Due to the spread of the corona virus, we unfortunately cancel the event “On the edge of Europe”, a film screening organized by the Berlin regional group on the situation of refugees on the Greek islands. Nevertheless, in the next few days we would like to draw attention to the intolerable situation on the Greek-Turkish border and would like to express our position on this in the following statement. In addition, during the next two weeks, the International Weeks against Racism (16th – 29th March 2020 http://weekagainstracism.eu/about/), we will share daily content on the topic of racism and Europe’s external borders. Feel free to regularly visit our Facebook page!
We are shocked by the disregard for human rights at the Greek-Turkish border. Since 2015 at the latest, the EU has especially been building borders instead of bridges for people seeking protection.
We are speechless, angry, shocked by the violence inflicted on refugees and people who show solidarity with them, and by the Frontex vocabulary in much of the reporting.
The humanitarian disaster must be recognised as such and brought to an end immediately. It is unacceptable that people without medical care are starving, freezing to death or are being shot in the rain or cold – isn’t it EU, or what do you say to universal human rights that no longer apply when people from non-EU countries demand them? What do you say to a right of asylum that no longer applies when people seek asylum? What do you say to your Nobel Peace Prize when you are waging a war against migration?
And us as civil society? Some ideas to at least show solidarity…
Write postcards of the Refugee law clinic to responsible politicians (https://en.rlc-berlin.org/europa-2020).
Talk about how you can support solidarity initiatives that are increasingly under attack. For example, the ship https://mare-liberum.org/en, which cruises between Turkey and Greece, was probably attacked by Nazis!
And share your thoughts, ideas, actions also in your environment, so that we don’t remain speechless but stand together for the human right to freedom of movement and counteract racist violence in Germany (#hanau), at the EU external border and beyond! You can find more information under the following links for example:
https://www.dw.com/…/seven-german-mayors-allow-u…/a-52657792
(Links in German)
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/…/deutsche-rechts…/25619240.html
https://www.tagesschau.de/…/lesbos-fluechtlinge-angriffe-10…
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/…/angriff-mit-ben…/25610854.html
