Germany: Protest against European asylum and migration policies at Christian Democratic Union headquarters
Topic
Country/Region
30 March 2021
Press release from a demonstration organised at the headquarters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Berlin. The CDU currently heads Germany's federal government. European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is also a member of the party. According to the press release, the demonstration was against the "catastrophic and inhumane situation in camps at the European external borders," and the EU's asylum and migration policies more generally.
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Open the borders- Stop killing refugees – No more Camps
Today, in front of the CDU headquarter in Berlin, mud was distributed as a symbol for the catastrophic and inhumane situation in camps at the European external borders. Aditionally “Open the borders! – Stop killing refugees – No more Moria and Lipa!” was installed on the facade of the CDU headquarter because the German government and especially the CDU are responsible for the situation as well!
Catastrophic conditions in camps
Inhumane and racist border policies have been pursued by the EU for decades. Although the catastrophic conditions in the camps have been generally known for a long time, nothing is being changed, but in the contrary new camps are even built. To highlight the inhumane living conditions especially in the camps at the EU’s external borders, but also in camps within the EU, symbolic objects such as thermal blankets, empty water bottles, empty first aid kits and broken shoes were distributed in the mud.
A resident of the Vathy camp on Samos described the situation there as following:
“Where we are sleeping, we are sleeping with rats, with big ones. Can you imagine somebody sleeping like that, a human being. We are sleeping there, the rat is passing. It’s really not good for us. And the food that they are giving us here, maybe a cat can eat the food, or a dog can eat the food. But treating us like that… They are thinking that we are animals, but we are human beings.”
Moria on Lesvos and Lipa in Bosnia are only the best-known camps – there are numerous camps in Europe and at Europe’s external borders where refugees are forced to endure in horrible conditions and without the choice to decide for themselves where they want to stay. Although the catastrophic conditions – the completely inadequate sanitary facilities, accommodation in tents that offer no protection from rain or storms, lack of medical care, children who injure themselves or express suicidal thoughts – are regularly criticized by refugees themselves and NGOs, nothing fundamental has changed in the situation for years. Instead, as part of the proposals for a new EU migration pact, there is discussion of setting up more camps at the external borders.
The CDU is also responsible
CDU politician Ursula von der Leyen is president of the EU Commission and a decision-maker in EU migration politics. In March 2020, when Greek security forces used tear gas and sometimes live ammunition to prevent refugees from crossing the Greek-Turkish border, she referred to Greece as “Europe’s protective shield,” thus legitimizing and supporting the violence. Statements by CSU Interior Minister Horst Seehofer also clearly indicate that the exclusion and deportation of people is being driven forward in a targeted manner and that racist motives are hardly hidden in the process.
The openly practiced rascist migration and border politics of the EU cannot be tolerated. The conditions in the camps and the death of people are consequences of these politics and must be stopped immediately! The employees in the CDU headquarters should also be made aware of the suffering that their employers and they themselves are responsible for. We need open borders and all camps need to be closed!
Freedom of movement
“I thought the EU is supposed to have Human Rights”, said the above already quoted resident of the Vathy camp. No human being should have to live under these conditions and yet it is reality. Horst Seehofer, Ursula von der Leyen, how can you talk about human dignity and human rights when you block access to basic services for thousands of people for racist and power-strategic reasons? We need freedom of movement and self-determination for all! No more Moria and Lipa! No more camps! Against Forstress Europe!
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