የፊኒክስ Oromoo ወጣቶች የአባይ ጸሀይዬን ቅጥረኞች ልክ አስገቡ!!!

Sirna kufuuf daddaaqamaa jiru jireessuuf kanneen dhama’an dhumni isaanii salphina

(Ibsa ABO duula diinaan Oromoo irratti baname ilaalchisee)

Gurraandhala 13, 2015 (Oromo Liberation Front) — Mootummaan Wayyaanee ummatoota irraan gama dinagdee, siyaasaa fi hawaasummaan miidhaa ol aanaa dhaqqabsiisaa jiru kufaatiin isaa kan hin hafne tahuu caalaatti wayta mirkanaa’ee jiru kanatti abdii kutannaa irraa shira gara garaa hojjatuun bittaa isaa itti fufsiisuuf yaalii ijibbaataa gaggeessaa jira. Ummatoota bittaan nu gahe! Sirni Cunqursaan nurraa haa ka’u! jechuun bifa gara garaan qabsoo adeemsisan kolaasuu fi kan ummatoota irraa deggersa qabu fakkaatee mul’atuuf wixxifannaan adeemsifamaa jirus lammiiwwan Itophiyaa gara garaa addatti ammo lammiilee Oromoo sirnicha baqatuun biyya alaatti argaman irratti kan xiyyeeffate tahuu sochii diinni gochaa jiru irraa hubatama.

Lukkeelee diinaa bittoota murna bicuuf riqicha tahanii ummata Oromoo saamuu fi saamsisuu, ajjeesuu fi ajjeesisuu, biyyaa baqachiisuu fi hiisisuu keessatti shoora ol aanaa qaban, ergaa diinaa kana qabatanii biyyoota alaa keessa oggaa laban kan arge isaan taajjabuu irra dabree akka namaatti yaaduu isaanii shakka. Ergamtootni osoo ummatni Oromoo bakka bu’ummaan hin filatiin humnaan bakka bu’aa of taasisan kunneen hin galleef malee kanneen har’a maqaa guddinaa fi misoomaan isa hawwatuuf itti bobba’an kanneenuma kaleessa miidhaa isaanii baqa biyyoota adda addaatti baqatani dha. Kanneen Abbaa fi Haadha, Obbolaa fi firoottan, ilmaan, akkasumas hiriyootni isaanii jalaa ajjeefaman, mana hidhaatti guuramani hiraaraa jirani dha.

Wayyaanee dantaa murna bicuuguutuuf jecha ijaaruu irra diiguu, haqa lagatuun kijibaaf dhaabbatu , mirga dimokraasii dhugoomsuu irra bittaa abbaa irrummaa jireessuu, biyya misoomsuu irra deegsuun beekame, mootummaa guddinaa fi misoomaa ti jechuun duulli ergamtoota sirnichaan biyyoota alatti eegalame fudhatama fi deggeraa dhabee bakka dhaqan maratti mormii ol aanaa fi salphina guddaan akka deebi’an taasifameera. Haa tahu malee salphifamaa fi xiqqeeffamaa harca’aa funaannatuu akka aadaa fi kabajaatti fudhatan lukkeeleen diinaa kunneen, garaa itti nyaatan malee sammuun ittiin yaadan waanitti hin uumamneef mormii irra gahaa jiru danda’aa fi obsaa ergaa diinaa baqataa Oromoon akka gahaniif karoora itti kenname itti fufuuf murteeffatanii jiran.

Lukkeeleen diinaa raata’oo kunneen ummatni Oromoos akkuma isaanii akka raata’uuf hojjatan. Akkuma isaanii har’a nyaadhee bullaan ana gaha! jechuun ulfina isaa gurguree akka jiraatu barbaadan. Akkuma isaanii ashkara alagaa tahee biyya isaa irratti alageeffamee jireenya gadadoo fi salphinaa akka jiraatu barbaadu. Waggoota 24 boodallee fedhiin ummataa maal akka tahe hubatuu dadhabu/diduu irraa mirga isaaf falmatuu dhaabee akka harka kennatuuf irratti bobba’uun isaan taajjabsiisa malee ummata ejjannoo isaa hin jijjiirsisu. Kanneen of xiqqeessanii ummata xiqqeessuuf yaalan hin galleef malee ummatni guyyaa irratti of irroomsanii eegalee kan isaan hin deggerre, waliinis hin dhaabbanne tahuu ifatti itti himeera. Mormuun dura dhaabbatee walabummaa fi bilisummaa isaaf falmateera, falmaas jira.

