A Report from The VOICE Refugee Forum Meeting in Jena, 26/27.02.2008. http://thevoiceforum.org/node/781

Frau Omoroghomwan - Situation in Posseck (Refugee Camp in Sachsen)

Visit in the refugee camp near Posseck (Sachsen), January 2008

Visit at the familiy of Mrs Claudia Omoroghomwan (Nigeria)

Mrs Omoroghomwan has been living in the refugee camp Posseck with her four girls in the age from 6 to 14 since 2006, before they were housed in an refugee accommodation in Reichenbach (Vogtland)

Sophia 25.2. 1994
Sandra 5.3.1995
Sonja (1. Januar 2000)
Dammiana (28. November 2001)

Claudia Omoroghomwan and the two smaller girls came to Germany from Nigeria in 2004, the older girls remained with their grandmother in Nigeria. After her death they also travelled to Germany.

The three older girls are the children of Mrs. Omoroghomwans late brother. Since the parents died at a car accident, their auntie is taking care of them. The youngest girl is Mrs. Omoroghomwan's own daughter.

Living conditions in Reichenbach, the former accommodation

Before the family came to the isolated Camp in Posseck, they were living in Reichenbach.
There they had to share the toilet with men. This led to embarrassing situations for the girls.

The mother's complaint about these circumstances was replied by the authorities with the accusations that the mother didn't take enough care of her children.
But Mrs. Omoroghomwan is of the opinion that the four girls should have the possibility of visiting the toilet on their own - without the feeling of fear and shame. .

The complaint of another woman, a friend of the family, about the cockroaches in the rooms was replied with the reassuring information that cockroaches don't kill.

Due to the incommodities in the accommodation the family spent a lot of time outside with friends. This again led to the accusation that they don't stay regularly in the refugee Heim.

In the meantime the accommodation in Reichenbach has been closed due to hygienic reasons.

Isolation in Posseck

The camp where the family lives now is situated in a forest, isolated from other houses. The next housing estate (only a few houses) is about one kilometer away. The distance to the next village, Posseck, is again some two or three kilometers. There is a bus connection to Oelsnitz und Hof, each about 12 kilometers from the place. Oelsnitz is a town in the same Landkreis, that offers a bit of infrastructure, Hof is a city of about 50 000 inhabitants, but the refugees are not allowed to go there because of the residential restriction law (Residenzpflicht). Hof is in a different district (Landkreis) and even in different state (Bundesland).

The camp is supposedly a former accommodation of border police during the times of GDR. Because of the barrack atmosphere and the isolated situation it has a very depressing affect - even on a visitor. In the night, the area is lit only by a few week lamps. There is no light on the road to the next village that leads through the forest.
Sometimes the area around the house is used for shooting exercises by the military or the police.

Social isolation

The five persons share one room of about 30 square meters. Apart from the four girls there are no other children in the camp except a baby.

Due to the isolation and the lack of any perspectives, many inhabitants don't stay in the place if they have the opportunity - anybody who has got a friend somewhere else will leave the heim in Posseck as often as possible. This fact increases the isolation of the people who are staying.

Mrs Omoroghomwan suffers from the fact that there is nobody to talk to, she is lacking the regular social contact to other women and other families, the daughters are in need of regular contact to other children and teenagers.

Mrs Omoroghomwan says that all people who live in the heim need help. They are not informed about their rights, of how to get a lawyer, of how to get a doctor. In so many times they lost their hope.

Economic exploitation

The showers are in the cellar. Only in the evening from 19.00 o'clock to 22.00 o'clock it is possible to take a shower. Sometimes the housemaster complains, that the children use too much water. Sometimes, when they take their bath, the hot water suddenly stops and they have to bath with cold water.

It is not possible to eat what is wanted. Food must be bought in a shop in the heim, which opens two times a week (Monday and Thursday from 10 - 15 o'clock). The people don't receive money, only vouchers "Gutschein". It is not possible to buy what is really needed, one has to buy what is offered at the moment. The food is very expensive. In that way the poorest people of all are being exploited economically because they are forced to give the little money they have for things they could get much cheaper in other places if they were allowed.

For example in this supermarket lot of money for is charged for products of the cheapest Edeka-trademark (gut und günstig).
750 g Gut und Günstig Honey Wheat (Weizenpops): 3,99 Euro
Multivitaminnektar 89 ct.
Thunfish 90 ct.

For clothes the family receives vouchers of the value of 120 every two month, there is only one shop the can buy clothes which is Kik. As they don't sell shoes, the little pocket money has to be used for shoes.

Difficulties of visiting school

Until February 2008 children don't go to school. Till summer 2007 school visit was refused to them. According to Mrs. Omoroghomwan the wish was denied with the reply that the children were not yet old enough. Only this autumn the possibility of going to school was granted to the three older girls, the smallest is still too young. Sonja, the second youngest, was already 7 years and 9 months at that time.

As the girls don't speak German, the teacher told them to visit first a German class before going to a regular school. The mother doesn't understand why this possibility of learning German wasn't given to them earlier so that now they would have been able to go to a normal school.

But due to the living conditions attending school is practically very difficult for the children.

The social department of the foreigners' office does not pay for the bus ticket.
Apart from that, the school is in Bad Elster, which is difficult to reach by public transport (app. 30 km via Oelsnitz). To be in school at 8 o'clock the girls would have to get a bus at 5.20. Therefore they would have to leave the house at 5 and walk through the forest - notwithstanding darkness and bad weather.

