Reinforced resistance against institutionalised racism

The Conference of The VOICE Refugee Forum with various refugee Initiatives and the Caravan-for the rights of refugees and migrants took place in Jena, Thuringen at the weekend.


The Caravan - for the rights of refugees and migrants.
We are a nationwide network made up of refugees, migrants and antiracist groups


The main aims were first, a discussion of the increasingly racist "integration" debate on the part of German public officials and the wider society against refugees, the so-called undocumented and illegal immigrants in Germany. Second, was the exchange of experiences in the struggles against Lager, food-packages, Residenzpflicht and racist violence by state officials. Also, there was the issue of intensified networking for further actions and the need for existing campaigns to be strengthened.

Concerning the so called "integration"- debate, the plenary concluded that the term "integration" is deceptively and manipulatively employed and should rather be replaced by "colonial assimilation" as this is the closet portrayal of the reality. The whole discussion documents the continuity of a central-European culture determined by racism and barbaric migration control.

From the position of refugees in Germany who face the continued destruction of their home countries by Western intervention, the murderous, militarized border control, the heartless deportation industry and a well organised and coordinated isolation programme for refugees epitomised by "Lagers" and Residenzpflicht", the debate is utterly brainless and inherently psychotic.

Refugee lives are being lost here because we are being denied medical treatment by the "sozialamt". Let them integrate the corpse. Refugees are left in Lagers for years (and in some cases, no warm water or Heater even in this winter) to waste for life. All over Bayern, refugees are boycotting the age-long food-packages, many of which are expired food. From Mohlau to Meinersen, from Bayern to Baden-Württemberg, refugees have waged the same resistance against inhuman conditions for months. They are all saying the same thing: enough of this whole nonsense "integration" debate. This resistance again shows the necessity of strongly organised refugee communities as the only way of a consistent resistance.

The countless and brutal deaths of refugees at the hands of the police and other state officers like the medical personnel who administered emetics and yet remain unaccountable for their murders are true manifestations of their "integration" design. We are not even talking about their deadly machines at the hinterlands and borders of our home countries yet.

For us, who have been asserting our self-determination by relentlessly fighting for our basic human rights, organising autonomously and refusing to partake in, yield or compromise to this racist debate, we reiterate our struggle here against racism and its dominant structures that has been used to subject us to untold suffering and deny us our human dignity. We reaffirm our struggle for our freedom and call again on the German government to show some humility by practising what it preaches. There can be neither seriousness nor sincerity in "integration" debate when a section of the society is purposely and deliberately isolated, constructed as hate objects and eternally punished for no reason.

Given our principled stand, we, as a self-organized network remain determined to fight for our rights and human dignity. We reject the covert and overt machinations of this racist "integration" debate and we call for a broad solidarity from all progressive groups and well meaning individuals to refuse the insult and deception that is this debate. We reject their lies. We refuse to be fooled!

The conference resolved to send a delegation to visit and show solidarity with our comrades in Bayern. Others to express our solidarity will join the caravan and The VOICE activists and we call on all well meaning individuals and groups to do the same.

As the activists from Brandenburg reported, the initiative of Abolishing Residenzpflicht in the area has been nothing more than a fake and ludicrous compromise between some civil society organisations and their Government. Although the law has been slightly altered, refugees are still being punished for exercising our right to freedom of movement.

When the Refugee Initiative Brandenburg fight for free movement, it is in solidarity with all refugees and it attacks the whole Apartheid system. When the hunger strikers in Bayern reject food-packages and the horrible isolation camps, the rest of us cannot be silent. We all remain in solidarity.

The coordinators of the conference will be participating in the development of a nationwide network of refugee community initiatives in the refugee camps in Germany through the lager-committee. We shall elaborate on and encourage the documentation of related cases on the situations and the abuses of refugees. These will be evaluated and presented for the preparation of the planned Caravan Tribunal.

We are unanimous in our conviction that there is no way other than having well organised refugee communities and a strong solidarity among each other. In 2011, the growing network will be taking the struggles at the nationwide level to a higher niveau in order to hit back against the racist system of the German state.

The Caravan for the rights of refugees and migrants
The VOICE Refugee Forum Jena
Refugee Initiative Brandenburg/Berlin FIB
Refugee Initiative Möhlau/Sachsen-Anhalt
Refugee Initiative Biberach/Baden-Württemberg
Refugees Hunger-Strikers/Food Packet Boykott in Augsburg/Bayern

The VOICE Refugee Conference Racism and Discimination in Germany was organised by activists of the Caravan network for the rights of refugees and migrants from Wuppertal, Hamburg, Jena, Apoldaand Eisenach, Möhlau, Biberach and Berlin

The Caravan-for the Rights of refugees and Migrants is a network of individuals, groups and organizations of refugees, migrants and Germans based on anti-imperialism and antiracism.

Source :: thevoiceforum.org, 21. Dez 2010