Politik Archive - Page 12 of 13

#LeaveNoOneBehind – How can I help

Erik Marquardt on 11 May 2020

I receive many requests from people who ask how they can help in the current situation. I am very happy about the great willingness to help and have therefore put together a few ideas for you, what you can do now.

Join the #LeaveNoOneBehind campaign

Join more than 330,000 people and support the campaign Leave No One Behind. On the homepage you will find different options to get involved. Because #LeaveNoOneBehind is a pan-European project, we have translated the petition into twelve languages.

Donate

You can pay for #LeaveNoOneBehind donate. These donations go to 100% via an endowment fund to projects that support refugees on site. The initiatives and organizations can apply for funds for their projects unbureaucratically, so that the donations arrive directly where they are needed. However, the organization of the campaign also costs some money. We would like to continue and draw attention to the problems so that political pressure is created. But the campaign costs are collected independently of the endowment fund. If you would like to donate to the campaign costs, you can do so at civilfleet.org/donate DO. If you are an organization in need of support, you can contact kontakt@leavenoonebehind.de write.

With the action Fuck selfishness you can get a roll of toilet paper at exorbitant prices.

Write your member of the Bundestag

With this Link you can quickly and easily write to the member of parliament from your constituency. Feel free to write in the message what your motives are and why you believe that refugees must be helped now. Feel free to ask questions that interest you. Often there are standard answers, but you can always ask again.

From my own experience I know that you can develop a lot of influence if you write sensible emails to MPs and make it clear to the groups that many people are interested in an issue. Unfortunately, you get a lot of messages from right-wingers and few from reasonable people. I can only recommend you to invest a little time and write to the MPs. Of course, you don't have to write only to the members of the Bundestag, but you can also write to the MEPs and state parliamentarians.

Complaint to the European Commission

You notice that European law is not being followed at home? Here you can complain to the European Commission. Just answer a few questions and you'll be put in touch with the relevant office.

European Citizens' Initiative

Then if you want to go big, it goes here on the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI). An ECI is a petition that must be signed by one million people from at least 7 EU Member States. If the ECI is successfully submitted, the European Parliament has to deal with it.

Share, like, comment!

Right-wing populist theses, content and opinions are much more present in social media (especially Facebook and Twitter) than in the analogue world. This is mainly due to the fact that the right-wingers deliberately try to create the impression that they are in the majority. We have to oppose this online as well. You can do that by commenting on political posts yourself, sharing or liking them. Then more people will see the posts. Many aid organizations, such as the sea rescue organizations Sea-Eye or Sea-Watch, are of course also happy if their content is shared and appears to more people.

Always spread the word!

The most important thing, in my opinion, is that you don't just do something yourself, but involve other people and ask them to keep saying everything too. For example: If you sign a petition yourself, that petition has one more signature. If you sign it yourself and motivate 3 people, who again motivate 3 people, who again motivate 3 people, there are already 28 signatures. If the people then motivate 3 people again, who motivate 3 people again, it is already 244.

Can you help on the spot or send relief supplies?

Basically, in normal times, it's probably easier help on the spotthan you think! The prerequisite is often that you have at least 4 weeks. But at the moment it is not easy to help on site without previous experience. Especially on the Greek islands everything must be done to prevent the virus from reaching camps like Moria. Therefore, one should of course avoid coming to the island. At the moment it is not so easy anyway because of the travel restrictions. But I can recommend that you just inform yourself. There are various Facebook groups (just search for „volunteers“) 'and maybe for next year or the year after ask aid organisations if they are looking for volunteers. I can also recommend that you don't just focus on the hotspots that are currently in the media. If you want to help on the Greek islands, for example, other Greek islands like Samos, Kos, Chios, or Leros may not have as much media attention as Lesbos, but there are often similar problems there. In some cases, the need for aid or volunteer help is even greater there.

