Norway starts running anti-refugee ads in Afghan newspapers

Norwegian government has started running adverts in Afghanistan’s newspapers warning that potential asylum seekers will be returned by force.

In the first of week of November, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration sent a tweet warning that single Afghan men who cross over via Russia will be given a one-way ticket to Kabul. It had also run a Facebook campaign conveying the country’s stricter regulations for potential asylum seekers..

The newspaper advertisements, titled “Stricter asylum regulations in Norway” were published on the front page of the English-language Afghanistan Times and the Dari-language Hasht-e-sub.The ad campaign that started on Monday will continue throughout this week.The ads read:

Persons who do not qualify for a permit in Norway and whose applications are denied must return to their country of origin or country habitual residence. If you do not leave voluntarily, you will be returned by force. People from safe areas of Afghanistan or who have been granted residence in another country will have their application rejected and will be deported. People from areas that are not considered safe may be returned to other parts of Afghanistan.