Quellenangabe:
Giving back names and dignity to the lost migrants (vom 13.09.2011),
URL: http://no-racism.net/article/3899/,
besucht am 26.04.2024
[13. Sep 2011]
Fountain to remember death and missing at the border in Tichero (Evros river, Northern Greece). Memorial space created on 30th of August 2011.
After the noborder camp in Siva Reka some of the participants went on to Greece to support a solidarity action in memorial of the refugees who died and who are missed crossing the border river Evros.
A friend told us befor that it was planned that a speech of John, whos wife Jane was dying in the river last summer is going to be held by himself as well as a letter from a person, who is now in hamburg and lost her husband and father of her children in the river as well. The representative of the "international campaign to ban landmines" in greece wrote a letter in support of the action as well as refugees and other people are affected of the still existing landmines in the area. Also other people who were supportive for the refugees in the region were present.
A memorial for "giving back names and dignity to the lost migrants" was builded at a fountain in Provatonas, Evros at the 30th of August 2011 with around 50 local and international participants. The network :: "welcome to europe (w2eu)" had prepared a memorial tablet, that was installed at the fountain and a cypress tree planted next to it. Some journalists were present, officials from provatonas were not. Not even ignoring this, they told organisers befor the action that they do not want such a memorial place there. Leaflets with more information were spread and after the emotional moving speeches we had a dinner together to talk and some people sing some songs. The responsibles for the dead and missing were clearly named and the need to abolish all borders for people to be able to move without risking their life. People from welcome to europe help in cases people are lost at the border as it was happening two weeks ago as we learned at the action.
"In 2011, up to now, 70 people were found dead in the evros river, 47 of whom have not been identified. Compared to the past years numbers have increased tremendously" the press release of w2eu says and "we will remember the lost people and their stories. For the ones who pass by, the fountain should be a place to rest on their further way, providing them with water and the feeling that they are welcome".