Observer 14/07 – Text: Dominique Strebel, Photo: Renate Wernli
Twelve-year-old Sonia has been living with her Swiss father for two years. Now she is to be deported to her grandparents in Africa. Her teacher and classmates are fighting back.
“I want to stay with my father and my friends,” says Sonia Idemudia. “This is my home.” No, says the Zurich migration office. Sonia’s “home” is not with her Swiss father and his family of five in Schwamendingen, but with her 89-year-old grandfather and 69-year-old grandmother in Nigeria. Sonia has a “primary relationship” with them. Therefore, she must leave Switzerland at the end of July. Sonia’s classmate Barbara can’t understand this: “Sonia mustn’t be deported. Her grandparents are old. They might die soon. Then she’ll be alone.”
Laws take precedence over the child's welfare
The twelve-year-old Nigerian girl has been living illegally in Switzerland for two years as an undocumented resident with her naturalized father, Elvis Idemudia. In this short time, she has managed to learn both Standard German and Swiss German and integrate well into school. "Sonia is a prime example of successful integration," says her teacher, Jürg Wiederkehr. She has a quick grasp of things, is very socially competent, and is loved by all her classmates. "With regard to the child's well-being, I consider her remaining in Switzerland absolutely essential," Wiederkehr states. And the school psychological service concurs: "Deportation would severely endanger her development and psychological well-being." But the migration office prioritizes formal legal reasons over the child's welfare.
“It’s unfair that the state says she has to go back to Nigeria,” says classmate Tiara. “We all want to live with our parents, too.”
The Federal Supreme Court has a strict practice when only one parent wants to bring a child to Switzerland. If Sonia's father and mother lived together here, family reunification would be straightforward. But Sonia's mother disappeared shortly after her birth. Four years ago, her father wanted to bring Sonia to Switzerland legally. But at that time, the courts ruled that her primary relationship was with her grandparents in Nigeria. The father had waited eight years before wanting to bring his daughter to Switzerland. That was deemed too long. "I visited Sonia regularly in Nigeria and called her several times a week for years," says Idemudia. "Only when I had established a stable home in Switzerland was I able to take my daughter in."
Two years ago, the father brought Sonia to Switzerland with him. Illegally – because his parents were getting older and sicker, and his daughter was approaching puberty. "Didn't I have a duty to do that? As a father, I have to provide for my daughter." This spring, he wanted to register her. But the immigration office remained firm.
"Deportation would be a catastrophe"
“The migration office is prioritizing a strict immigration policy over the welfare of children and the protection of family life,” says lawyer Marc Spescha, a specialist in immigration law. “This violates the European Convention on Human Rights, as several recent rulings by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg demonstrate.” Therefore, Spescha has filed an appeal with the Zurich cantonal government on Sonia’s behalf. “Deportation would be traumatic for Sonia and a catastrophe for our rule of law,” the lawyer argues.
“I don’t understand it,” says classmate Armin. “Sonia hasn’t made any enemies here. Why doesn’t the state say: We can give it a try?”