Tag: Slovenia

Balkanroute Calling: Caravan for Freedom of Movement (Trieste -> Border crossing Maljevac)

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Balkanroute calling: carovana per la libertà di movimento

Sabato 19 giugno da Trieste a Maljevac confine croato-bosniaco

Il 29 maggio in tutta Italia e Europa iniziative di avvicinamento alla carovana, contro l’esternalizzazione delle frontiere e il rifinanziamento della guardia costiera libica.Sabato 19 giugno promuoveremo una carovana per la libertà di movimento, partendo da piazza Libertà di Trieste, crocevia di solidarietà e cura, con lo scopo di arrivare a Maljevac sulla frontiera croato-bosniaca. Attraversando stati e confini che incarnano l’ipocrisia delle politiche europee vogliamo denunciare chi attua respingimenti a catena e srotola filo spinato, per chiedere a gran voce l’apertura delle frontiere, la chiusura di qualsiasi campo di confinamento e la fine delle violenze e dei pushback.Siamo realtà sociali antirazziste e antifasciste, gruppi e associazioni impegnate nella solidarietà e nel soccorso civile via terra e via mare lungo i confini di questa Europa fortezza.
Vogliamo agire dal basso e in rete a livello europeo per creare momenti di rottura dell’ordinario e mettere in discussione fino in fondo il passato, il presente e il futuro dell’impianto securitario delle politiche sull’immigrazione.Non possiamo accettare né la politica di esternalizzazione delle frontiere, né quello che si configura come un vero e proprio regime del confine: lo abbiamo denunciato tuttə insieme a Trieste il 17 aprile, lo vogliamo rifare andando fin dove sta la frontiera esterna dell’Unione Europea, in Croazia, paese armato e pedina dell’UE lungo la balkan route nella sporca guerra contro i migranti.Saremo fisicamente presenti su quel confine perché è allo stesso tempo simbolo delle politiche europee e dispositivo materiale di contenimento, selezione dei flussi migratori e respingimento verso la Bosnia-Erzegovina. Essere a Maljevac per noi significa essere a Ceuta e Melilla, alle Canarie, a Lampedusa, a Lesvos e Evros.L’Europa e gli Stati membri continuano a sporcarsi le mani di sangue per difendere delle linee immaginarie dall’arrivo di persone, per impedire il loro movimento e negare l’accesso al diritto di asilo. Riducono in brandelli le principali Convenzioni e Costituzioni dove sono stati sanciti i diritti fondamentali, compreso quello di migrare. Basano la loro politica su dispendiosi accordi con le peggiori dittature e milizie corrotte, sulla militarizzazione dei confini con l’ausilio di Frontex e scrivono patti per rendere sistematiche la detenzione e le deportazioni.Vogliamo capovolgere una narrazione che parla costantemente di emergenza e di catastrofe umanitaria, quasi fosse una calamità naturale, senza individuare le cause e i responsabili che la determinano! Vogliamo che si cambi radicalmente rotta!Invitiamo tuttə a raccogliere il nostro appello e organizzare in occasione del 29 maggio – giorno in cui il Parlamento italiano discuterà un nuovo vergognoso finanziamento alla guardia costiera libica – iniziative di mobilitazione, assemblee, eventi pubblici contro un sistema di torture e violazioni dei diritti umani.
Verso il 19 giugno, verso la caravan for freedom of movement!- Per adesioni e informazioni: act4balkanroute@protonmail.ch

Tappe della caravan for freedom of movement:Sabato 19 giugno- > Trieste piazza della Libertà
– > confine Italia – Slovenia
– > Border Crossing Pasjak
– > Border crossing Maljevac

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Balkanroute Calling: Caravan for Freedom of Movement

Saturday 19 June from Trieste to Maljevac on the Croatian-Bosnian border

On May 29, throughout Italy and Europe, initiatives toward the caravan, against the externalization of borders and the re-funding of the Libyan coastguard.On Saturday 19 June, we will promote a caravan for freedom of movement, starting from Piazza Libertà in Trieste, a crossroads of solidarity and care, with the aim of reaching Maljevac, on the Croatian-Bosnian border. Crossing countries and borders that embody the hypocrisy of European policies, we want to denounce those who implement chain rejections and unroll barbed wire, to demand the opening of borders, the closure of all the detention camps and the end of violence and pushbacks.We are anti-racist and anti-fascist collectives, groups and associations engaged in solidarity and civil rescue by land and by sea along the borders of this fortress Europe.We want to act from below and network at European level, in order to create moments of breaking of the ordinary and to question the past, the present and the future of the securitarian system of immigration policies.We cannot accept neither the policy of externalisation of borders, nor what is configured as a real border regime: we denounced it all together in Trieste on April 17, we want to do it again by going as far as the external border of the European Union, in Croatia, an armed country and EU pawn along the Balkan route in the dirty war against migrants.We will be physically present on that border because it is both a symbol of European policies and a material device of containment, selection of migratory flows and rejection towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. For us, being in Maljevac means being in Ceuta and Melilla, in the Canary Islands, in Lampedusa, in Lesvos and in Evros.Europe and its Member States continue to get blood on its hands, defending imaginary lines against the arrival of people, preventing their movement and denying them access to the right to asylum. They tear to shreds the main Conventions and Constitutions where fundamental rights, including the right to migrate, are enshrined. They base their policy on wasteful agreements with the worst dictatorships and corrupt militias, militarising borders with the help of Frontex, and writing pacts to make detention and deportations systematic.We want to overturn a narrative that constantly speaks of emergency and humanitarian catastrophe, as if it were a natural disaster, without identifying the causes and those responsible for it! We want a radical change!We invite everyone to take up our appeal and organise mobilisation initiatives, assemblies, public events against a system of torture and human rights violations on May 29 – the day on which the Italian Parliament will discuss a new shameful funding for the Libyan coastguard.
Towards 19 June, towards the Caravan for Freedom of Movement!-