Relief supplies are needed on the ground, but in the vast majority of cases they should be oriented towards current needs and integrated into larger campaigns. If you have a few old T-shirts or shoes that you no longer want to wear because they are broken, no one on Lesbos can do anything with them.

So there are a lot of ways you can make a huge difference despite everything. Thank you for all your great help!

Europe must not outsource sea rescue to Libya

Erik Marquardt on 15 April 2020

The report "Places of Safety in the Mediterranean: The EU's Policy of Outsourcing Responsibility" of the Heinrich Böll Foundation points out that the North African Mediterranean states cannot be regarded as "safe havens" and that the EU cannot therefore outsource sea rescue to these states. This is particularly true for the civil war country Libya.

Since 2014, over 20,000 people have drowned in the Mediterranean. Mediterranean Sea have drowned. The member states of the EU fail to agree on a joint on a joint programme for sea rescue and accept the death of these people of these people so that as few of them as possible reach Europe. They cooperate with criminal militias in Libya and deliberately accept the violation violations of fundamental rights. Some politicians even propose to send the refugees directly to North Africa, including the Libyan war zone, to the Libyan war zone.

Against this background, this study has important policy implications, noting that the EU and its member states cannot shirk their responsibility to save people in the Mediterranean.

Italy and Malta may not close ports

The policy of EU states such as Italy and Malta to close their ports and denying NGO ships access to their ports is costing people their lives. people's lives and is just as illegal as shifting the rescue to Libya.

The member states and the EU must rescue fugitives and migrants* and bring them to European ports, not only for moral reasons but also for legal ones. Your ports must remain open to rescue ships.

Deadliest route in the world

The route from Libya to Europe is the world's deadliest migration route in the world. The main reason for this is that the EU has stopped its has suspended its rescue activities in the Mediterranean. The naval operation Sophia, which saved the lives of more than 40,000 migrants and refugees. the operation. There is currently not a single state rescue ship in the Mediterranean Sea.

Civil organizations that try to close this gap are often obstructed are often obstructed, prosecuted or have their vessels confiscated. are confiscated. By suspending all sea rescue operations and also actively preventing NGOs from saving lives, it is partly responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in the Mediterranean.

This study makes it clear that the EU and its member states cannot evade this responsibility by outsourcing sea rescue to Libya or other North African Mediterranean countries.

Libya and other states in North Africa are not safe havens

Libya is one of the most unsafe and dangerous places for refugees in the world. People intercepted by the Libyan coast guard are taken to camps where they are subjected to inhumane conditions.., rape, exploitation and even arbitrary killings.

The current European policy of supporting this Libyan coastguard and making it the doorman of Europe is deeply inhumane and violates international law, and the EU and its member states have a duty to take people to a safe place where their lives and safety are not threatened and where they are safe from persecution.

The study shows that these safe havens exist only in Europe, which means that seven concrete political demands:

1. we need a European sea rescue mission!

The Member States must be proactive in carrying out rescue operations at sea by making ships and resources available, and the European Commission must coordinate them and provide financial support to Member States to improve their ability to save lives at sea.

2. EU cooperation with the Libyan Coast Guard must be ended

Europe must not evade its obligations in sea rescue by shifting responsibility to a country that can under no circumstances be considered a safe place. The EU must stop cooperating with Libya. Instead of funding the Libyan coast guard, which is also an association of warlords, the EU should invest in its own sea rescue capabilities.

3. people rescued from distress at sea in the Mediterranean must be brought to Europe

the study shows that none of the north african Mediterranean states can generally be classified as a safe haven. for vulnerable groups such as LGBTI or other minorities, these states are not safe. since it is not feasible to determine which territories would be safe for people and which would not, on board the rescue ships, Europe cannot shirk its responsibility and must bring people to safe havens in Europe. this also applies to NGO ships. cooperation with the libyan coast guard is a violation of international law.

