Seebrücke Schweiz has co-signed a joint statement of the Refugees Platform in Egypt (in English and Arabic) on the forced deportation of over 70 asylum seekers to the Eritrean capital Asmara.
We demand an immediate end to deportations of all kinds and freedom of movement for all!
Signatory organization’s names and the Arabic version below – أسماء المنظمات الموقعة والنسخة العربية أدناه
7 October 2022
Joint statement: End arbitrary detention and forcible deportation of Eritrean asylum seekers
The undersigned organizations condemn the arbitrary detention of Eritrean asylum-seekers in Egypt and call upon the Egyptian government to abide by international and regional treaties and conventions on refugee rights. Arrests and subsequent violations against Eritrean asylum-seekers should immediately stop together with an immediate halt to all plans for forced deportations to Eritrea. All refugees in Egypt should be allowed to access asylum procedures.
The Refugee Platform in Egypt (RPE), an organization focused on supporting refugees, has documented the forcible return of at least 70 Eritrean asylum seekers, including women and children, from Egypt to the Eritrean capital, Asmara since October 2021. Many of those deported include refugees who suffer from critical illnesses. These deportations happened on at least five separate flights between October 31, 2021, and June 30, 2022.
The Egyptian authorities routinely ill-treat and commit violations against detained asylum-seekers and violate the principle of non-refoulement. According to families’ testimonies, some of the asylum-seekers were sent to compulsory military service after their forcible return to Eritrea – a fate they had told Egyptian authorities they would meet when appealing their cases. The deported Eritreans had been denied a legal defense and given no access to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asylum procedures in Egypt.
Prior to their deportation, they had endured detention conditions described by detainees as unacceptable and inhumane. Medical care is woefully inadequate in detention facilities, and children and pregnant women especially suffer from poor nutrition as they languish in detention for periods that can extend up to two years. In Egypt, at least 200 asylum seekers are suffering under the same illegal and inhumane detention conditions in addition to the risk of forced deportation at any time.
Eritrean embassy representatives in Cairo are also complicit in the abuse, intimidation, and maltreatment of refugees. In several cases documented by RPE, they warned community leaders and activists to not communicate with human rights organizations or to publish information regarding the situation of Eritrean refugees and the rights violations they face at the hands of Egyptian authorities.
These practices constitute violations of Egypt’s national and international legal commitments. To that end, the undersigned organizations call on Egyptian authorities to immediately refrain from deporting asylum seekers for reasons related to their irregular entry into or exit from Egypt. Additionally, we call on the authorities to grant bodies such as the UNHCR access to all detainees who request to register protection applications. Finally, we call upon the Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate previous forced returns and hold those responsible for human rights abuses accountable.
Signatories:
ينبغي على السلطات المصرية التوقف الفوري عن الاحتجاز التعسفي والترحيل القسري لطالبي اللجوء الإريتريين
تدين المنظمات الحقوقية الموقعة أدناه احتجاز السلطات المصرية لطالبي وطالبات اللجوء الإريتريين بشكل تعسفي، وتدعو الحكومة المصرية للالتزام بالمعاهدات والاتفاقيات الدولية والإقليمية المتعلقة بحقوق اللاجئين. وتؤكد المنظمات أنه ينبغي وقف هذه الاعتقالات والانتهاكات اللاحقة لها فورًا، كما ينبغي السماح لطالبي اللجوء الإريتريين بالوصول إلى إجراءات اللجوء الخاصة بمفوضية الأمم المتحدة لشئون اللاجئين، بالإضافة إلى وقف جميع خطط الترحيل القسري إلى إريتريا.
كانت منصة اللاجئين في مصر، وهي منظمة تركز على دعم اللاجئين، قد وثقت الإعادة القسرية لما لا يقل عن (70) طالب/ة لجوء إريتري بينهم نساء وأطفال إلى العاصمة الإريترية أسمرة. وكان من بين المرحلين لاجئون يعانون من أمراض مزمنة خطيرة. وعلى مدار الفترة بين 31 أكتوبر 2021 و30 يونيو 2022، تمت عمليات الترحيل هذه على متن خمس رحلات منفصلة على الأقل. ووفقًا لشهادات عائلات المحتجزين المرحلين؛ فإن بعض المرحلين تم إرسالهم إلى الخدمة العسكرية الإلزامية في أعقاب عودتهم – وهو مصير تقاسموه مع السلطات المصرية في مناشدات لوقف عمليات الترحيل القسري.
