Arnab Goswami wanted to be the mouth does not prohibit. Therefore, the Blogger and his family in Bangladesh were no longer safe. They fled, and now live in Aachen, Germany. If you can stay, you don’t know yet.
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A critical voice from Bangladesh in Aachen
The apartment is largely empty and bare. Hardly any furniture, no pictures on the walls. Only a couple of suitcases on the wall, on the floor of a large mattress, a baby stroller, a few toys. And a Laptop. Since a couple of months, the new home of Arnab Goswami, his wife, Juthi and her 16-month-old son, Adrij. A Room, A Kitchen, A Bathroom. In Aachen, not far away from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. There could not and would not stay longer. Too great was the fear that something might happen to. Like other critical voices in the South Asian country. On several occasions have been threatened in the past few years, Blogger, attacked or even killed. Including also Known by Arnab.
In October 2016 Arnab arrived in Germany with his wife and son he saw only the end of the year
He is also a Blogger. Since 2008, the 29-Year-old who works in the financial industry writes. Initially, there are short stories and poems, which he published on his page somewhereinblog.net . First of all, he writes under two pseudonyms, Dhrubo Tara and Aranya Shouvik, now under his real name. Also the topics have changed. Long ago, his lyrics deal with political and social issues. “It comes to child marriage, minority rights, or religious fundamentalism.” Arnabs texts are popular among the users, some of them are published on the largest Blogger sites of the country. This is striking, also in the case of the authorities. “I was ordered never to engage in talks, but both Facebook and Twitter I have my theory on government employees. And on several occasions I was warned. I should rethink what I write.”
Threats via Facebook
Since 2013, he is increasingly in threats, especially from radical Islamists. This win in Bangladesh more and more influence. Especially atheist bloggers like Arnab are being targeted. First of all, he doesn’t take the messages too seriously. He does not believe that him or his wife Juthi something could happen.
Farewell to Avijit Roy in the beginning of March 2015 in Dhaka – a year before his death, the Blogger for the Online Award of the Deutsche Welle’s “The Bobs – Best of Online Activism” nominated
But then is assassinated in February 2015 the well-known Blogger Avijit Roy. He is slain on the open road, his wife survived and worked with several knife.
Shortly thereafter, Arnab noticed a steep increase of hits on his page. He fears that the threats were related to his growing popularity. As a precaution, he takes his Blog offline. Then he gets a message on Facebook: “You thought, perhaps, that we would forget you, just because you took your site from the network. But you stay in our memory. Your time will come.”
Threats via Facebook
Arnab gets scared. He turns to the police. “But they told me that they could not help me, I should leave the country.” Nevertheless, he stays in Dhaka. However, the Situation is getting worse. Until the summer of 2015, three more secular bloggers to be murdered, including Niloy Neel, knew the Arnab personally.
Juthi has great fear of her husband. The two have just become parents, son Adrij is three months old. In April 2016, finally Arnab is the risk too great. He forges a Plan, wants to settle in Nepal. It should look as if he came not again. In fact, he would two weeks later, again secretly returned to Bangladesh and to his family.
Secular activists in Bangladesh to go after the murder of Niloy Neel in Dhaka on the streets
Arnab believes that Juthi is without him in Dhaka. But he’s wrong. The threats do not stop, on the contrary. “When I was in Bangladesh, not directed only against me, against you. But now I got emails and Facebook messages: it said that my family something could happen, because I would have Bangladesh leave. This was a new experience.” The family is the most Important thing for him, says Arnab. He returns.
A target for Islamists
For help he turns to the German Embassy in Dhaka issued to him by the end of September 2016, and finally a visa. On 9. October, he arrives in Germany. Three months later, his wife and the Baby are allowed to join. The family is reunited. Arnab is lucky, The writers ‘ Association, PEN America, the education specialist NGO Center for Inquiry and Amnesty International are supporting him financially.
To leave “my home is not an easy decision. Everyone is attached to his country,” he says today.
In August 2015, the murdered Blogger Niloy Neel Arnab Goswami knew personally
“But the influence of Militants and extremists in Bangladesh is no longer grown so much that ordinary citizens are no longer safe to Express their views freely. Through our texts, we were targets.” It had been a point, because he had been simply forced Bangladesh to sweep the back.
