National Drive for Underground Refugees
SR International—Radio Sweden
12/03/2010
This weekend will see a country-wide drive to help Iraqi refugees write new applications for residence permits to prevent them from being deported. The campaign will concentrate on people who come from minority groups in Iraq, many of whom have been living underground since receiving a rebuff on their applications for asylum.
Swedish Police estimates that 9,000 people are hiding in Sweden after receiving deportation orders. About 3,500 of them are from Iraq.
The campaign to help these people reapply for asylum, called Aktion 2010, is being organized by the Church of Sweden.
Lena Blom of the Gothenburg chapter told Swedish Radio News on Friday that the drive means to make the problem more visible.
We hope that politicians, migration courts, and the Migration Board will recognize that this is a situation that has to be handled now and reflect on how things will turn out for these people.
Blom thinks that upwards of one thousand refugees may come out of the woodwork to take advantage of the help the Church is offering.
