{"id":350734,"date":"2017-09-05T06:07:35","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T06:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=350734"},"modified":"2017-11-10T12:06:12","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T12:06:12","slug":"sweden-rejects-asylum-claim-by-106-year-old-afghan-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/09\/sweden-rejects-asylum-claim-by-106-year-old-afghan-woman\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden rejects asylum claim by 106-year-old Afghan woman"},"content":{"rendered":"
A 106-year-old Afghan woman who made a perilous journey to\u00a0Europe, carried by her son and grandson through mountains, deserts and forests, is facing deportation from Sweden after her asylum application was rejected.<\/p>\n
Bibihal Uzbeki is severely disabled and can barely speak. Her family has appealed against the rejection, and she is allowed up to three appeals, a process that could take a long time. The applications of other family members are in various stages of appeal.<\/p>\n
Their journey made headlines in 2015 when they were part of a huge influx of people who came to Europe from Syria,\u00a0Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries. They travelled by foot and on trains through the Balkans before finally reaching Sweden.<\/p>\n
The Swedish Migration Agency confirmed it has made a decision on the case and said age doesn\u2019t by itself provide grounds for asylum.<\/p>\n
Uzbeki\u00a0arrived at the Opatovac refugee camp in Croatia in October 2015\u00a0after what she said had been a 20-day journey with her 17 family members to reach Europe, with her 67-year-old son and a 19-year-old grandson often carrying her on their backs.<\/p>\n