Tag: externalization

Videokundgebungen gegen die G20-Afrika-Partnerschaftskonferenz am 26.5. und 9.6.

Videokundgebungen auf dem Oranienplatz

umsonst und draußen

Gegen die G20-Afrika-Partnerschaftskonferenz!

Für globale Bewegungsfreiheit und selbstbestimmte Entwicklung!

Freitag, 26. Mai, 20:30 Uhr
Zu reich für den Frieden – Raubbau im Kongo“.
Der Kongo ist ein Land reich an Rohstoffen.
Doch er gehört zu den ärmsten afrikanischen Ländern, denn die Rohstoffe werden entweder von Drittländern ausgebeutet oder so umkämpft, dass die Produktion lahm liegt. Daran beteiligen sich auch deutsche Unternehmen. Der Film zeigt das Problem am Beispiel des Minerals Coltan, das für den Bau von Mobiltelefonen oder Computern äußerst begehrt ist. Sprache: deutsch. Im Fall von Regen im New Yorck, Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2a.

Freitag, 9. Juni, 20:30 Uhr
Les Sauteurs – Those who jump“ (2016) mit Koregisseur Abou Baker Sidibé, Geflüchteter aus Mali. Er filmt nach 14 Monaten im Camp auf der marokkanischen Seite vor Mellila (die spanische Enklave auf marokkanischem Festland), vor dem Grenzzaun nach Spanien. Dabei dokumentiert er seinen und den Alltag der Geflüchteten, ihre Selbstorganisation, ihre erfolglosen und die erfolgreiche Erstürmung des unüberwindbar erscheinenden Grenzzauns.
Sprachen: Bambara, Französisch, Untertitel englisch.
Im Fall von Regen im New Yorck, Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2a.

Aktionstage vom 2. Juni bis 13. Juni 2017
Im Zuge der Präsidentschaft über die G20-Staaten lädt Deutschland zur „G20-Afrika-Partnerschafts-Konferenz“ ein. Die sogenannten „Migrations- partnerschaften“ entpuppen sich jedoch als Maßnahmen um Migration zu verhindern, Ziel von privaten Investitionen ist der Profit. Das Wohl der Menschen in Afrika ist damit nicht gemeint. Wir setzen dem unseren Protest, unsere Hoffnung auf ein besseres Leben jenseits der kapitalistischen Zurichtung dieses Planeten und jenseits von Mobilitätskontrolle, sowie unseren Willen, eine solidarische Welt zu realisieren, entgegen!

Mehr Infos und Termine unter: http://wirsindwuetend.blogsport.eu/

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Video Rally on Oranienplatz – free and outside

Against the G20 Africa Partnership Conference!

For global freedom of movement and self-determined development!

Friday, May 26th, 8:30 pm
“Too rich for peace – destructive exploitation in Congo“
Congo is a country very rich in ressources. However, it is also one of the poorest African countries, because the ressources are either being exploited by third countries or fought over and its production stopped. German companies are also involved. The movie shows the problem on the example of Coltan which is a crucial material of mobile phones and computers. Language: German. In case of rain, at New Yorck Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2a.

Friday, June 9th, 8:30 pm
“Les Sauteurs – Those who jump” (2016) with co-director Abou Baker Sidibé, a refugee from Mali. After fourteen months, he films in the camp on the Moroccan side in front of Mellila (the Spanish enclave on Moroccan mainland), before the border fence to Spain. In doing so, he documents his daily life and the self-organization of the refugees, their unsuccessful and successful storming of the insurmountable border fence.
Languages: Bambara, French, Subtitles English
In case of rain, at New Yorck Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2a.

Action days from June 2nd to June 13th 2017
In the course of its presidency of the G20-states Germany „G20 African Partnership Conference“. The so-called „Migration Partnerships“ however turn out to be measures to prevent migration, the goal of private investment is profit. Obviously, the well-being of people in Africa is not of concern. Against that, we will set our protest, our hope for a better life beyond the capitalist domination of this planet and beyond mobility control, and our will to realize a world in solidarity!

More information and dates: http://wirsindwuetend.blogsport.eu/

 

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Démonstrations vidéo sur le Oranienplatz –
gratuit et en plein air

Contre la conférence de partenariat G20-Afrique! Pour la liberté global de mouvement et le développement autodéterminé!

Vendredi, 26 Mai 20h:30
« De la richesse pour la paix – l’exploitation au Congo »
Le Congo est un pays riche en matières premières. Mais il est l’un des pays les plus pauvres d’Afrique, parce que les matières premières sont soit exploités par les pays puissants soit ils se battent entre eux «ou concurrentiel, «jusque la production soit paralysé. Les entreprises allemandes y participent aussi..Le film montre par exemple les problemes du minérale de coltan avec lequel sont fabriqué les téléphones et des ordinateurs qui sont extrêmement populaire et très recherché. Langue: Allemand. En cas de pluie, a New Yorck, Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2a.

Vendredi, 9 Juin 20h:30
“Les sauteurs-Ceux qui sautent”(2016) Avec le Co-régisseur Abubaker Sidibe qui avait fui le Mali. Il filme 14 mois après sa fuite au camp des réfugiés du côté marocain avant Mellila (l´enclave espagnole sur le continent marocaine), avant la clôture de la frontière vers l´Espagne. Il a documenté sa vie quotidienne et l’auto-organisation des fugitifs, leur échec et leur succès et la prise d´assaut de la clôture frontalière qui paraissait insurmontable.
Langues: bambara, français, sous-titres anglais. En cas de pluie, a New Yorck, Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2a.