For participation and information: act4balkanroute@protonmail.ch

Stages of the Caravan for Freedom of Movement:Saturday 19th of June- > Trieste piazza della Libertà
– > Border crossing Italy – Slovenia
– > Border crossing Pasjak
– > Border crossing Maljevac

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Caravana por la libertad de movimientoSábado 19 de junio, de Trieste a Maljevac, frontera croata-bosniaEl 29 de mayo en toda Italia y Europa habrá iniciativas para unirse a la Caravana contra la externalización de las fronteras y la refinanciación de la guardia costera libia.El sábado 19 de junio promoveremos una caravana por la libertad de movimiento, que partirá de la Piazza Libertà de Trieste, lugar de cruce de solidaridad y cuidados, con el objetivo de llegar a Maljevac, en la frontera croata-bosnia. Atravesando los Estados y las fronteras que encarnan la hipocresía de las políticas europeas, queremos denunciar a quienes realizan contínuas expulsiones en caliente y levantan barreras de alambre de espino, para exigir con rotundidad la apertura de las fronteras, el cierre de cualquier campo de confinamiento y el fin de la violencia y de las expulsiones en caliente.Somos organizaciones sociales antirracistas y antifascistas, grupos y asociaciones comprometidos con la solidaridad y la ayuda civil por tierra y por mar a lo largo de las fronteras de esta Europa fortaleza.
Queremos actuar “desde abajo” y en redes, a nivel europeo, para crear momentos de ruptura de lo ordinario y cuestionar el pasado, el presente y el futuro del sistema de seguridad de las políticas de inmigración.No podemos aceptar ni la política de externalización de las fronteras, ni lo que se configura como un verdadero régimen de fronteras: lo hemos denunciado en Trieste el 17 de abril, queremos hacerlo otra vez yendo a la frontera exterior de la Unión Europea, a Croacia, país armado y peón de la UE en la ruta de los Balcanes en la guerra sucia contra las personas migrantes.Estaremos físicamente presentes en esa frontera, porque es a la vez un símbolo de las políticas europeas y un dispositivo material de contención, de selección de los flujos migratorios y de las expulsiones en caliente hacia Bosnia y Herzegovina. Para quienes vayamos y para quienes nos apoyan, estar en Maljevac significa estar en Ceuta y Melilla, en las Islas Canarias, en Lampedusa, en Lesbos y Evros.Europa y sus Estados miembros siguen ensuciándose las manos de sangre para defender líneas imaginarias contra la llegada de personas, para impedir su circulación y negarles el acceso al derecho de asilo. Hacen trizas las principales Convenciones y Constituciones en las que se consagran los derechos fundamentales, incluido el derecho a emigrar. Basan su política sobre acuerdos de despilfarro con las peores dictaduras y milicias corruptas y sobre la militarización de las fronteras con la ayuda de Frontex, y escriben pactos para hacer sistemáticas las detenciones y deportaciones.Queremos dar un vuelco a una narrativa que habla constantemente de emergencia y catástrofe humanitaria, como si se tratara de una catástrofe natural, ¡sin identificar las causas ni a los responsables de la misma! ¡Queremos un cambio radical de rumbo !
Invitamos a todas las personas a que hagan suyo nuestro llamamiento y organicen el 29 de mayo – el día en que el Parlamento italiano va a debatir una nueva financiación vergonzosa a los guardacostas libios – iniciativas de movilización, asambleas, actos públicos contra un sistema de tortura y de violación de los derechos humanos.Hacia el 19 de junio, ¡hacia la caravana por la libertad de movimiento!- Para inscribirse e informarse: act4balkanroute@protonmail.ch

Etapas de la Caravana para la libertad de movimiento:Sábado 19 de junio
– > Trieste piazza della Libertà
– > Frontera italiana – Eslovenia
– > Border Crossing Pasjak
– > Border Crossing Maljevac

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Balkanroute calling – eine Karawane für die Bewegungsfreiheit

