BAMF

1,248 Nigerians file for asylum in Germany in January alone

Of the 17,051 asylum applications filed before Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) in January 2019, 1,248 were filed by Nigerians, the third highest by citizens of any nation from any part of the world.

January's figure was double the number of asylum applications filed by Nigerians in December 2018 with only 554 requests.

According to a statement by Germany's interior ministry released on Tuesday, February 19, 2019, the European giants recorded an uptick in asylum requests last month, with a recorded increase of 61.5% compared to December 2018.

The highest number of asylum requests were made by people from Syria (3,647), followed by people from Iraq (1,498), Nigeria, Iran (1,006) and Turkey (944).

Of the top five countries, Nigeria has the lowest acceptance rate at 10.1%, as opposed to Iran with 18.2% acceptance rate and Turkey with 49.7%. Syria's acceptance rate stood at a high 86.5% and Iraq at 34.1%.

Nigeria's low acceptance rate can be attributed to what a migration campaign group noted to be the European Union's failure to consider Nigeria as a country troubled by political persecution.

An asylum application is expected to demonstrate a legitimate fear of persecution from country of origin on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, social class, and other legally defined criteria.

In May 2018, the German foreign policy adviser, Jan Hecker, met with Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, to discuss how to repatriate around 30,000 undocumented Nigerian migrants back to the country after they were denied asylum.

Nigeria's Head of Mission in Germany, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, rejected the figures and claimed some Africans from other countries were in the habit of claiming to be Nigerians.

Nigerians running abroad by hook or crook

Many Nigerians are leaving the country in droves, legally and illegally, to seek greener pastures abroad with economic opportunities believed to be scarce.

Hundreds have died while travelling through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea trying to make dangerous trips abroad, usually to Italy through Libya. People that didn't die due to the dangerous trips fell victims of human traffickers.

A recent hot spot for Nigerians seeking greener pastures abroad is Canada whose government has put several strict measures in place to discourage illegal immigration which has been on the rise since 2017.

Nigerians make up a sizeable majority of thousands of people who have walked into Canada from the United States to file refugee claims since January 2017.

According to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, the acceptance rate of Nigerian border crossers, who didn't go through a designated port of entry, between February 2017 and June 2018, was 29.3%.

'Riot Grrrl Day' Declared in Boston to Honor BAMF Kathleen Hanna

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has declared Thursday, April 9 as “Riot Grrrl” day to honor Kathleen Hanna, Bikini Kill founder, cultural pioneer, and conquering badass. Walsh’s mayoral proclamation praises the “formidable wave” of female musicians, artists and writers who rose up through Riot Grrrl, saying the movement has “never felt more relevant.”

Our new favorite holiday — which we heard about via the AV Club — is time to coincide with Hanna’s visit to Boston, where she’s set to speak at the Wilbur Theatre. According to Vanyaland, she’ll be introduced by Boston’s Chief of Policy Joyce Linehan, who told the site there are “a lot of riot grrrls” at City Hall.

I’m not entirely sure that Mayor Marty was, personally, shouting “Girls to the front” as he deferentially hung back from the pit in 1994, but his proclamation is lovely. Here it is via Boston activist Feministfists:

Yeah. It’s cool as hell. Boston is pretty far, though, so the rest of us can just celebrate the day by rewatching The Punk Singer:

Hanna and the Julie Ruin performing at Fun Fun Fun Fest, November 2013. Photo via AP

Contact the author at anna.merlan@jezebel.com.Public PGP keyPGP fingerprint: 67B5 5767 9D6F 652E 8EFD 76F5 3CF0 DAF2 79E5 1FB6

Rapper Paul Wall In ‘Excruciating’ Pain After Brutal Car Crash With Young Son

Paul Wall came close to death this weekend, when he and his young son were involved in a brutal car crash.

As RadarOnline.com has learned, the “Trill” rapper and his son Will, 12, were on his way to his concert in Austin, Texas, when a speeding car hit them head-on.

“So crazy last night…” Wall, 37, wrote in a lengthy Instagram post about the incident this Monday. “This was my son first time Comin with squad. He’s came to shows before but only when my wife @cryswallbaby_bamf is there.”

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Sharing a photo of the horrific scene, the star continued: “Before we left the house my son and I prayed like we always do. We prayed that God would protect us while we are out, that our travels would be safe, and that our family and home would be protected while we are gone. I called @cryswallbaby_bamf and told her Will was coming and she was excited too.”

Wall then went on to detail the near-fatal crash, adding that thankfully, his son was wearing his seatbelt when it occurred.

“The fact that we were all able to walk away in tact is a miracle. I just wanted to share it with u in case u needed a reminder that God answers prayers. My son and I prayed for traveling grace and protection, and God answered our prayers. Today my wife @cryswallbaby_bamf told me that when we got off the phone to tell her Will was coming with me- she had a vision of a car accident and immediately prayed for protection. God answered her prayers,” wrote Wall.

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The scary incident seemed to hit a nerve for Wall, who has since been posting inspirational messages and bible excerpts on his social media platforms, voicing how grateful he is to be alive.

This Wednesday on Instagram, the rapper shared a sweet photo of him with his son. “A pic of me and my son Will before we faced death,” he wrote. “No matter how much pain I feel all over my body at the moment, I‘m overcome with gratitude knowing that we survived.”

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He added that while he’s still feeling the pain from his injuries, he knows he will recover soon and be okay.

“Right now it’s difficult to walk. It’s actually difficult to move at all. I’m sore all over my body, and my head / neck hurts so much it’s difficult to talk and hold a conversation. But in time I’ll be back to normal,” added Wall. “Thank u to everyone for all the prayers and calls/texts etc. Its incredible that I’m able to write this out right now. I’m so grateful to God that my fellow passengers were all safe and especially that my son’s life was spared. Anybody that has ever known me- knows how much my son means to me. I’m still in shock that we survived. Yet another sign from God that we still have work to do #purpose The pain is excruciating, and I was only prescribed Tylenol 3 but I’m so happy, like fr so so so so so happy that my son and my friends are ok 🙏🙏🙏. God’s Grace is amazing. All praise and glory be to God.”