Jilli gara garaa muddama qabsoon ummatootaa gooftolii isaanii irraan gahaa jiru jalaa baraaruuf dhiheenya kana dirqama Wayyaanee fudhatuun Awrooppaa, Ameerikaa, Kanadaa fi Austraaliaatti bobba’uun Oromoota biyyoota kanneen keessa qubatan gowwoomsuuf yaalanii taasisaniin salphifamaa akka turan midiyaaleen gabaasaa turan. Jilootni bakka gahan hundatti salphifamaa turan kanneen kan dhagahu hin argatiin malee, lafti mana irratti ijaarratan magaala Finfinneetii isiniif kennama, qabeenya qabdan investment/misooma irra akka oolchitaniif deggersi addaa fi barbaachisu isiniif kennama jechuun waadaa kijibaa tarrisuun hawwataa akka turanis gabaafamaa ture. Biyyi misoomaa fi guddataa akka jirtu, wal qixxummaan ummatootaa mirkaneeffamuu fi mirgi dimokraasii dagaaguu qaanii malee haa dubbatan malee haalli empaayera Itoophiyaa fi kan ummataa addaan fagoo tahuun hubannaa ummataan ala hin turre.

Mootummaa abbaa irreef aangoo isaa turfatuun alatti kan itti mul’atu waan hin jirreef hanga kufutti tikfatuuf dhidhiitatuu hin dhaabu. Waan taheef Wayyaaneen salphina ergamtoota isaa Awrooppaa fi Ameerikaa itti bobbaafate irra gahe irraa barachuu hanqatee baqattoota Oromoo Afriikaa biyyoota gara garaa keessatti argaman irratti karoora bal’aa baasuun akka sossobanii biyyatti deebisaniif, dadhabame ammoo mootummoota of gargaarsisuun biyyatti deebisuu irratti akka hojjataniif ergamtoota isaa bobbaasee jira.

Baqattoota Oromoo, Sudaan Kaabaa fi Kibbaa, Kenyaa, Ugaandaa, Jibuutii fi biyyoota birootti argaman kanneeniinis waadaa kijibaa:

1. Lafa mana irratti ijaarratan magaala Finfinneetii argattu;
2. Manni koondominemii isiniif kennama;
3. “Garee business “ jedhuun embaasii jalattii yo ijaaramtan embaasiin deeggarsa addaa isiniif godha kan jedhanutu argamu.

Haqni bobbaa diinaa kanaan duuba jiru garuu, waldaalee maqaa baqattoota Oromoon ijaaraman diiguun waldaa Itophiyaa jala galchuu, suuraa fi vidiyoolee baqattootaa midiyaa isaanii irratti agarsiifatuun hamilee ummataa biyya keessaa qabsoo irratti finiinsaa jiru cabsuu, baqataa gowwoomsuun biyyatti akka deebi’u taasisuun kanneen hafan galuu danda’u, rakkoon homaatuu irra hin gahu, jechuun golgaa UNHCR irraa argatan akka dhaban taasisuu, Sochii baqattoota Oromoo hordoffii fi to’annoo embaasii Itoophiyaa jala galchuu; hidhaa fi ajjeechaa isaanii jalaa kanneen baafatan biyyatti deebisuun mana hidhaatti darbuu kan akeekkate dha.

Sirni heeraa fi seera ofiif tume cabsuun lammiilee seeraa fi murtiin alatti ajjeesu, badiin alatti raga kijibaan hidhaa waggaa dheeraa itti murteessee manneen hidhaa keessatti dararuu fi humna tikaa fi poolisaa amanamoo isaa tahaniin tumsiisaa jiru, misoomaa fi Sirni heeraa fi seera ofiif tume cabsuun lammiilee seeraa fi murtiin alatti ajjeesu, badiin alatti raga kijibaan hidhaa waggaa dheeraa itti murteessee manneen hidhaa keessatti dararuu fi humna tikaa fi poolisaa amanamoo isaa tahaniin tumsiisaa jiru, misoomaa fi guddina, mirga dimokraasii fi namoomaa ilaalchisee ololli adeemsisu kan madaala kaasu miti. Qabiinsi mirga namoomaa fi mirgi dimokraasii biyyattii maal akka fakkaatu ummatoota biyyattii irra dabree kan alagaan iyyuu kijiba tahuu hubatee dura dhaabbataa jiru tahee jira.