4. the criminalisation and intimidation of NGOs must stop

Ship captains* and crew members must not be prosecuted for rescuing people in distress at sea. These people are life-savers*, not criminals. The European Commission must decide that humanitarian aid must not be criminalised by the Member States.

5. the EU must work closely with NGOs

Civil organisations cannot exempt member states from their obligation to rescue people in distress themselves, but they can help save lives. The EU should support NGOs in the rescue effort by opening its ports to them, simplifying the registration of ships for sea rescue and informing them about emergencies.

6. Europe needs a reliable redistribution mechanism

The EU Commission must develop a solidarity-based and humanitarian alternative to the Dublin system, in which the rights and wishes of the refugees are respected. A high level of solidarity and readiness to receive refugees must also be promoted financially. In this context, the readiness of local and regional authorities and regions should be taken into account and supported with EU funds.

7. the EU must stop misusing development funds for migration prevention

The EU is supporting the Libyan coastguard through the EU Trust Fund for Africa. This is a misuse of funds that are supposed to be used for development cooperation. The aim of development cooperation is to fight poverty, not migration. In general be made much more transparent about how EU money is used in third countries. are used.

We can't leave anyone behind!

Erik Marquardt on 9 April 2020

We now need a substantial evacuation of the camps in the Greek islands so that the refugees can protect themselves from the corona virus.

When i arrived in lesbos at the end of february, i did not think that the situation could get much worse. i wanted to spend the week off from sitting here to see how the situation on moria has developed. a camp in europe, where the processing of an application can take over a year and children cannot attend school during that time. a camp where people have been sleeping on the damp ground or in summer tents for four winters.

That people in the EU have to live like this is a disgrace for all of us. the situation here is not so bad because the EU could not organise it better. it is so bad because it is politically desired. it is politically desired that conditions should be so bad because people want to deter. but the aim cannot be that conditions in the camps on the external borders should be worse than in a civil war, just so that no one would think of fleeing to Europe.

Erdoğans Border opening and right-wing extremists on Lesbos

Unfortunately, I was wrong in assuming that things could hardly get any worse. After Erdoğan announced the opening of the border and suddenly there were a few thousand people on the external border, Greece reacted with violence and simply suspended the basic right to asylum. I have a commissioned a legal opinion which shows that the Greek government has acted unlawfully. The Greek coast guard started shooting towards rubber dinghies full of people instead of rescuing them. Boats were left in distress for hours instead of intervening immediately. A girl drowned trying to get to Lesbos although she could have been rescued.

Right-wing extremists from all over Europe mobilized the mob to Lesbos. on some days more Nazis than refugees arrived on Lesbos. right-wing gangs took over the streets and patrolled the city with iron chains. right-wing extremists could hunt down aid organizations, fugitives and journalists for days on end without the police intervening. one aid facility was even set on fire. the Greek constitutional state simply failed completely there.

The Corona virus is a danger to the people in the Greek camps

And then it got worse again. the corona virus is spreading very fast in europe. the virus does not differentiate by skin colour, religion or gender. while contact bans and curfews are imposed everywhere in europe, here 20,000 people live crammed together in a camp that was built for 3,000 people. for every 1,300 people there is a single tap and even that one is constantly breaking down. you can hardly wash your hands here, let alone practice social distancing. when the corona virus comes to moria, it will not be stopped so quickly.

The member states have ways of preventing the Corona disaster in overcrowded refugee camps. Surely it is in our interest not to allow places in Europe where the virus can spread unhindered. The camps must be evacuated quickly not in spite of Corona but because of it.

#Leavenoonebehind

People must now be given quarantine facilities in places where they are protected from the virus. The Commission must coordinate the process, but Member States must go ahead and support Greece in the fight against the spread of the Corona virus. This also requires financial aid, but above all it requires the political will to solve problems instead of always telling us what we cannot do.The Greek mainland needs support in this, as do the people on the Greek islands. For far too long, we have abandoned these citizens.