وبشكل روتيني، تسيء السلطات المصرية معاملة طالبي اللجوء المحتجزين، واحتجزتهم لفترات امتدت لسنتين، في «ظروف غير مناسبة وغير إنسانية»، خاصةً بحق النساء الحوامل والأطفال. وفي الوقت نفسه، فإن السلطات المصرية تنتهك التزاماتها الخاصة بعدم الإعادة القسرية، وتسئ معاملة طالبي اللجوء. وأثناء احتجازهم، واجه طالبوا اللجوء نقصًا في الرعاية الطبية، وعدم كفاية وسوء نوعية الطعام المخصص للأطفال والنساء الحوامل. إلى جانب الحرمان من الدفاع القانوني، ومنعهم من التواصل مع مفوضية الأمم المتحدة السامية لشؤون اللاجئين في البلاد. وفي الوقت الحالي، يواجه ما لا يقل عن 200 شخص ظروف الاحتجاز غير القانونية وغير الإنسانية نفسها، بالإضافة إلى خطر الترحيل القسري في أي وقت.
وفي سياق متصل، يواجه طالبو اللجوء تهديدات من ممثلي السفارة الإريترية في القاهرة. كما وثقت منصة اللاجئين في مصر تعرض قادة مجتمعين ونشطاء لتهديدات بالترحيل حال تواصلهم مع منظمات حقوق الإنسان، أو نشرهم معلومات تتعلق بوضع اللاجئين الإريتريين والانتهاكات التي تمارس بحقهم على أيدي السلطات المصرية.
وتؤكد المنظمات الموقعة أن هذه الممارسات تشكل انتهاكًا لالتزامات مصر القانونية المحلية والدولية. وفي سبيل وقفها، فإن المنظمات تدعو السلطات المصرية للامتناع الفوري عن ترحيل طالبي اللجوء لأسباب تتعلق لأسباب تتعلق بدخولهم إلى مصر أو خروجهم منها بشكل غير نظامي. كما تدعو السلطات لمنح هيئات مثل المفوضية السامية للأمم المتحدة لشؤون اللاجئين حق الوصول إلى جميع المحتجزين الذين يطلبون تسجيل طلبات الحماية. وأخيرًا، تطالب المنظمات النيابة العامة لإجراء تحقيق في عمليات الإعادة القسرية السابقة ومحاسبة المسئولين عنها.
المنظمات الموقعة:
In a preliminary examination on 16.06.2022, the National Council rejected the initiative “realizing welcoming cities and communities of solidarity” of the Green Party by 119 votes to 70.
The initiative calls for the federal government to create the conditions in the Asylum Act, in addition to Article 56 AsylA, for additional opportunities to accept people seeking protection at the request of municipalities and cantons. This means that municipalities and cantons should be given the opportunity to take in people on the move in groups on a self-determined basis.
Although it is a good approach, the Greens set a number of conditions in their initiative that are attached to additional reception:
For us, however, it is clear that all people who are forced to leave a country must be granted admission. Local reception is essential for this. Cities and municipalities must be given full responsibility to decide for themselves who lives in their districts.
The Commission’s justification for the rejection reads as follows:
“The Commission has rejected the parliamentary initiative 21.519 of the Green Group together with the Initiative 21.310 of the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Both demand that in humanitarian crises
additional refugees can be accepted.In the opinion of the commission, the implementation of a mechanism that would allow municipalities and cantons willing to take in additional refugees at their own expense, would contradict the current system. The SPK-N has therefore decided not to follow the parliamentary initiative. It also emphasizes that the realization of such a system would be would be extremely complex, especially with regard to responsibilities and financing, and that in the long term, enforcement would be made more difficult. In general, it is of the opinion that the humanitarian emergency assistance on the ground, as well as the current resettlement and relocation strategy, are to be preferred.”
State Policy Commission Report, April 29, 2022.
More information:
Minutes of the brief debate online
Arguments of the majority recorded in writing in the brief commission report
On May 15, Switzerland will vote on the NoFrontex referendum. Over 80 grassroots groups have succeeded in getting the media and political parties to deal more forcefully with the issue of European external borders in the coming months. Frontex, the official European authority for border protection has been increasingly upgraded since 2015. On May 15, Switzerland will vote on the NoFrontex referendum. Over 80 grassroots groups have succeeded in getting the media and political parties to deal more forcefully with the issue of European external borders in the coming months. Frontex, the official European authority for border protection has been increasingly upgraded since 2015. The Federal Council’s decision in the fall of 2021 even grants Frontex its own personnel. Yet it has long been known that Frontex is involved in systematic violations of human rights and international law.
Frontex is also active in the Mediterranean, where collaboration with the so-called Libyan coast guard is one of the agency’s core tasks. Why Seebrücke Switzerland says NO against Frontex on May 15 we have summarized in the position below.
