Shafaqat Mehmud is one of the 130 Pakistani Ahmadiyya Muslims** for whom China has, until now, been a safe haven. But with the summer Olympic Games due to descend on Beijing this year, the Chinese government wants to be rid of them.
The United Nations own refugee agency, the office of the UNHCR which has a presence in Beijing, can do nothing for this group. The UNHCR's position in the People's Republic is not very secure and it is at constant risk of being closed. Cautiously and without trying to attract attention, the UNHCR staff do what they can for other asylum seekers, including Shafaqat Mehmud.
Muslim minority
Shafaqat Mehmud
Shafaqat and his Pakistani friends regularly get together to play cricket at a spacious public park in a Beijing suburb. They're all Ahmadiyya Muslims** and they all fled to China because of the aggression and violence which their religious minority faces back home in Pakistan
Shafaqat has lived in Beijing with his parents, brothers, sister-in-law and a baby since 2005 (see April update below). The seven of them share an apartment in the same suburb. Their home may not be very large, but here, at least, they no longer have to fear for their lives as they once did in Pakistan.
Shafaqat is sitting on a sofa, next to his father. The old man looks around somewhat vaguely, speaking to his son in a whisper every now and then. Then he shows his swollen feet covered with blue-coloured welts. Shafaqat explains: "That happened in jail. My father was arrested a couple of years ago [in Pakistan] because he'd said he was a Muslim**. He was tortured and threatened with death. They looted our house, burned the fields and killed our livestock. I was also beaten up."
China - the best place
** The Ahmadiyya Muslims are a religious minority group in Pakistan. They believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) was a messiah sent by the Prophet Mohammed. They are, however, regarded by many other Muslims as unbelievers.
The authorities in Pakistan persecute this group by imposing all kinds of legal restrictions on them.
When his father - by then a broken man - was set free again the family decided to flee Pakistan. According to Shafaqat, their choice was quickly made: "We wanted to go to Europe or the United States, but the visa procedures for those countries can take upwards from a few months to a year. We didn't have that much time. India, Nepal or Iran are countries where many Muslims live, but the Ahmadiyya Muslims are treated as badly there as they are in Pakistan, so those countries weren't an option either. The man at the visa bureau advised us to try China. Visa arrangements can be made quickly, and it's not a Muslim nation. So, it was the best place to go to."
Father and son went to China with tourist visas. Once in Beijing, they went immediately to the offices of the UNHCR to tell their story. Some time later then get the letter they so badly need, officially recognising them as refugees. With this procedure completed successfully, the rest of the family came to China to join them.
 The Mehmud family - Shafaqat is seated on the far right |
Although they no longer need to fear for their lives, Shafaqat believes their official refugee status doesn't mean very much: "We don't mean a thing here. We're not allowed to exist. We're not allowed to pray, to go into town or seek contact with others. The Chinese police say our papers don't count. ‘We're in charge, not the UNHCR,' is what they told my brother when he was picked up a couple of weeks ago."
China may have signed up to international refugee agreements, but it still sticks to its own rule: China is not to be the final destination for any refugees. They are tolerated at most, but even this policy of toleration is now to come to an end.
The Mehmud family was recently paid an unexpected visit by the police, who told them that must leave China before the Olympic Games, otherwise they will be sent back to Pakistan.
No room
Soon afterward it became clear that all of Shafaqat's friends who are registered with the UNHCR in Beijing had also been hassled in this way by the police. In each and every case, the message was the same: there's no room for refugees during the Olympic Games.
| Update April 2008: Shafaqat Mehmud left for Chicago with his mother and father on 3 March 2008. His brothers and sister-in-law are still in Beijing. They're hoping to quickly follow the rest of the family. |
* RNW translation (tpf)
Tags: 2008 Olympics, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Asylum seekers, China, Human Rights , Olympic Games, Refugees, Torture, UNHCR