An asylum seeker living at the Fit Hostel (shown above) took his own life yesterday.
DV reports that the man, whose name has not been released, was living in Fit Hostel with his young son over the past month. An anonymous resident at the hostel said he is trying to find foster parents for the child.
DV also reports as yet unconfirmed accounts that the suicide took place near a harbour, and that children may have witnessed the event.
Asylum seekers in Iceland have long had to endure many hardships. Despite international law, many of them have to wait months or even years for their cases to be heard, with almost all refugees deported – even if they will demonstrably face slavery, torture or execution in their home countries. Some asylum seekers have had to wait so long that some have resorted to threatening suicide in order to have their cases heard.
Directorate of Immigration director Þorstein Gunnarsson could not be reached at the time of this writing.
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