More than 44,000 people have already lost their lives trying to reach Fortress Europe. Nevertheless, Europe continues to adhere to a brutal policy of sealing off at all costs. Instead of spending even one franc on rescuing people in distress at sea, the border protection agency Frontex is being militarized and increased in funding and personnel. In 2022, the EU will provide Frontex with about half a billion euros, a third of which will go to aerial surveillance. This is to monitor groups of people on coasts, in hiding places, in boats and camps, and to keep them away from EU borders as early as possible. This surveillance is intended to prevent people seeking protection from applying for asylum in the EU. This is often done through forcible illegal pushbacks or other forms of physical and psychological violence. Although there are numerous evidences and reports about these brutal practices, nothing has been done by the EU so far. Frontex has become the symbol of Europe’s externalized migration regime, which has taken the active decision to continue a brutal and inhumane closure day after day by military means, ignoring international standards and rights without having to answer for it. Further arming Frontex is not the solution we need! The financing of unpunished and inhuman structures must not be further supported by the state!
By outsourcing border protection to agencies like Frontex, member states hand over the responsibility for the ongoing psychological and physical violence against people seeking protection to external actors. On the basis of European security cooperation, all Schengen member states have so far accepted and supported this system without hesitation – including Switzerland. Switzerland contributes financially and in terms of personnel to Frontex. Until 2027, an annual contribution of 61 million Swiss francs has been granted, which represents 5% of the total Frontex budget. By supporting Europe’s inhumane sealing-off policy, Switzerland is complicit in thousands of deaths every year at Europe’s external borders. On May 15, 2022, there will now be the first opportunity to influence the European migration regime from below and not to accept the racist actions and decisions forced upon us.
The Swiss electorate can send a signal across Europe with a NO to Frontex funding on May 15; against Frontex and the inhumane European isolationist policy of which it has become a symbol; for the fact that a more humane European migration policy is possible and for the fact that the existing migration regime must and will no longer be accepted.
A “No” vote invalidates the narrative that nothing can be done as a single country and provides a starting point for people and movements that want to fundamentally change the European migration regime. The vote also allows for a long overdue critical public debate in Switzerland on the racist European policy of isolation and the role that Switzerland plays in it, which is largely ignored by the public. It is essential, however, that the people affected by the migration regime, who are almost exclusively excluded from the vote, are given an appropriate platform in the public discourse.
Militarization and armament of Frontex are intentionally used to make Europe further inaccessible for people on the run. With the financing of Frontex, Switzerland therefore supports not only the systematic violation of human rights, but also a system of inherent violent structures, which is embodied by Frontex.
Seebrücke therefore says NO to Frontex on May 15, because instead it needs…
… an end to the personnel, financial and technical support of all Frontex operations and no further increase of the Frontex budget or further powers of the border protection agency!
… protection and safe escape routes for all fleeing people!
… a governmental European rescue program!
… FERRIES NOT FRONTEX!
Left-wing members of the European Parliament have written a letter of solidarity to Mimmo Lucano, joined by members of the Swiss National Council, to show that across European borders this judgment against humanity and humanitarian values cannot and must not be tolerated.
The original letter can be found here.
***
Dear Mimmo,
As members of the Swiss National Council, we would like to express our solidarity, as well as our full human and political support, to you, to your fellow campaigners and to all those who have been involved in the realization of the experience of Riace, the city of hospitality. Thanks to you, this small town in Calabria has become an example of humanity and hope against xenophobia, racism and fear.
The first instance sentence is not only disproportionate, but also unjust and absurd. This is a poster child for what criminalization of solidarity looks like. We must raise our voices against this throughout Europe and therefore send you our full solidarity.
The sentence pronounced is an attack on a living example that has shown how it can be possible to open doors to welcome refugees and build communities instead of walls when people are fleeing war, poverty and misery. Riace was all of these things. It was the opposite of the hate speech on which the radical right across Europe builds its racist narratives. It was the opposite of the inhumane European migration policies that focus on expanding Fortress Europe and keeping people from arriving here at all costs. Riace was an example that was admired throughout Europe because it put the dignity and human rights of people on the run first.
You need to know that you are not alone, neither in Riace nor in Italy. Throughout Europe and here in Switzerland, we admire and support what you have done and will continue to support the fight for justice and the proof of your innocence. The only interest you have pursued is that of solidarity. This is the common cause for which we continue to fight, that of humanity against barbarism.
In solidarity,
The members of the Swiss National Council
***
Caro Mimmo,
come deputati del Consiglio nazionale svizzero, vogliamo esprimere la nostra solidarietà, il nostro pieno sostegno umano e politico a te, ai tuoi compagni e a tutti coloro che sono stati protagonisti della costruzione dell’esperienza di Riace, città dell’accoglienza. Grazie a voi questo piccolo paese calabrese è diventato un esempio di umanità e di speranza contro la xenofobia, il razzismo e la paura.