Samstag 19. Juli von Triest bis Maljevac an der kroatisch-bosnischen Grenze

Am 29. Mai finden in Italien und ganz Europa Initiativen zugunsten der Karawane statt, um gegen das Outsourcing der Grenzen und gegen die Finanzierung der lybischen Küstenwache zu demonstrieren.Am Samstag 19. Mai starten wir eine Karawane für die Bewegungsfreiheit. Ausgangspunkt ist die Piazza Libertà in Triest, das Symbol für Solidarität und Pflege der Migranten. Unser Ziel ist Maljevac an der bosnisch-kroatischen Grenze zu erreichen. Indem wir Grenzen und Staaten überqueren, welche die heuchlerische europäische Politik verkörpern, wollen wir all jene anzeigen, die Push Backs betreiben und Drahtzäune aufziehen.Wir wollen mit lauter Stimme die Öffnung der Grenzen und die Schließung der Inhaftierungslager einfordern und das Beenden der Gewalt und der gewalttätigen Zurückweisungen von Menschen verlangen.Wir bekämpfen Faschismus und Rassismus, wir sind Gruppen und Vereine die Solidarität und Hilfe auf Land und Meer bieten, entlang der Grenzen dieses Europas, das als Festung dasteht und Menschen abschiebt. Wir wollen vom Grund auf und zusammenwirkend auf europäischer Ebene agieren, um das aktuelle System zu brechen und die Fundamente der gegenwärtigen und zukünftigen Einwanderungspolitik in Frage zu stellen.Wir können und dürfen das Outsourcing der Grenzen nicht akzeptieren. Ebenso akzeptieren wir diese Diktatur der Grenzen nicht. Wir haben all dies bereits am 17. April alle zusammen laut bekanntgegeben, und wir wollen es nun wieder machen, indem wir die äußere Grenze Europas und Kroatien erreichen, ein Staat der von Europa aufgerüstet wird, um diesen unfairen Krieg gegen die Immigration zu betreiben.Wir wollen physisch auf dieser Grenze anwesend sein, da diese Grenze ein Symbol der europäischen Migrationspolitik ist, ein Platz der Freiheitseinschränkung wo Migranten abgesondert und nach Bosnien und Herzegowina zurückgewiesen werden. Unsere Anwesenheit in Maljevac symbolisiert unsere Anwesenheit in Ceuta, Melilla, in den Kanarien, in Lampedusa, in Lesbos und auf Evros.Unser Europa und seine Mitgliedsstaaten beflecken sich mit Blut, um imaginäre Grenzen vor der Ankunft von Menschen zu verteidigen, um die Bewegungsfreiheit und das Recht auf politisches Asyl dieser Menschen zu vernichten. Die internationalen Abkommen und die Verfassungen dieser Staaten werden zunichte gemacht, und das grundlegende Recht zur Migration wird vernichtet. Diese Staaten schließen mit verschiedenen Diktaturen kostspielige Abkommen ab, um mit Hilfe von Frontex die Grenzen militärisch dicht zu machen und die Inhaftierung von Migranten und ihre Abschiebung alltäglich durchzuführen.Wir wollen diese Darstellungsart umkippen. Eine Darstellungsart in der andauernd nur von Notsituation und humanitärer Katastrophe gesprochen wird, so als würde es sich um eine natürliche Katastrophe handeln, wo es hingegen notwendig ist, die konkreten Gründe und Verantwortlichen ausfindig zu machen und anzuzeigen.Wir wollen einen krassen und klaren Kurswechsel!Wir laden alle dazu ein, am 29. Mai Initiative zu ergreifen, Treffen zu organisieren und die Leute zu mobilisieren, um dieses menschenrechtverletzende System anzuzeigen. Am 29. Mai wird das italienische Parlament eine neue schändliche Finanzierung an Libyen abstimmen.Auf zum 19. Juni, auf zur Karawane für die Bewegungsfreiheit!

Für Informationen und Unterstützung: act4balkanroute@protonmail.che

Etappen der Karawane:- > Triest – Piazza Liberta
– > Grenze Italien – Slowenien
– > Border Crossing Pasjak
– > Border Crossing Maljevac

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Balkanroute calling: caravane pour la liberté de mouvementSamedi 19 juin de Trieste à Maljevac, frontière croato-bosniaqueLe 29 mai dans toute l’Italie et l’Europe il y aura des initiatives de rapprochement à la caravane, contre l’externalisation des frontières et le refinancement des garde-côtes libyens.Le samedi 19 juin, nous promouvons une caravane pour la liberté de mouvement, à partir de la piazza Libertà de Trieste, carrefour de solidarité et de soins, dans le but d’arriver à Maljevac, sur la frontière croato-bosniaque. En traversant des États et des frontières qui incarnent l’hypocrisie des politiques européennes, nous voulons dénoncer ceux qui mettent en œuvre des refoulements en chaîne et des barbelés, pour demander à haute voix l’ouverture des frontières, la fermeture de tout camp de détention et la fin des violences et des refoulements.Nous sommes des réalités sociales antiracistes et antifascistes, des groupes et des associations engagées dans la solidarité et le secours civil par voie terrestre et maritime au long des frontières de la forteresse européenne.Nos actions partent d’en bas et visent à la construction d’un réseau européen pour créer des moments de rupture de l’ordinaire et remettre en cause le passé, le présent et l’avenir du système sécuritaire des politiques d’immigration.Nous ne pouvons accepter ni la politique d’externalisation des frontières, ni ce qui se présente comme un véritable régime de frontière : nous l’avons dénoncé ensemble à Trieste le 17 avril, et nous voulons le refaire en allant jusqu’à la frontière extérieure de l’Union Européenne, en Croatie, pays armé et pion de l’UE au long de la balkan route en cette sale guerre contre les migrants.Nous serons physiquement présent.e.s sur cette frontière, parce qu’elle est à la fois symbole des politiques européennes et dispositif matériel d’endiguement, de sélection des flux migratoires et de refoulement vers la Bosnie-et-Herzégovine. Être à Maljevac pour nous c’est être à Ceuta et Melilla, aux Canaries, à Lampedusa, à Lesvos et à Evros.L’Europe et les États membres continuent à se salir les mains pour défendre des lignes imaginaires contre l’arrivée des personnes, pour leur empêcher le mouvement et leur refuser l’accès au droit d’asile. Ils déchirent les principales Conventions et Constitutions qui consacrent les droits fondamentaux, y compris celui de migrer. Ils fondent leur politique sur des accords onéreux avec les pires dictatures et milices corrompues, sur la militarisation des frontières à l’aide de Frontex et signent des pactes pour systématiser la détention et les déportations.Nous voulons renverser ce récit qui ne parle que d’urgence et de catastrophe humanitaire, comme s’il s’agissait d’une calamité naturelle, sans pourtant identifier les causes et les responsables qui la déterminent. Nous exigeons un changement radical !Nous invitons tou.te.s à recueillir notre appel et à organiser, à l’occasion du 29 mai – quand le Parlement italien discutera un nouveau et honteux financement aux garde-côtes libyens – des initiatives de mobilisation, des assemblées, des manifestations publiques contre un système de torture et de violation des droits humains.Vers le 19 juin, vers la caravan for freedom of movement!-