Ummatni Oromoo biyya keessaas haa tahu biyya alaa kijiba Wayyaaneen kan hin dagamne tahuu ifatti agarsiisaa jira. Addatti ammo lammiileen Oromoo biyyoota alaa adda addaa keessa jiran ergama diinaa fashalsuun qoodni gumaachan kan Oromoo hunda boonse, ergamtoota diina rifaasise dha. Bobbaa’an jiilota Wayyaaneen baqattoota Oromoo Afriikaa jiran irratti xiyyeeffates akkasuma akka fashalu shakkiin hin jiru. Haa tahu malee haalli biyyoota Afriikaa, akka biyyoota Awroppaa fi Ameerikaa aanjaa kan hin qabne taahuun beekamaa dha. Waan taheef , hawaasni Oromoo biyyoota adda addaa keessatti argamtan obboleeyyaan keenya diinni itti xiyyeeffatuun shira irratti raawwatuuf abuurratee jiru hordofuun miidhaa diinaa akka qolatuu danda’aniif tokkummaan akka cinaa dhaabbattan ABOn yaadachiisa. Midiyaaleen Oromoo fi kanneen haqaaf dhaabbatan kan biros gochaa diinummaa fi farra namoomaa baqattoota Oromoo irratti xiyyeeffate kana saaxiluun garee haqaaf dhaabbatan tahuu akka mirkaneessitan ABOn waamicha isaa isiniif dabarsa. Akkasumas jarmiyaaleen kabajaa mirga namaaf dhaabattan duula mirga baqattoota Oromoo ukkaamsu Wayyaaneen itti jiru akka hin milkoofne taasisuuf tumsa barbaachisu akka gootan waamicha isaa dabarsa.

Shirri diinaan Qabsoo bilisummaa Oromoo irratti raawwatamu qabsoo caalaatti finiinsa malee hin laaffisu. Kanaaf lammiileen Oromoo biyya keessaaf alaa bittaa Wayyaanee gateettii ummataa irraa buusuuf qabsoo bilisummaa caalaatti finiinsuun gaaffii yeroo tahuu hubannee tokkummaan haa kaanu.

Injifannoo Ummata Oromoof!
Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo

ETHIOPIA: Flagrant Human Rights Abuse against Oromo Nationals Continues

HRLHA Urgent Action

Feb 01, 2015

For immediate Release

It is cruel, brutal and inhumane to hang any person for any wrongdoing particularly in Ethiopia, a country that claims democracy is its core principle of governance. The execution of Ketama Wubetu and his friend by Ethiopian solders- by hanging on a fence- on December 09, 2014 in Salale zone of Dera District in the regional State of Oromia was barbaric.  If the hanged men were members of an opposition group fighting against the government, once they were captured they should have been brought to justice.

Sadly enough, the government soldiers shamelessly displayed the bodies of these two Oromo nationals to the public- including children. This kind of inhuman and fascistic action will not solve the political crisis in the country. Rather, it will complicate and escalate it to another level. The fascistic action committed against the two Oromo nationals by the government army clearly shows that justice in the country is dysfunctional and symbolic.

By doing this the Ethiopian Government has blatantly violated international humanitarian law and international human rights law principles including international human rights standards.

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa highly condemns the federal armed force, as well the Oromia regional state militia, for their fascistic acts against these two individuals and calls upon the Ethiopian government to bring the killers to justice. The Government of Ethiopia should also explain the situation to the world community particularly to the UN Human Rights Council that it is a member of.

The HRLHA calls upon regional and international donors, UN member states and Organizations to take measurable steps against the Ethiopian TPLF/EPRDF government for its persistent brutal, dictatorial, and suppressive actions against civilians. It also urges all national, regional and international diplomats, donor countries and organizations and human rights groups to join hands in putting pressure on the Ethiopian government so that it invites immediately neutral body to investigate the human rights situation in the country.

