Dutch policy on asylum seekers needs to toughen up, insisted the new government when it took office. But now that emotional cases involving children are emerging, the minister is being compelled to tone down the rhetoric.

The fate of 14-year-old Afghan girl Sahar Hbrahim Gel has caught the public’s attention far beyond Dutch borders. Sahar was facing the prospect of being sent back to Afghanistan with her family. But the UN refugee organisation UNHCR believes that Sahar should receive refugee status in the Netherlands. After ten years growing up in a Dutch environment, Sahar has become so westernised that a return to Afghanistan could put her in grave danger.

Now a Dutch court has also ruled that Sahar and her family will be allowed to remain in the Netherlands for the time being. The judge also highlighted the fact that Sahar has grown up with western attitudes, while she probably has no recollection of Afghan norms and values from the short time she lived there.

Sahar’s lawyer Paul Stieger points out that an Afghan woman in Sweden was granted a residence permit last year on the grounds that she had become too westernised to ensure a safe return.

The Dutch media have devoted a great deal of attention to Sahar’s case. She also has the full support of the teachers and pupils at her school in the northern city of Leeuwarden. After the court ruling was announced, Sahar’s fellow pupils wasted no time in celebrating.

Abiram (8) may die in the Netherlands
A second asylum case to make the headlines is that of 8-year-old Abiram from Sri Lanka, who is terminally ill. He was also on the list of those to be deported, along with his mother, because their case for asylum was insufficiently strong in the eyes of the immigration authorities. Abiram and his mother came to the Netherlands seven years ago after Abiram’s father was murdered.

But on Sunday, in the full glare of the national media, Immigration Minister Gerd Leers ruled that Abiram would be allowed to live out his life here in the Netherlands with his mother. The boy’s grandmother is to be granted a visa, so that she can see her grandson one last time. Abiram has an aggressive brain tumour and is expected to die within a matter of weeks.

The immigration authorities say it was not clear from the asylum application that Abiram’s condition was so serious. But the boy’s lawyer insists that all parties have been aware for two months that Abiram is terminally ill. The children at Abiram’s school in Almelo have also taken his case to heart. They wrote a letter to Queen Beatrix, telling her that Abiram is very sick and probably does not have long to live.

Tearing families apart
In addition to these cases, the Immigration Minister has also come under fire for his plans to separate the parents and children of families who have lost their bid to obtain asylum. The children would be allowed to stay in the Netherlands, but their parents would have to leave.

A court in The Hague put a stop to the plans and, in a wider context, separating children from their parents goes against international treaties. The courts have also ruled that some kind of accommodation must be provided for families who have reached the end of the asylum process. A location has yet to be decided, but the minister has already promised that the facilities will be “austere”.