• What is the dialogue "How did we find ourselves in the CR? " about?

The dialogue tries to offer an outline of what are the often formidable problems which refugees face when leaving their own country. Refugees who have to leave their own country, for reason of military conflict or another type of pressure, face very complicated situations. Very often it is not at all easy to leave their country, and sometimes it is completely impossible to do so legally. Illegal attempts can be very dangerous, sometimes even life-threatening.

Jami is the only one of our group who knows this experience firsthand. And as can be seen, he is not quick to boast about it. The other kids ask him about it only during an excursion in a relaxed atmosphere, and it is clear that they regard such an experience as being from another planet.

In fact, people really are reluctant to speak of their departure or border crossing, especially when it involves an unpleasant experience and one which is, moreover, illegal. They are aware that the whole thing is out of the ordinary and do not wish to remind themselves of the stress they experienced. In the case of refugees from distant countries, as Jami, an Iraqi, is, the journey may often have involved various forms of transport and was not simply about arriving directly at their destination.

• What is...?

Il/legal migration: A refugee can get to the Czech Republic by either legal or illegal means. It depends from what country a person is escaping, to which country they wish to get, and what documents and financial requirements are needed. The basic impediments to legal travel, i.e. legal entry into the territory of the host country may be, for example, the difficulty or impossibility of acquiring a visa, the absence of travel documents, surveillance by the state bodies of the refugee’s home country, whose interest lies in preventing the emigration of dissatisfied citizens, an ignorance of the conditions applying to travelling abroad, or the impossibility of acquiring such information.

People-trafficking: Wherever it is not possible to attain one’s objective by legal means, illegal practices are always a recourse. The term ‘people-trafficking’ is closely associated with refugees. The UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime defines trafficking in persons as follows: “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force and other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs.” The Czech Republic ratified the Convention in 2002, and people-trafficking is defined in the Criminal Code of the CR. Trading in people, which we could also call modern slavery, is a global phenomenon. It is underpinned above all by unequal international economic relations, poverty, tolerance of breaches of human rights, political instability in the country of origin, insufficient information provided to the general public and children, insufficient knowledge of the law, a shift in the system of values in society, excessive orientation on the principles of market conduct and the myth of an easy, comfortable life in richer countries, a high demand for cheap, purchasable sex and for a cheap workforce in target countries, and frequently various forms of gender or racial discrimination. It is not easy to express precisely the extent of this problem in statistics, and estimates of the number of victims vary considerably. Various international studies state that annually there are 700,000 to 2 million people traded around the world, with 300,000 to 500,000 persons being traded every year within Europe. It is estimated that the global annual income from trading in people is something in the region of EUR 8.5 to 12 billion. According to the most up-to-date study by the International Labour Organisation, there are 12.3 million victims of forced labour around the entire world, of which 2.4 million are also victims of trading in people for this purpose. The annual profits of the perpetrators are estimated at USA 31.6 billion. Profits from trading in people are comparable with income from the sale of drugs or weapons, though the risk of being caught and punished is disproportionately lower (source: Ministry of the Interior of the CR).

Smuggling: In the case of refugees who have only a very restricted possibility of travelling between countries, one form of trading in people is immediately at hand – smuggling. Gangs will organise for a profit the passage of virtually anyone from one country to another, anywhere. The prices are usually high and what’s more, the smugglers usually seize the travel documents of their “clients” or falsify them, do not provide them with sufficient and accurate information, and the conditions under which the journey takes place are often degrading and inhumane.

European Union – Schengen: On the day the Czech Republic entered the EU, customs controls ceased on the borders of the CR and its neighbouring countries, though people crossing the Czech border will not avoid customs controls for several years yet. For the same length of time, it will be possible to cross the border only at official border-crossing points. This relates to the process of incorporating the CR into the Schengen system. In the Schengen Agreement, which was signed in Schengen on 14 June 1985, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Germany and Holland undertook to gradually remove border controls on common borders and to introduce free movement for all persons who were citizens of signatory member states, other member states, or third countries. The Schengen Agreement was signed by the five countries specified on 19 June 1990. The Agreement stipulates a concrete form and safeguards for implementation of the freedom of movement. It is still not possible to say when the CR will attain full membership in Schengen. It seems probable that the removal of border controls will not take place prior to the end of 2006. A final decision will be reached by the Council of the EU on the basis of a strict evaluation, which will be undertaken on the basis, amongst other things, of control visits by teams of experts, with each member country being evaluated separately. Several conditions will have to be met before the appropriate decision is reached, which will guarantee that public safety is not threatened. First and foremost, this will involve ensuring the same effective controls of the new external borders of the EU as is applied to the current external borders.

“Third country”: The designation of a non-member state of the EU.

“Third safe country”: This designates a country which is neither the home state of a refugee nor the country where they are seeking asylum; in terms of the problem of refugees, it is the designation of a country through which the journey of the asylum seeker led and in which they could have applied for asylum earlier than in the target country. The designation “safe” means that basic human rights are observed in this country, and that the country has a democratic system and is able to conduct asylum procedures. At present, there is no official list of safe countries.