BACKGROUNDS:

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) has reported (May 1st and 13th, 2014, urgent actions, www.humanrightleague.org) on the heavy-handed crackdown of the Ethiopian Federal Government’s Agazi Special Squad and the resultant extra-judicial killings of 34 (thirty-four) Oromo nationals, and the arrests and detentions of hundreds of others. Amnesty International in its most recent report on Ethiopia – “Because I am Oromo – Sweeping repression in the Oromia region of Ethiopia” – has exposed how Oromo nationals have been regularly subjected to arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention without charge, enforced disappearance, repeated torture and unlawful state killings as part of the government’s incessant attempts to crush dissent.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to the Ethiopian Government and its concerned officials as swiftly as possible, in English, Amharic, or your own language expressing:

• explanation for its brutal and fascistic action against citizens and invite immediately nutria body for investigation
• the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that the killers are brought to justice immediately

Send Your Concerns to:

• His Excellency: Mr. Haila Mariam Dessalegn – Prime Minister of Ethiopia

P.O.Box – 1031 Addis Ababa
Telephone – +251 155 20 44; +251 111 32 41
Fax – +251 155 20 30 , +251 15520

• Office ofOromiya National Regional State President Office

Telephone –   0115510455

• Office of the Ministry of Justice of Ethiopia

PO Box 1370, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Fax: +251 11 5517775; +251 11 5520874 Email: ministry-justice@telecom.net.et

Copied To:

• Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

United Nations Office at Geneva 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters) E-mail: tb-petitions@ohchr

• Human Rights Treaties Division (HRTD)
  Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
  Palais Wilson – 52, rue des Pâquis
  CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland)
  : +41 22 917 97 06
  Fax: +41 22 917 90 08
  E-mail: cat@ohchr.org

• Secretariat contact details

Secretariat of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson – 52, rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland)

Mailing address
UNOG-OHCHR
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland

Tel:  +41 22 917 97 44
Fax: +41 22 917 90 22

E-mail: opcat@ohchr.org
Internet: http://www.ohchr.org

• Committee on Enforced Disappearance (CED)
  Human Rights Treaties Division (HRTD)
  Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
  Palais Wilson – 52, rue des Pâquis
  CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland)

Mailing address
UNOG-OHCHR
CH-1211 Geneva 10 (Switzerland)

Tel.: +41 22 917 92 56
Fax: +41 22 917 90 08
E-mail: ced@ohchr.org

• Office of the UNHCR

Telephone: 41 22 739 8111
Fax: 41 22 739 7377
Po Box: 2500
Geneva, Switzerland

• African Commission on Human and Peoples‘ Rights (ACHPR)

48 Kairaba Avenue, P.O.Box 673, Banjul, The Gambia.
Tel: (220) 4392 962 , 4372070, 4377721 – 23 Fax: (220) 4390 764
E-mail: achpr@achpr.org
Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights

• Council of Europe

F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, FRANCE
+ 33 (0)3 88 41 34 21
+ 33 (0)3 90 21 50 53

• U.S. Department of State

Laura Hruby
Ethiopia Desk Officer
U.S. State Department
HrubyLP@state.gov
Tel: (202) 647-6473

• Amnesty International – London

Claire Beston
Claire Beston” <Claire.Beston@amnesty.org>,

• Human Rights Watch

Felix Hor
“Felix Horne” <hornef@hrw.org>

BBC Is journalism a crime in Ethiopia Journalists in exile and governmen...

TVOMT Ayyaana Guyyaa WBO Magaalaa Riyaad Saudi Arabia Daawwadhaa

you who demonstrated to show your protest
opposing the oromo forced displacement
what a shocking news?chocking news
oh generation is killed with live ammunition
youth;< qeerro'/is oromo offspring
which will grow in time
the nation cannot have a grace
Th nation cannot have a grace
there will be no growth or development
but the government is playing with youth's blood
they saw they our unity was not strengthened
we were disrespected by the  minor group
The master plan was just a strategy
of cleansing the oromo
Not meant to support oromo
The dangerous target towers the farmer
The extension of the past suppression
The youth opposing day and night
We will never allow Oromia to fall apart
History will always remember Qeerro all that time.

We feel so grief and sorrow
We wipe full of tears
But what the use
If you could not stop injustice now
If we couldn't fight persecution
If we never stand for justice


Alas! oh my prides
My future and my roots
Oh "Qeerroo" support Oromia
Deep sorrow for the fallen martyrs
For those who Tamped with bullets

Never cry for me Mamma
Don't stop me Papa, i set my step to For humanity
We know it hurts than anything
To die for the mere who you are

Rather let me along the justice
Lead the vision which my colleagues died for
We stand up together
Lets stand for the vision,
Resume the vision the have fallen for!!

