(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
JENIN, PALESTINA: The walls of Mithel Ghaneem's house and the West Bank family are shaking, and the windows are shaking. The drone from the fighter plane thundering over the roof is deafening. After a minute, the sound of the Israeli F16 aircraft dies, and Mithel Ghaneem says in a low voice:
"When we came to Norway in 2008, we had never imagined in our wildest fantasies that such a thing would happen. We were treated like animals, ”says the woman sitting on a blanket, looking down at the floor as she talks. "I wonder: Why did they arrest me and send me out when I had a medical certificate that clearly stated that I was pregnant, needed treatment and should not be sent?"
Got rejected. Mithel now lives in Jenin in Palestine with her husband Qais and their two little daughters Awnia and Logain, both of whom were born in Norway. Almost daily, they hear drones of fighter jets, shooting or tear gas operations in the neighborhood. The contrast is great for the life they lived before.
In 2008, Mithel, Qais and his blind sister Asmaa applied for asylum in Norway. They lived in Sandnes and lived a quiet and peaceful life in Rogaland while waiting for the asylum application to be processed. While waiting, Mithel and Qais managed to get two girls: Awnia came to the world in 2009, and Logain was born in 2011. Then came the answer to the application: They were not allowed to stay and were to be deported. This accepted the couple, but since Mithel was pregnant and ill, they wanted to make sure that it was done in a way that did not endanger life and health.
Ghaneem family (short version) from ModernTimes. online on Vimeo.
"I sent this letter to the Norwegian authorities," Qais says, holding up a three-page document. In the letter, dated 25. March 2012, Qais and Mithel write that they agree to be sent out of Norway, but that it must happen after Mithel Ghaneem's birth. They further explain that Mithel is ill and that they fear losing the baby if the deployment occurs while she is still pregnant.
"The danger of the unborn baby dying was not something we invented – it came from our doctor," Qais adds. He presents a new document: a medical certificate dated 8. March 2012 stating that Mithel is pregnant, sick and in need of further medical treatment and follow-up. It states, among other things: "She should complete the investigation and treatment before interventions by the UDI or the police."
Qais shakes his head. "They never cared about this," he says.
Come at night. Qais and Mithel say they sent the documents together with the medical certificate to the UDI and the Police Immigration Unit on 25. March 2012. At half past five in the morning on 12. April suddenly came to the door. "I showed them the medical certificate and explained that Mithel was sick and not fit to travel. The police officers ignored what I said and asked us to pack our cases. It happened after they had searched the entire apartment and turned everything we owned. Our daughters were very scared and screamed loudly, ”says Qais. "We made another attempt to explain the situation, objected to being sent out and referred to the medical certificate and Mithel's health situation – but then the police physically went to work. They seized Mithel for arresting her and pulled her toward the police car. Then she fainted, and she began to bleed from the abdomen. Then the police took her to the emergency room, ”says Qais.
"I was left in two hours with handcuffs and thin clothes in a cold police car. I was bleeding from the abdomen, freezing and crying that I had to put on more clothes and wash myself. "
The child died. Ny Tid has gained access to the Police Immigration Unit's internal reports on miscarriage. The report states that the police took Mithel Ghaneem to Sandnes emergency room, and then to Stavanger University Hospital. Ny Tid has also gained access to Mithel Ghaneem's patient records. Here it says that the child was alive when the police took her to Sandnes emergency room. Furthermore, it appears that the child was dead when Mithel arrived at Stavanger University Hospital. The child probably died while Mithel was sitting in the police car on the way to the hospital. She believes the police are to blame for the fact that she lost the child: "I lost the child due to the mental strain and the very stressful situation that arose when came in the middle of the night and turned the house upside down, and did not want to listen to what was in the doctor's statement. I experienced them as very brutal, "says Mithel. She had to take an abortion pill to push the dead baby out of the womb. On the evening of April 12, 2012, she left the hospital and returned to the asylum reception center because she wanted to be with her family.
The police came again. After the abortion, the family signed a voluntary return. The voluntary return meant that they would have several weeks to prepare, and a sum of money that could help them start over in Palestine. That was not how it went. Two days after the spontaneous abortion, the police returned to the door, this time at 06.00 in the morning. This was yet another shock to the family.
"We had signed up for voluntary return and we had just lost a child. Why then did they send us out without Mithel resting? 'Qais asks. Mithel takes the floor and continues:
"They showed no respect, either for us as humans or for what we had just gone through."
A statement from a Palestinian doctor reveals that she had blood clots and blood residues in her uterus and abdomen from abortion in Norway.
Once again, their apartment was turned upside down and searched. When Mithel protested, she was brought out by the force of the police, and forced into a police car in only the nightgown.
"There I was lying for two hours with handcuffs and thin clothes in a cold police car. I was bleeding from the abdomen, freezing and crying that I had to put on more clothes and wash myself. I also hit my head hard when I was guided into the car. I screamed and screamed, but no one heard me, ”says Mithel Ghaneem upset.
So they did their job. Among other things, Amer Ramzi has assisted the family with interpretation and translation, and was present and saw what happened when the police came for the second time. "The police showed no respect for the family. Two days after Mithel lost a child, probably caused by police treatment of her, they throw her into a cold police car in thin clothes and leave her there. They showed no respect or compassion. I asked one of the policy women if she had children herself and if she would like to be treated this way. She replied that she was just doing her job, ”says Ramzi.
Sent in asylum jail. Mithel and the family were sent to the Trandum Immigration Internat, which acts as a prison with barbed wire, cells and strict control. Both Qais and Mithel stop by to tell what happened here. Mithel looks down at the floor. Qais takes a deep breath as he looks out of the window before continuing:
"They showed us no respect. After we arrived at the prison, my sister Asmaa and my wife, who had spontaneously aborted two days ago and still bleeding from the abdomen, had to dress naked. We had to stand naked and scrawl over a mirror. ”The reports from the police show that the family spent the night in the asylum prison from Saturday to Sunday. On Sunday morning, police come and fetch them from the cell to deport them. At Gardermoen the plane is ready and waiting. Mithel says she refused to join, protested and explained that she had a medical certificate saying she would rest for two weeks – but she was dragged into the plane, still with severe bleeding. When the family arrives in Palestine shortly after, Mithel falls ill and falls asleep for two months. A statement from a Palestinian doctor reveals that she had blood clots and blood residues in her uterus and abdomen from abortion in Norway.
Want justice. Qais and Mithel Ghaneem say they hope that something similar will not happen to others to be sent out of the country. “Before we traveled to Norway, we had dreams about the country. Now what happened to us in Norway has become a nightmare that keeps us awake at night. We hope others will not experience the same as we did, and we are sure that the sense of justice is prominent in Norwegians in general – our experience is that ordinary people in Norway are very kind, ”says Qais. On the floor around them, the daughters play lively and energetic. Mother Mithel presents an ultrasound image of an unborn child.
"Here three kids were really playing together," says Qais.
Read the studies: "Inhuman and unnecessarily brutal", "Traumatizing for the kids" og Authorities believe they made no mistake.