La sentenza di primo grado non è semplicemente sproporzionata, ma ingiusta e assurda. Vediamo qui esattamente cosa significa la criminalizzazione della solidarietà. E dobbiamo parlare e opporci a questo in tutta l’Europa; per questo ti mandiamo tutta la nostra solidarietà.
Ciò che è stato colpito con questa sentenza è un esempio, che ha mostrato come sia possibile aprire porte e accogliere i profughi, costruendo comunità invece di muri quando le persone fuggono dalla guerra, dalla povertà e dalla miseria. Riace era tutto questo. Era l’esatto opposto dei discorsi di odio su cui l’estrema destra in tutta Europa costruisce le sue narrazioni razziste. Era l’opposto delle disumane politiche migratorie europee, che si concentrano sulla costruzione della Fortezza Europa e impediscono a tutti i costi di entrare nell’Europa. Riace ne è stato un esempio, ammirato in tutta Europa mettendo al primo posto la dignità ei diritti umani dei migranti.
Devi sapere che non sei solo, a Riace e in Italia. In tutta Europa e qui in svizzera ammiriamo e sosteniamo ciò che avete fatto e continueremo a sostenere la battaglia per la giustizia e per dimostrare la vostra innocenza. L’unico interesse che hai seguito è quello della solidarietà. Ed è la causa comune per la quale continuiamo a lottare, quella dell’umanità, contro la barbarie.
In solidarietà
I membri del Consiglio nazionale svizzero
Samira MARTI
Matthias AEBISCHER
Brigitte CROTTAZ
Claude FRIEDE
Balthasar GLÄTTLI
Michael TÖNGI
Florian IRMINGER
Delphine KLOPFENSTEIN BROGGINI
Isabelle PASQUIER-EICHENBERGER
Stefanie PREZIOSO
Christophe CLIVAZ
Nicolas WALDER
Lisa MAZZONE
Katharina PRELICZ-HUBER
The verdict further highlights the isolation Europe so desperately wants to advance. The increasing criminalization of migration, a phenomenon that is as old as humans themselves, is currently exploding and is causing innocent people to experience the most brutal repression.
In a speech in Rome on 07 October, Lucano stressed:
There are the transcripts of the trial, to a question asked not only once: “but did this mayor have economic interests?” the colonel says “no, he has no economic interests”, a question that was repeated … “no he has no economic interests, he has political interests”, as if taking an interest in politics is a criminal fact.
Domenico ‘Mimmo’ Lucano
The defense filed a direct appeal against the sentence, while an enormous wave of solidarity reached the streets of Europe. Not only in Italy, many people took to the streets to show solidarity with ‘Mimmo’ Lucano and fight for his innocence.
Here is a list of all past and present protests in Italy. Now, we invite you to organize your own demonstration, protest or solidarity action in your city!
The Left MEPs have also written an Open Letter in which they stand in solidarity alongside ‘Mimmo’ Lucano and condem the exaggerated guilty verdict.
Swiss members of the National Council co-signed this letter from the Left MEPs.
From the civil society, Abolish Frontex has published an Open Letter, which individual groups or organizations are invited to sign.
If you still want to do contribute with your voice, there is this online petition that expresses it’s solidarity with Lucano and condemns the verdict.
With this demonstration it has to be clear that we are united against this unacceptable system. The events of the last months have shown us once again that the conditions must change fundamentally:
No to physical, psychological, social and economic violence against refugees!
We demand refugee status for all Afghans present in Switzerland. In addition, the admission of people from Afghanistan as well as family reunifications must be made possible quickly and unbureaucratically.
We demand housing for new arrivals and access to professional psychological and social support as well as independent legal representation. The current closed federal asylum camps, isolated from civil society, are not suitable accommodations for newly arrived people (including children and youth). They have been proven to promote and require psychological and physical violence behind their walls.
We demand the immediate abolition of the emergency assistance system. All rejected asylum seekers must be able to have their case reviewed with a view to legalization (hardship cases). They should be entitled to social assistance, adequate housing and medical care that meets their needs.
We demand a stop to the policy of control and isolation. Compulsory attendance, daily police checks and isolation from society are breaking people in the camps. We condemn the criminalization of undocumented persons and the imposition of fines and imprisonment for illegal stay. No person is illegal!
We demand a general stop to deportations, as they disregard the need for material and physical security of people who have fled. This includes the deportations to Ethiopia and Eritrea, which are of particular concern.
We demand the abolition of Frontex and the immediate end of cooperation between Switzerland and the European border agency.
We demand the immediate evacuation of all camps around the Mediterranean, especially Moria. We are ashamed of the ridiculous contingent that Switzerland intends to take in. Several municipalities and cities have agreed to take in people from the camps. We have room!