Jours d’action du 2 Juin à 13 Juin, 2017
Au cours da la présidence des pays du G20 l´Allemagne invite certains pays á un conférence sur le partenariat G20 Afrique. Les soit disant “partenariat migratoir“. Mais ca se révélent être des mesures visant á empêcher la migration. L´objectif c´est le profit de l´investissement privé. Ce n´est pas destinés au sors du bien être des gens en Afrique. Nous allons protester contre. Notre espoir d’une vie meilleure au-delà discipline capitaliste cette planète et au-delà du contrôle de la mobilité
c´est contraire a la réalisation de notre volonté d´un monde solidaire.

Plus d’informations et dates:
http://wirsindwuetend.blogsport.eu

European Borders update 15.4.2016. Greece starts rejecting people as Turkey labeled ‘safe third country’

TURKEY:

Up to 30.000 refugees started heading to Turkey during the last 48 hours, Spiegel Online reports based on the information provided by the volunteers. This follows several attacks by IS at refugee camps in Northern Syria. However, Turkey refuses to let them to cross the border. As already known, Turkey is building a 911km long cement wall along the border which is said to resist missile attacks. According to Human Rights Watch, one third of it has been finished.

GREECE:

IMPORTANT – today we came into possession of a document issued by the Greek authorities (Regional Asylum Office of Lesvos) stating the inadmissibility for international protection to an individual’s claim based on presumption of Turkey as a Safe Third Country. If this continues as a practice, the principle of non-refoulement mentioned in the EU-Turkey agreement will be most certainly breached. The document states:

„(…) the application that she lodged is rejected as inadmissible, because Turkey is considered to be a safe third country for her.
Furthermore, I informed the applicant with the assistance of the interpreter that he has the right to appeal this decision before the Appeals Committees within 5 calendar days starting tomorrow and that the appeal has automatic suspensive effect. In case the decision is not appealed against within the above time limit, the applicant will be removed from the country. “

According to the UNHCR, there were 106 reported arrivals yesterday to the Greek islands, and 36 departures to the mainland. According to their numbers, which are based on the Government data, today there were 46,450 people on sites in the Mainland and 7,216 people in the islands. According to these numbers, today there were 4142 people at ‪#‎Lesvos‬, 1823 at ‪#‎Chios‬, 772 at ‪#‎Samos‬, 316 at ‪#‎Leros‬, 12 at ‪#‎Kalymnos‬, 44 at ‪#‎Kos‬, 77 at ‪#‎Rhodes‬, and 30 at ‪#‎Megisti‬.

There were 3770 refugees in ‪#‎Athens‬ ‪#‎Piraeus‬, 4358 in 3 sites of ‪#‎Elliniko‬, 1502 in ‪#‎Eleonas‬, and 1939 in ‪#‎Schisto‬.
Besides Northern Greece, large numbers of refugees are accomodated in the following camps accross the rest of the country – 1021 in ‪#‎Katsika‬, 578 in ‪#‎Filipiada‬, 809 in ‪#‎Larisa‬ (Koutsochero), 2009 in ‪#‎Pieria‬ (5 locations), 1060 in ‪#‎Skaramagas‬, 717 in ‪#‎Ritsona‬, 1100 in ‪#‎Malakasa‬, and 882 in ‪#‎Lavrio‬ (2 locations).

In the Northern Greece UNHCR reports the presence of 10392 refugees in ‪#‎Idomeni‬, 1237 at the Polykastro Station, 3963 at ‪#‎NeaKavala‬, 3983 in ‪#‎Cherso‬, 780 in ‪#‎Giannitsa‬, 816 in ‪#‎Alexandreia‬, 2281 in ‪#‎Diavata‬, 382 in ‪#‎Thessaloniki‬ Port.

ISLANDS

Volunteers in #Lesvos report no boat arrivals today to the Northern coast, while no information is available for the South.
Preparations to clean up a refugee camp turned detention center in Moria in advance of the Pope’s visit tomorrow do nothing to address the deteriorating conditions in the center, where 2,900 people are locked up in a facility meant to hold 2,000, reports The Independent. Save the Children reports conditions for children in the center are appalling. Volunteers report that the more than half of the refugees have been moved to ‪#‎KaraTepe‬ where at least volunteers are able to access them and assist with better food and clothing, as a part of the preparations for Pope’s visit. Those who are still in #Moria have been given much better shelter, tables and chairs to sit at to eat meals and a much cleaned, repaired and painted environment. All graffiti outside suggesting that borders should be opened has been covered with whitewash.

On his visit to Lesbos this Saturday, Pope Francis should visit the Lesvos Solidarity Camp #Pikpa, a volunteer-run camp that since 2012 has given shelter, care, and comfort to thousands of the most vulnerable asylum seekers who have reached the Greek island of Lesbos by boat, says HRW. Now the island’s mayor wants to convert this haven into a holiday resort. Since the beginning of the refugee crisis, Pikpa has become a sanctuary of refuge. The situation is worse now, since the EU and Turkey agreed to a deeply flawed migration deal last month, by which everyone arriving by boat from Turkey is automatically detained. Moria is now a detention center where people will not have adequate access to health or psychosocial care or services for young children and persons with disabilities. Efforts to stop Pikpa’s closure are underway. The advocacy group Avaaz has started a petition; open for signatures, calling on the government of Greece and the mayor of Lesbos to keep Pikpa’s doors open. A visit by Pope Francis could also help save PIKPA and its vital efforts to alleviate suffering, HRW reports. The petition is available through the following link http://bit.ly/1TVEZ6F
Volunteers in #Kastellorizo were told that the 30 refugees who remained at the island will be taken to the hot spot in #Leros on Monday. Volunteers there report no new arrivals for nearly 2 weeks. The ferry companies who run from to Kastellerizo are building up to their summer schedule so it is much easier to get volunteers over there at short notice now.

