HOVA, Sweden: A 106-year-old Afghan woman who made a perilous journey to Europe, carried by her son and grandson through mountains, deserts and forests, is facing deportation from Sweden after her asylum application was rejected.
Bibihal Uzbeki is severely disabled and can barely speak. Her family has appealed the rejection.
Their journey made headlines in 2015, when they were part of a huge influx of people who came to Europe from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries. They traveled by foot and on trains through the Balkans before finally reaching Sweden.
Two years later, she and her 11 family members are living in the small village of Hova, in central Sweden.
Her rejection letter came during Ramadan. While the family avoided telling her, the constant grief from her granddaughters made her suspicious.
“My sisters were crying,” explained 22-year-old Mohammed Uzbeki. “My grandmother asked, ‘Why are you crying?’” The family says that soon after she understood her request was denied, her health started deteriorating and she suffered a debilitating stroke.
The Swedish Migration Agency confirmed in a statement to the AP they had “taken a decision regarding an expulsion in the case,” adding “generally speaking, high age does not in itself provide grounds for asylum.”
People whose applications are rejected are allowed up to three appeals, a process that can take a long time. The applications of other family members are in various stages of appeal.
The family feels the plight of Afghans is being ignored by Swedish authorities. Many countries in Europe deny asylum to Afghans from parts of the country considered safe.
“The reasoning from the migration agency is that it’s not unsafe enough in Afghanistan,” said Sanna Vestin, the head of the Swedish Network of Refugee Support Groups. But she said many of the big cities cited as safe are not at the moment.
Before their journey to Sweden, the family had been living illegally in Iran for eight years. They left Afghanistan because of an ongoing war and insecurity, but Mohammed Uzbeki said it’s difficult to prove that the family faces a specific enemy if they return.
“If I knew who was the enemy, I would have just avoided them,” he said, citing the Daesh group, the Taliban and suicide bombers as possible dangers.
In the Uzbeki home, Bibihal’s daughter-in-law gently readjusts the elderly woman’s veil as Mohammed Uzbeki watches over her.
“She still cannot speak properly, she has hallucinations,” he laments. “She says they are coming to kill us, we should run away.”
106-year-old Afghan woman faces deportation from Sweden
106-year-old Afghan woman faces deportation from Sweden
Indonesia’s first woman president awarded honorary doctorate by Princess Nourah University
- Megawati was recognized for her leadership and contributions to social, legal affairs
- She has received 10 other honorary degrees from Indonesian and foreign institutions
JAKARTA: Megawati Sukarnoputri, who served as Indonesia’s fifth president and was the country’s only female head of state to date, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh, becoming the first foreign national to receive the title.
Megawati, the eldest daughter of Indonesia’s first President Sukarno and chairwoman of the country’s largest political party, the PDIP, served as president from 2001 to 2004.
The 79-year-old was awarded an honorary doctorate in organizational and legal affairs in Riyadh on Monday during a ceremony overseen by Princess Nourah University’s acting president, Dr. Fawzia bint Sulaiman Al-Amro.
“This recognition was given in appreciation of her efforts during her presidency, her significant contributions to social, organizational, and legal fields, and her role in strengthening institutional leadership in Indonesia,” the university said in a statement.
This is Megawati’s 11th honorary doctorate. She has received similar degrees from Indonesian and foreign universities, including the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 2003 and the Soka University of Japan in 2020.
She has also been awarded the title of honorary professor by several institutions, including by the Seoul Institute of the Arts in 2022.
“We gather at the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, a university that stands as a symbol of women’s progress in education, knowledge and public service … To see so many intelligent women, I feel very proud,” Megawati said in her acceptance speech.
“Women’s empowerment is not a threat to any values, culture or tradition. It is actually a condition for nations that believe in their future … A great nation is one that is able to harness all of its human potential. A strong nation is one that does not allow half of its social power to be left on the sidelines of history.”
Megawati is the longest-serving political leader in Indonesia. Indonesia’s first direct presidential elections took place during her presidency, consolidating the country’s transition to democracy after the downfall of its longtime dictator Suharto in 1998.