Forget, at least for a moment
Arnab Goswami is sitting on the mattress in the living room. He shows his Blog and his Facebook page. Both were hacked a few days earlier. He does not know who is behind this, but suspects that it could have been a professional Hacker. As his son into the room, crawled out comes, emits Arnab. He hugs him, makes him Laugh. And as the little Boy put on a few clumsy steps on her own legs back, applauding the father excited. In such moments, all the Worries seem to be forgotten. But as Juthi brings to the Little ones in the kitchen, he quickly serious again.
Adrij learns to walk and his father can forget for the Moment all other
It’ll make him sad that he was because of his lyrics is in danger, he says quietly. “My family has been through a hard time. Maybe I’m here in Germany for sure, but my future is still uncertain. I suffer from this Situation, you are hurting me.” Arnab and Juthi miss your parents, who still live in Bangladesh. Regret he does not seem to work. Due to the fear and the uncertain Situation in Bangladesh to stop Writing that had come for him is never in question. Even if it was clear to him that he will treat sensitive issues, and thereby also a risk of acting.
Grim scenario for Bangladesh
“Of course it is very disturbing that liberal bloggers for their publications to be killed. But we should stop, therefore, our opinion to Express?” The question he answered with an unequivocal no. “There must be someone who writes about such topics. Otherwise, our country is facing a dark future,” he warns. In his voice in Spite of with sounds. He and other bloggers should even write more and more against religious fundamentalism, he says. “We want our country to move forward, not backward. So we have to make more.” Otherwise, the introduction of Sharia law-rights, threatened in Bangladesh, in the worst case, even he is afraid of.
During your pregnancy, Juthi had a great fear of her husband, which got more and more threats
Arnabs woman Juthi is pointedly behind her husband. “I support what he writes. Sometimes he discusses a topic with me before, he reported about it in his Blog. Nothing in life is perfect. No Religion, and no society. There are always problems. It is important to write about it.” Since she is in Germany, taking care of the 27-year-old Juthi, especially your son and the household. She is studied business administration, has a Master title. You should stay longer in Germany, then you want to search for a Job, once your son is old enough for Kindergarten. But it is not clear how to do it next year for the family.
Aachen – and then?
Arnab Goswami has an appointment with his lawyer. Volker Simon has specialised in migration law and supported the family since February. All three have since been granted a residence permit until the end of 2017, which was for Juthi and Adrij only a few weeks ago. Now Simon wants to apply for asylum. He is optimistic that the chances are good, even if applications from the South Asian country will not be dealt with at the Federal office for Migration and refugees (BAMF) as a priority, because in Bangladesh there is no war.
You may stay for the family in Germany?
A total of 2657 asylum applications were submitted in the year 2016 of refugees from Bangladesh in Germany, the BAMF on DW-demand. The overall protection rate for refugees of Bangladesh – that is, the proportion of asylum recognitions, expulsion is prohibited and the granting of refugee protection within this period, at just 10.9 percent.
Pressure with the help of the Embassy
In the case of Arnab Goswami but special circumstances would be present. “I see good chances of success in the asylum procedure,” says Volker Simon. “The German Embassy in Dhaka has pointed out that he is compromised as a critic of religion, a free thinker and a Blogger significantly in his home country, and that already some of his colleagues were murdered.” Additional emphasis is also the case of the other Bloggers. A case with a tragic ending. “This colleague had applied for at the Swedish Embassy for a visa and was shot during the visa process on the open road.” Not least for this reason, it was the Embassy at that time, a concern to bring Arnab quickly out of the country.
The last word has hopes the Federal office for Migration and refugees – Arnab that he has with his application a success
The coming months are crucial for the young family. In the summer of lawyer Simon wants to apply for asylum, then it’s time once Wait. “The processing time at the BAMF you can assess difficult. It will certainly take some months until he gets his hearing date, and hopefully then also quickly the decision.” In the best case, Arnab gets a residence permit for three years and a Refugee passport. “Then he had a secure perspective in Germany.” For Juthi and son Adrij it would look good. “You can get a family of asylum or protection as members of a recognised refugee. And regardless of whether you can prove your own reasons for Persecution or not. “
Adrij crawling on the bed and patscht with his hands on the Laptop. Maybe he’s imitating his father at work at his Blog. That the Computer work for his family in Bangladesh was dangerous, he suspects nothing. For him, the Laptop is at the Moment only one thing: a toy.
Arafatul Islam has significantly contributed to this article.