28 refugees are detained at #Kos right now. 51 imprisoned refugees were brought to Lesvos and back to Turkey last week. Flying Help and Kos Solidarity are still providing additional food and clothes for the detained people, whenever the police allow them to. The planned hot spot is still not ready, even if it was planned to open today. A new date for its opening is not set yet. Volunteers report no new arrivals to the island for already a week.

MAINLAND

Volunteers in Pireaus report on the case of a family whose child needed a surgery and who were taken to the public hospital where there was no room. Since there was no room in any of the hospitals or camps, the family was left to sleep in the street overnight, since they could not afford an accommodation.
Donations are needed in Camp Petra Olympou in Northern Greece. There are about 1000 Eazidi refugees from Syria and Iraq accommodated, mostly from Idomeni. 480 of them are children. It is a military camp with decent tents but meals are military rations (bread, small box of something like egg/potato pie) and a bottle of water, as reported by volunteers. There is running water at the camp, but camp managers have told people it is not safe to drink. People complain that there is not enough drinking water. Also there is no camp staff other than military, so the sanitary conditions are unsatisfactory. There is no light around the camp as it is dark at night. There is no electricity in the tent areas. People are asking for charging stations for mobile phones. Volunteer help is needed, too.

They need – food, medical supplies, milk for children, blankets, clothes. The contact number is +30 698 641 5751 (Tariq who speaks English, Kurdish and Arabic).

Volunteers report on the #Alexandria Camp, which is a camp open for only 11 days, it is military run, but there is a strong cooperation with the established volunteer group. On that site, the army prepares the food, but the volunteers have to buy baby food. There is a measles outbreak and the camp is in need of nurses and doctors. Refugees in general report that the present medics are very busy. Volunteer group has secured funding to renovate the abandoned buildings on site, and there is a plan for refugees-run shops and a communal kitchen. Everyone is registered and has a ration card, so there are lists to ensure that everyone gets the right amount of food. The army prints the lists with the size of shoes and clothes for volunteers so the refugees can get exactly what is required. The nearest hospital is 45km. It is not allowed to make fires in camp so no one can cook. Inside the tents people seem to mostly sleep in camp beds. UNHCR is present on site apparently 3 times per week; however the refugees do not know anything about asylum rights. There are snakes, as everywhere.

However, at the #NeaChrani location, at 40 minutes distance from Alexandria camp, there is no medical coverage now. Allegedly, they had volunteer doctors who started demanding money. So, there is a need for doctors and nurses in Nea Chrani that can stay 2 weeks or more – please help if you can.

14 groups of independent volunteers in #Idomeni have shared their General Statement today. They respond to the accusations by the media and the politicians for inciting violence or spreading false information among the refugees. They say: „We believe that spreading false information amongst a vulnerable population is immoral, gives false hope and only causes more harm. These false accusations have only resulted in the increase of police activity and the unjustified arrest and detention of at least 25 volunteers in recent days. These actions only reduce the already limited access the refugees in Greece have to basic needs such as; food, hygiene, medical care, shelter and education.“
News that Moves reports that a group of volunteers have set up an informal school for refugee children at the Idomeni camp. According to the Greek news agency ANA-MPA, at the makeshift ‘Idomeni cultural centre’ daily classes includes math, Kurdish and Arabic language. Courses for adults are also held. Refugees who have studied math, science or languages are teaching in the school. Volunteers are giving children English and German language classes

SERBIA:

Migszol volunteers asked the Serbian and Hungarian Authorities and UNHCR on both sides to facilitate access for NGO’s and Volunteer groups to the stranded people in #Kelebija and #Horgos. Between 60 to 200 people are waiting in front of the two official Tranzit Zones on the Hungarian-Serbian border for days, some of them for weeks. The Hungarian authorities reduced the number of accepted entrances from 30 to 20 recently and often they accept only 12 or 15 people. Usually they chose one or two families, take them in and close the doors for another day, volunteers report. During the last few days, the practice was that they let only Syrian or Iraqi families in. The Afghan, Pakistani, Iranian, Somali families are left waiting, and eventually return exhausted to Belgrade. One Afghan family is stranded there for 4 days and nights with several small children. The mother is pregnant. They have been talking to UNHCR on both the Serbian and the Hungarian side with no success. So far only MSF and UNHCR get access to the people stranded on the Serbian side of the Hungarian transit zone. No other support structures are in place. Nobody is allowed to hand out tents, which means that people are exposed to all weather conditions. There are no sanitary facilities at all. The situation is deteriorating daily.
In #Belgrade Migszol witnessed 200-300 new arrivals daily during the last week -numbers are increasing, not decreasing, volunteers say. Most of the newly arriving people come through Bulgaria, where they have been jailed and tortured, chased through forests, walked for many hours and lacked food and water. Nevertheless, NGO’s are planning to withdraw in many places, closing their missions, while numbers show that the need for support is increasing.