France: Migrants, Asylum Seekers Abused and Destitute

January 20, 2015, Paris (HRW) – Asylum seekers and migrants living in destitution in the port city of Calais experience harassment and abuse at the hands of French police, Human Rights Watch said today. The abuses described to Human Rights Watch include beatings and attacks with pepper spray as the migrants and asylum seekers walked in the street or hid in trucks in the hope of traveling to the United Kingdom.

Several thousand asylum seekers and migrants, most from Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, are living in makeshift camps or in the streets in Calais. Some said that their treatment by police, a lack of housing for asylum seekers, and delays in the French asylum system had deterred them from seeking asylum inFrance.
“Asylum seekers and migrants shouldn’t have to face police violence in France, and no one who applies for asylum should be left to live in the street,” said Izza Leghtas, Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Providing adequate reception conditions and humane treatment for asylum seekers isn’t only a matter of meeting legal obligations, it is also the right thing to do to help end the limbo for many asylum seekers in Calais.”

In November and December 2014, Human Rights Watch spoke with 44 asylum seekers and migrants in Calais, including 3 children. Most interviews were conducted in groups. The migrants and asylum seekers described what appear to be routine abuses by police officers when they tried to hide in trucks or as they walked in the town.

Nineteen, including two of the children, said police had abused them at least once, including beatings. Eight had visible broken limbs or other injuries, which they alleged were caused by police in Calais and surrounding areas. Twenty one, including two children, said police had sprayed them with pepper spray.

In November, the outgoing local police chief, speaking to reporters, denied allegations of abuse. In a meeting with Human Rights Watch on December 16, officials in the interior minister’s office said they were unaware of reports of police violence against migrants and asylum seekers in Calais but would investigate if allegations were based on “precise facts.” On January 14, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais department denied any unjustified use of force by police against migrants in Calais.

France faces a crisis of inadequate accommodation for asylum seekers. Currently only a third of those who seek asylum across France are provided with accommodation in reception centers for asylum seekers. As of December 2013, 15,000 asylum seekers were on a waiting list for a place in a reception center and fewer than a third of asylum seekers entitled to accommodation were housed in such centers. The average waiting period was 12 months. A bill before parliament aims to speed up asylum procedures and increase available accommodation in reception centers for asylum seekers across the country.

While there have been asylum seekers and migrants in Calais for over a decade, due to its proximity to the UK by rail and sea, the numbers have sharply risen since the spring of 2014. On January 14, Denis Robin, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais department, told Human Rights Watch there were about 2,300 asylum seekers and migrants in the Calais area. As of mid-December, local nongovernmental organizations estimated that 200 women and young children were living in camps and that 50 women and young children were in a center run by a local organization.

Most migrants and asylum seekers in Calais have no shelter from the cold and the rain, no access to sanitation, and very limited access to running water. Many depend on food provided by local organizations and volunteers.

The response of the French government to the poor living conditions in Calais has been inadequate and slow, though. The interior minister announced in November that a day center would be made available to provide showers, meals, and legal assistance for 1,500 asylum seekers and migrants by January. But as of January 15, only limited facilities were available on the site until April. Overnight accommodation will not be available until March and will be limited to 100 women and young children.

The government is funding an organization to run a warehouse in Calais in which migrants can sleep for the night, which must open when the temperature is minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) or less. The authorities have discretion to keep the shelter open even when the temperature is above minus 5 degrees Celsius. The warehouse opened on December 26 and closed on January 2, and reopened on January 14 because of high winds in the region. On January 5, the organization that runs the warehouse informed Human Rights Watch that it had a maximum capacity of 500 places, one third of the 1,500 places promised by the government. Denis Robin told Human Rights Watch that if necessary the capacity could be increased to the 1,500 places promised by the government, but renovation works would be necessary. A similar facility was available in previous years, but with a capacity limited to 120 places.

French government officials informed Human Rights Watch in December and January that steps had been taken to register and process asylum claims promptly. They said that asylum applications had significantly increased in 2014, that 422 places in reception centers had been offered to asylum applicants from Calais, and that 500 additional places had been made available in reception centers outside Calais to accommodate those who claim asylum in Calais, although it is unclear how those places will be allocated and when they will all become available.

