The Dublin Pitfall is an independent documentary, produced and directed by Moroccan journalist, Rime El Jadidi. The film looks at the impact of European asylum legislation on Syrian refugees in Bulgaria and Sweden. The Dublin Pitfall is a crowdfunded project on IndieVoices.
In September last year, reacting to the Syrian humanitarian crisis, Sweden announced that it would offer permanent residency to all Syrian refugees. The catch? Not only is this offer only valid for Syrians who are physically in Sweden, but EU law dictates that refugees must have their claims processed in the country where they first arrive.
The Dublin Pitfall is an independent documentary that follows the journey of Syrians attempting to reach Sweden.”It is nearly impossible for refugees or asylum-seekers to reach Europe lawfully. As a result, they are forced into arduous journeys, risking their lives on boats or across land, to seek safety and protection in Europe”, reads a recent report by Amnesty International. Thousands of Syrians ended up in Bulgaria, Greece or Italy and many of them are in ad-hoc refugee camps in Europe.
The film looks at how the European asylum policy might not always be fair for refugees and asylum seekers. The Dublin 2 Convention is the European Convention which regulates the criteria for identifying the EU member state responsible for examining an asylum application. Basically, it is only in the EU country that the refugee first entered that they should apply for asylum.
Bulgaria, the poorest European country, has been subjected to “unprecedented asylum pressure”, according to the national State Agency for Refugees. A recent report by Amnesty International indicates that “an estimated 8,000 refugees, including 5,000 refugees from Syria, have arrived in Bulgaria between January and November 2013. This is the largest influx of refugees to Bulgaria in recent years – over the last 10 years Bulgaria has received an annual average of 1,000 refugees.”
The Dublin Pitfall will feature Syrian refugees and asylum seekers in the cities of Sofia and Burgas, and in the town of Harmanli, which hosts the largest refugee camp in Bulgaria.
The crowdfunding campaign was launched on IndieVoices, a site specializing in helping independent media. The campaign, which lasts until March 29, 2014, aims at raising $4,000 to finance the production phase in Bulgaria and Sweden.
About Rime El Jadidi:
Rime El Jadidi is a Moroccan journalist. She is currently completing a MA in multimedia journalism at Örebro University, in Sweden. She previously worked for Le Soir échos, a Moroccan daily newspaper, where she covered national politics.
For further information:
Contact Rime El Jadidi at thedublinpitfall@gmail.com
Crowdfunding campaign indievoic.es/projects/project_