Serbian media B92 reports that on Friday morning police officers forced their way into a house in Sinjska Street in Belgrade where a group of migrants had previously barricaded themselves. They were searching the house and talking with the people in the yard, before taking 16 of them to a police station where they were interviewed. No incidents occurred during the intervention. B92 learned that 16 migrants lived there for months, with the number sometimes reaching 50 people, and that they have no documents. Women and children are among the group. According to unofficial information, the owner of the house lives in Germany, while “his son occasionally visits the house.”

CROATIA:
On April 15th, the Croatian transit camp #Slavonski Brod was closed. This camp, that was officially able to host around 5000people was intended to be transit camp, but since the push-backs at the Route and since the Route’s closing, it became a sort of a detention center for over 300 refugees stranded there, among whom there were minors. During the last couple of weeks, many of them applied for asylum in Croatia – they were transferred during the last couple of days to the asylum seeker center in Zagreb (Porin Hotel), asylum center in the town of Kutina and asylum center Ježevo (single men). Croatian authorities have closed the refugee camp, due to its inadequacy for the long-term stay of the refugees. The last 62 refugees accommodated at the camp did not seek asylum in Croatia were transferred yesterday to Porin Hotel in Zagreb (corr. 16/4). Are You Syrious? and Welcome Initiative volunteers are in touch with the people in these centers.

Volunteers report that a family from Afghanistan was deported from Austria to Croatia today. They were in Austria for 6 months.

AUSTRIA:
Austrian media report that the Austrian police rescued 27 refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan, including 16 children and a teenager, out of a truck cargo bay in #Rohrbach in Upper Austria about 20 kilometers from German border on Monday. The smuggler was arrested.

Austrian media also report that trafficking has strongly increased in the Eastern Austria during last weeks, according to Federal police. In April this year 44 cases of smuggling have been reported only in the Upper Austria. Police suspects that the small groups of people (usually 8 to 10 persons) are brought to Austria in small trucks or transporters from Hungary. The desired destination is Germany. On Thursday night 43 refugees have been brought to Burgenland. The authorities expect a massive increase of smugglers in the following period.

Austrian government wants to transfer 160 million Euro to the World Bank’s International Development Agency (IDA) during the next nine years, starting from 2017, which makes about 15 million Euro per year. Several media report that this money is meant for refugee relief in the Middle East. The Austrian council of Ministers is supposed to accept this proposal next week. (source: Tiroler Tageszeitung)

According to Huffington Post, Austrian President Fischer declared: “Rumors about a border’s closure between Italy and Austria are false and misleading. ” Fischer claims that without an adequate protection of the European external borders the situation forces Austria to adopt further measures to stop people, whose identity and motivations are unknown, coming in unlimited numbers from non-EU countries. EU commissary for internal affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos disagrees on Austria’s intentions. He argues that these initiatives put Schengen’s agreements at risk. He formally demands to Austrian ministry Mikl-Leitner an adequate report stating what is going on at the border and why. According to Avramopoulos, verifications on identity are “total”, and no hints suggest that massive migrants’ flows are shifting from Greece to Italy.
ITALY:
Italian regional journal, Messaggero Veneto reports that thirty-four associations for the rights and assistance to migrants wrote an open letter against the responsible people for the decision of closing an underground passage, currently used as shelter by refugees. The signatures of citizens are currently being collected. President of the border region Friuli Venezia-Giulia and the associations accuse Austria for the decision of a wall, and they blame Italy for not supporting refugees, as they had previously requested.

According to the Italian RAI, the Italian Prime Minister Renzi submitted a letter to the EU Parliament where he argues that the management of the migrants’ flow is unsustainable, without a thorough and participatory cooperation with the departure countries. Substantially, Italy urges the EU Parliament to speed up the process of liaising with countries such as Libya, in order to avoid massive migration. He proposes to deliver financial resources to the transit countries, to block illegal migration, to manage an extraordinary plan of repatriation, and to support legally, logistically, financially and structurally the partner countries in screening migrants (distinguishing refugees and economic migrants).

Volunteers report that there were lot of arrivals in the last three days – more than 2.000 people arrived to Sicily. Southern Italian hotspots are already full, it seems that the people are stuck there, however the volunteers do have the information about the people who were able to escape. They also report very difficult conditions for volunteering in the island of #Lampedusa at the very South of Italy, due to the large number of soldiers in the harbor. According to the volunteers, a lot of people use Bozen/Bolzano as a transit zone to arrive to Munich from Sicily and the rest of the Southern Italy. Volunteers report that currently there are no people in transit, but that they are all stopped in Southern Italy.

GERMANY :

Nearly 70,000 unaccompanied minor refugees are currently in Germany – more than twice as many in comparison to the last year. Since they are considered to be particularly vulnerable, intensive supervision is supposed to be provided by the social workers for minors. The reality is rather different. Because of the sharp rise in numbers, the staff is inadequate in many areas. “In certain cases, a guardian looks after 100 minors” Around 6,000 children and young people are still missing, reports Huffington Post.

FRANCE:

Volunteers in #Paris report that the refugees there urgently need food. They say that the situation is critical and that many of these people have not eaten in days. Food delivery is dependent on local volunteers and it is scarce, which is causing conflicts among the people – volunteers report that last night the police tear gassed the refugees after one such conflict occurred. If you can help, please contact volunteer Ruhi Loren Akhtar.

NORWAY:

According to Norwegian newspapers Aftenposten, Norway has signed an agreement with Italy and Greece to bring out 1,500 asylum seekers over two years. It is part of the EU program to remedy the situation in the two countries. EU’s own member states have failed their efforts and has only accepted a small number of refugees: 160,000 should be moved from Greece and Italy over two years. To date, only 1,145 people has been able to travel to another EU country. Also Norway has promised the EU to take refugees. Vice-secretary Berger Røsland confirms that the agreement for the relocation of asylum seekers to Norway is signed – 1500 refugees who have come to Greece and Italy are to be moved to Norway.

