CONAKRY: The authorities in Guinea said Thursday they were looking into why a number of its citizens had been kicked out of Germany, after an angry online response to the expulsions.
The government in Conakry has been under pressure in recent days to respond to the deportations, videos and testimony of which have been circulating on social media.
Ministers have summoned the charge d’affaires from Germany’s embassy to explain why the Guineans were expelled and to urge a halt to future deportations.
“We want our fellow citizens to have their dignity respected,” Foreign Minister Morissanda Kouyate told the diplomat before television cameras.
At a news conference on Thursday, Kouyate announced that a “bilateral commission of investigation” had been established involving both Guinea and Germany to get to the bottom of the matter.
“Instead of hurling abuse at each other... we are going to sit down at a table in the strict interest of European citizens and Guinean citizens,” he told reporters, alongside German ambassador Irene Biontino.
Some 6,000 Guineans are living irregularly in Germany, the minister said.
Biontino on Wednesday said in an interview that there had been “no offensive” recently. The deportations of irregular Guinean nationals were being conducted in line with bilateral agreements and Germany’s “sovereignty,” she added.
“A total of 30 people were deported to Guinea in January 2026. (In comparison), in January 2025, 20 people were sent back to Guinea,” a German interior ministry spokesman told AFP.
There were 169 expulsions to Guinea in 2025, they added.
In recent years, Guinea has become a key starting point for young migrants trying to smuggle themselves into north Africa and Europe in the hope of a better future.
According to a 2021 International Organization for Migration study, the Guinean diaspora was estimated at between three and five million people.
Most were living in west Africa and in France, Germany and Belgium.
Guinea launches probe after nationals expelled from Germany
https://arab.news/42uq7
Guinea launches probe after nationals expelled from Germany
- The government in Conakry has been under pressure in recent days to respond to the deportations
- Ministers have summoned the charge d’affaires from Germany’s embassy to explain why the Guineans were expelled
Ramadan tests Pakistan’s daily wage workers but faith endures
- Reduced work hours during fasting month cut already fragile incomes
- Charities, local businesses step in as laborers try to support families back home
ISLAMABAD: Abdul Waqif grips a worn-out shovel and digs into the earth beneath the harsh midday sun, his body bent with age but still moving steadily.
Moments later, the 70-year-old hoists a heavy bag of cement onto his shoulders and carries it toward an under-construction house, all while fasting.
For Waqif and thousands of daily wage laborers across Pakistan, Ramadan is not just a month of spiritual devotion. It is also a month of shrinking incomes.
Waqif migrated from Mohmand tribal district in northwestern Pakistan to Islamabad two decades ago in search of work.
Like many laborers from rural and former tribal areas, he left behind limited local opportunities to earn a living in larger cities such as Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
In Pakistan, daily wage workers, particularly in construction and manual labor, are among the most economically vulnerable.
They are paid only for days worked, receive no job security or benefits, and often rely on informal arrangements. Any slowdown in economic activity directly affects their ability to feed their families.
Economic activity typically slows during Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. Employers often reduce work hours or postpone physically demanding projects to ease the burden on fasting workers. While intended as a gesture of consideration, it means fewer working hours and fewer earnings.
For laborers such as Waqif, who earns between 1,000-1,200 rupees ($3.59-$4.31) a day, even a slight reduction in work can be devastating.
His suhoor, the pre-dawn meal before fasting begins, usually consists of a few chapatis from a nearby hotel. The hunger and thirst that follow him through the day are constant companions as he lifts bricks and mixes cement in the heat. But so is his faith.
“Allah gives me courage. I am hungry and thirsty, but I keep working,” Waqif said while wiping the sweat from his brow.
Back in Mohmand district, his wife, four daughters and two sons depend on the money he sends home. Every rupee matters.
“I support them with this work,” Waqif said. “I eat three meals a day here and I also have to save money for my children and send it to them.”
The reduction in work during Ramadan weighs heavily on him. “I don’t find much work in Ramadan, and I’m worried for my family,” Waqif said.
Finding food for suhoor is sometimes a challenge. On some mornings, someone offers him a piece of flatbread. Other times, he buys what little he can afford from a nearby eatery.
Muhammad Sajid, owner of Al-Hadi restaurant in Islamabad’s G-15 sector, says he tries to ease that burden by offering meals to laborers at half price.
“We don’t let anyone go hungry,” Sajid told Arab News. “We offer sehri and iftar as much as anyone can afford.”
The restaurant serves tea, yogurt, several types of curries and parathas.
Charity groups also expand operations during Ramadan, when community support traditionally increases. The Junaid Welfare Foundation runs a roadside dastarkhwan, or communal meal spread, serving hundreds daily.
Haq Rawan Shareefi, a manager at the foundation, said about 500 people are provided iftar meals each day. The cost of one person’s iftar is 200 rupees.
“That means, on iftar and sehri, our expenses range from 150,000 rupees to 200,000 rupees,” Shareefi said.
For Waqif, breaking his fast at sunset brings temporary relief from the physical strain of the day. But the financial uncertainty remains.
“I ask Allah for this,” he said. “May Allah give me strength to earn an honest living for my children.”
