International Day of Action against the European Border Regime
18.03.2017 + 12 o’clock + Airport Schönefeld
The Berlin-Schönfeld airport is not only an important transport junction of the capital, but also a hub of the European border regime. Currently planes are being chartered twice a month to deport people and send them back to the Western Balkan countries, which were declared as safe countries of origin a year ago. A massive increase of deportations is looming in the coming months: thousands of Afghans are to be sent back to a country still ravaged by war and shaped by wartime disputes. Angela Merkel is calling for a „national effort“ for increased deportations with her „16-points-plan“ and is further planning the implementation of centralized „exit centers“, which are de facto prisons, near airports.
We oppose this policy of isolation: We do not want people to be treated like dangerous criminals by being arrested detained by the police, torn from families and friends and cordoned off at airports – only to then simply unload them a few hours later in one of the most dangerous places in the world. Instead of separating refugees along «good» and «bad» perspectives of stay, categorizing people by nationality, reason for flight, or potential economic utility, we need a joint fight against racist division! Instead of inciting fear and hatred, we need a policy of solidarity that demands the right to a good life for all!
On March 18, we will protest to show our vision of Berlin at Schönefeld Airport, a Berlin in which migration is not a threat, in which «welcome» is not a question of the political climate, but includes the real possibility to stay. A Berlin in which no one has to be afraid to be deported the next day. We are demonstrating for Berlin as a city of solidarity. For us, a city of solidarity also means that all people have access to education, housing and health care – regardless of their residence status! In this sense, we call upon the new Berlin government, which announced a «paradigm shift» with regard to the right of residence and asylum in its coalition agreement, to actually get this shift under way. The coalition agreement also states that deportations are to be replaced by the increased support of so-called «supported returns», a policy which aims to create incentives for refugees for a so-called voluntary leave. This project is by no means a paradigm shift, but merely an attempt to whitewash an inhumane deportation practice.
By protesting at the airport, we are also joining the airport protests of the last weeks. Many people gathered in Frankfurt and Munich to resist the deportations to Afghanistan already taking place. And in the US, thousands fought against President Trump‹s imposed entry ban for refugees and many muslims. They blocked the access routes to terminals, demanded permitted entry for their families, neighbors and friends and declared their cities as „Sanctuary CIties» under the slogan #heretostay, where migrants without papers are protected against deportations.
On March 18 we are also not alone with our protest: The Hotel City Plaza in Athens, which was occupied in 2016 and since then has served as a self-organised home for refugees and a place of antiracism and solidarity, called for an international day of resistance. March 18 was selected because exactly one year ago, the EU-Turkey agreement was signed – a dirty deal with the authoritarian Erdogan regime, which declared Turkey a «safe third country» for refugees and facilitated deportations and foreclosure. This agreement is part of other already existing and planned deals worth billions with dictatorial states, which ensure that refugees can be sent back or stopped at the gates of Europe. In order to protest against this policy, today many people will take to the streets in different German cities and in Greece, Italy, Switzerland and Austria. Together we are fighting against the brutal border regime and for freedom of movement.
FOR THE RIGHT TO COME, TO GO AND TO STAY!
EQUAL SOCIAL RIGHTS FOR ALL!
Welcome2Stay, LA:IZ, Bündnis für bedingungsloses Bleiberecht, Afrique-Europe-Interact, Bündnis gegen Lager, Corasol, Stop Deportation, Flüchtlingsrat Brandenburg, Interventionistische Linke Berlin, Watch the Med Alarmphone und NAF (Neue Alternative für Flüchtlinge)