Photo credit: Volunteer to AYS – The document issued by the Greek authorities (Regional Asylum Office of Lesvos) stating the inadmissibility for international protection to an individual’s claim based on presuming Turkey is a Safe Third Country.

Update at the borders 5.4.2016

By Are You Syrious?

#‎GENERAL‬: On Wednesday interior ministers of Germany, Austria and Switzerland met in Vienna to talk about refugees and terrorism. German interior minister Thomas de Maizière suggested to make a deal with North African countries as EU did with Turkey. “The method is right”, he said, meaning deporting illegal migrants and for that taking equal amount of ‘legal’. He didn’t mention countries to collaborate with, but said a deal with them would be “unequally difficult”. The ministers are now focused on two alternative routes: Austrian interior minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner explained the East Balkan Route (Turkey-Bulgaria) has a potential of 1.1 million migrants, the Mediterranean Route 300.000. She also underlined to support Greece and possible in future affected country, obviously referring to Bulgaria and Romania. To the closing of the Balkan-Route de Maizière said it’s done. “And we are in complete agreement that it needs to remain done.”

#‎LIBYA‬: At least five African migrants are dead and 15 injured, some of them seriously after guards at a detention in the coastal town of ‪#‎Zawiya‬ (who form part of the Al Nasser Militia) opened fire during a mass escape early on Saturday morning.

‪#‎TURKEY‬: The agreement between the EU and Turkey, signed on March 18, paved the way for the return of refugees from Greece to Turkey, where they may be able to get international protection according to the EU. According to Amnesty, since January, Turkey has expelled groups of around 100 Syrians from the southern border provinces of Turkey to Syria. This has been happening on a daily basis, and includes families, women and children. Amnesty did not provide precise numbers about mass returns of Syrian refugees to Syria. “All forced returns to Syria are illegal under Turkish, EU and international law,” Amnesty International emphasised in the report. Further, “the large-scale returns of Syrian refugees we have documented highlight the fatal flaws in the EU-Turkey deal” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe and Central Asia. According to Amnesty, there is a risk that some of the people the EU will send back from Greece to Turkey could be also sent back to Syria. Amnesty International (AI) report shows that Turkey may be not considered a ‘safe country’ for refugees, including Syrians.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said 78 Syrian refugees had been sent to Europe to their new homes. Some 32 Syrians were sent to Germany as 11 Syrians went to Finland on April, while 31 Syrians were sent to the Netherlands on April 5, according to figures.

Prices for the Turkey-Greece sea crossing dropped with the EU-Turkey deal from 600€-800€ to 500€. Wirtschaftswoche quoted a smuggler saying, “Some colleagues are trying to convince the most stupid and desperate people to ferry across the sea.” Lesser number of refugees are coming to Turkey now, as the prices for crossing the border into Turkey are now being more expensive than the sea crossing. Fake IDs are now being increasingly requested by refugees, so they could go by plane. Price is 6,000€-8,000€; for tickets to UK even double that. Smugglers are also preparing the route from Turkey to Italy now. “They will use big ships not small rubber boats”, smuggler said. Price is 2,500€.

Two deported refugees, Pakistanis who arrived yesterday in Turkey “inaugurating” the agreement between the European Union and Turkey attempted suicide when they arrived in current center for returnees. The reason for that was attempted and requested political asylum, for which their application was rejected immediately. One of them passed away later at a Turkish hospital.

Big complex for Syrian refugees built with EU financing should be opened on April 16th in ‪#‎Kilis‬ (south-east Turkey).

‪#‎GREECE‬: According to the Government sources, at 8am there were 52, 352 refugees stranded in Greece. There were 5,984 people stranded on the islands – 3,149 on Lesvos, 751 on Samos, 1,776 on Chios, 93 on Leros, 72 on Kos, 81 on Rodos, 15 on Kalymnos and 47 on Kastellorizo.The Government reports 14,506 in Attica – 1,950 in Schisto, 1,502 in Eleonas, 1,150 in Elleniko Baseball camp, 1,440 in Elleniko Hockey camp, 1,612 at the Elleniko Terminal, 120 in Agios Andreas, 1,115 in Malakasa, 400 in Lavrio agrotiki camp, 456 in Lavrio asylum centre and 4,761 in Piraeus. Further, there is 2,542 people in Central Greece – 856 in Ritsona, 290 in Thermopylae and 1,396 in Koutsochero, and 340 in Southern Greece in Kyllini Andravidas. Finally, the Government reports 28,980 in Northern Greece – 11,280 in Idomeni, 2,265 in Diavata, 382 in Thessaloniki (port), 3,900 in Cherso, 1,264 in EKO-Polykastro, 3,543 in Nea Kavala, 202 in Eleftheroupoli, 750 in Nea Karvali, 479 in Drama, 223 in Kozani, 171 in Konitsa, 151 in Paralia Skotinas, 400 in Nireas (Kalivia Varikou), 291 in Nea Chrani, 164 in Ktima Irakli, 669 in Filippiada, 201 in Doliana, 1,117 in Katsikas, 837 in Giannitsa, 307 in Alexandria and 384 in Veria (Kokkinou camp). Number of new arrivals on the islands in 24h period until 07:30am was 225, of which 187 on Lesvos, 20 on Samos and 18 on Kastellorizo. Significant free spaces according to official capacity: Leros 900, Elleniko Baseball 150, Ritsona 140, Thermopylae 110, Koutsochero 100, Diavata 230, Nea Kavala 460, Nea Karvali 250, Kozani 180, Nea Chrani 110, Doliana 200, Katsikas 380, Alexandria 890.

