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[ 23. Aug 2013 ]

Forced Deportation - the real human trafficking

Stop the criminalization of refugees!

Protest at interior ministry against Mikl Leitner's press conference on "human trafficking report" on Friday, 23rd of August 2013, at 10.30 am.

 

On Friday, 23rd of August, interior minister Mikl Leitner is going to present her annual report on so-called human trafficking. Austrian politicians, police and media are using this issue as an argument for repressive border controls and for criminalization of refugees. Several people from the refugee movement are presently in prison because of accusations for "trafficking". For weeks, they were kept in isolation, not allowed to receive visitors or to contact their families.

At the same time, people from the refugee protest movement are facing urgent deportation threat. After 8 people from the refugee protest already got deported, the Pakistani embassy has issued traveling documents for 12 more people, which means that they could be deported at any time.

People from the refugee protest movement are saying: "After we moved into Servitenkloster, the interior ministry offered us 7000 Euro per person if we accept to return to our countries "voluntarily". We refused this offer. As they couldn't buy us, they found someone else they could buy: The Pakistani embassy accepted to produce traveling documents to deport us. They are the real human traffickers, as they are making business with our lives."

The problem is not what Mikl Leitner defines as "human trafficking". The business of so-called trafficking is produced by a border regime that does not leave any chance for legal traveling. It will not be possible to ban "trafficking" business unless the borders are open!

The problem is repressive border controls creating danger for the lives of all refugees who are traveling searching for a place to live in human conditions.

The problem are deportations - deportations to areas of war and persecution like in Pakistan as well as deportations to Hungarian detention centers according to "Dublin II".

We demand: Immediate stop of deportations, safe legal stay in Austria! If this is not possible, erase our finger prints and give us opportunity to move out freely to any other safe country!

Stop criminalising the refugee movement, immediate release of the refugees in jail for "trafficking" allegations!

We will rise!