Stop Deportation! – Abolish the Lagersystem! – Stop Residenzpflicht! – Right to stay, work & study!
download flyerThe Protestcamp at Oranienplatz exist now for 15 months. The protest camp is struggling against the second winter and the growing threat of eviction by the Berlin Senate. Although there is negotiations going on right now.
Different media and some people say 15 month of Protestcamp is enough. They don’t want to see it anymore. But the contrary has to happen. It is just a beginning. There has to happen a lot more to bring down the system of racist exclusion.
And yet the protest stays and it will not be so easy to get rid of it. It keeps renewing itself. The protest is a movement of many participants, a strong movement under the most difficult conditions. It is clear that the living conditions at Oranienplatz are not good at all. But people live there to fight not because it is so nice.
Even before Oranienplatz, the movement had a long history and tradition. But in the last two years, it has reached so many people, empowered so many, shaken laws and smashed racist images. Worldwide, in many cities, in isolation camps, in the city district around Oranienplatz.
Oranienplatz has become a political and social point of contact for many people. Its importance as a symbolic place of resistance is hard to overestimate. The place grew up to an important social network. At Oranienplatz isolation is broken every day.
Support this movement, join us. There is much to do and many long-term activists are tired, but the protest continues to unleash fresh forces.
· An important issue is communication: Organize translations; Share information (through press releases, events, meetings, pictures, demonstrations); Organize shared transportation to meetings, events ; … ; Support the organization of meetings; Accompany people to official appointment and other occasions.
· Infrastructure: Power cords always need replacement; the toilet is not good anymore; tents still need to be made winter-proof, construction material, firewood, medicine are needed. Come by and discuss what you can do.
· Solidarity with the political demands: Spread the demands in your neighborhood, in all your circles , makes solidarity posters and stickers; Mobilize online, start petitions for researchers, celebrities, workers, people (see http://www.refugee-report.de/); Paint banners; organize actions; …
· Contact: Come to Oranienplatz , to the school, to the house in Wedding and get in contact with people who are interested. Connect people, help everyone participate in society.
You don’t need to be patronizing. Get active. Be creative. Get involved. You will have to constantly rethink your role in the protest and in society. We all face contradictions and conflicts that cannot be solved in the short term. But that is exactly why it is so important to support the protest and its demands.
Commitment and continuity are very important. Nevertheless, there are so many small tasks you can do with little effort. There are many reasons and many ways to support the movement. Some are better, some worse. That is why we need to think and discuss. Leave behind self-righteous expectations. Still, the demands of this movement affect us all.
It is important not to lose sight of the great common political structure of the movement. It only works if we are all sensitive enough to think along and reorganize it again and again. No matter how difficult that may be. Without a political structure on which all jointly decide on procedures and goals, it is more difficult to achieve a positive change in society. Therfore general meetings are necessary without exclusion and also the communication of results.
The time is ripe. When if not now? The opportunity to overturn existing injustice is greater than ever. The movement is making history and will continue making it.
In summer, the movement will make its way to Brussels. The action involves movements from many different locations. The protest camp at Oranienplatz has become a focal point for linking local and transnational struggles. These networks play a large role in the movement. The march from Strasbourg to Brussels – which will arrive on 21 June 2014 – is the next political step. First demands were developed in a transnational collective process:
• Freedom of movement, freedom to take up residence
• Full mobility for asylum seekers, against the Dublin trap, against travel bans (Residenzpflicht)
• Permanent residence visa without strings attached (e.g. mandatory employment contract)
• Same working conditions for all
• Stop all deportations and the detention of refugees
• Same political, social and cultural rights for all
• End imperialist EU policies (free trade agreements, NATO wars, …)
• Abolition of Frontex, Eurosur and other anti-migration agencies
Come to Oranienplatz and get informed: www.refugeestrikeberlin.net
