The Survivals of the NATO war
in Libya
We fight for our rights
– Wir kämpfen für unser Recht
– Nous luttons pour nos droits
Two
conferences (February 1st and 8th) and
mass demonstration
on march 1st 2014
A new phase in our
struggle
One year after the
termination of the European Union
program “emergencia Africa norte”, one year living on the
streets, three years
after the NATO war in Libya, three years since the trauma of the
war and the
loss of everything except the bare existence, ten months in
Hamburg, fighting
for the recognition of our rights, ten months living between the
solidarity of
the society and the ignorance of the government, and yet, our
lives and that of
our families are still turned upside down. With time progressing
and still without
any perspective to a legal status of residence, which would
enable us to
finally start living a „normal life“.
The psychological stress
of members of the group is
growing. The statement „we did not survive the NATO war in
Libya, to die on
the streets of Hamburg “, often appears to outsiders as
exaggerated.
However, even before our arrival, people seeking protection and
asylum in Germany
have died. They die in the camps due to isolation, the
deprivation of rights,
and lack of access to essential supplies.
A refugee from a camp in
Nördlingen in Bavaria
recently described this in such a way: „Camps must be closed
because we
refugees die in these camps every day! People in the camps are
so frustrated
that they commit suicide.
One
goes to the physician, he only looks
at you and says you are healthy, although one is dying
internally “
In Hamburg in November
2013 Samuel Mensah died,
because he was compelled to live on the streets as he did in
Italy. A month
before, members of our group found him acutely ill on the
streets and took him
to the hospital. In the meantime, we have lost several family
members in our
homelands. The situation of continually being denied the right
to work, does
not give us the possibility, to send money home for necessary
medicine or
hospital visits.
In the cycle of flight and
deportation so many people
lose their lives. The least affected are Europeans – with
exception of the
Roma, which are a section of the population pursued within
Europe. We
experienced a lot in the three years of our surviving in Europe.
The
image of a united,
democratic, humane, civilized Europe, which Europe conveys in
our various
countries, does not have much to do with our experiences, nor does it have to do
with the continuity of
colonialism on our continent.
We experience this daily
through the ruthless
exploitation of resources by Europe and the suppression of any
striving for
independence and sovereignty.
17
January marks the 53rd anniversary of the brutal murder of Patrice Lumumba, leader of the Congolese
struggle for independence
and first prime minister of the democratic Republic of Congo.
This is one of
the many political murders ordered by former colonial powers
(why should one
actually say former?).Thomas
Sankara
freed Burkina Faso from the colonial oppression and called for
the
anti-colonial unity of Africa. He only survived three years
presidency, from
1984 to 1987.On July 23, 1992 the young socialist
politician named Tavio
Amorin was shot dead openly on
the streets. His resistance against the regime, that was
backed-up by Europe, attracted
popular support and frightened the regime.
Those, who openly opposed
the misery, that is
imposded on us, were
assassinated and the murderers where
often installed as presidents, not by the power of the people
but by weapons,
which Europe sold to its new vassal in exchange for the
unobstructed plundering
of the bitterly needed raw materials.
More misery, more weapons,
more violence, more
insecurity, more people flee. Africa may not be independent,
because Europe is
dependent on Africa.
That is a part of the
truth about the NATO war in
Libya, the division of the Sudan, the war in Mali and also
Central Africa. The
Congo, the heart of Africa, bleeds since the arrival of the
Europeans on the
continent still heavily.
Back then, our ancestors
were put in chains and kidnapped
to other continents, today, we the descendants, are put in
chains and deported
to our continent.
The
image of a united,
democratic, humane, civilized Europe, which Europe conveys in
our various
countries, does not have much to do with our experiences. Europe calls itself a
union and a reliable
international community of states, whereas, regionally and from
country to
country the division between poverty and wealth is extreme.
Today in times of the
European financial crisis we
hear that approximately 100 Icelanders leave Iceland daily due
to the high
unemployment rate and poverty prospects. In the news we hear
about the fear of western
Europeans about the immigration of Bulgarians and Romanians, who
are now the
citizens of the same union.
We hear that Germany needs
skilled workers of many
fields, while we are refused a work permit at the same time.
Are we more profitable for
the economy on the
irregular job market or is it just state racism? For our
brothers and sisters,
who lose years of their life and health vegetating in German
asylum camps, this
question does not arise anymore.
Racist are not only the
past police controls of our
people in Hamburg, which fortunately, was strongly condemned by
large parts of
the society. Racist is the whole system of highly organized
isolation, from the
special treatment in the camps, to food packets, food and
clothes vouchers,
“Duldung“, detention and deportation.
Racism was what we
experienced regarding the actions
of the Hamburg senate.
We say, we would be not
here, if we had been able to
survive in Italy but when questioned this by school pupils, the
Mayor of the
city responded by saying „… Italy is a beautiful country….“, We
have realised
that there is no intention to speak with us but what we do not
understand is
that many do not see this as racism. Without the NATO war in
Libya, we would
not be in Europe.