Infos et adhésions : act4balkanroute@protonmail.ch

Étapes de la caravan for freedom of movement:Samedi 19 juin
– > Trieste piazza della Libertà
– > frontière Italie – Slovénie
– > Border Crossing Pasjak
– > Border Crossing Maljevac

European borders update, 11.3.2016

By Are you Syrious?, 11.3.2016

#‎LEBANON: At the present, the long term international volunteers in Lebanon are coordinating centrally around a Lebanese NGO called Salam LADC (Lebanese Association for Development and Communication). Salam has strong ties with the local authorities responsible for refugees, the UNHCR, the Lebanese Military (essential permissions for visiting and distributing at settlements) and other local and international NGOs. Independent volunteers are NOT allowed to visit settlements without military permission and contacts with local municipalities. Those who have come privately have run into trouble with the authorities when attempting to privately distribute supplies. Salam’s current international volunteers are long term (+4 weeks) and are helping to build the structure and administrative back end of our volunteer project. At the present, Salam is NOT taking any applications for international volunteers. However, we will be accepting applications for long term volunteers shortly. In the interim, volunteers who wish to come can start fundraising projects in their home countries as Salam can then direct these funds for the direct, wholesale purchase of necessary aid and organised effective distribution. Please follow Salam’s Facebook page, attached below, for regular updates on Salam projects and volunteer updates. Thank you for your continued engagement and support. https://www.facebook.com/salam.ladc/

#‎TURKEY: Turkish officials say that Greece has returned 90 migrants from Pakistan, Morocco, Algeria and Turkey who had crossed into the country from Turkey. The government’s migration agency in ‪#‎Edirne‬, northwest Turkey, said the migrants crossed back into Turkey on Friday through the ‪#‎Ipsala‬ border gate. Greece returned the migrants under an existing agreement with Greece on the readmission to Turkey of migrants who do not qualify for international protection. The migration agency said eight Algerian migrants were placed at a deportation center in Edirne, while 71 Pakistanis and Moroccans were sent to a detention center in ‪#‎Erzurum‬, in eastern Turkey.

#‎GREECE No boats landed in the north ‪#‎Lesvos‬ today and there is no available information on south. ‪#‎Chios‬ has also seen no boats last night. But sea is calm tonight and there are some arrivals already. There are 1,600 refugees in Chios at the moment. Ferry ticket agencies have issued very low numbers of tickets to refugees for the next days, so there are no available tickets to buy until Saturday 19th of March. The Soli Cafe on Chios (www.facebook.com/solicafechios) are urgently asking for support. In contrary to the official organizations present on the island, they strongly disagree to and reject the registration process that separates refugees by nationality and leads to illegalizing and deporting people. They fight for the freedom of movement and a world without borders. The group used to supply to 450 refugees in medium per day but because of the current situation of the border closings, they are now supplying a number of nearly 2,500 refugees on the island, and the number is supposed to grow. Their cost have grown from under 100 € to almost over 500 € per each day. They urgently need financial support to keep supporting the refugees with the needed food. Volunteer kitchen teams at ‪#‎Vial‬ are not allowed in hotspot anymore, army has taken over the catering. Yesterday there were 581 people on the island of ‪#‎Samos‬. “Iokasti’s Kitchen” – Ladies of Samos & international volunteers need more volunteers and funds in order for the project to succeed. They currently provide 1,000 meals a day and from the 17th when the NoBorders kitchen leaves, they will be providing for 2,000 people. Contact them or donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/kingofsamosport. Total of 7,614 refugees are currently on the islands of northern ‪#‎Aegean‬. With the increase of refugees, four hotspots camps will be established in ‪#‎Epirus‬ region near Albanian border: ‪#‎Filippiada‬, ‪#‎Igoumenitsa‬ and two in ‪#‎Ioannina‬. Also, ‪#‎Kastoria‬, ‪#‎Florina‬ and ‪#‎Ptolemaida‬ began work on creating capacity of 5,000 people. A source close to MSF reported to ‘Top Channel’ that it will open three first aid points for refugees on the border with Albania at points ‪#‎QafëBotë‬ / ‪#‎SagiadaMauvromati‬, ‪#‎Kakavia‬ and ‪#‎Krystallopigi‬ / Kapshticë. Sources also by the Greek foreign ministry said that negotiations are continuing at a political level with the governments of neighboring countries, Albania and Bulgaria, to absorb a number of immigrants from 10-15,000 in each country.

10.3.2016, Idomeni, Are You Syrious  Mazaraki camp in Greece, 10.3.2016, by Statis Kokki.

Smugglers operate in ‪#‎Idomeni – they state they are doctors and would cross them for Euro 250. People do disappear without any trace. Another thing to beware of are poisonous snakes. Spring is coming, which means they will start waking up now. In Greece there are 70 species of snakes. Most of them are not venomous (have no harmful poison). 7 (of which 5 are vipers) do have poison and a possible bite should be treated. In case of a bite, you should go to the doctor. If you can document the snake (photos), do it. It will help the doctor. There are some precaution measures you can take and in my experience help a lot avoid unhappy meetings with a snake. 1) Always close your tent when you exit. Always. Also if you are sitting right outside. Snakes are silent and you will not see them enter. 2) If you have shoes outside the tent, turn them around – always (the hole where your feet get in should face the floor). Snakes look for dark places to cuddle. If your shoes are turned around, when you pick them up, anything that went in will fall down (also spiders or scorpions). Give them a good shake. 3) Same thing for bags that you just leave on the floor. Always close them or if forgotten open shake them off.

