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Deportation of the Esiovwa family: "They were simply ripped out of their lives" - students start a petition

2022-11-25T13:32:14.422Z


Deportation of the Esiovwa family: "They were simply ripped out of their lives" - students start a petition Created: 11/25/2022, 2:25 p.m By: Verena Moeckl Teacher Barbara Lauterbach, Stefanie's classmate Schamon Dawood, Oliver Burzawa, Shpetim Balaj and Emma Grasser (from left) from the SMV at the Karlsfeld Middle School want to bring Stefanie Esiovwa and her family back with a petition. © vm


Deportation of the Esiovwa family: "They were simply ripped out of their lives" - students start a petition

Created: 11/25/2022, 2:25 p.m

By: Verena Moeckl

Teacher Barbara Lauterbach, Stefanie's classmate Schamon Dawood, Oliver Burzawa, Shpetim Balaj and Emma Grasser (from left) from the SMV at the Karlsfeld Middle School want to bring Stefanie Esiovwa and her family back with a petition.

© vm

Resistance forms in the middle school in Karlsfeld.

They don't want to accept that their classmate Stefanie Esiovwa was deported to Nigeria in the summer.

Karlsfeld

– Stefanie Esiovwa's place in the classroom at the middle school in Karlsfeld is empty.

For almost half a year.

That's how long ago the eleven-year-old was deported to Nigeria in a cloak and dagger operation with her father Nicolas, her mother Faith Ilhobe and her siblings Claudia (6) and Gabriel (10).

After the Esiovwa family was deported: students demand return

"You can't do that," says Emma Grasser.

The 14-year-old is in the student co-responsibility (SMV) at the middle school in Karlsfeld.

She and her classmates do not want to accept the deportation of the Esiovwa family.

“All friends suffered emotionally.

For a week they didn't know where Stefanie was.

Then they found out that the family is at the other end of the world.” In the middle school in Karlsfeld, the resistance grew louder.

The SMV is starting a petition today.

In it, the SMV asks the Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann and the Dachau District Administrator Stefan Löwl to bring the Esiovwa family back.

Specifically, it is about a humanitarian visa and the legal review of the deportation.

“They were just torn out of their lives”

"I think it's stupid to say that people have to go to their 'home' just because they have a certain skin colour," says Emma Grasser.

“The children speak fluent German and have lived here for years.

You can't say they should go where they've never been before.

They were just ripped out of their lives.”

The SMV Karlsfeld is not alone with their opinion.

One of the first to sign the petition is Michael Schrodi.

The SPD member of the Bundestag addressed the SMV Karlsfeld with a video message on Tuesday afternoon, in which he encouraged the students in their plans.

Protest should get bigger: After the list of signatures, there is now a petition

At the summer party, students collected signatures for the return of Stefanie and her family.

200 pieces came together at that time.

However, the action had nothing more than a symbolic character.

"There were simply not enough votes," says Barbara Lauterbach, head of the SMV at the middle school in Karlsfeld.

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Now the protest is supposed to get bigger.

Emma Grasser worked on the petition together with her classmates Schamon Dawood, Oliver Burzawa and Shpetim Balaj.

The Karlsfeld youth council also supports the petition.

"People should think about it: Wow, suddenly someone who went to school here is gone!"

Stefanie Esiovwa and her siblings recently started attending a new school in the Niger Delta.

At first the children were happy that they could finally go back to school, reports Julie Richardson from Child Protection Munich to the SMV students.

The child psychologist looked after Gabriel Esiovwa and is always in contact with the family after the deportation.

According to Richardson, however, the joy about the new school in Nigeria did not last long.

"They don't feel comfortable, even scared, to go to the new school since they saw teachers hitting other students."

Stefanie, Claudia and Gabriel Esiovwa (from left) are afraid of the new school in Nigeria.

Her parents aren't doing well either.

© Private

Richardson is also worried about his father and mother.

Nicolas Esiovwa has to walk his children to school every day because the way to school is dangerous.

The problem: The family man's legs are severely swollen because of his autoimmune disease.

In Nigeria, he doesn't get medication and medical checks like in Germany.

"What worries me the most is that something will happen to the parents and the children will be on their own," said Richardson, who supports the SMV petition.

"It's outrageous and cheeky what you ask of these decent people," she says.

For months, she and child protection in Munich have been fighting with groups of helpers and the Dachau pier to bring the family back to Karlsfeld.

Child protection officer is certain: "There was a mistake made"

Meanwhile, Richardson's tone towards those responsible for the deportation is getting rougher.

She no longer has any respect for such people, she said on Tuesday to the students of the SMV in Karlsfeld.

"A mistake was made there." She expects this mistake to be undone as soon as possible.

So that Stefanie's place doesn't remain empty any longer.

The petition can be accessed via the link https://www.openpetition.de/petition/online/holt-stefanie-zurueck.

The voices of children and young people also count.

Anyone who would like to donate to the family can do so at: www.betterplace.org/de/projects/111557-familie-e-aus-karlsfeld-soll-wiederkommen.

You can find more current news from the district of Dachau at Merkur.de/Dachau.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-11-25

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