Pakistani refugees at ‪#‎Lesvos‬ told volunteers that police were arresting all Pakistani refugees, even those who claimed an asylum. Thus, refugees were protesting at ‪#‎Moria‬. At ‪#‎Chios‬, there are rumours about the deportations of refugees despite the fact that they claimed they wanted to claim asylum. Also, from several cases, volunteers got the impression that the deportations happen in a super-arbitrary way. Twice, volunteers claim, refugees almost got deported because they were standing “in the wrong crowd.” Finally, Vincent Cochetel, director of UNHCR’s Europe bureau, said on Tuesday that 13 Afghans and Congolese asylum seekers who reached the Greek island of Chios after 20 March, and who were deported back to Turkey on Monday, had not been allowed to formally register their asylum claims due to administrative chaos on the island.

On the applications people fill out at ‪#‎Vial‬, there is two questions in the same column:
“Do you want to apply for asylum yes / no?”
“Do you want to go back to Turkey yes / no?”
This is suggesting a choice. Volunteers talked to refugees who had answered no to both questions, which is a problem the EU-Turkey deal doesn’t account for. Moreover, while on Monday 202 refugees were deported to Turkey, 225 arrived on Greek islands from Turkey.

The Greek Asylum Service is being overwhelmed by thousands of applications every day, it said on Tuesday, admitting that it is unable to handle the volume and is considering emergency measures to speed up the process. The Greek Parliament adopted last week the Law 4375/2016, which introduces several changes in the asylum and first reception procedures. The law came in force on April 3rd.
The Asylum Information Database (AIDA) yesterday published a legal analysis of the new law, which you can see at the following link: http://bit.ly/1qq4ZLY

On the other hand, Greece has postponed the return of the next group of migrants to Turkey under a deal with the European Union until Friday, a Turkish government official said on Tuesday, with no other deportees expected before then.

After 2 days of “occupation”, Greek police have erected a fence in Chios port squeezing refugees who refuse to move on one side and leaving majority of the port free so ferries may dock again.

On ‪#‎Samos‬ things have changed drastically in last weeks. Refugees are now being taken to a closed camp the minute they arrive to the island. Many of the big NGOs have pulled out of the camp because they do not agree with the fact that the refugees are being kept locked up under prison like conditions. Friendly Humans Samos are one of the rare organizations that remain. In the past, their main focus was making sure the refugees had breakfast every morning. As they are now locked in the camp, the food is the army’s responsibility. Thus, they have decided, among other things, to focus on the unattended minors in the camp. They have been able to provide cake, crisps and soft drinks to the minors last week, so they could celebrate three birthdays. Furthermore, they support a young Syrian mother with two small children, who has applied for asylum here in Greece and now lives in a small rented studio. Unfortunately, the system does not provide for her, so they do what they can to help her. They have also provided food for small groups of people stranded outside the camp with no access to food. As for the work within the camp, they are distributing clothes and other necessities as they did at the port, talk to the refugees and play with the children. Please continue to support them, so they can continue their work at Samos.

In Greece, the work is being done to set up many new camps. Every couple of days, a new camp opens. The new camps are placed in order to replace the older ones. The first cleanout will probably be ‪#‎Piraeus‬. The numbers of refugees in Piraeus port continues to sit just under the 5,000 mark, with approximately 100 refugees returning on site this morning from a camp they were taken to yesterday, due to lack of support and bad conditions. Many refugees who are returning are not happy with the set up at new camps. This dissatisfaction of new camps is being voiced loud and clear across the gates, and will surely make the evacuation of Piraues difficult. On the other hand, the pressure from authorities on solidarity structures and volunteers is growing in recent days. They are blamed for preventing refugees to leave for new camps. Today authorities interrupted sharing lunch to refugees saying that the port will get empty by the end of the week and one officer recently said that “the aim is the peaceful movement, but if that doesn’t happen, we’ll ultimately go with broom.” Nevertheless, the situation at Piraeus is not ideal either. For example, head lice is becoming an issue in E1. Team Brit is still looking for long term translators to work in the team due to a number of members in the team departing on relocation.

After Piraeus, there are also plans either to close down ‪#‎Idomeni‬ completely, or to put it down to 4,000-5,000 refugees. Discussions on Greek TV claim that, for now, authorities are trying to encourage people to leave Idomeni voluntarily, but that they will use police force if they have to. Greece is opening several new camps until the end of the month, so there will be space to move refugees away from the border. Speaking of Idomeni, the camp is in urgent need of volunteers!

Soup&Socks kitchen team reports slow progress is being made but the technical conditions in ‪#‎Katsikas‬ remain poor. Hygiene is still a problem: broken taps and Dixie-toilets, too few showers, garbage cans, growing lice problems with children. There is no flooring in the tents, majority is still without mattresses and new arrivals have to sleep on the rubble if they don’t find anything better. They merely recieve a plastic sheet to place beneath them. Among a few refugees there’s great frustration visible due to poor living conditions. Some have started drinking and tensions between the different nationalities are getting stronger. But majority is still hopeful and tolerant to the difficult situation around. There’s many efforts to improve the situation: Soup&Socks cooks 1000 portions of soups and purees and they involved refugees to assist them, Olvidados have started singing and dancing activities for the children, group of 10 greek clowns visited the camp 2 days ago and made all laugh, Lighthouse Relief has plans to start school lessons, the men from the Greek military play football with kids, and altogether even organized screening of “El Classico” football match in the camp. Besides, local people of Ioannina are very helpful and supportive.

