Twenty years after the pogrom's: The problem is racism

August 1992, Rostock Lichtenhagen

Several hundred people attacked the accommodation of asylum seekers over three days. To the cheers of thousands of residents, the part of the building used by vietnamese contract workers got set on fire. The police left the scene to the mob and arrested the participants of an antifascist demonstration instead of the perpetrators. The passing of the fire brigade got detained and an evacuation of the people in the building took place several hours after the fire was ignited.

Rostock-Lichtenhagen is the sad summit of a racistly charged atmosphere in the beginning of the nineties in Germany. 17 deaths, 435 partly seriuosly injured people and over 1900 violent attacks are recorded alone in the years between 1989 and 1992.

The mindset of the perpetrators and murderers found its political admittance in the restriction of the basic right to asylum through the CDU/CSU under the support of the SPD.

No end to the nazi-murders

The nineties brought a n unspeakably debate about the nazi-scene. Assumed ‘lost souls' and ‘victims of reunification' were stylised to a mainly east-german problem. While accepted youth work got highlighted as the solution, nationally liberated zones and nazi-dominated youth clubs were established. People who are not part of the right-wing world view and those not categorized as german were the main targets for violence. The revelations of the racist murder series of the National Socialist Underground (NSU) with ten known victims show the excess of the development through the pogroms of the early nineties and the re-nationalisation of the german discourse: up until now, more than 180 people were murdered by neonazis.

European isolationist policies

The racist and restrictive asylum policies of the German Republic have shifted to the european borders due to the EU- enlargement. Since 2004, Europe gets defended against illegalised migrants by the specially for this task developed agency Frontex. The European external borders agency complements and extends the national controlling systems which aim at determent and criminalisation of migration movements. Over 16.000 people died since 1993 on the european borders.

Racism and other mechanisms of oppression can‘t shifted off to neonazis; rather, they are sourced by the so-called middle of society. We are part of a system which follows the logics of market and competition; social exclusion of marginalised groups is inherent in this and a well-known instrument of rule.

We pay back!

Unrestricted right of residence for all! Solidarity with the concerned ones! Free Movement is everbodies right! No more deportation! Close all asylum prisons! Abolish all borders!

We want to live in a society without racism, fascism, sexism and other relations of domination. A society free from state and nation, without any borders, where people live together in solidarity.

Short report from Rostock

About 5.000 to 7.000 people protest on 25th of August 2012 in Rostock Lichterhagen against racism. They rememberd on the pogroms 20 years ago and reminded of all the people affected by racist and neo-nazi violence and to stand up for a society of solidarity! They said no to the continuation of state racism and criticised the official remembering of the city authorities in Rostock.

For more see the :: report in german @ no-racism.net.

Source :: lichtenhagen.net