Kompass-Newsletter No. 85 - 02/2020
6-8 February in Oujda: CommemorAction +++ 6 February in Berlin: Event on Migration Control +++ 14-15 February in Göttingen: citylab/Stadtlabor +++ 16.2. in Göttingen: germanwide AntiRa Counceling meeting +++ Mediterranean Monologues on Tour +++ Alarm Phone in January 2020: Coordination Centre for Sea Rescue in the Central Mediterranean +++ Forensic Oceanography on Illegal Push-Backs in the Central Mediterranean - The Nivin-Case +++ 701 Tons of Solidarity - Sea Watch publication+++ Bordermonitoring eu Newsletter +++ Newspaper from Afrique Europe Interact +++ Climate Struggles between Multiple Crisis and Global Justice - transact in Disputation +++ Review: Oury Jalloh Demonstration; We`ll Come United from January 17-19, 2020 in Darmstadt +++ Outlook: El Hiblu campaign on March 28; Buses of Hope exhibition project in Hessen
Dear friends!
The new year started with a great meeting of We`ll Come United (WCU). More than 100 active members from many cities and mostly self-organized refugees came together in Darmstadt to discuss plans and perspectives for 2020. Next to "Stop Deportation", "MigrAntifa" has become the second pillar of this network, and solidarity at the external borders is a constant additional topic as well.
A first calendar was created with many decentralized activities, and a clear agreement was made: between 2nd and 5th of September 2020 - the fifth anniversary of the March of Hope and the breakthrough on the Balkan route - we all want to become active at the same time. Whether in many places in parallel and/or also with joint large-scale mobilisations, this remained open and will be discussed further in the coming weeks. Among other things at a germanwide AntiRa Council networking meeting in Göttingen in mid-February.
In addition, WCU wants to propose to all anti-racist networks and organizations to organize a joint large conference in winter 2020/21: not least on the above-mentioned focal points, and with the hopefully successful experiences of increased coordination in the coming months.
In the second week of January 20 (!) boats in the central Mediterranean made contact with the Alarm Phone within two days, some of them could be rescued by Sea Watch, Open Arms or to Malta. Sea Watch had been released in early January and Mare Jonio was also due to start operations again soon. If all plans work out, another nine to ten rescue ships could be on the way off the coast of Libya in the summer. On the Greek islands, the situation is becoming even more acute because even in the winter months, boats from Turkey are constantly landing and, according to the EU-Turkey deal, people are not allowed to travel further towards the mainland. #Wir haben Platz is a broadly running campaign to allow the entry of at least 4000 unaccompanied minors from Greece to Germany. The alliance of safe harbours has further stabilised in cooperation with Seebrücke and a transnational conference "From the Sea to the City" is planned for early summer.
In 2019 - as in 2018 - more than 20,000 people were deported from Germany, while the policy of deterrence and deprivation of rights is entering the next round with fast-track procedures and "anchor centres". But nothing happens without stubborn resistance: flight to a next city or country, hiding, standing up in the deportation plane to get out again, refusals and protests against the disgrace of the camps.
The starting position for 2020 seems in several aspects more encouraging than in recent years. In any case, there are contested spaces everywhere against the background of intensified social polarization, which demands continuous commitment from all of us. In this sense with We'll Come United: Yallah, yallah!
The Kompass Team