We demand Switzerland’s withdrawal from the Dublin Agreement and, until then, a consistent and humane application of the sovereignty clause.
Finally, we demand what should be self-evident: the right to a free and dignified life for all.
The fall session has started taking place from September 13 in the National Parliament. Today, on September 14, it is very likely that the motion 19.4034 “Humanitarian emergency in the Mediterranean. Switzerland should participate in the distribution mechanism of the “Coalition of the Willing””, will be dealt with materially, two years after its submission. Several politicians have put it on the agenda.
The motion asks the Federal Council to show solidarity with European border states and the states of the “coalition of the willing” by participating in the “solidarity mechanism for the distribution of people rescued in the Mediterranean Sea “1. Two possibilities are proposed in this regard:
Even if the focus in the last weeks was on a great solidarity with individuals in Afghanistan, the Mediterranean Sea remains a central place where European deterrence takes place unhindered. Rescue ships are still waiting several days for the allocation of a safe harbor, while the people on board need to get ashore and to a safe place as soon as possible2. The Federal Council also contributes financially to Frontex operations undertaken by the Libyan Coast Guards, which returns shipwrecked people to detention centers where mistreatment and other human rights abuses are widespread3.
The federal government, however, does not seem to be touched or altered by these points. It sees no need for action in its own policy and recommends rejecting the motion. However, Seebrücke is of the opinion that it is not enough to support the member states at the european external borders financially. Switzerland must act actively and show solidarity with people who need international protection for various reasons and have a right to claim it.
The Federal Council can no longer continue unnoticed a racist migration policy while citizens push for an open welcoming culture.
The Federal Council rejected the motion on 21 September 2021.
________________________________________
1 https://www.parlament.ch/de/ratsbetrieb/suche-curia-vista/geschaeft?AffairId=20194037
2 https://twitter.com/MSF_Sea/status/1429550099655544834?s=19
3 https://www.parlament.ch/centers/eparl/sessions/2021%20III/Tagesordnung%20EJPD%20N%20D.pdf p.9
https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/monitor/fluechtlinge-libyen-lager-101.html
The cities of Geneva, Bern and Zurich have declared their willingness to take in vulnerable people from Afghanistan immediately. Since the federal government still does not allow the cities to take decisions concerning this matter on their own, they now want to put pressure on the federal government.
With the violent offensive of the Taliban, the security situation for people living in the country has also deteriorated considerably. Not only local staff of the different European projects in Afghanistan, but especially women, women’s rights activists, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, democrats, artists and many more are in acute danger.
Already after the fire of Moria almost a year ago, on 09 September 2020, these three cities have agreed to take in people beyond the federal distribution key. Now Geneva, Bern and Zurich reaffirm their willingness and put pressure on the federal government. The cities are calling on the Swiss Confederation to immediately introduce a facilitated procedure that would allow a first humanitarian visa to be issued to Afghans at risk.
“I regret that the Federal Council did not want to address the matter. It is irresponsible not to do anything,” reacted Delphine Bachmann, president of the Geneva PDC (Parti Démocrate-Chrétien).
At a recent press conference, the Federal Council finally announced that Switzerland would accept 230 people from Afghanistan for the time being. The Minister of Justice, Karin Keller-Sutter, does not respond to the demand expressed by various cities, NGOs and civil society organizations to take in more vulnerable people from the country. She declares: “This is not possible at the moment”.
Other words come from the city of Zurich: “In 2015, the city of Zurich accommodated 800 refugees on the city’s territory within a few weeks. That would certainly be possible again today. Now it’s up to the federal government to decide how many people it wants to take in,” says Heike Isselhorst, head of communications at the social department of the city of Zurich.
In view of the dramatic situation, the federal government has to no longer prevent the admission of people in need of protection. Switzerland can and must open its doors and show solidarity with Afghans who have stood up and fought for women’s rights, democracy and a free society in recent years.
Press:
The International Day for Refugees takes place on June 20. On the occasion of this day, various church and civil society organizations have launched the action Beim Namen nennen. Accompanied by numerous local actions, the names and stories of all those who have lost their lives trying to reach Europe are read out on this or the preceding day.
Within these hours, more than 44,000 people are commemorated. 44,000 people who have been registered since 1993. However, the tragedy in the Mediterranean continues and repeats itself every day. On the other hand and beyond the Mediterranean, only abstract numbers of disappeared and deceased reach the public.
This year’s action is intended to remind us again that even abstract numbers are individuals who bring more with them than a political discourse about security and integration. They are families, young children or young adults who put everything at stake on risk in order to live a dignified life with equal opportunities. Fortress Europe denies this opportunity and ensures with its deterrent asylum policy that people have no safe escape routes to choose from.
Next year, names and stories will be read aloud again. Until then, we hope that the list will not become even longer.
