Kompass-newsletter No. 125 - 06/2024
8 June in many cities: Demonstrations against right-wing extremism +++ 14 June: one year of the Pylos massacre +++ 20 June in Potsdam: Youth without borders at the IMK +++ Pylos 9 in Greece: all proceedings dropped +++ El Hiblu 3 in Malta: no end to injustice +++ Echoes No. 12: Liberation Days +++ Maldusa: testimony to the horror on the harbour pier +++ Alarm Phone on the Western Med & Children on the Move +++ Outlook: 21.8. to 25.8.: We`ll Come United Summer Camp in Thuringia
Dear friends.
„The European elections are on 9 June and one thing is certain for us: casting a vote is not enough. Rather, we want to raise our voices together against the European normal state of affairs. (…) In this spirit, on 8 June 2024 - as part of the numerous rallies and demonstrations of ‘Vote of the Year’ against right-wing extremism - we want to create a space on the Römer (in Frankfurt/Main) where different voices can be heard that all too often go unheard: voices from the external borders, voices from refugee camps, voices from deportation detention, voices from church asylums, voices from the everyday struggles for equal rights for all people and many more….“.
These sentences from an invitation in Frankfurt echo what was discussed at the We'll Come United conference at the end of April: to get involved on the day before the European elections, when in more than a dozen major cities in Germany it is called for new large-scale demonstrations against the far right. The expected shift to the right is unlikely to be halted, especially at European level, but new strong mobilisations could show that the mass demonstrations at the beginning of the year are not just a flash in the pan. And wherever possible, voices should become audible and visible that oppose not only the expulsion plans of the future but also the policies of exclusion and deportation of the present.
14 June marks the first anniversary of the so-called Pylos accident, in which over 600 people lost their lives, presumably caused by the Greek coastguard attempting to pull the boat with a rope. At the end of May, the proceedings against nine survivors - the Pylos 9 - were dropped, partly on the grounds that the charges had taken place outside Greek jurisdiction.
The El Hiblu 3 in Malta, who recently had to appear in court again, had hoped for a similar dismissal of their case on similar grounds. However, the proceedings, which have now lasted over five years, will continue - according to the decision on 30.5.24 - with the inconceivable accusation of terrorism, among other things. ‘We will continue to stand beside them as they weather this cruel injustice. We will stand with the El Hiblu 3 as long as it takes and until they are free,‘ reacted the supporters’ group, which awarded the defendants a human rights prize in Valetta in mid-April.
The ‘European normality’ mentioned in the introduction is also illustrated by a report from Lampedusa, recently published by Maldusa, which is hard to bear but well worth reading, and which bears witness to the everyday and deliberate horror at the EU's external borders:„...I approached a pile of blankets and saw that there was a body underneath, cold and immobile. I uncovered his face and began to talk to him. His gaze was completely absent. He looked at me but it was as if he neither saw me, nor saw anything. He didn't speak and didn't move. (…) What happened that evening was violence, the result of an institutional will that, with different nuances and dynamics, has been repeating itself every day for years. This lack of preparedness is the final equilibrium of a systemic operation intended to prioritize the construction of confinement spaces rather than implementing tools and infrastructure to provide a worthy and adequate response to the phenomenon of migration.“. Keep reading and spread the word: https://www.maldusa.org/l/wednesday-april-10th-at-9-p-m-favaloro-pier-lampedusa2/
With solidarity greetings,
the Kompass crew