We should live and die on
the streets of Europe, from
the perspective of the Senat of Hamburg not in Hamburg but in
Italy. If the
laws say this, then these are racist laws and a society that
accepts this, must
call itself racist.
Supporters have added „We
are more“ to our slogan „Lampedusa
in Hamburg - We are here to stay“ and together we can learn to
overcome racism
and break the colonial chains. Over the past few months several
people of
various origins have visited our protest tent for information,
to seek advice
and assistance and to declare their solidarity with us. Others
have come simply
to get some bread or water.
A lot has happened
regarding our struggle for the
recognition of our rights and we are still overwhelmed by the
enormous
solidarity and sympathy in Hamburg. While at the beginning, our
voice and our
situation stood stronger in the center of public debate, today,
it is the positions
and actions of supporting circles within the broad solidarity
movement, which
now determine the public debate.
Attempts to hamper our
efforts at self-determination
have occurred and the dice have been and remains loaded at our
expense as
expected in every struggle.
It is important to
recognize this without getting
stuck, therefore we want to direct the point of view back
towards the core
problem concerning us.
Two conferences are
planned to deepen the understanding
and raise awareness on
-
the relationship
between increasing flight and forced migration and the European
foreign policy
-
The experiences
of
the resistance
-
the importance
of
solidarity and the development of reliable structures which
contribute to
building up sustainable, communities and explore answers to the
question „what
does one do? “
First
Conference
Title: “What forces Africans to search for a new life in
Europe? - We are here,
because you destroy our countries”
Saturday, 01 February 2014, 10°° clock to 18°° clock,
Gemeindezentrum
Barmbek°Basch,
Akonda-eine-Welt-Café, Wohldorfer Str. 30
- -
Introduction by Dr. Boga Sako
Gervais, political refugee and human rights activist.
Due to his
political commitment he was forced to leave his country,the
Ivory Coast in west
Africa and currently lives exile in Europe. Dr. Boga will give an overview of the general situation,
global politics
and international relations
which reinforce migration pressure in Africa by promoting
dependency
and exploitation
- -
Country
report by Maissara M. Saeed,
political refugee and human rights activist: The Sudan, case example of flight and expulsion in a
historical context
– from the
anti-colonial
resistance to the current division of the country
-
- further reports are requested: Ivory
Coast, Mali, Kongo
-
- Dr. Norman Paech, professor for
international, humanitarian law, will give a
lecture on International Law and the NATO with a focus on the
war in Libya 2011
-
- Further
contributions and film documentations on transcontinental
workings of European/German
companies
- -
Additional reports by
members of “Lampedusa in Hamburg”
Second
Conference
Title: „The European war against refugees – Silent death in
the camps “
Saturday, 08 February 2014, 10°° clock to 18°° clock,
Gemeindezentrum
Barmbek°Basch,
Akonda-eine-Welt-Café, Wohldorfer Str. 30
- - Introduction by Rosa
Amelia Plumelle-Uribe,
writer and
scientist, Author of
the book „white barbarism “, from colonial
racism to racial policies of the Nazis
- - Short film “The
great Hamoudi” conversation with Eric Madi about the living
conditions of unaccompanied minor refugees in
the German asylum system
- - Fortress
Europe and Frontex - the strategic importance of the
war against flight
and migration by Afrique-Europe
Interact
-
- Processes
of destruction – isolation and
deportation in Germany, Structures
of self-organization, Civil disobedience and
government persecution
contribution
by Rex Osa, the VOICE Refugee
Forum Baden-Württemberg
-
- Supplementary
reports by refugee activists Jerry Bagaza from Wolfsburg and Ali Safinaou Touré from Hamburg and
representatives of the refugee
women conference -
The detailed program is in
preparation.
Mass
demonstration and political,
cultural parade
Saturday,
01 March 2014, 13 clock pm
Hamburg mainstation, Hachmannplatz
It is our aim that the
procession visualizes ideas of
the protest with as many different installations and sculptures
as possible. World
economy, war, flight, expulsion, refugee camp systems, racist
government and
authorities, resistance, solidarity, and local communities
are some
references to the different forms of creative representation we
are searching
for.
Live Music Acts are also
part of the program.
The program and the event
are organized by the group
of the Libyan war refugees “Lampedusa in Hamburg”, the support
committee and
“caravan for the rights of refugees and migrants”
We are in
urgent need of donations! Every day costs incurred,
particularly for
mobility in the
city, to maintain the protest tent, for the daily
supply with the
necessities, for phone cards (contacts
with
our families), etc.
Förderverein Karawane
e.V.
keyword: Hamburg
Kontonummer: 40 30 780
800
IBAN: DE28 4306 0967 4030 7808 00
BIC: GENO DE M1 GLS
GLS Gemeinschaftsbank eG
BLZ: 430 609 67
