The Dublin regulation states that asylum seekers who arrive to Europe need to apply for protection in the first country that they enter. In order for this to be checked on, their fingerprints and photos will be taken and inserted in a database called Eurodec.
Like this every time that someone applies for asylum in a European country, the authorities check that the request has not been processed in another country. As we have seen, it is very difficult for people who are not EU citizens to arrive legally directly to any European country and because of this the states that are on the borders of the EU have a higher number of entries. With a high number of applications to analyse and a non-efficient system, the application process might take a very long time. Because of this and because of a more efficient system and the declaration of wanting to host them, Syrians and people from other countries prefer to try and live in countries in Northern Europe like Sweden.
In order to do that, however, they need to be able to pass through the other countries without having their fingerprints taken. Because Italy does not have the capability to host high numbers, Syrians have been allowed in most cases to avoid this practice. Sometimes however, fingerprints have been taken with the use of force and who arrives to Sweden might decide to wound its fingers or burn them with acid in order to not be identified and sent back.
The people who are sent back to the country where their fingerprints were taken are called “Dubliners”. This can happen months or even years after their arrival to a state in Northern Europe when adults are already attending language classes and children are going to school, being separated from their own families. Once they are sent back to the first country some people try and leave again, other will have to restart the application for humanitarian protection from scratch.
Be the first to post a comment.