Another news from Idomeni comes from voluteer group in Idomeni camp that is offering tea (“The Tea Tent”), saying they were not allowed in the camp. Neither were the provisions for refugees. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both tweet that they have been denied access to Greek camps and hotspots for the past two weeks. Meanwhile, those who “wish” to be bussed to new camps are invited to do so. We believe this is an attempt to make the conditions harder than they already are, so that refugees do not have to be forcibly evicted. It remains to see what happens when all those who voluntarily leave, are gone. By allowing for the living conditions in Idomeni camp to be horrendous, Greek government forces refugees to leave the border, give up on attempting to cross, and settle in government-built shelters. A group of 800 refugees left Idomeni at the Greek-Macedonian border today. The border between Greece and FYROM is closed but more than 13,000 refugees remain in Idomeni, hoping that the border will open again. Greek authorities say there are over 42,000 refugees are currently waiting across the country. If You Are In Idomeni: The Greek government is considering how to move refugees from Idomeni and to transfer people to shelters in northern Greece. Greek government officials said that they will not evacuate the Idomeni camp using force. No clear timeline was given for an evacuation. Greek authorities say they plan to convince refugees to voluntarily move to places where they can find more humane living conditions. There are organized shelters in northern Greece, in ‪#‎Diavata‬, approximately 70 km from Idomeni, and ‪#‎Cherso‬ and ‪#‎NeaKavala‬ Greek authorities say more new shelters will be ready in few days in the area. Government will provide buses to transfer refugees. Authorities say about 800 people have agreed so far to leave the camp, but more arrive daily. If you are in the ‪#‎Piraeus‬ port: Greek authorities already transferred up to 900 people from Piraeus to ‪#‎Konitsa‬, in Northwestern Greece, and in temporary shelters in Central Greece. Transfers will continue in the next days. Authorities announced that the capacity of ‪#‎Eleonas‬ camp will be increased to 2,000 places from the current 700. A total of 3,000 refugees are hosted inside the port of Piraeus and two more ships have carried more than 880 on Friday. 162 refugees were moved from Piraeus port to the northern Greek town of Konitsa this morning. More than 10,000 refugees are hosted in shelters in ‪#‎Athens‬. Police are not allowing refugees to sleep in #Victoriasquare, informing them that there are shelters in Athens where they can be transferred. AYS container is being unloaded on Saturday at 12:00, helping hands are welcomed.

Ministry of Interior has published information on the relocation program for refugees from Greece to another EU country. This information refers to the people who entered Greece after the Sep 16th 2015, and who are citizens of Syria, Iraq, Eritrea, Central African Republic, Yemen, Bahrain, Swaziland, or a stateless person who used to live for many years in these countries. According to the information provided in the document, it means that: First – a person must file an asylum application in Greece and have his/her fingerprints taken. Greece will request another EU country to take over the examination of a case. As soon as the Ministry is informed by the other country that a person applying for relocation program and his/her family members (e.g. wife and children) are accepted, the Ministry is going to ensure that they are transported there safely and free of charge within two months. As soon as a person arrives to the other country, this country will take over the examination of the asylum application and will attend to cover asylum seeker’s basic material needs. People cannot choose the EU country in which he/she will be relocated, however factors such as having relatives, having lived, worked or studied in a European Union country as well as the condition of one’s health are taken into account. A person must hand over any documents he/she has for identity verification, as well as any documents provided to you by the Greek Police. More info is available at: http://asylo.gov.gr/en/?page_id=824. This info is written in English, as well as Arabic, Kurmanji, Greek, Sorani and Tigrinya. Some other useful links for refugees, which include more information on the relocation program, but also on family reunification, tracing lost people, free legal help, free medical care and others, can be found at the following AYS page: https://www.facebook.com/areyousyrious/posts/593580880790799?hc_location=ufi. If you are a refugee or a volunteer looking to inform a refugee-fellow, feel free to use these links as a credible and current source of information.

#BULGARIA: Bulgarian border police have thwarted attempts of a total of 66 refugees to cross the country’s border with Turkey over the past 24 hours, the Ministry of the Interior announced in a statement on Friday. The refugees, who carried no identity documents with them, all claimed to be Iraqi citizens. In another case, 17 refugees, all of them claiming to be Syrian citizens, were discovered on Thursday in the trailer of a Romanian-registered truck at #Lesovo border crossing. Police used sensors detecting elevated carbon dioxide levels inside the trailer to find the people. Bulgaria will send humanitarian assistance to the migrants and refugees stuck at Greece’s border with Macedonia in adverse weather conditions, the government in Sofia announced on Friday. The assistance will comprise tents, beds, blankets and heating materials as specified by the Greek authorities in a letter sent to Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry, the cabinet said in a statement. Heavy rains and poor living conditions at the camp in Idomeni require urgent measures to avert a humanitarian crisis, the Bulgarian government said.

#MACEDONIA: Around 1,000 refugees are currently waiting in the #Tabanovce camp. Additional shelter is created by MSF in Tabanovce, which consists of 4 tents. Camp management placed most vulnerable in these new containers. Still, the horrific situation of people living in mud and hunger is not resolved, as there are many refugees who remained by the border line. The only difference is now that they stay on their free will, as most refugees are afraid to come inside the camp fearing being pushed back. If you are a refugee stuck in Macedonia wanting to know what your options are, please talk to IOM officers and Macedonian Young Lawyers Association, both of whom provide free legal help in Macedonia and have teams in the Tabanovce camp. A group of 13 refugees remained forgotten at the camp in #Gevgelija for 4 days now with dry food. As of today, volunteers will continue to serve them hot meal.

tabanovce  Tabanovce (Mac-Ser border), 11.3.2016, by Are you Syrious?