The action Beim Namen nennen was accompanied by numerous local, artistic performances.
In cooperation with Alarm Phone Switzerland and the Maxim Theater Zurich, Seebrücke brought the documentary theater “Mediterranean Monologues” from Berlin to Switzerland. Providing a framework for the campaign, it was performed in a total of four times, in Zurich, Bern, Lucerne and St. Gallen. The “Mediterranean Monologues” tell of Naomie from Cameroon and Yassin from Libya, of political resistance, of a boat on its way to Europe. The texts were created verbatim from interviews lasting several hours and are performed with musical accompaniment.
It is not easy to listen for almost two hours to four people describing human fears, desires and hopes. But this theatrical performance forces you to stay seated and engage with the subject matter. The end result is a moving evening, with great acting and new reflections on the right to safe arrival.
Together with the Catholic and Reformed churches and the Solinetz Luzern, the names of all the deceased and the circumstances of their deaths were read out during 24 hours. Parallel to the reading of the names, the participants wrote what had been read out on white strips of cloth and hung them on a wooden construction in front of the church.
Damian Meyer, together with young artists, also created wooden memorial sculptures that deal with displacement and flight, but also with arrival and hope.
In collaboration with Sea Eye, an installation of tents and posters (#NowYouSeeMeMoria) was created on the Bundesplatz over the weekend of the action, drawing attention to the situation of the Greek camps and calling for their immediate evacuation. Four small and large tents stood fenced in front of the Bundesplatz, sending a clear signal to the National Council and Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter.
About 60 people and volunteers took part in the action this year in Geneva. Among them were representatives of the organizations Association pour la Promotion des Droits Humains, Vivre Ensemble or UNHCR. Private individuals such as Jean Ziegler were also contributing to this day. On Friday afternoon, visitors were able to enjoy a flamenco performance. During the two days, participants wrote the individual stories of the deceased on small strips of paper, which were then pinned to a wooden construction.
Accompanying the reading of the names and the circumstances of death, passers-by could visit the new exhibition of Seebrücke. The path migration describes the arduous journey from the African continent to Europe. In different stages, hurdles and risks are presented that people have to experience on their migration route. The exhibition can be found here.
The political map on which we present the commitment of Swiss cities to a solidarity-based migration policy expands every week. We keep receiving new proposals from active groups all over Switzerland. We also keep getting news from the campaign “500 people for the municipalities in Aargau”. This represents a strong civil society voice demanding a humane migration policy in Switzerland.
A deadly reminder of the European and Swiss policy of deterrence is the Mediterranean Sea. Since 1993, more than 44,000 people have lost their lives trying to flee to Europe. Most of them have drowned. Today, in St. Gallen, the names and stories of the deceased were read aloud as part of the action “Beim Namen nennen”. The names were also written on strips of cloth and hung on the outside façade of the St. Laurenzen church.
SEEBRÜCKE Switzerland has taken today’s event in St. Gallen as an opportunity to write to 73 municipalities in the canton. This corresponds to all political municipalities in St. Gallen that have not yet taken a public stance in relation to the reception of people arriving from the Mediterranean. The municipalities of Buchs, Sevelen, Wil and the city of St. Gallen have already sent a political declaration against the inhumane asylum policy.
Today’s letter was addressed to the respective municipal administration and asks them to declare their solidarity with people on the move as a first step. This public declaration of solidarity can be followed by further concrete steps for action, such as addressing the concrete demand for additional admission of refugees to the federal government.
With the aim of increasing pressure from below on the federal government and Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter through the communities, SEEBRÜCKE Switzerland has sent out the following letter:
“Am 20. Juni ist Weltflüchtlingstag. In der Stadt St. Gallen organisieren zahlreiche Organisationen, darunter die katholischen und reformierten Kirchen, den Aktionstag “Beim Namen nennen”. Seit 1993 sind über 40’000 Menschen auf der Flucht über das Mittelmeer verstorben. Die Namen und Geschichten dieser Menschen werden heute während 24 Stunden in der Kirche St. Laurenzen vorgelesen. Wir möchten diesem Gedenken politisches Handeln folgen lassen.
Jeden Tag sterben Menschen im Mittelmeer, gleichzeitig werden NGOs bei der Seenotrettung behindert und müssen teilweise wochenlang mit geflüchteten Menschen an Bord vor den Küsten Europas warten. Die Schweiz verfügt über die nötige Erfahrung und Infrastruktur, um vulnerable Personen aufzunehmen und deren Asylantrag zu prüfen. Um das weitere Sterben tausender Menschen zu verhindern, ist ein schnelles Handeln unabdingbar.
