The German government has resumed deportations to Afghanistan but according to reports, the authorities placed a mere 14 people on a 180-seat aircraft despite there being 14,263 Afghans scheduled for deportation.
Saxony Interior Minister Markus Ulbig said that not all Afghans were deported but rather the authorities prioritised known criminals and other ‘troublemakers’, like those who refuse to identify themselves, Tag 24 reports.
Since the bombing of the German embassy in Kabul earlier this year which killed 90 people, the government has restricted deportations primarily to criminals.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior said the flight from Leipzig to Kabul contained 11 known criminals and three people who had steadfastly refused to give their identities to authorities.
Despite the small number of Afghans being returned to their country of origin, criticism has come from the left with Leipzig attorney and Saxon Greens chief Jürgen Kasek slamming the deportations as ‘inhumane’.
So far this year, Saxony has seen 1,823 people repatriated but of that only 50 Afghan failed asylum seekers left the country of their own accord.
The cost of forcibly deporting failed asylum seekers is an enormous burden for the German government. Last year, a deportation flight containing only three failed asylum seekers cost taxpayers €125,000.
The average cost of deportation in some regions like Bavaria is €55,000 per person, per flight. The cost dwarfs that of a first class ticket on the most luxurious airlines in the world.
The German federal government has also been severely hindered by a total lack of cooperation from many of the left-wing coalition governments in various regions across the country.
Regional governments, like the government of Berlin, have vowed not to enforce forced deportations saying that they only support migrant voluntarily returning to their original country even if their asylum claims are not approved.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.