Quarantine: Usually a period of three weeks which the law stipulates that a person seeking asylum in the Czech Republic must spend in isolation. Medical tests are carried out for infectious diseases and asylum seekers are subjected to identification operations (e.g. their fingerprints are taken). During this time, they may not leave the reception centre of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic.

Dublin Convention: This convention determining the state responsible for examining applications for asylum lodged in one of the Member States of the European Communities, concluded between member countries of the European Community in 1990, came into force in 1997. It stipulates the criteria under which it is possible to stipulate the country which is responsible for asylum proceedings for every case of asylum, and ensures that applicants for asylum are not referred successively from one Member State to another without any of these States acknowledging itself to be competent to examine the application for asylum.

Holding facilities for foreigners: Facilities of the Ministry of the Interior in which foreigners who arrive in the CR illegally are held. If they do not apply for asylum and their identity is discovered, they are expelled from the CR; those who apply for asylum are transferred to a traditional refugee camp for a certain period of time.

• Topic

As has been stated, refugees arrive in the CR both legally and illegally. After the entry of the CR into the EU, the CR became less accessible, especially in light of the acceptance of the Dublin convention. On the other hand, as a member state of the EU, the CR is a more attractive destination. However, the obstacles are so considerable that thus far the number of newly-arriving asylum seekers has been decreasing in previous years.

The first basic condition which an asylum seeker must usually meet in order to legally enter the CR is the acquisition of a visa (if there exists a visa duty between the CR and the country of origin, which in most cases there does). As to whether a person acquires a visa or not, this is influenced by several factors.

The decisive factor is the genuine reason for leaving their own country, and the method thereof. If this was a thought-out and planned move, and if the person’s life is not at immediate risk or their freedom is not threatened, then they have had the opportunity to prepare themselves sufficiently, for instance, to acquire a visa. However, if they have fled from acute danger or long-term and permanent persecution and pressure, then there are naturally priorities other than obtaining a visa.

Other important factors are the dimensions and infrastructure of the home country, the availability of Czech diplomatic representation, the financial possibilities of the refugee and their access to information regarding the legal and other means of getting to the target country. The situation differs considerably depending on what country the refugee comes from. For instance, people from the republics of the former Soviet Union frequently travel to the CR on a tourist visa and only apply for asylum after it has run out. Those who did not manage to acquire a visa prior to entering the country can apply for one upon arriving in the CR (at the airport or border crossing; the question remains how successful they are in this endeavour). Unfortunately, there are still many people who come to the CR illegally. The decision to attempt the illegal route is almost always reached under pressure of circumstances and the lack of any other option. For instance, refugees from Chechnya have come to the CR because they have no way of applying for a visa at the Czech embassy in Moscow, since they cannot get there. There are refugees from China who arrive without documents, not even knowing where they are. Their documents had been confiscated by smugglers and they were told they were in Germany.

Every story reveals something specific, and what people are prepared to endure for the vision of a better life is sometimes unbelievable. I cannot forget the recurring situation on the Portuguese coast, where every day dozens of refugees set sail from Africa. They arrive completely exhausted on leaky boats, while some cannot swim and drown before reaching land. Most of those who request asylum are refused in any case. Another such shocking example are the lorries in which refugees attempt to get to all countries of the EU in the most cramped conditions, without air, food and water and unable to leave their hiding places; some of them die of suffocation.

• Stories and examples

Story 1
Several years ago, a group of exhausted refugees from Sri Lanka was found in winter in the Šumava mountain range. Some of them were suffering acute frostbite and had to have their fingers or toes amputated. They had undoubtedly found themselves in this situation with the “assistance” of smugglers. After a short while, the men received humanitarian asylum in the CR.

Story 2
Mr X. from Iraq came to the CR by land, illegally, in a lorry via the Ukraine. For several weeks he ate nothing but potatoes and water. He has been waiting for asylum in the CR for almost 4 years.

Story 3
The XY family from Armenia was expelled to the CR from the Federal Republic of Germany, where for 5 years they had sought asylum. Because of the husband’s activities as a journalist, they were convinced that they would receive asylum; both parents worked in Germany, their children went to school, the whole family had taught themselves German. However, the German courts failed to grant them asylum and they had to leave. In the CR, they again attempted to begin anew and to find work, but for 1 year they were unsuccessful. After 2.5 years of waiting in vain, they decided to leave the CR illegally, and their subsequent fate is not known.

Story 4
A young Chinese girl was held in the CR as living here illegally and was placed in holding facilities for foreigners. The men who brought her to the CR said they had found her in Germany. Immediately after being held she applied for asylum. She could not have known what this would entail, but that was what she was apparently advised to do. She said that she had been an orphan since childhood, and had lived alone in a village where she had nobody. A man from the city offered to get her to Europe. He organised everything. She never said for what price. A few weeks after being placed in a refugee camp, she disappeared. Nobody knows where.

Story 5
Chechen families which did not receive asylum in Poland sought protection in the CR. They arrived on foot via the Polish-Czech border. After several months of waiting for a decision on asylum, many of them decided to cross the “green border” into Austria. Some of them received asylum in Austria, and some were returned to the Czech Republic.

• Sources

Internet:
http://www.businessinfo.cz/
http://www.migraceonline.cz/
http://www.mvcr.cz/