Die SEEBRÜCKE setzt sich dafür ein, dass Menschen, die fliehen mussten, einen Ort zum Ankommen finden – einen Sicheren Hafen. Das könnte Ihre Gemeinde werden. Aus unserer Sicht sollten die Städte stärker Einfluss auf migrationspolitische Fragen nehmen und sich klar positionieren. Erklären Sie sich solidarisch mit Menschen auf der Flucht? Das ist ein wertvolles politisches Zeichen, auf das konkrete solidarische Handlungen folgen können.
Wir fordern Ihre Gemeinde auf, sich zum Sicheren Hafen zu erklären.
Zu einem Sicheren Hafen gehört, dass die Gemeinde:
Öffentliche Solidaritätserklärung
1. sich mit Menschen auf der Flucht und den Zielen der SEEBRÜCKE solidarisch erklärt.Aktive Unterstützung der Seenotrettung
2. sich öffentlich gegen die Kriminalisierung der Seenotrettung auf dem Mittelmeer positioniert und diese aktiv unterstützt sowie die Patenschaft und finanzielle Unterstützung für ein ziviles Seenotrettungsschiff übernimmt bzw. sich daran beteiligt.Aufnahme zusätzlich zur Quote
3. die schnelle und unkomplizierte Aufnahme und Unterbringung von aus Seenot geretteten Menschen und Menschen aus den griechischen Lagern zusätzlich zur Verteilungsquote von Schutzsuchenden sicherstellt. Konkret erklärt sich die Gemeinde bereit, eine selbst gewählte, verbindliche Anzahl an geflüchteten Menschen, beispielsweise von einem zivilen Seenotrettungsboot oder aus einem griechischen Lager, ähnlich eines Relocation-Programms, direkt aufzunehmen und unterzubringen. Diese Aufnahme geschieht zusätzlich zur Verteilungsquote Asylsuchender. Hierzu wird ein Einvernehmen mit dem Eidgenössischen Departement des Innern und dem Amt für Migration hergestellt.Aufnahmeprogramme unterstützen
4. sich gegenüber dem Bund für die Einrichtung neuer bzw. die deutliche Ausweitung bestehender Programme zur legalen Aufnahme von Flüchtenden einsetzt und dazu selbst zusätzliche Aufnahmeplätze anbietet.Kommunales Ankommen gewährleisten
5. für ein langfristiges Ankommen sorgt, indem alle notwendigen Ressourcen für eine menschenwürdige Versorgung, insbesondere in den Bereichen Wohnen, medizinische Versorgung und Bildung, zur Verfügung gestellt werden.Nationale und europäische Vernetzung
6. sich auf regionaler, nationaler und europäischer Ebene aktiv für die Umsetzung der oben genannten Punkte einsetzt.Bündnis Sichere Häfen
7. sich für ein Bündnis aller Sicheren Häfen in Europa zur aktiven Gestaltung einer menschenrechtskonformen europäischen Migrationspolitik einsetzt.Transparenz
8. alle unternommenen Handlungen zeitnah und fortlaufend veröffentlicht, mit denen die Gemeindzu einem Sicheren Hafen wird.Der Weg zu einem Sicheren Hafen ist für uns ein Prozess, der sich über einen längeren Zeitraum erstrecken kann. Der entscheidende erste Schritt ist die öffentliche Solidaritätsbekundung. Ihre Gemeinde setzt damit ein wichtiges politisches Zeichen. Sie macht damit auf die humanitäre Notlage aufmerksam, von der nicht länger die Augen verschlossen werden können.
Bitte traktandieren Sie diesen Antrag an der nächsten Gemeinderatssitzung und teilen Sie uns mit, ob Sie unserem Begehren zustimmen. Wir zählen auf die Solidarität unserer Exekutive und freuen uns auf den Bescheid. Natürlich stehen wir Ihnen gerne auch für ein Gespräch zur Verfügung.
Mit freundlichen Grüssen
Seebrücke Schweiz”
The Cantonal Council of Geneva has approved a motion by 17 politicians promising to take in 20 families from the temporary camp Kara Tepe on Lesbos. Kara Tepe was built after fire broke out at the original camp Moria in early September. It still houses 10,000 people in inhumane conditions.
The motion, titled “Request for humanitarian admission of refugee families living in the Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesvos,” initially called for up to ten families to be taken in. However, after the motion was declared urgent, there was also a change in the text. In the end, the new text and an admission of 20 families was approved by 52 to 43 votes.
Although many cities and municipalities in Switzerland have shown solidarity with the refugees in Moria, this has not yet been followed by concrete measures. The federal government is keeping a low profile and apart from taking in a few children and young people, most of whom already had family ties in Switzerland, we have yet to see any active, let alone humanitarian, action.
Switzerland has never received so little refugees as in this current period. In light of the current pandemic, this is frightening. The pandemic should not be a reason for us to try to deny what is happening on Lesbos and at the European external borders!
