once hosted lectures during the CLR
- now the oBcial headquarters oI the Cerman
Caucasian Society (LKC).
This happens z hours a
day," says the Cerman poet
and musician. He Iounded
the LKC in jj6 to nght
human rights abuse by
Russian troops during
the nrst Chechen war,
and has been supporting
Chechen reIugees since.
I help them with a bit oI
everything."
According to Maa the
recent inBux oI asylum
seekers comprises mostly
young people, zo to o
years old, who come to
Cermany in hope oI a better liIe. Many women
with children are part oI this stream oI reIugees,
because they are not protected at home," he says.
Among Maa' current visitors is one such young
Iamily: a woman, husband and child. The Federal
Llectronic System (LASY) in charge oI distribut
ing asylum seekers around Cermany initially sent
the woman and child to Bavaria, which meant
she had to request a permit to travel to see her
husband who had been sent to Berlin. Once her
oday Berlin residence permit expires, she will
have to go back. Maa has helped to postpone
the date oI her return by a week and has written
a letter to authorities to try to relocate her. How
ever, he says, She can't break the rules by staying
more days than she is allowed, because then I
can't help anymore."
Sitting decorously next to her brother, another
woman scolds her niece Ior playing the piano.
She has recently arrived to support her brother,
who has Iour children and whose wiIe died oI
tuberculosis. either oI them speak a word oI
Cerman. In his oBce Maa writes a letter to
the central registration oBce Ior asylum seekers
(ZAA) in \edding to register the woman as an
asylum seeker. He's not optimistic, though - the
lack oI a specinc example oI persecution means
that she'll likely be reIused reIugee protection.
The criteria Ior asylum are strictly connned
to severe human rights abuses or violations oI
personal dignity, perpetrated by the state either
Ior political reasons or as persecution oI an eth
nic, national, social or religious group. In some
cases a disease proven to not be treatable in the
country oI origin or a medical condition that
could deteriorate in case oI deportation might
do, but lawlessness or economic discrimination
are invalid reasons. There is no open war there
like o years ago, so now it is much more diI
ncult to be recognised as an asylum seeker Irom
Chech nya," says Maa. Kadyrov's dictatorship
is six years old and well established, and BAMF
says there's no reason why they should come
now." This means that while Chechens account
Ior Cermany's largest number oI reIugees Irom
a single country, their requests are met with a
conversely low rate oI success.
The doorbell rings and yet another Chechen
Iamily comes in, consisting oI a robust middle
aged man, his young wiIe and a oyearold
daughter, who clings to her mother. The small
woman with chestnutbrown hair Iollows her
husband closely while he smiles jovially, showing
a row oI metal teeth. Apti Bisultanov, a poet and
a Iormer deputy minister in Chechnya during the
Presidency oI Aslan Maskhadov, is a reIugee Irom
the second Chechen war, when he lost ;, percent
oI his sight to Russian chemical weapons. ow
living in Berlin, he's a Iriend oI Maa. Chechnya
today is a concentration camp and Kadyrov is the
boss," he says, adding: Chechens have three op
tions: being silent, nghting or coming to Lurope."
No shelter here
Driven by persecution in their home country and rumours of sanctuary in Germany, Chechen
refugees are ooding into Berlin, making them the number one national group seeking asylum
in the country. Yet barely any will be allowed to stay. By Luigi Serenelli. Photos by Anna Eckold.
Chechens! fate in
Germany is set to be
a disappointing one.
Just 2.4 percent of
asylum requests
from the Russian
Federation were
granted last year.
10-14 chechens 121.indd 10 10/23/13 7:23 PM
11
