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Photo story – Misses Ferhatovic

Misses Ferhatovic was born in Macedonia in 1977. She had been to Germany in her childhood and came back in 1997 because of a serious sickness due to her kidneys that couldn’t be treated in Macedonia.

Due to these circumstances she got a permission of stay in 2002, but now it can’t be extended – because her sickness can be treated in Macedonia now allegedly. Ever since this time she only got an exceptional leave of stay in Germany until she got informed that she had to be deported to Macedonia after 15 years of living in Germany.

The German medical authority attested her that she can travel to Macedonia due to her health condition, the German embassy in Skopje agreed on a dialysis treatment and the social services department in Essen granted to take on the costs for eight weeks. Who would be taken care of the expensive treatment after eight weeks? How should Misses Ferhatovic find access to the Macadonian health system without any relatives or aquaintances? How was she supposed to earn a living as a critically ill Roma or even find a place to live? None of these questions had been considered.

Misses Ferhatovic came to our office with a threat of deportation in her hands, we helped her to do a consecutive application for asylum, collected every information of every doctor that had treated her and informed the federal office for migrants and refugees when she had a cardiac arrest and got a cardiac pacemaker implanted after her revivification.

The federal office for migrants and refugees considered their decision: Because of a non-treatable sickness obstacles against deportation were granted within a few weeks. Misses Ferhatovic is allowed to stay in Germany because no one wants her to go back to Macedonia in fear of her possible death.

Download photo story [ german, PDF ]

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