While these steps are an improvement, the situation remains dire for many migrants and asylum seekers and the new facilities are very basic. The French government needs to intensify its efforts to ensure that all asylum seekers—including those covered by the Dublin Regulation—are provided with accommodation without delay as EU law requires, Human Rights Watch said. The government should consider making the emergency shelter available independently of the temperature, and ensure there are sufficient places for all undocumented migrants who are sleeping in the open.

The French government should also immediately investigate reports of police abuse against asylum seekers and migrants in Calais and hold anyone found responsible for abuse to account. The government should issue clear guidance to police officers clarifying the prohibition of unjustified and disproportionate use of force, including pepper spray.

“The French government should put a stop to any police abuse and honor its commitment to promptly provide housing to asylum seekers,” Leghtas said. “A lasting solution to the crisis in Calais is long overdue.”

Migrants and Asylum Seekers in Calais
Asylum seekers and migrants have been living in makeshift camps and on the street in the Calais area since the French government closed a center run by the Red Cross in Sangatte, near Calais, in 2002. The center had a capacity of 700 people, but accommodated up to 2,000 and was labeled by the French and UK governments as a pull factor for undocumented migrants seeking to enter the UK.

Hundreds were evicted by the authorities in September 2009. The number of asylum seekers and migrants then decreased to about 200, but in the summer of 2014, numbers increased again, with people fleeing from conflict and repression in Sudan, Syria, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. Hundreds were evicted from makeshift camps in Calais in May and July 2014, in most cases without any adequate alternative accommodation being provided.

Most asylum seekers and migrants Human Rights Watch interviewed said they had arrived in Europe through Italy, but that they did not stay there due to poor reception conditions.

The EU’s Dublin Regulation allows EU countries to send asylum seekers back to the first EU country they entered, where they are identified by their fingerprints in an EU-wide database. Many asylum seekers in Calais told Human Rights Watch they avoided providing their fingerprints in Italy or France.

An asylum seeker’s preference for seeking protection in one country over another has no bearing on the validity of their asylum claim.

Reports of Police Abuse
Rosa, 25, who said she was from Eritrea, told Human Rights Watch that on November 14, police officers beat her up when they found her in a truck on the highway. As with others interviewed, she is identified only by her first name, for her protection. The first names of some interviewees were changed at their request.

“The police checked the truck and found me,” she said. “I said, ‘Please help me,’ but they beat me and I collapsed outside the truck. They kicked me on the ground.” Rosa said she lost consciousness and woke up in the hospital’s emergency room. When Human Rights Watch interviewed her on November 25 in a Calais hospital where she had had an operation on her right leg, she said she expected to spend six more weeks in the hospital. Human Rights Watch was unable to verify the cause of her injury.

Salamou, 28, from Eritrea, said that three police officers beat him near a gas station on the evening of November 25.

“I was walking, normal,” he said. “Four policemen got out of their van and beat me with their boots and with a baton. After they beat me a policeman put a torch on me and laughed at me. ‘Just help me,’ I said, but he laughed. They kicked me on the ground, just like a dog.” When Human Rights Watch interviewed Salamou, the day after he said he was beaten by police, he had visible injuries on his nose.

“There are good police and bad police,” said Ahmed Ibrahim, a 17-year-old asylum seeker from Sudan living in a makeshift camp in Calais. He told Human Rights Watch that two policemen had kicked him as he emerged from an empty car, where he and three men were sitting for shelter from the rain. “I wanted to claim asylum here but with this violence, I’d rather they send me back to Sudan. I won’t stay in France. They [the police] hit you, people throw eggs at you. I got a bad image of France.”

Mohammad, 32, from Sudan, said he was walking in the street at midday on November 2 when a police officer beat him on the back with a baton. “I ran and I fell into a hole,” he said. “The police called an ambulance. I spent 20 days in the hospital, my arm was broken in three places.” He had a cast on his arm at the time of the interview.

On December 3, “Aziz,” a 29-year-old from Afghanistan, said police officers had beaten him three days earlier.

“I was in the street using Wi-Fi on my phone at about 11 p.m.,” he said. “When they [police officers] came, I started to run, they pushed me down to the ground… One policeman pushed me, I was down on the ground, they sprayed me [with pepper spray] and when I looked back they beat me. There was blood from my face, under my eye and nose and knee. I didn’t see anything because they first sprayed me then they beat me on my legs, all over my body.” A Human Rights Watch researcher saw traces of injuries on Aziz’s face, and holes in his pants’ knees, which he said were from being pushed and beaten on the ground.

