Film screening: ” Nowhere Home (De andre)”
Crisis Mirror has the pleasure to invite you to the film screening of Margreth Olins “Nowhere Home (De andre)” – 2012. The screening takes place at Støberiet (Blågårdsplads 5, 2200 KBH N) on Thursday, 23rd October, at 20.00. Admission is free as usual.
In 2009, the Norwegian government introduced several measures to restrict immigration. One of the measures is to grant temporary residence permits to unaccompanied children seeking asylum. At the age of 18, they are to be returned to their country of origin. In Norway, the Child Welfare takes custody of children without close caregivers – but this does not apply to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children between the age of 15 and 18 years.
In this compelling documentary, filmmaker Margreth Olin follows a number of boys from Salhus, a Norwegian centre offering temporary residence to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. We get to know Goli who now lives back in Kurdistan after being deported from Norway the day after he turned 18. We follow Khalid when he receives his final reply from the Immigration Appeal Board on his 18th birthday. We meet brothers Hassan and Hussein from Afghanistan. Traumatised by what they have witnessed in Afghanistan, Hussein is completely dependent on his brother as well as the support they receive from the Norwegian state. While all the boys at Salhus hope for an extension of their asylum status, the threat of deportation when they turn 18—and uncertain futures in Afghanistan, Iraq, or other war-torn countries—hangs over all their heads.
Unaccompanied migrant children are subject to neglect and abuse in many European countries. While numbers are hard to confirm, at least 12,000 unaccompanied migrant children are thought to enter the EU each year. Children come to Europe by taking risky, months-long journeys. Yet when they reach Europe, they do not necessarily find safety. Unaccompanied migrant children are entitled to guardianship, legal aid, and help with basic needs such as shelter and education, yet in many instances they do not receive these services.
