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The Taliban have been in control of Kabul again since the summer of 2021.
Fabian Eberhardchief research
Maryam (21) hoped for Switzerland. And was bitterly disappointed. The young Afghan was working for a TV station in Kabul when heavily armed Taliban captured the capital in the summer of 2021.
Maryam resisted. She organized feminist protests against the new rulers and was one of the first women to demonstrate on the streets of Kabul. And she kept working. In an interview, the journalist asked a Taliban leader: “Are the Taliban liars?”
Threats via Whatsapp
Soon the holy warriors were sending threats via Whatsapp. “They wanted to harm me and my family.” Maryam fled to a neighboring country and applied for a humanitarian visa for Switzerland.
The federal government can award such a permit to people who are “immediately, seriously and concretely at risk of life and limb” in their country of origin. The Afghan woman sent evidence of the threats – in vain: the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) refused her a visa.
The danger is not sufficiently documented. And: You have no “current, close connection to Switzerland”. Maryam wonders, “Do I have to come with my head cut off?”
Thousands of victims
Thousands of people in Afghanistan are like the young journalist. Persecuted and desperate, they turn to Switzerland. Since the Taliban took power, the number of applications for humanitarian visas has exploded. In the whole of 2020, Bern registered 41 applications from Afghans, in 2022 alone by the end of November there were already 1,683 (graphic).
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Switzerland’s reaction remained the same: it blocked most of the applications. In 2022, the SEM only approved 98 applications – a fraction. And this despite the fact that the human rights situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate with each passing day. The fact that a close relationship with Switzerland is a prerequisite – for example having a family here – means that the chances of many people seeking help are close to zero.
“The current practice is extremely restrictive,” says Eliane Engeler from the Swiss Refugee Aid. The criteria for a visa are practically impossible to meet. In addition, those affected can only submit their application in person to a Swiss representation. But they don’t exist in Afghanistan anymore. And a legal departure is hardly possible.
Refugee aid calls for the criteria to be expanded
According to Engeler, the consequences are obvious: “Those affected must either endure life-threatening and precarious conditions or take life-threatening escape routes.”
That is why refugee aid is calling for the overly narrow criteria to be expanded. In particular, the so-called Swiss reference must be abolished. Engeler: “A change in practice is urgently needed.”
However, this first requires political will.
Does the SEM decide too strictly?
Because this is missing, the Swiss Red Cross (SRK) already discontinued its advisory service for humanitarian visas at the end of 2021. Because despite thousands of requests that the SRK received after the Taliban took power, hardly any humanitarian visas were granted.
Is the federal government abandoning the Afghans persecuted by the new rulers? SEM spokesman Samuel Wyss: “We decide neither generously nor strictly – instead, the SEM applies the relevant legal provisions.” In fact, the Federal Administrative Court has confirmed Switzerland’s practice.
“I’m tired and frustrated.”Maryam, young Afghan
Wyss points out that on-site assistance is the priority for the federal government. In addition, Switzerland has taken in 392 Afghan refugees since the Taliban took power as part of the resettlement program. However, Germany, France and Italy were much more involved.
Maryam is still in a country neighboring Afghanistan. She doesn’t want to reveal where, because she’s afraid the Taliban will find her. “I’m tired and frustrated,” she says to SonntagsBlick. “Switzerland is letting us down.” Her hope for a better future dwindles a little more every day.