Group of Carry the Future volunteers was 1st international team to visit ‪#‎Konitsa‬ refugee center close to Albania and they report that residents are reasonably well cared for, though head of the camp was not open to outside volunteers (he begrudgingly allowed them to work outside). Besides, in last 2 days they visited all other Epirus region camps: Filippiada, Doliana and Katsikas. They were allowed access to all camps and were able to get carriers and other basic aid to all families with small children that asked for it.

‪#‎MACEDONIA‬: After the start of the EU-Turkey agreement, Macedonia is no longer a country of transit. The northern border camp ‪#‎Tabanovce‬ holds 1,040 refugees: Afghans, Syrians, and Iraqis. The south camp ‪#‎Vinojug‬ in ‪#‎Gevgelija‬ has registered 135 refugees, of which 38 are Yazidi, 3-4 Afghans, and the rest are Syrians. Conditions in Gevgelija are comparably good: refugees have 3 meals a day, including fruits and vegetables, free Internet, beds for sleeping, kindergarten, 24/7 medical team, legal support of the Association of Young Lawyers “MILA,” present UNHCR is available, volunteers and NGO’s that provide refugees with clothes and food.

On the other hand, in Tabanovce again today we received complains from Afghan refugees who claim that the food is really terrible, and there’s someone allowed coming in the camp and selling food: 2 Euro for loaf of bread, 10 Euro for chicken. Food they get smells really bad, so they usually buy that bread and some other food from the guy, at least the ones who have money. Sometimes police beats them, more out of pure boredom. Here is a little video from yesterday showing bad food situation: http://bit.ly/22aWa4k

On the bright side there’s a newborn baby Sivar in Gevgelija camp. He is first Yazidi born in Macedonia.

‪#‎SERBIA‬: Until the end of ‪#‎Miksaliste‬ working hours, a total number of newcoming refugees was 328: 255 men, 35 women and 38 children. Refugee Aid Miksaliste has yesterday started with creative workshops for refugees. They started teaching refugees English, German and Serbian, and they also plan to make jewelry. Likewise, refugee-volunteers from Pakistan and Afghanistan will teach volunteers Persian language. Thanks to Novi Sad Humanitarian Center, Refugee Aid Miksaliste will be holding these workshops for all interested visitors every single day.

‪#‎CROATIA‬: Two more men asked for asylum yesterday leaving 111 refugees in ‪#‎SlavonskiBrod‬ camp on this sunny and hot day. Heat could pose serious problems as temperatures rise. Volunteers from CMS held the 1st class of Croatian for refugees. Meantime in ‪#‎Zagreb‬, Minister of foreign affairs announces that Croatia won’t have more than 500 relocations from Turkey. Croatia is supposed to host 1,600 refugees according to 2 EU programmes – relocations from Italy&Greece and relocations from 3rd countries (namely Turkey and Jordan).

‪#‎GERMANY‬: During the “no border action days” in ‪#‎Freiburg‬/‪#‎Basel‬ last weekend, hundreds of left activists blocked a highway on the Swiss/German border crossing for 3 hours to protest against the fortress Europe, for open borders and to show solidarity with all refugees.

According to ORF.at: While Austria is closing its Southern and Eastern borders German Interior Minister Thomas de Maziere is planning to stop border controls at the German-Austrian border soon. Because of the low numbers of migrants crossing the border, he sees no need to continue the border controls after 12th May. The number of officers at the borders is already decreasing.

Germany saw arrival of its first group of refugees (78 Syrian) as part of EU-Turkey deal.

‪#‎ITALY‬: MSF Italia opened today in ‪#‎Rome‬ a rehabilitation centre for refugees and immigrants survivors of torture.

‪#‎NETHERLANDS‬: Netherlands saw arrival of its first group of refugees (31 Syrian) as part of EU-Turkey deal.

#BELGIUM: Belgian state secretary for asylum Theo Feancken announced that he will present a new law to the Parliament. The law stipulates that citizens of the non EU countries who want to stay in Belgium for more then three months are obliged to sign a promise that “they will try to fit into Belgian civilization”. This formulation is explicitly written in the said document. This means that “violence against other persons, wives and children is punishable by law” and that a signatory of the document has to respect “the freedom of religion” and that they are obliged to try and prevent terrorist attacks.

#NORWAY: The Norwegian government has presented a comprehensive suggestion to law change to tighten refugee policy. It will be one of the most stringent regulations in Europe, says Immigration and Integration Minister Sylvi Listhaug of the Progress Party, which claims that the legislative changes do not violate international rules. Under the plan, asylum seekers whose case is viewed as “obviously groundless” could be jailed while their claim is fast-tracked under Norway’s so-called ’48-hour procedure’. That measure, put in place in January 2004, calls for migrants arriving from what the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) to have their asylum applications processed and rejected within two days. Integration Minister Sylvi Listhaug is now proposing that migrants with no legitimate asylum claim should be jailed while their cases are processed. “We can see that unfounded asylum seekers disappear while the police are processing their applications. This will prohibit them from running off and eventually getting involved in criminal activity. Now we will know where we have them, get their applications processed and then return them,” Listhaug told broadcaster NRK. Listhaug said that 90 of the 537 asylum seekers whose cases were processed under the 48-hour procedure in 2015 disappeared. “Of those, we don’t know where 90 percent of them are and thus we also haven’t sent them out [of the country],” she said. Listhaug’s plan is backed by the Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Christian Democrats (Kristelig Folkeparti), assuring the government of a parliamentary majority. The Norwegian Bar Association (Advokatforeningen) is among the critics of the plan, saying that it could scare off those who have legitimate asylum claims.