For some weeks now, transport has been organized by AWO. They provide a kind of a taxi for the children to Oelsnitz, so that have to leave the house "only" at 6.10. Compared to the system of public transport this is rather manageable, but is still very difficult, because it means that they have to get up around five o'clock and that they still spend three to four hours a day on their way to school and back - to get to a place that is

Medical supply

The next medical doctors are in Oelsnitz. One way ticket to Oelsnitz costs 3, 20 Euro.
If Mrs. Omoroghomwan has a date at the hospital she has to go to Plauen, approximately 22 km from their place. A day ticket to Plauen costs 7 Euro.

Altogether the family receives 120 Euro "pocket money" a month.

Mrs. Omoroghomwan has to see the doctor regularly, 4-5 times a month, because of her neck problems. I she doesn't have money, she cannot go to a doctor.

When the children are sick, it is the same problem. Even if they are seriously ill, the doctor would only come during the night. When they ask the housemaster to call a doctor during the day, he would point at the daylight and tell them that it is still day and that they could still go to the doctor ourselves - which means to walk 20 minutes through the forests to the bus no matter how ill you are.

Health problems and control

Due to the difficulties of her living conditions Mrs. Omoroghomwan spent some days in the psychiatric hospital in November 2007 because of suicidal tendencies due to depressive disorders. During this time, the children were taken to a children's home.

Claudia Omoroghomwan is also suffering from chronicle pains in the neck. Last autumn, when heavy pains spread from the neck to the rest of the body, she had to call an emergency doctor on Sunday. She was sent to the hospital immediately. She expected to stay there for medical treatment. But the next day the doctor in charge sent her back home telling her she should stay with her children. The treatment of her health problem had not even started at this point.
She assumes that an intervention of the foreigners' office was the background for this decision.
Mrs. Omoroghomwan did not get any confirmation or report about her illness by the hospital.
It is not clear why it was not possible that the children stayed in the Kinderheim while she was ill. (?)

On the other hand, the "Kinderheim" was used as a threat against her some time later (January 2008) after the mother and the four daughters had traveled to a doctor of confidence in Dortmund whom they had to see because of the Asylum case of the youngest daughter Dammiana who fled from Nigeria because of the threat of female circumcision.

On their journey they had problems with a police control, because they had started their trip without permission from the foreigners' office. Though they were going to see their doctor for the asylum case, the permission had been refused because the authority demanded a written invitation.

The information of the violation of the so-called Residenzpflicht was transferred to the local Jugendamt. As a result, employees of the Jugendamt came to their home telling them that they would take away the children from the mother because she had traveled with them to Essen without permission (Urlaubsschein). It was because of the protest of the girls that the children could finally stay with their mother.

The shows how the residential obligation law, a racist special law against asylum seekers that violates their natural right of free movement and personal freedom, is used as means of control even on the most private decisions of a family. This law is turning something which is the most natural thing for a German family - to travel with your own children for whatever reasons - not only into a criminal offence but - in the logic if the authorities also into a lack of responsibility against the children that allows them to question the parents Fähigkeit to take care of their own children. This incident shows that this law doesn't only violate the basic human right of freedom of movement it also restricts the parents' right of educating and taking decisions concerning their own children - as it is obviously not the parents who decide on the whereabouts of the children but the state.

In the meantime, the proposal was made, that Mrs. Omoroghomwan could move to the Kinderheim together with the girls. On the one hand this could stop the family's isolation in the remote camp, but on the other side Mrs. Omoroghomwan sees this also as an attempt of control that would restrict her autonomy in taking decisions on herself and her children.

On the treatment by the authorities in general Mrs Omoroghomwan stated: "Anytime you ask the authorities about something, they make the situation worse."

In summer 2007 she had made an application to leave Germany for another country but there had been no reply.

Perspectives ?

Mrs. Omoroghomwan and the girls want to move to a private house or a flat in a bigger town or city. To overcome their social isolations and the girls need the opportunity of regular school visit. As strong believers, they also wish to participate in the Sunday meetings of the Mormon Church (They have community in Plauen)

Anytime they or the people from AWO ask the foreigners' authorities about a private accommodation they respond that it was not possible as we are still under "duldung" and that it was not sure if we are going to be deported.
So the possibility of the ensuring deportation is preventing them from leading a normal life.

On the other hand there is no reply from the Bundesamt on the decision of the asylum case.

Mrs. Omoroghomwan:

"Whenever we address them (the authorities) about our situation, they are very unfriendly. They are making our situation worse, trying to make us feel that we don't have the right to make our complain.

All of the children are not ok, they all have psychological problems, they don't know how to play with other children, how to talk to other people, because they are scared.

We demand a quick reply from the Bundesamt

We demand from the Ausländerbehörde that we can live in a private house - because the children need contact to other children
- because they need to attend a school in the same town without traveling two hours to get there and two hours to get back
- because nobody can live in permanent isolation
- because I need contact to other woman and other families
- because we are suffering from serious psychological problems in that place - because we need regular access to my doctors'
- because I am scared about the future of our children
- because our life is in danger
- because we need a live
- a live for myself and the children

This text was first presented and discussed in the meeting of The VOICE Refugee Forum on the 26 and 27 February 2008 in Jena with Mrs Claudia Omoroghomwan with Mrs Claudia Omoroghomwan from Posseck.

Frau Omoroghomwan - Situation in Posseck (Refugee Camp in Sachsen) http://thevoiceforum.org/node/781
We call on everybody to join us to close the isolation camps in Germany http://thevoiceforum.org/node/754

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