(Deutsch)
On 15th of April 2016 the Liberation Festival took place in the Deweerth-Garden in Wuppertal. Reason of the festivity was the 71.Anniversary of the town’s liberation from Nationalsocialism. w2wtal had been invited to contribute a few words about the current situation of refugees in Europe at the ceremony. The speech commemorated the Conference of Èvian in the year 1938 and encouraged to stand up against the renewed moral bankruptcy of Europe. We document the contribution in full text.
Hello. I’m speaking for welcome2wuppertal, a political initiative of people who just came to Wuppertal and of people who live here since some time. We support the people with organizing themselfes and with becoming real actors on all political, cultureal and daily fields. As Hannah Arendt, who had to leave Germany because of the Nazis, demanded, we try to see migrants as «Newcomers» instead as «Refugees». This was the way she decribed herself.
Today we remember the victims of Nationalsocialism, the resisters and of course the liberators – in the case of Wuppertal it was the US Army, which freed the city 71 years ago. But if we appreciate the firmness of the allies as they fought the Nazis after the beginning of war, we must not forget that there previously were situations that need to be described retrospectively as a «moral bankruptcy» of the world.
Nobody who is dealing with the situation of people who have to flee war and terror today, can avoid to look on how the world dealt with people who had to emigrate in the past. And then, sooner or later, the Èvian Conference will come into sight which took place in July 1938 at the Hotel Royal on the French shore of Lake Geneva.
Representatives of 32 countries and various private organizations met there in the week between 6th and 15th of July. They wanted to discuss how the increasing number of Jewish people who had to leave their countries of origin could be handled once the racial laws in Germany got in force and after the Austrian «Anschluss». At this time it still was possible to leave Germany and the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had taken the initiative to held this meeting. The result of the conference was shattering.
The humanitarian aspect of the conference faded away with the ongoing negotiations. The «Jews» theirself were largely considered as an «act of defiance» and the conference negotiated about the «Jewish Problem». Where previously still had been some unregulated opportunities to leave Nazi-Germany, the Èvian Conference eventually led to the closing of almost all borders for Jewish refugees in all countries.
Several participants of the Èvian-conference justified their attitude with the apprehension that an increasing immigration only would give a further impetus on antisemitism. At the request of Switzerland, the German government was even prompted to print a large «J» in passports of Jewish people to enable the country to stop Jewish immigration.
Of course, it is wrong to look for historical parallels obsessively – every era has its own characteristics. Nevertheless, the similarities between then and now in dealing with people in greatest distress are striking. As in those days the refugees, who have to give up everything in order to stay alive, are been made the problem. They are no longer «refugees», but «illegal immigrants» for politicians and media. And in recent months we became witnesses of a renewed full «moral bankruptcy» of most European countries.
The «illegal immigrants» who are stranded in Greece are very often brothers, sisters, husbands and wives, parents or children of the people who have been enthusiastically welcomed as refuge seekers last summer. While they are living with us now, their relatives and loved ones have to live in an emergency-camp at the Macedonian-Greek border in Idomeni – on a muddy terrain and without official auxiliary structures. Friends of the group «Cars of Hope Wuppertal», who were in Idomeni themselves, can tell about it personally.
Others are trapped in Greek detention centers, which are similar to prisons. They face the refoulement to Turkey, from where some of them will be returned to their countries of origin. Meanwhile there are constantly reports of brutal violence against refugees. A almost war-like action was executed just last Sunday against people who were desperately trying to cross the border to Macedonia. Hundreds were injured by tear gas shelling, stun grenades and rubber bullets, including many women and children. Since some days the volunteers and helpers are being criminalized by the authorities. The refugees should obviously cut off from any support.
When German politicians get questioned about these conditions, they try to to exonerate themself and refer to others who supposedly are responsible for the end of any possibilities to flee: the Visegrad countries, Austria and Macedonia. Secretive is, that Germany also does everything to prevent further access. Even still existing legal rights are violated: We know that it is impossible for people to get appointments in German embassies, where they would have to apply for a visa to enter Germany – even if they have the full right to family reunification. On the outside, Germany holds the right to asylum and does not introduce any limits, in practice the right to asylum has been already abolished.
Something has happened in the last few weeks: Some weeks ago – in January – even hardliners like the Bavarian Prime Minister Seehofer talked of the possible inclusion of up to 250.000 refugees a year, today it is a pleasure for politicians to announce that almost no one comes through anymore – something or somebody has silently prevailed a limit of Zero. But as long as at least formally protection and shelter is an existing human right, we shouldn’t get tired of demanding it. European countries may be morally bankrupt, in our opinion the majority of the people isn’t. As welcome2wuppertal we can see this almost every day.
Most likely, we could succeed to influence the discourse at the local level. At this level we also see many job-structures and facilities which were created during last year not being used for refugees anymore because simply no one arrives. Especially Wuppertal did exemplary efforts to end the emergency-situation quickly and to build better accomodations in Cronenberg and Elberfeld. These are empty now, while the people in Idomeni and elsewhere are living under inhumane conditions.
We ask ourselves: What would happen if the people in the cities and their representatives in the city-councils and town halls would demand that these structures shouldn’t be empty any longer? What if many municipalities would demand from the States and the Federal instituations to admiss a quota of the 13,000 people in Idomeni, simply because the cities can take them? Could the red-green state government in NRW and the federal government resist such a desire of people who live together on the daily basis?
This time, it would still be possible to prevent a disaster after the political bankruptcy. Therefore we will call with an open letter on the representatives of the city of Wuppertal to decide that Wuppertal agrees to take an adequate quota of refugees from Greece. For this we also need your support. Become cosignatories of our appeal!