#SERBIA: There are currently around 2,000 refugees in Serbia. Among those, 800 are in #Sid, 600 in #Presevo, 300-400 in asylum-seekers’ camps, 140 at #Krnjaci, 80 at #BanjiKoviljaci, and 100-200 in #Bogovadja, #Sjenica and #Tutin. These numbers exclude the “invisible refugees,” who are not registered at any of the official sites. There are always around 300-400 of these unregistered refugees. Refugees still continue to cross from Bulgaria to #Dimitrovgrad, 50-80 refugees per day. Gordan Paunovic, an Info Park/Fond B92 manager, has shared his scepticism about the current measures succeeding in what their claimed purpose, namely, the closure of Balkan route, and suggested that the closure is only apparent. According to Info Park findings, and from what Dimitrovgrad numbers suggest, we are witnessing an uninterrupted flow of refugees from Bulgarian border. The difference is, however, that these refugees are now being smuggled rather than entering freely. As the InfoPark Dimitrovgrad team on Bulgarian border reports, there are practically no activities in the registration center for the last 10 days, except for an occasional refugee or a group who lost their smuggling logistics. This brings us to the conclusion that what the new measures of the EU have brought is a mere flourishing of smuggling business and a complete transfer of a legal and relatively safe flow of people into illegal channels. Indeed, the numbers of 50-80 refugees a day completely coincide with the official statistics in the last weeks in Dimitrovgrad before the border’s closure. The new EU measures have only made smugglers happy. Their profits have sky-rocketed. A drive between #Sofia and #Belgrade is 1000 Euros per head, while within Serbia, smugglers charge 300 Euros per person from Bulgarian border to Belgrade. Lots of NGO and humanitarian teams are leaving Dimitrovgrad or cutting their staff down, as refugees are more keen on going directly to Belgrade. Indeed, Belgrade is boiling. There are new faces every day, people are coming and leaving. This is throwing us back to the situation from the Summer 2015, when Belgrade acted as a transit knot, where everyone was seeking for a way to leave. While it gets pretty obvious that Dimitrovgrad, Presevo and Sid are fading out, at least on the flow, Belgrade in the last days has seen pretty constant numbers of average 500-600 people present in the parks. Where do refugees go from there, when the western border is closed? Some opt to seek for an asylum in Serbia, buy some time, have a bit of rest and peace in the open camps in Krnjaca, Tutin, Sjenica and Banja Koviljaca, and plan their future. Some, like many Afghanis or Pakistanis arriving to Belgrade, are not interested at all in asylum in Serbia, do not waste time in the long registration queues and just seek for smugglers to take them across the border. Smugglers are everywhere around parks, offering their services. The smuggling route through Hungary is up and running. Some refugees get caught, imprisoned and sent back, but some makes it to the EU, in a full secrecy of illegal migration, thus becoming invisible persons that will never become EU citizens. The recent arrest of three Serbian nationals, who were smuggling 15 Pakistani refugees across the border, attests further to the proliferation of the smuggling business along the Balkan route.

#CROATIA: There are 311 refugees currently located at #Slavonskibrod camp. Double that number, however, has gathered today in #Zagreb at the protest against the Balkan route border closures. The protest was organized by Are You Syrious and Centre for Peace Studies

#SLOVENIA: From the police report released today until 6 AM, there are currently 123 refugees in accomodation centers: #Šentilj camp – 2; #Vrhnika – 52, Center for foreigners #Postojna – 69). Reception centers are empty. No-one has entered nor left the country today.

#AUSTRIA: The Austrian ‘Volksanwaltschaft’ is a public body entitled to investigate wrongdoings within public administration, as well as assists citizens if they feel they have been treated unfairly by an Austrian authority. Volksanwaltschaft recently published a report harshly criticising police authorities for hiring non-trained translators in the registration center in #Spielfeld. The translator’s job is, among others, to determine a person’s origin through interviews. These interviews often lasted for a mere couple of minutes. Nevertheless, based on these translators’ and the police officers’ hasty decisions, more than 300 people have been pushed back from Spielfeld to Slovenia and Croatia. Above all, the Volksanwaltschaft deplored the Ministry of Interior ‘s choice to hire translators via the private security company G4S, which has alleged links to senior officials in the ruling conservative party ÖVP, showing that their choice was under the strands of nepotism and corruption, rather than fair and just employment of capable translators. Austria volunteers of Border Crossing Spielfeld and legal advisors are offering legal aid to those pushed back to Slovenia who want to seek legal remedy against the Austrian police’s decision. Push-backs are illegal once a person expressed the intention to seek asylum in Austria. Please contact border.crossing.spielfeld@gmail.com for further information.

#GERMANY: A 17-year-old refugee from Egypt leapt from a train outside #Munich on Friday morning after police found him carrying a deportation order. The tragic death came about when police moved through the train checking passengers’ identity documents, Bayerischer Rundfunk reports. Officers found the young Egyptian hiding under a bench in an empty compartment. When they asked him to show his identity papers, he provided documents that he had been given in Austria. While the one document recognized the teenager’s status as a refugee in Austria, the other ordered his deportation to Italy. The officers ordered the young man to leave the compartment and wait in the corridor. But according to eyewitnesses, he used the opportunity to escape into another compartment where he opened the window and jumped out. The train was still travelling at a high speed through a town called Haar. The boy landed on an adjacent set of tracks and was killed by the impact. Police in Munich said the teenager had recently been caught by officers illegally entering Germany and had been sent back to Austria at the time. This means that Germany broke its promise of granting a special protection to unaccompanied minors, which ensures that minors will not be pushed-back out of Germany.