Iles and his 10-year-old son Islam in a Berlin
refugee shelter. Iles left Chechnya with his wife
and four children (another son was born in
Berlin in September), eeing persecution for
having sheltered a distant acquaintance from
Dagestan, not knowing he was a wanted
Islamist terrorist. The family is set to be
transferred to a new home in Bremen.
11
10-14 chechens 121.indd 11 10/23/13 7:23 PM
13
While Germany is a popular country Ior more
and more reIugees the world over (see graph, page
), Berlin is a Iavourite destination, and a dispro
portionally high number oI nrst requests are made
in the Cerman capital. Twenty percent oI all the
reIugees in Cermany nrst come to Berlin," says
Silvia Kostner oI LACeSo. But we can take only
nve percent!" Because oI Berlin's limited resources
and capacity, the burden is redistributed through
out the country. Out oI the z,,;j asylum seekers
registered in Berlin between ]anuary and August,
jo, have been relocated to other Cerman states.
Only one quarter were allowed to stay. Since
March zo the BAMF has stopped accepting
asylum requests Irom Chechens in Berlin," says
Kostner, and directs them to other Bundesl#nder,
mostly to orthRhine\estphalia."
Some ,z, Russian nationals, mostly Chechens,
were allowed to apply in Berlin between ]anu
ary and August this year (there were ;; in zoz).
It will take anywhere Irom two months to two
years Ior their nles to be processed. The usual
procedure: as new arrivals, they're hosted in one
oI the two reception centres or Erstaufnahmeein
richtungen in Spandau or Lichtenberg, where they
are provided with basic health checks, economic
and social support and three meals a day. AIter
three months, they're housed in one oI , reIugee
homes or Gemeinschafts unterk$nfte where they're
supposed to enjoy more homely conditions Ior
the time their nles are being processed. Some will
get a Bat. II there's no space available, they'll be
sent on to one oI Berlin's o emergency shelters or
Not unter k$nfte (see page zo).
That is, iI they are allowed to stay at all. The
recently reIormed Luropean Lublin III regula
tion insists that reIugees appeal Ior asylum in the
nrst L\ country they arrive in. Most Chechens
here are unaware oI this regulation and ignore
that they're at risk to be deported back to Poland.
According to the organization Pro Asyl, Cermany
asked Poland to take back 8, reIugees last
year. The government in \arsaw accepted zj;
requests. Yet eventually, only o returned across
the border, which means a vast majority manage
to remain in Cermany.
Abdhul* is one oI them. The young Chechen
man arrived in Berlin in ]anuary, and still lives
here although he's received a deportation order
back to Poland, where he nrst nled Ior asylum.
A Iarmer Irom the Achoi Martan region, he took
the CroznyMoscowBrest route. His nrst stop in
Cermany was Lisenhttenstadt on the Cerman
Polish border, where the reIugee and detention
centre has a rather grim reputation. \hen they
close the door, you cannot go out. But the condi
tions are very good and people are nice. There I
could rest and Ieel saIe. \hen I arrived I weighed
;kg and when I leIt the Heim I was 8okg," smiles
the gaunt young man. From there, he went on to
Berlin, but aIter a number oI months his asylum
request was denied. Since then he's been laying
low, sleeping at Iriends' apartments and trying to
avoid the authorities. He has no social benents
and is not allowed to work - yet he's determined
to stay. He's currently learning Cerman. I can't
go back," he says. He sold his land and leIt behind
seven brothers and two sisters, one oI whom
begged him to go beIore she died. He says he's
Asylum applications led in 2012 and 2013, top 5 countries
Asylum applications: processed vs. accepted, Germany 2013*
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
Iraq Afghanistan Russian Federation
(mostly Chechnya)