Aziz said police officers had also beaten him 20 days earlier when they found him hiding in a truck on the highway. “They beat me with their hands, punched me on my face, my nose was bleeding. [They beat me] with a stick on my body, then they took me out from the lorry and said ‘Go! Go to the jungle!’” The jungle is a reference to the largest of the makeshift camps where the asylum seekers take shelter.

On November 26, Kader, a 24-year-old from Ethiopia, told Human Rights Watch in the emergency waiting room at a Calais hospital: “I was on the road, on my bike, yesterday at 5 p.m. A white police van with a blue line [which corresponds to the description of a van belonging to the French riot police] stopped. Five policemen got out, one of them pushed me on the shoulder and I fell on my right arm. He kicked me, then sprayed my face.” When a Human Rights Watch researcher met Kader a week later, his arm was in a resin cast and in a sling, fashioned from a scarf.

The French authorities claim that pepper spray is only used to deter large groups from climbing onto trucks. But migrants said it was used in other situations as well. Mohammad, 26, from Sudan, said: “They [the police] spray you like you’re an insect. It’s happened to all of us in the street.”

Souhail, 20, from Iran, said: “Three times police sprayed me when I was in the truck. I was alone. The three times were about a month ago. Police officers opened the door and before saying anything they sprayed my face, I couldn’t see anything and twice they punched me with their boots and hands.”

Lina, 25, from Eritrea, said she had fallen off the steep edge of the highway near the largest camp in Calais when police officers sprayed her face as she tried to get into a truck with a group. “We wanted to go in [the truck], the police came, they said ‘Go! Go!’ and sprayed in my eyes, I fell down,” she said.

In a media interview on November 30, Thierry Alonso, the outgoing director of public safety for the Pas-de-Calais department and chief of police in the Calais area, denied any abuse by law enforcement officials against migrants. He claimed that “whatever the accusations against the police and gendarmes” working under his authority, “everything that can be said is unfounded. There have been no injured and there has been no violence against the migrants.”

In a meeting with Human Rights Watch on December 16, the interior minister’s adviser on policing said that “No police violence is tolerated” and that, while he was not aware of reports of police abuse against migrants and asylum seekers in Calais, any allegations based on precise facts would be investigated.

On January 14, Denis Robin, the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais department, told Human Rights Watch that while there were injured migrants in Calais, their injuries were sustained during attempts to cross over to the UK or inflicted by other migrants. He denied that any were due to excessive and unjustified use of force by police.

Excessive and unjustified use of force by police is prohibited under French criminal law, and a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), both of which France is a party to. Under the United Nations (UN) Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, may use force “only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result.” If the lawful use of force is unavoidable, law enforcement officials must exercise restraint and not use any more force than is proportionate to achieve a legitimate objective such as protecting personal safety.

Inadequate Living Conditions

Lack of Shelter, Water, and Sanitation
In November and December, Human Rights Watch visited four makeshift camps in Calais and a group of asylum seekers living in the street. Hundreds of people, including women and very young children, were sleeping in tents, on mattresses outside, with little or no shelter from the cold. During Human Rights Watch’s visit, temperatures were as low as 1 degree Celsius [34 degree Fahrenheit] during the day.

None of the camps have sanitation and access to water is limited. People collect water from the nearest water source. One camp has a water source, but people in the other places had to walk between 300 meters and 2 kilometers to find water.

Local groups estimate that 800 to 900 people live in the largest camp, consisting of two sites near each other referred to locally as “the jungle.” One is on the site of a chemical plant and includes an indoor sports hall where more than 100 people sleep in tents or on the floor. The other site is in a wood nearby. Local groups estimate that 200 women and children, including small children, live in those two camps.

Until a day center partially opened on January 15, local charities provided one daily meal to around 700 asylum seekers and migrants in the city center. For many, it is their only meal of the day and they have to walk there and then wait in line in the cold to receive the food. The new center is 9 kilometers (5.5 miles) away from one of the large makeshift camps in Calais. The mayor of Calais has banned the distribution of meals in places other than the new center, though one of the charities said they would provide meals to people living in that camp twice per week.