With this proposal, Geneva has once again shown how important it is to continue to build pressure on the federal government. Swiss cities and municipalities must do the same, because this is the only way to ensure that the fundamental right to asylum is not completely dehumanized and that Switzerland ends its restrictive migration policy.
The new camp on Lesbos still hosts about 7,000 people in non-winter-proof and unheated tents, directly at the sea, exposed to the weather. Compared to the camp Moria, which has burned down in September, conditions have even further deteriorated. The situation is an unacceptable physical and psychological burden for the people accommodated there.
The association Netzwerk Asyl Aargau started the campaign “500 people for the communities in Aargau” for communities and cities to voluntarily increase their quota of receiving people. This gives way to the possibility of creating necessary capacity in the cantons and register “free space” with the federal government for the reception of people from those precarious camps. Numerous municipalities have already given positive feedback.
Aarau, Baden, Brugg, Laufenburg, Lenzburg and Windisch expressed their willingness to the federal government to welcome people from Moria in their communities for humanitarian reasons. The next step is to engage in discussions with the federal government and the canton to inquire into problem-solving and to jointly address solutions for future communal reception.
Despite the large number of positive responses to the request of the association Netzwerk Asyl Aargau, some reservations about the campaign remain for certain municipalities. Among those are Wohlen, Ennetbaden and Wettingen. While those municipalities recognize the plight of people in the Greek camps, they still reject the request due to a number of different administrative concerns.
Competences of the federal government and the canton
One reason for the reservation is the clearly separated are of competences between the federal government and the municipalities. In order not to exceed these powers, the municipalities want to refrain from exerting municipal pressure on the federal government. Nevertheless, it is sometimes explicitly added that they would be willing to take in refugees and would also have accommodation capacities, however they would only be made available if a corresponding demand were made by the canton.
Financial burden
In addition, it remains unclear for many municipalities as to what would the costs amount when receiving additional people. Here, different numbers were raised in relation to what municipalities have to calculate with. Reference is also made to the procedural path: Municipalities would not be able to commit to additional reception without the budget for it being officially approved elsewhere.
Fulfillment of tasks
Many municipalities state that they already take care of significantly more refugees than they would have to according to the cantonal key. This aspect also shows that they are willing to assume responsibility in the Swiss asylum system, but also expect this from the other municipalities.
Housing options
In some cases, the lack of accommodation is cited as a reason for refusal. This aspect is often only a snapshot of the situation in many municipalities. In particular, the change in space requirements during the Covid pandemic have shown that in many places it is possible to make additional properties available for accommodation at short notice.
Whether these reasons were pretextual or actually decisive for the decision, we from SEEBRÜCKE Switzerland would like to know and therefore call on the federal government to no longer block the way for the municipal reception of people on the run.
The campaign is still ongoing! In twelve municipalities, a response to the request of the Netzwerk Asyl Aargau is still pending. In order to continue building up pressure from below together with those municipalities that show solidarity, any support for the campaign is welcome. Whether through media, actions or letters, be creative!
Ten major Swiss cities have already declared themselves ready to receive refugees from the humanitarian catastrophe in the camps on the Greek islands in recent months, but more and more smaller towns and villages are now also willing to welcome refugees. This increases the pressure on Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter, who is blocking the reception by the cities at federal level. At the same time, the legal conditions for this are already in place.
In a first wave of positive feedback, six cities have publicly declared their willingness to accept refugees and communicated this to the Federal Council:
Wohlen (BE): The Municipality of Wohlen has written to the SEM asking it to significantly step up its assistance to the area, and in particular to facilitate the reception of vulnerable refugees from the burnt-down camp in Moria in view of the humanitarian situation in Lesbos. At the same time, the municipality is offering, within the limits of its possibilities, both financial support for local aid and assistance in the form of accommodation and care in the community.
Sevelen (SG): The municipality of Sevelen is willing to host and care for a family in addition to those already allocated.
Arlesheim (BL): The Municipal Council supports the petitioners’ request and has confirmed its willingness to accept five more people from a camp on a Greek island. The canton has been informed of this readiness.
Baden (AG): The city of Baden is prepared to consider additional admissions if the federal government and the canton create the legal conditions. This has been communicated to the federal government via the City Initiative for Social Policy.
Penthalaz (VD): The municipality of Penthalaz expects Switzerland to provide adequate reception for people from the Greek camps in order to reduce the emergency situation there and declares its readiness to take in families itself.
The city of Lausanne (VD) has once again expressed its willingness to receive people and its efforts to work for a solution at federal level. The city hopes to cooperate with the other host cities.
The appeal to the cities was made in the form of a petition, which may continue to be used to further increase the number of welcoming cities and make them visible.