This week, the authorities have tried to put the young woman or young people from Eritrea on a plane to Ethiopia. But the young woman screamed so that the deportation was stopped.

Quarrel about age

Is she now 17 years old, as she says - or 27, as the German authorities suspect? Both sides have evidence for their view of things. Long dark curls, a slim figure, a radiant smile - the dark-skinned woman in the photo sent by the Munich Refugee Council looks very young. But how old is she really? 

In her hearing at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees about a year ago, the young woman stated that she should have been forcibly married in Ethiopia at the age of fifteen, to a much older man who had previously raped her several times. But the German authorities do not believe her, because her fingerprints appear in Italian and Austrian visa applications - and these applications were made with Ethiopian passports. In which she is ten years older. But these passports are fake, says Loulou Kinski of the Munich Refugee Council:

"The young woman just says that all this went through her smuggling, that she was made older for passport photos, but that's just a common way for people with false passports to travel to get a visa . " Loulou Kinski from the Munich Refugee Council

Testimonies as proof of age - but for which?

The young woman then obtained, among other things, old school records from relatives to prove her name and how old she is. But even then she did not convince offices and courts. It is clear from a court order: The certificates were fundamentally doubted, because they date from the years 2002 to 2007 - and a 17-year-old was still too young for the school at that time. However, one thing was not considered, says Loulou Kinski:

"In Ethiopia, there is still the Ethiopian calendar, which is almost eight years behind our current calendar, which means that a school report issued in 2002, according to Ethiopian calendar, is actually the year 2010 for us. who was born in 2001, was nine years old in 2010 and may well have gone to school with it. "Loulou Kinski from the Munich Refugee Council

In Ethiopia, the time is different

Demand to the competent Landratsamt Donau-Ries. A written opinion states that the identity has been clarified beyond doubt, inter alia because of the existing fingerprints with corresponding passports:

"In addition, the foreigner has not plausibly explained what time in Ethiopia prevails, so that the testimonies of 2002 - 2007 of one allegedly born in 2001 can be."

A short Internet research shows that Ethiopia actually has another calendar, which lags behind the European some eight years. The District Office has yet another argument:

"In addition, the foreigner could be identified beyond doubt by the responsible Ethiopian authorities in Berlin in July 2018, since an Ethiopian proof of identity (home travel document) was issued with the birth year 1992."

Medical examination could bring clarity

Refugee aid organizations report, however, that Ethiopian authorities are currently taking back almost all the people whom the German government considers Ethiopian, because they hope for financial aid from Germany. Even for Matthias Schmid of Amnesty International, the home travel paper is no proof that the young woman is really 27 years old. He says she was also classified by the youth welfare at the beginning as a minor.

"I've seen her, I've talked to her, and I think I can tell from my experiences in the youth field where I used to work earlier, that this person is certainly not 27 years old, and I think that's it the whole point, where you have to think again and again give the chance to this girl, to determine the age correctly. " Matthias Schmid of Amnesty International

The age could be checked by a medical examination, although not exactly the year, but whether she is rather 17 or rather 27, would be determined. But reject the authorities.

"The case is cruel and you run out of time, the young woman should be granted protection until her age is beyond doubt, and she must be given a chance to apply for an original passport or medical parole, both of which she will be deported impossible. "Loulou Kinski from the Munich Refugee Council