The most common concerns cited by people living in the camps were the cold and the lack of access to sanitation. The humanitarian organization Médecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) provides showers once a week in two camps and to women and children living in the largest camp, with a capacity of 20 to 25 showers per visit.

Zeinab, a 23-year-old woman from Ethiopia living with her husband in the largest camp, told Human Rights Watch that she washes outside with a plastic sheet around her. “More than food, not having a bathroom is a bigger problem,” she said.

Isabelle Bruand, coordinator for Médecins du Monde in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, described the living conditions for asylum seekers and migrants in Calais as “unacceptable and catastrophic.” Bruand listed skin problems such as scabies, stomach aches and headaches due to insufficient food, breathing problems due to humidity, back problems and toothaches as direct or indirect consequences of these living conditions.

Unwillingness to Apply for Asylum in France
The majority of those Human Rights Watch interviewed said they wanted to apply for asylum, but many said they did not do so in France because of a lack of accommodation for asylum seekers, as well as police abuse and hostility from some sections of the local population. Some also mentioned the length of the asylum procedure as a deterrent.

The ordinary asylum application procedure in France takes over two years. The bill before parliament aims to reduce this period to nine months.

Abdallah, 21, from Sudan, told Human Rights Watch on December 3 that he had been living in the largest makeshift camp in Calais for four months.

“I have friends who gave their fingerprints four months ago and they’re living with us in the ‘jungle.’ So I’d rather try and go to the UK,” he said. “Life is very, very hard. There are problems with everything: the bathroom, one meal a day is provided by [the local charity] Salam, sometimes we get help from people here and we’re thankful but it’s not what we expected.”

“People who gave their fingerprints [in France] are staying here with us,” said Nasr-Eddin, a 30 year-old from Sudan living in a camp in Calais. “I would apply for asylum but the problem is accommodation, the cold, food.”

“Ashraf,” a 25 year old asylum seeker from Sudan also living in a camp, said: “We don’t have a place to wash, to pray. France is good but it [the asylum process] takes time. Where do you sleep, eat? I would apply for asylum in France but there’s no place to stay.”

Mohammad Moussa, a 27-year-old asylum seeker from Sudan living in a camp in Calais, said: “People know life in the UK is hard and expensive. France is much better. But here you’re under the rain, in the cold, you get sick. In the UK, I’ll get accommodation and the asylum process will be quicker.”

Salamou, the Eritrean man beaten by police, said he had planned to apply for asylum in France, but that after he was beaten by police he changed his mind and was trying to go to the UK.

Inadequate Response from the French Government
In November, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve made an announcement about the opening of a day center—where meals will be provided outside—for 1,500 asylum seekers and migrants in Calais, saying it would open in January. But only limited facilities—food, water, toilets, and mobile phone charging—were available on the site as of January 15. The complete site with 60 showers and access to legal assistance will not open until April. The site will include separate shelters, with 20 showers, to accommodate 100 women and young children full time, although this facility will not open until March 20. According to the Prefect and to an advisor at the Ministry of Housing this facility could potentially be expanded to accommodate more vulnerable persons if needed. Men will continue to be without shelter during the night.

Under article 13 of the European Union directive of January 27, 2003, laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers (the reception directive), EU member states must provide “material reception conditions to ensure a standard of living adequate for the health of applicants and capable of ensuring their subsistence.”

Under French law, asylum seekers are entitled to accommodation in a state reception center (centre d’accueil pour les demandeurs d’asile, CADA), where they also receive social and administrative support while their asylum claim is processed.

Parliament in November approved 500 more places in reception centers in various parts of France to accommodate asylum seekers from Calais.

On December 3, the prefect—government representative—in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region announced that a warehouse would be made available for up to 1,500 migrants in Calais on nights when the temperature is minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) or less. The warehouse opened on December 26 but it was closed on January 2 when the temperature rose. It reopened on January 14 because of high winds in the Calais region. The organization which runs the warehouse told Human Rights Watch on January 5 that it has a maximum capacity of 500 places.

The French government should comply with its obligations under the EU reception directive and immediately provide accommodation to all asylum applicants while their claims are processed, including those who indicate an intention to seek asylum. The government should also work with humanitarian and nongovernmental groups to help arrange emergency accommodation for any undocumented migrant without shelter in Calais, particularly during the winter months.

Source: Human Rights Watch