Yazan Tamimi is a 11 year old boy. He has muscle dystrophy, and uses a wheelchair. He and his parents fled Gaza, where their friends and family were being blown up. They came to Iceland looking for peace. For the first time in his life, Yazan has been able to get treatment for his aggressive disease. He was awaken at midnight last night, Icelandic police officers went into the hospital where Yazan has been staying because of serious medical issues, and removed him from his bed. They removed him from the hospital and brought him to the airport to deport him. A couple of hours before departure it's reported that one or more ministers within the government requested his deportation be delayed.
Yazan was brought back to hospital this morning. Terrified. People draw different lines on immigration. That's understandable. But to recap, an 11 year old, disabled, vulnerable child, fleeing the destruction of his homeland, was removed from hospital at midnight, to deport him. This can not be the line we draw. Iceland has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It states, among other things, that all children are equal, that all decisions must be made with the best interest of the child, that children with disabilities have rights to special protections, and that children have special protections in an armed conflict. Last night we failed as humans. We failed ourselves and we failed Yazan. I am ashamed.
https://x.com/iamharaldur/status/1835662368505843960/photo/1