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Description
The main goal of The Video Info Corner for Asylum Seekers - Afghan version is to initiate solidarity with war refugees from Afghanistan, especially with women and children, given the high level of threat to their rights. The project directly targets migrants from Afghanistan, providing them with information on how to obtain asylum in the Republic of Croatia and encouraging CSOs and the general population to engage in eliminating discrimination and protecting their rights.
The key activity is to adapt and translate 6 informative video clips into pasta and darija with a total duration of 60 minutes for asylum seekers. The videos cover general information, legal advice, accommodation and daily life, health care, education, the obligation to respect the legal deadline and cultural characteristics of the local community.
The project promoter will organize a petition among CSOs to encourage a change in immigration policy for war refugees from Afghanistan and publicly promote the announced measure of the European Commission on financing the stay of Afghan refugees. In addition, the petition’s aim is to encourage the Government of the Republic of Croatia to change the policy towards refugees, specifically the need to accept as asylum seekers women with children whose human rights are endangered in Afghanistan itself, and according to available information in some refugee camps. At the same time, the project promoter will organize a public campaign on social networks, encouraging citizens to show solidarity with refugees from Afghanistan and by responding to discrimination and hate speech.
Expected results are improved provision of information for refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan in pasta and darija, and raised awareness of migrants’ and solidarity as well as to influence immigration policy of the Government of RH, specifically toward women and children from Afghanistan.
Summary of project results
The main goal of the project is to show solidarity with Afghan war refugees, especially women and children, given the high level of threat to their rights, and to provide basic information to potential asylum seekers in Croatia in an accessible way. By offering informational services in an accessible manner (videos with detailed information on rights and how to realize them in Pashto and Dari languages), the project helps potential asylum seekers plan their steps when arriving in Croatia and embark on the challenging journey of asserting their rights. At the same time, CKD will organize a petition among civil society organizations calling for a change in immigration policy for Afghan war refugees, with a focus on admitting women and children (and publicly promoting the announced measure by the EU to finance the stay of Afghan refugees). The project will also conduct a public campaign on social media, encouraging citizens to engage in various forms of assistance for Afghanistan, including urging the Red Cross and other fundraisers to start raising funds.
The expected outcome of the project is expressed direct solidarity with Afghan war refugees by providing relevant and accessible information and raising awareness of the need to help refugees in ways that go beyond social media expressions of outrage. The project''s impact also includes reopening the refugee issue in the public sphere with an emphasis on solidarity and the elimination of hate speech and discrimination.
The project''s initial activity was subtitling existing six informative video clips for (potential) asylum seekers in Arabic, Pashto, and Farsi. In collaboration with CMS, the association Are You Syrious?, and the Jesuit Refugee Service, we obtained contacts of native speakers who translated the videos. After completing the translations, the main activity was carried out to achieve the project''s goals – informing foreign nationals from Afghanistan about their rights during their stay in Croatia.
Activity 1. The adaptation and distribution of existing video clips for war refugees from Afghanistan
The number of Afghan refugees who used the video clips is difficult to estimate, but there were 17,397 clicks on the links within the ads leading to the lists of video clips. The video clips on YouTube were played 888 times, with a total viewing time of 24.6 hours.
The number of relevant organizations (organizations directly working with refugees in Croatia and neighboring countries, as well as international organizations operating in Afghanistan and surrounding nations) willing to share links to the video clips is not specified, but the video clips were shared in the Facebook group "Asylum Croatia," which is used by the Are You Syrious? Association. The group''s members include users, asylum seekers, and refugees in Croatia, as well as representatives and volunteers from other organizations who share information about their programs and information that could be useful to asylum seekers and refugees.
Activity 2. The petition and public campaign
- The petition was signed by 18 civil society organizations
- The public campaign has received 17,397 hits, with 426,046 views on Facebook, 15,103 views on YouTube, and 13,494 views through Google Ads.
The expected impact of the project was to demonstrate direct solidarity with Afghan war refugees by providing relevant and accessible information and raising awareness of the need to help refugees in ways that go beyond expressions of outrage on social media. The project''s impact was also intended to reopen the refugee issue in the public sphere, with an emphasis on solidarity, and to eliminate hate speech and discrimination.
The public campaign on social media achieved significant visibility for the video clips and petition. The Facebook campaign had 426,046 views, YouTube had 15,103 views, and the Google Ads campaign had 214,998 impressions and 13,494 views. This campaign informed a large number of Croatian citizens about solidarity with asylum seekers from Afghanistan.
The petition was launched at the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, and we used the emerging crisis to inform and raise awareness among political elites and citizens about the importance of equal treatment of all foreign nationals and refugees. This petition was important to inform the public about double standards and different treatment of refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine. Through the petition, we encouraged society to show solidarity with Afghan refugees and prompted political elites to reconsider the implementation of border protection measures in Croatia and provide equal opportunities for entry and status regulation for all refugees under the same conditions as guaranteed by laws and regulations on paper.
After the petition was published and sent to the Croatian Parliament and the media, a public debate began in mid-March about how refugees from Ukraine and other parts of the world are treated. We believe that our project contributed to greater awareness of this issue and the inhumane treatment experienced by third-country nationals trying to enter Croatia, if they are not from Ukraine.