Syria Serbia
2
3
3
9
a
p
p
l
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
s
:

4
8
1
6
a
p
p
l
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
s
:

3
4
7
7
a
p
p
l
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
s
:

7
3
6
5
a
p
p
l
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
s
:

8
4
0
7
a
p
p
l
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
s
:

6
5
3
0
1
8
9
7
2
1








6
2
0
1









8
4
0
7









48.6%
54.6%
94.9%
0.3%
2.5%
GRANTED
GRANTED
GRANTED
GRANTED
GRANTED
*Until September; does not include second-time applicants or dropped procedures
SOURCE: BAMF (BUNDESAMT FR MIGRATION UND FLCHTLINGE)
Afghanistan Serbia Iraq
Iraq
Syria Russian Federation
(mostly Chechnya)
0
3000
6000
9000
12000
15000
in Germany
2012 2012
2012 2013 2013 2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2012 2012
Syria
2013
2012
2012 2012 2012
2012 2012
Requests according to country of origin
Afghanistan Serbia Russian Federation
(mostly Chechnya)
in Berlin
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
2012
2012 2012
2013
2013
2013
2012 2012 2012
2013
2012 2012 2012
2012 2012
Afghanistan Serbia Iraq
Iraq
Syria Russian Federation
(mostly Chechnya)
0
3000
6000
9000
12000
15000
in Germany
2012 2012
2012 2013 2013 2013
2013
2013
2013
2013
2012 2012
Syria
2013
2012
2012 2012 2012
2012 2012
Requests according to country of origin
Afghanistan Serbia Russian Federation
(mostly Chechnya)
in Berlin
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
2012
2012 2012
2013
2013
2013
2012 2012 2012
2013
2012 2012 2012
2012 2012
10-14 chechens 121.indd 13 10/23/13 7:23 PM
14 NOVEMBER 2013
ARTICLE TAG
scared oI Kadyrov's antiIslamist operations.
People keep disappearing and you don't know
where or how. Last ovember three men oI my
village disappeared while praying in a mosque and
I haven't heard oI them since. People have lost
their trust in each other. Lveryone is scared oI
everything all the time."
Berlin's Xenion Center knows well oI such sto
ries. At this small centre, nve psychologists and a
social worker treat Chechens with posttraumat
ic stress disorder, which can involve Bashbacks,
nightmares or recurring obsessions. A network
oI lawyers reviews the asylum seekers' cases.
\e stabilise the reIugees mentally, trying to
understand the help they need," says Loro
thee Buch, who has been social pedagogue at
Xenion Ior o years. Lvery day during her zo to
ominute sessions with patients, Buch listens
to diBerent stories oI torture and suBering in
Chechnya. Asylum seekers tell me, 'Oh the po
lice Iorced and beat me, but this wasn't torture.'
Sometimes they are beaten in a peculiar way,
with a plastic bottle oI water so the haematoma
won't be visible, or electroshocked, or kept in
cold water Ior Iew days and so on."
The trauma suBered by these individu
als could
spare them
Irom being
deported.
Lawyers
help Xenion
Center cli
ents prepare
Ior their
z,question
interview
with BAMF
oBcials.
\e have a
clear picture
of each case,
including
the symp
toms, and
send all to
the Federal OBce." Appeals to the administra
tive court can delay the total time oI the asylum
process. \hen Cermany decides that it is not
responsible Ior the case, the lawyer can appeal to
the court and write a report saying this person
isn't able to go back to Poland," Buch explains,
but appeals like this are always unsuccessIul."
A Iurther manoeuvre to win time is a petition
to the Bundestag. The parliament can ask the
BAMF to take a case back in Cermany.
In normal circumstances, iI aIter six months
the transIer isn't completed, Cermany becomes
responsible Ior the case. Also, iI asylum seekers
manage to hide undetected in Cermany Ior
8 months aIter being rejected, their request
to the Cerman authorities can be renewed.
Although Abdhul won't say it, he hopes to
pront Irom this last rule. Here in Berlin, he can
grow a beard again. He won't be molested or
convicted Ior being an Islamic terrorist. Many
people were told that Berlin accepts people and
that it is easy to live here. Chechens don't come
here just to get money oB the state. They come
here Ior a saIer liIe."
"Twenty percent of all
the refugees in
Germany rst come to
Berlin... But we can
take only ve percent!"
Zaira, a mother of six,
showing her baby girl to
the other Chechen children
at the refugee home.
Zhairan arrived in Berlin
last August. She gave
birth to her fth child in
September.
FRANCE
SWEDEN
BELGIUM
UK
ITALY

2010 2011 2012 2013

0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
GERMANY
0.8
1.0
1.2
Asylum requests in European countries, top 5
P
r
o
je
c
t
io
n
10-14 chechens 121.indd 14 10/23/13 7:23 PM