The life of refugees in Slovakia is full of fear and danger. They are trying to change
Meena, who studies medicine in Slovakia, was able to visit her family in Afghanistan in July 2021 after a long time. “We were happy, I really enjoyed it,” he says about a meeting with loved ones after a long separation, which was signed by a long distance and a pandemic. A few weeks later, the Taliban invaded Kabul and Meena’s family, like many others, began to worry about their lives. After a dramatic evacuation move, Meena returned to Slovakia, but her family remained in a violent country.
In the case of Meena and 53 other people who managed to get from Kabul to Slovakia this year, the support of the League for Human Rights, which invested a lot of energy in rescuing them, played a big role.
“We focus on human rights, migration, refugees, gender equality and social inclusion. Our work is focused on legal aid, monitoring legislation and policy in this area, setting measures, educating and integrating our clients and clients into society, “says Zuzana Števulová, director of the League for Human Rights, who is already dedicated to helping people who have escaped. from conflict-stricken countries. Even in Slovakia they do not have an easy life. Our country is reluctant to grant asylum, and even after it is granted, it is difficult for foreigners to live a dignified life here. In addition, they often face hatred and attacks.
They cannot do without legal aid
The League for Human Rights provides legal assistance to the applicant in asylum proceedings. “We need the request of every person we help in the asylum procedure to be assessed fairly and legally and to be able to exercise their rights. We often get into proceedings before the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic, the Constitutional Court or the ECtHR, “says Števulová.
In the case of the residential agenda, the League for Human Rights provides primary assistance to mixed families, including foreign LGBTI couples. They try to ensure that they obtain a residence permit and can live together in Slovakia. “Since this year, we have been intensively providing legal assistance to victims of hate crimes from foreigners and people with a Muslim faith. We found out that their life in Slovakia is full of fear and threat and we are trying to change that, “adds Števulová.
Employment and security
When the young couple fled Yemen before the war and the persecution, it was the League for Human Rights that took them. “Slovakia originally granted only subsidiary protection, but we did not give up, we went to appeal proceedings and the result was the granting of asylum for the spouse, on the basis of which she subsequently obtained asylum in order to determine the family. We worked with my wife as part of a project with IKEA Skills for Employment, thanks to which we gained work skills and employment. Thanks to this project and our support, this family in Slovakia managed to get a stable new home, ”describes Zuzana Števulová
The League for Human Rights is also dedicated to enlightenment and education, for example, they have published comics Uletenci with real life stories of refugees in Slovakia, or prepared e-learning on migration and refugees.
How can it be helped
“Our current collection is focused on funding the Safety for Afghans initiative, in which, together with the Mareena civic association, it seeks to help bring Afghans and women with ties to Slovakia to safety. As the Slovak government no longer carries out the required activities aimed at evacuating relatives of Afghans living in Slovakia, we need to help at least people who have or know how to obtain documents for the immigration process, especially for wives and children, “says the director of the League for Human Rights. How to pay is a legally and logistically very demanding and long process that requires a lot of work. The funds obtained from the collection will be used to finance the work of lawyers and lawyers who assist with this process.
Apart from the legal aspect, Zuzana Števulová perceives the human aspect very intensively. “This suffering can never be described in words, and I very much want it to gradually reduce the number of conflicts and dictations that drive people out of their homes. Being a refugee is one of the real life experiences, in which a person often loses everything he has built in life and many times he loses the people he loved, “he adds.
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The League for Human Rights also welcomed the aid in the form of an offer of new work premises in Bratislava for a favorable amount of the new (2 offices and a shared meeting room) and a coffee machine in the form of a gift.
The League for Human Rights is a civic association that has been working on refugees, migration and the integration of foreigners since 2005. In 2021, together with Mareena, they led the Security for Afghans initiative to return people from Afghanistan with ties to Slovakia. The organization’s work has been awarded a repeated award, including the Human Rights Defender Award of the US Embassy in Slovakia, the Orange Foundation Award and the People at Risk award.