They are surgeons, cooks or unemployed. They came as political activists, members of religious minorities or displaced people. They have been outside Armenia for two years, twenty years or even for their entire life. As different as their biographies and motivations are, the families Cholakhyan, Feroyan, Hakobyan and others share a common ground: They seek asylum in Germany. And they face the problems that this reality brings with it every day.
The case of Levon Cholakhyan is the most recent one. As the Handelsblatt reports, the trained surgeon was a political activist for the Armenian National Congress in Gyumri. German newspapers describe that he was active until 2012, despite the violence in the wake of the 2008 presidential election. As a visible figure, he was taken into custody by Armenian security forces and beaten repeatedly. The surgeon suffered from a Degree III concussion, which according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons can “be deadly or permanently disabling”.
570 Individual Stories
Levon told a local journalist that he never wanted to leave his homeland, but in fear for his life he sought asylum in Germany. His application was denied in October 2012. Since then, Levon and his wife are merely tolerated in Germany. Although they have received a job offer in Germany, they are not allowed to sustain their own living. Since this month, the young family lives in constant fear. The German Agency for Migration and Refugees has ordered the deportation of the political activists back to Armenia.
The story of Levon and his wife is not unique. In 2012 alone, 570 Armenians applied for asylum in Germany. Most of these requests are denied in the first instance. Their lives are radically different from most of the 12000 people that live with an Armenian passport and a regular visa in Germany. Asylum seekers lack a clear legal status and are not allowed to work, move around freely, or take German classes. With deportations looming, local newspapers often take up the story to press politicians for solutions.
A Religious Minority Attacks the Police
The Feroyan family has eight members. They live in central Germany since 2005. When they applied for asylum, they falsified information and said that they fled from Iraq. German authorities clarified this information and denied the request. Nonetheless, the Feroyan family continues their attempts to stay in Germany. According to local newspapers, the family belongs to the ethno-religious Yezidi group. The Armenian census of 2011 lists not more than 35.500 members of this minority. The family argues that they are likely to become victims of religious persecution in Armenia.
In June 2014, the Feroyans were to be forcefully deported from Germany. When the authorities arrived at the family home, the situation escalated. According to police and press reports, the mother attacked the police with Chlorine. Another family member defended his mother with a knife. Subsequently, the deportation was stopped, but is likely to be reopened. The German state television concludes on this case that “current legal norms scarcely gives Armenian refugees prospects for asylum.”
Asylum Rights and Safe Countries
These legal norms are derived from three principles. Firstly, the German constitution provides that “Persons persecuted on political grounds shall have the right of asylum”. Secondly, this is expanded with regards to denial of asylum in a specific act. German law forbids to deport refugees back into a country, “where their lives or freedoms are in danger because of … their political or religious convictions.” This picture would put both Levon Cholakhyan and the Feroyan family under the scope of German asylum rights. But the responsible agency considers Armenia to be a “safe third country”. This is despite Amnesty International’s analysis of 2012 that “Torture and other ill-treatment remained a concern.”
Therefore, Armenians are usually not granted asylum in Germany. The Hakobyan family is a good example for this. Artak Hakobyan, the father of the family, fled to Germany in 2001 as to avoid serving in the Armenian army. His three sons were all born in Germany. They have never been to Armenia and speak fluent German. In February 2014, the Hakobyans were already sitting in a plane to Yerevan, when a local politician avoided the forcible expulsion in the last minute, as a local newspaper writes.
‘Irrespective of the Will of the Person’
The case of Vladimir Sogomonjan was publicized by human rights organizations in 2011, because 20 year old Vladimir had no politician to go the bureaucratic route. He was sent to Armenia, but Armenian authorities did not accept him into the country. The family of Vladimir lived on Azerbaijani territory and was displaced in the wake of the Karabakh war. They never had been in Armenia and did not possess Armenian passports.
Situations like these are dealt with in formal agreements between governments. In March 2013, the European Union signed a so-called readmission agreement with the Republic of Armenia. This agreement obligates Armenia to accept refugees back into the country once Germany expulses them. “Armenia shall, irrespective of the will of the person to be readmitted issue the travel document required for the return of the person.” Not only Levon Cholakhyan and his wife are only waiting for these documents before they have to leave Germany.
Returnees also need to be integrated. German newspapers acknowledge that this is close to impossible for children like the Hakobyan boys that speak barely any Armenian. Authorities nonetheless points towards the RACOB return assistance and reintegration program for Armenia. Returnees can apply to be picked up from the airport and receive help in finding a job. This program will however expire in October.
Going Into Hiding
There are however ways to avoid the return to Armenia. An extreme case is the Baveyan family. In 2011, the entire family of four went into hiding. Their German hometown provided a cover for the well-integrated Armenians. Neither the German police nor politicians could get hold of the asylum seekers. After two weeks, the Baveyans received a guarantee to stay temporarily and they reappeared. But their case is still pending, because Artur Baveyan had stolen a phone in 1999, when he came to Germany. Nowadays, the local community protests so that his children, all born in Germany, can stay in the country.
The stories of Armenian asylum seekers have few things in common. They had different reasons to come to Germany. Some are on their own, other live in large families. They may be in danger when returning to Armenia, but this is not sure for all of them. But at the end of the day, they have to live with the fear of having to return to Armenia.
Benedikt van den Boom, a visiting journalist at the Civilitas Foundation in Yerevan
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SOURCES:
Cholakhyan։ stay-duesseldorf.de, handelsblatt.com
Hakopyan։ ln-online.de, ndr.de
Feroyan։ mdr.de, volksstimme.de
Baveyan։ spiegel.de, drehscheibe.org
Artenjan: welt.de
Sogomonjan: igfm.de
Reintegration Program: bamf.de
Readmission Agreement: consilium.europa.eu
German Figures: bmi.bund.de
German Basic Law: iuscomp.org
Armenian Census: armstat.am
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