In 2015 a lot less refugees came to Germany than reported. While interior minister spoke of more than one million new arrivals, government now said, that only around 600.000 refugees arrived. 627.000 lived in Germany in the end of 2014, so the total number was around 1.250.000 refugees. In the end of 2015 950.000 people in Germany had an asylum or refugee status. Additionally, to that around 300.000 were not able to ask for asylum by now but have been registered as refugees.

#DENMARK: Denmark is punishing its citizens for taking on the task that State has failed in accomplishing. A Danish children’s rights activist, Lisbeth Zornig Andersen, was Friday fined €3,000 for transporting a Syrian refugee family in her private car. Her husband was fined the same amount for taking the family into his home for coffee and biscuits, and then driving them to the railway station, where he bought them tickets to Sweden. “This was a political trail, using me and my husband to send a strong message: don’t try to help refugees,” Zornig said after the verdict. “I am very angry because the only thing we did was the decent thing, the same that hundreds of others did. They are criminalising decency.” Zornig has decided to appeal against the verdict. The trial is one of the first of hundreds of Danes who responded in early September to the thousands of refugees who walked from Germany into Denmark, many of them on their way to Sweden where the asylum regime at the time was more relaxed. Under Denmark’s Aliens Act, it is a crime to transport people who do not have residence permits. Police say 279 people have been charged in the period from September 2015 to February 2016. In January, a man was fined DKr5,000 (£517) for driving an Afghan family from the German border in September. On Thursday, a 70-year-old pensioner was fined DKr12,500 for a similar offense. Zorning has become a voice for ordinary people who saw footage of refugees on the news in early September and wanted to help, according to Line Søgaard, a spokesperson for refugee support group “Welcome to Denmark.“

#FRANCE: Tensions have been mounting in the #Calais Jungle today, with migrants and volunteers confronting riot police as authorities pushed ahead with destroying the southern part of the camp. Several shelters in the Calais Jungle, including a makeshift mosque, have been set on fire as migrants are refusing to leave the shanty town build barricades, in a bid to block authorities from dismantling the camp. The huge blaze started at around 4.30pm local time, following up on a series of fires that were started yesterday. One witness claims the fires were started by French riot police “to accelerate the destruction of the Jungle”. Several shelters were also set on fire by groups refusing to leave the camp, as refugees aimed at forming a fire barricades to avoid eviction. French authorities are encouraging migrants to move into accommodation kitted out with heating and showers provided by the government. However, many migrants have been reluctant to move into the shipping containers because they fear it will ruin their chances of reaching the UK. Nevertheless, the demolition of part of a vast and infamous refugee camp in Calais is forcing people into new makeshift settlements in the surrounding area. Aid workers said that as many as six new camps had sprung up since authorities started dismantling the southern part of ‘the Jungle’ nearly two weeks ago. These new camps, which residents also referred to as ‘jungles’, house anywhere from 15 to 150 people and are located near service stations and truck stops.

#EU: The first ever request to the European Court of Human Rights for an interim measure has been sent by Afghan asylum applicants. These applicants are fleeing Afghanistan with their children, and currently living in Idomeni in flooded tents, appalling conditions, and being daily refouled at the border.
The lawsuit is filed against Greece, but also against Macedonia, Serbia, Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia, because of their joint decision for discriminatory closure of borders and massive discriminatory refoulment on grounds of international protection seekers’ nationality.

English information about RELOCATION by w2eu (Arabic translation to be followed.): http://w2eu.info/greece.en/articles/greece-legal.en.html

Cover photo by Reuters.

Important information when crossing into Austria and anti-pushback protests in Šid (Serbia)

Via Welcome2Europe:
An Austrian police officer officially stated on the TV news which questions are being asked at the Austrian registration center in Spielfeld.

1. What is your final destination?

2. What are you planning to do there?

Legal experts advice people not to go into details regarding their future plans but instead insist and limit their answer to the fact that they are planning to ask for asylum.

Link to the video taken last night at the Šid trainstation: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1DXxyzMAZZRKM

After Austria decided to tighten its policies, which are more strict to let people, who will ask asylum in Germany or Austria,  to enter its borders, domino effect is occuring on the Balkan route, making some countries to enforce pushbacks.

Information from 16.2.2016 from the group Are you syrious?

PUSHBACKS: This is a special note on push-backs that are being conducted as a joint effort of Austrian, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian and Macedonian authorities. Reasons for pushbacks are many, non Syrian, Iraqi or Afghan identification documents, failure to pass language test if one is being suspected not to be SIA national, wrong answer to final destination (must be Germany or Austria), wrong answer to reasons for migration (must be war), many arbitrary decisions, such as suspicion of translator not being politically neutral, a refugee not being recruited in the military, not knowing the date of some religious holiday, discrimination based on national, racial, linguistic characteristics of a person. There pushbacks are occurring without regards to official procedure and international protection rights. The route of a return is: Šentilj – Dobova – Zagreb (Porin/Ježevo) – Slavonski Brod – Šid and/or Belgrade (Krnjača) – Macedonia – Greece. A refugee can attempt to re-enter the route. Indeed, many refugees are re-doing the route a few times before they are finally granted an asylum, which only tells us they had the right all the way, but the European regime denied them their right.

Open borders for everyone!

The self-organized refugee squat Orfanotrofeio in Thessaloniki

Credit: Črna luknja

Credit: A-Radio Berlin *English, * German, * Spanish translation

The following audio is a recording made by activists of the self-organized refugee squat Orfanotrofeio in Thessaloniki, Greece. This material has been made available to us by our comrades at Črna Luknja, the anarchist radio show at Radio Študent in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.

