Sane Sadibou is running out of time: popular long-distance runner from Senegal fears deportation

Created: 11/30/2022, 8:16 p.m

By: Stefanie Zipfer

Great support: The fire brigade comrades from Hebertshausen leave no stone unturned so that Sane Sadibou can stay here.

Georg Roth (fourth from left) would offer the Senegalese an employment contract in his nursery.

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The Senegalese Sane Sadibou has been living in the Dachau district for seven years.

He works, does sports, is with the fire brigade and has friends.

Nevertheless, the man will probably have to leave Germany.

Dachau

– Sane Sadibou describes himself as follows: “I am not a smoker, do not drink alcohol, have no problems.

Not with the police, not with money, not with women!” Instead, Sane Sadibou lives for his sport, his work and volunteering.

The 43-year-old, who was born in Senegalese, runs the half marathon distance in an incredible one and a half hours – i.e. 21.1 kilometers!

– and has been working in the Dachau city nursery for seven years.

In Hebertshausen he enthusiastically participates in the fire brigade.

"Sane always has fun," he says of himself. The only thing that makes him "sick in the head" is "politics."

It was her fault that he could no longer eat and sleep.

Without his sport, he says, he would “be broken from stress, without Smarrn,” as he puts it.

From the district of Dachau back to Senegal?

Why things are bad for Sane Sadibou

In fact, things are bad for Sane Sadibou.

His asylum application was rejected in 2016. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BaMF), Senegal is considered a safe country of origin.

Sane Sadibou was thus officially obliged to leave the country.

Active in the fire brigade: the 43-year-old lends a hand where necessary.

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The fact that he is still in Germany and is shimmying about from Duldung to Duldung - this condition is called chain Duldung in BaMF jargon - is because there is no official passport from Sane Sadibou.

He states that he comes from the Senegalese crisis region of Casamance and that he was born on January 19, 1979.

But is that true?

Peter Barth, spokesman for the asylum helper groups in the Dachau district, doubts this: "That's definitely not true, I guess he's ten years younger."

But this lack of a passport, which on the one hand has prevented Sane Sadibou from being deported to this day, has a snag, according to Barth: it criminalized the 43-year-old.

Because of his poor efforts to get a passport, according to the district court, he was even sentenced – to a hefty fine of almost 1000 euros.

Nevertheless, Peter Barth is one of the big fans and supporters of Sane Sadibou.

"He's such a good person," says Barth.

Just like Sadibou's supervisors Christine Kuhn and Jürgen Weber, he is fighting for the athletic giant with the tender soul and big heart to stay in the Dachau district and finally be allowed to officially build his own existence.

He would certainly have two permanent positions, but he is not allowed to work

Because even though Sane Sadibou has been working reliably for the Dachau cemetery gardeners for seven years, he earns practically no money from it.

Since he does not get a work permit because he is obliged to leave the country, he is only allowed to pass the time with so-called charitable work.

The city of Dachau pays him 80 cents an hour for this, or around 80 euros a month.

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The city would immediately hire Sane Sadibou because of his diligence and his all-round nice nature.

Just like Georg Roth, who runs a nursery in Hebertshausen and knows the 43-year-old from his work at the Dachau cemetery.

After Sane Sadibou had lived in the large district town for four years, he moved to the refugee accommodation in Hebertshausen.

At some point he went to the fire department to make contacts.

And found friends there – just like in Dachau – straight away.

"There's no other way, you have to like him," says Georg Roth about the 43-year-old Senegalese, who "is never too bad for any job", who "always gets down to work" and on whom you could "rely on 100 Pro".

If he could, he would also like to employ Sane Sadibou as an unskilled worker because "I prefer him 5,000 times over the rest of the people who usually apply to me."

Roth says only one word in this context: "lack of skilled workers".

He lives for sport: Sane Sadibou runs often and far, he also takes part in competitions.

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But if you believe Barth, Weber and Kuhn, the Hebertshauser Gärtnerei Roth will no longer be able to offer long-distance runner Sane Sadibou an employment contract.

Ever since he was summoned to Munich for a hearing with authorized officials of the Republic of Senegal a few weeks ago, supporters have feared the worst: "Because of this questionable commission, Senegalese are being deported," says Barth.

These ministerials check whether those invited are actually compatriots.

These hearing dates cause “fear and terror” among those affected.

Hebertshausen fire brigade: comrade-in-arms Sadibou threatened with expulsion

Legally, admit his supervisor Kuhn and refugee helper Barth, "nothing can be achieved".

Because in addition to the two facts that Sane Sadibou comes from a country of origin that is considered safe and has an official criminal record for not having a passport, the fact that he is illiterate makes matters worse.

According to Barth, the planned new right of residence, which is due to come into force next year, and the Bavarian hardship commission also expect that the asylum seeker has a command of German at the so-called competence level A2.

Passing this test without being able to read and write is impossible.

However, Sane Sadibou was never allowed to take a corresponding literacy course – since he was only a tolerated foreigner.

But his supporters don't want to give up: "Not trying is not an option," says Christine Kuhn.

Together with the comrades from the Hebertshausen fire brigade, they are currently distributing forms in which everyone who knows Sane Sadibou should write why the 43-year-old should stay in Germany.

For example, one of the letters to Sane says: "I have rarely met a person who is so empathetic, humble, hardworking, honest and helpful."

The government of Upper Bavaria, which is responsible for Sane Sadibou, does not want to comment on the case.

Spokesman Wolfgang Rupp: "We ask for your understanding that, for reasons of data and privacy protection, we cannot provide any information on individual persons and processes without the appropriate authorization."

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