In a tiny village of #Neiden, Norway, a third of the people are Syrian refugees. While most refugees from Syria and Afghanistan come to Europe by sea, a fraction have taken the northern route instead and have crossed the border from Russia into Norway. It’s cheaper, and somewhat safer, although so cold that at least one person waiting to cross the border into nearby Finland froze to death. The village is literally almost empty. “There’s no supermarket, no petrol station, nothing,” says Iovino. “What they really do during the day is nothing, watching TV and waiting. They can’t even say I’m going outside, because it’s too cold . . . they want to go to school, they want to start a life. That’s why they came to Norway.” The hotel is one of six refugee centers in the region, all privately run and getting subsidies from the government. The centers often lack enough basic supplies. “They give you food, which is not enough for a cat,” says Mansour Hanna Youssef, who stayed at the hotel until he was sent to another center nearby. In 2015, more than 30,000 people applied for asylum in Norway; 10,000 of those were from Syria, and almost 7,000 from Afghanistan. In the beginning of the year, most applications were granted. But that quickly changed. Now, the majority of applicants are deported. At the same time, Norway has contributed generously to refugee relief elsewhere (it gave 385% of what Oxfam consider a country’s “fair share” in 2015; the U.S. gave 76% of its share). But many wonder why a country as rich as Norway—with a per capita GDP twice that of the U.S.—can’t also help support those who have crossed its borders.

Thank you United Rescue Aid for the images of the baby Sivar and Madelena Grossmann for the images of volunteers sending knitted hats for babies like Sivar. Finally, thank you Soup & Socks for your wonderful work and images from Katsikas.

Cover photo via Anti-Racist Front Without Borders

(Possible) Enactment of EU’s policies of “slowing down” the movement flows

European’s Unions recent plans to manage the movement of people by slowing the flows at the so called ‘Balkan route‘ is apparently taking its first steps. To not enter the abstract theoretical discussions let us qoute the information posted from the Anti-racist Front Without Borders (17.11.2015), gathered by the activists and volunteers at the borders:

At the border Croatia-Slovenia (Dobova) refugees are separated by country of origin and sent back!

Before even arriving in Slovenia, people are given documents to sign. The documents are not translated so people do not know what they are signing. When they arrive to Slovenia, people are then segregated according to these documents. Some are allowed to pass, while others are sent back to Croatia by train. Currently, people from Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq are being sent back.

In Dobova, there are international, self-organized volunteers who set up a tent behind the train station. People who want to help can come there. Help will be very much needed from Saturday (21.11.2015) onwards, because the international team is leaving on that day.

IMPORTANT: However it is to say that it is not ment that all people from Africa, Afganistan and Iraq are being sent back! According to the Slovenian national media (source: http://www.rtvslo.si/svet/drzave-na-balkanski-poti-ustavile-prehod-ekonomskih-migrantov/379011) the Balkan countries, for now starting with Serbia (comming through Macedonia) are not letting anymore through people from Morocco, Bangladesh, Sri lanka, Algeria, Liberia, Congo, Sudan and Pakistan, as they are starting to be considered as economic migrants.

According to the media people from Syria, Iraq and Afganistan are let through!

However this is not clear, as for now Slovenian general secretary Boštjan Šefic is denying this, but people should prepare that this will most probably become the reality.

Moving to the northern border in Slovenia (bordercrossing Spielfeld/Šentilj (Slovenia-Austria). Information and video (15.11.2015):

After the official statements that all is under control and volunteers are not needed, self-organized volunteers went to no man’s land. People are still waiting days and hours, no food, no water, no medical help, police uses violence and people are sleeping on cold wet floors waiting to be accepted into Austria.”

[wpvideo bNr9eObK]

Reestablishing state of exception in the EU and a call for international meeting, manifestation and solidarity action in Slovenia

rigonce 21.10

Rigonce, Slovenian-Croatian border 21.10.2015

#Rigonce 21.10.2015

In the last week, since the Hungary closed its borders, Slovenia became the ‘new hotspot’ for the so called Balkan route, where people, who traveled from Serbia or Croatia to Hungary, were forced to change their direction of traveling to their desired situations.

In the last post we talked about the hypocrisy of the seeming humanitarian and ‘open’ Western European countries, since in the recent political assemblies at the European Commission it is becoming apparent that the EU is trying to hold people at its external borders or just let inside the desired amount of people, whether those needed for the labor markets or ”those who really need the international protection”.

The construction of the European Union’s immigration system

Unser Europa hat keine Grenzen

Unser Europa hat keine Grenzen

These days it is getting obvious that the European Union, a supranational entity supposedly built on the values of freedom and peace, is putting a stamp on it’s mostly non-existant immigration and asylum system. That the European leaders selectively apply such values only for the economic and political elites is nothing new. New and surprising aren’t even the new changes for the immigration and asylum laws that are being developed under the privileged position by the technocratic elites in Berlin and Brussels. We must never forget how many people continue to die while trying to cross Mediterranean every year, because of the already existing legal framework.