European bordezones update

Important:

#‎WeatherAegean: United Rescue issues an IMPORTANT warning for the Aegean Sea: A huge storm is expected Saturday the 16th of January and Sunday the 17th of January which will be a thunderstorm on some of the islands accompanied by high waves. Also, snow is expected to fall on some of the islands in the Aegean Sea with a significant drop in temperatures. Dear refugee friends, please cancel all crossings.

تحذير هام :
عاصفة قوية محملة بالأمطار و الثلوج ستضرب المناطق و الجزر المطلة على بحر إيجه . مما سيسبب ارتفاع عالي بمستوى أمواج البحر و ذلك في تاريخ السادس عشر و السابع عشر من شهر كانون الثاني و الذي يصادف أيام السبت و الأحد الرجاء من الاخوة المهاجرين اخذ الحيطة و الحذر و عدم تعريض انفسهم و اطفالهم لخطر الغرق و الموت
أخي المهاجر سلامتك و سلامة اطفالك أولا

A larger update on the EU borderzones by the activists from Are You Syrious?

17.1.2016 Balkan route and some Northern EU countries

AYS DAILY NEWS DIGEST 16/1/2016 /// STOP THE SIEGE IN DEIR EZZOR /// HUGE STORM EXPECTED IN THE AEGEAN SEA CONTINUES ON SUNDAY /// THREE ARRESTED VOLUNTEERS IN GREECE RELEASED /// TURKISH COASTGUARD CUTS FUEL PIPES ON REFUGEE BOAT LEAVING IN STRANDED IN AEGEAN /// FIVE DEAD BODIES; LIKELY REFUGEES; FOUND NEAR SAMOS /// SNOWSTORMS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 72 HOURS IN SERBIA, REFUGEES ARE ADVISED NOT TO TRAVEL BY FOOT DURING THAT TIME /// QUESTIONABLE DETENTION METHODS FOR MIGRANTS AND INADEQUATE CONDITIONS IN THE DETENTION CENTRE IN SLOVENIA /// ALL OCCUPIED DWELLING CLEARED FROM THE JUNGE AREA INTENDED FOR BULLDOZING /// THE FIRST GROUP OF ASSYLUM SEEKERS TO BE RELOCATED TO THE NETHERLANDS ON FRIDAY ///

(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]

Important: Slovenia starts erecting barbed wire!

barbed wire fence along the Slovenia's border

(Foto: BoBo, MMC)

On November 10th 2015 at the ”emergency” government assembly in Slovenia Slovenian prime minister Miro Cerar announced that the government with its ministers agreed on the establishment of the barbed wire, or what they politically correct call ‘technical obstacles‘, at the Croatian-Slovenian border. He announced that since Germany and Austria are tightening their asylum systems and threatening to let less and less people through their borders, Slovenia could experience a ”humanitarian crisis”, as the winter is comming and the country doesn’t possess enough infrastructure and resources.  This is not just an egoistic move from the Slovenian supposedly centric government which by its own account promotes ”human rights and values”, but is a important part of the developing European Union’s immigration and asylum system. The move of building of the fence also comes after the end of the Greek fairy workers strike, which according to the mainstream media, temporarly slowed down the influx of people. After the strike, Slovenian minister of external affairs Karl Erjavec  announced by its own sources that 30.000 are already on the way to Slovenia.

‘No-mans land’

In the last week(s) there has been an establishment of the ‘official corridor’ through the so called Balkan route. This intergovernmental agreement’s aim is to control the flow of people who are fleeing for a better life in Europe. Even though it may sound as an improvement, for the better fluctuation of people, it is one of the steps of the development of the common European Union’s immigration system. The institutionalization of the corridor, which was before established by the constructive forces of incomming people and self-organized activists through the mutual struggle, means new forms of exclusive inclusion to the territory of the EU.

The aim of the so called official corridor is, as mentioned in the previous article, to let a certain number of people to the next country, where usually full EU member states (as Austria and Slovenia) hold a privileged position. This of course doesn’t always work as the number of people and their struggle to reach the desired destination is not manageble by such system. The reason for its establishment is always the discourse of security and liberal humanitarism of the EU and seperate member states. Political functionaries as well as repressive organs are saying, that if we don’t manage the flows well, it could come to the chaos and collapse of the EU. The only chaos in this case is the creative chaos of the incoming people who produce fear for the privileged economical and political castes that are responsible for the suffering of the wide majority of the worlds population.

Dobova lager (Croatian-Slovenian border)

[wpvideo PfLVMCzj]

This video was taken in Dobova (Slovenia) a few days ago. This is not just a sole example of the mistreatment of the incoming people. The situations in camps change through days – sometimes they are empty and next day filled with new people arriving from Croatia.

The situation at Šentilj/Spielfeld (Slovenian-Austrian border) is different, as people often get trapped in ‘no-mans land’ between Slovenian and Austrian borders, while waiting for the permission to cross the border. ‘Officially’ people have the possibility to stay in camps, but due to the lack of information, it is often though that waiting at the ‘no-mans land’ will result in the quicker crossing of the border. This often develops in the long hour waiting in the cold weather.

We must demand open borders for everyone!

Ljubljana calling! Call for international meeting, manifestation and solidarity action in Slovenia

International meeting Ljubljana

Transnational meeting in Ljubljana against the militarization of Slovenian borders

Fronta brez Meja, Anti-Racist Front Without Borders is organizing a manifestation in Ljubljana on Saturday 31 of October, 11am in Tovarna Rog, Trubarjeva 72 and calling everyone to participate in a transnational meeting and manifestation against the militarization of Slovenian borders and the attempts of the EU to break the movement of refugees and migrants.

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