In order to create more attention for the topic, I have created the campaign "Leave no one behind" It is an initiative which is about citizens from all over Europe standing together in the Corona crisis and standing up for those who need our solidarity. This includes the refugees at our external borders, the homeless, the old and sick. If we do not act now, we will be complicit in the catastrophe which threatens these people.

Expert opinion: Dealing with refugees at the Greek-Turkish border is illegal

Erik Marquardt on 6 April 2020

I have an expert opinion entitled No State of Exception at the EU External Borders in the first place.

It states that EU states may not suspend the right of asylum or refuse to accept asylum applications. Greece has acted illegally by suspending the right of asylum for one month. Pushbacks or deportations without an individual procedure violate EU and international law. Pushbacks or deportations without an individual procedure cannot be justified under EU law or European human rights law. Dealing with people on the Turkish-Greek EU external border violates the fundamental values of the Union such as the rule of law and respect for human rights.

You can find the full report under this Link

Expert opinion proves: Federal states may take in refugees on their own!

Erik Marquardt on 3 April 2020

I've commissioned an expert opinion that, under the title: „Reception of refugees from the camps on the Greek islands by the German Bundesländer-Legal conditions and borders“ has been published. It states that the federal government may not refuse to accept some refugee children by the federal states. So the government is unlawfully rejecting existing offers. This does not mean that the federal states or municipalities are now responsible here. Above all, the Federal Government and other EU states must now act quickly with the EU Commission! The expert opinion has been planned for a long time and is now ready.

You can find the report under this Link.

Humanitarian crisis in Greece: Germany & Europe must offer refugees protection

Erik Marquardt on March 4, 2020

Click here for the Petition!

A humanitarian disaster is unfolding on the Turkish-Greek border: after the Turkish president Erdoğan opened the border with Greece, thousands of refugees have set out to apply for asylum in the EU. In Greece, the police use violence to prevent people from entering the country.

the greek government declares deterrence in defence of the eu's external border. at the same time, greece has announced that it will suspend the right of asylum. for months, more than 40,000 people have been waiting in completely overcrowded camps on the greek islands. this situation on the islands is no longer tenable. journalists and aid organisations are being threatened by right-wing groups and the authorities are not protecting them. only a quick response from eu states can prevent further escalation. the federal government must also act quickly.

What should have happened a long time ago is now all the more necessary: the European Union has a duty to support Greece in dealing with the situation by all means possible. Humanity and order must now be the guiding principles of the EU. This is a European emergency, not a Greek one. If we leave Greece alone now, we will contribute to further suffering, insecurity and instability.

We therefore call for four immediate measures:

The Federal Government should take in a quota of refugees from Greece and the Aegean islands. If Germany leads the way in Europe, other EU countries will follow more easily, and the goal must continue to be a fair and rapid redistribution of refugees within the EU.
The Federal Office for Refugees (BAMF) and the Federal Government may no longer block the family reunification of persons seeking protection in Greece with their relatives in Germany. Many refugees in Greece - including many unaccompanied children - have a legal claim to family reunification under the Dublin Regulation. The Federal Republic of Germany is responsible for their asylum procedure and they have to be transferred to their relatives in Germany.
The right to asylum is a human right: people seeking protection within the EU cannot be deported without an individual examination of their asylum application. The German government and the other EU countries must support Greece in such a way that refugees are registered at the EU's external border and then given access to a fair asylum procedure. Only fair asylum procedures can determine who is in need of protection and who is not.
Police violence against refugees must stop. tear gas and water cannons only aggravate hardship and do not solve anything. this is not how europe should deal with people seeking protection. journalists, lawyers and NGOs must be protected and must be able to do their important work unhindered. the federal government must work together with the eu to ensure that fundamental rights are respected at all levels. local authorities must enforce law and order instead of tolerating the violent mobs on the greek islands.

The Turkish President Erdoğan is using the suffering of refugees to exert pressure on the EU. A common European response to this is needed. It is important that we provide humanitarian aid and defend the rule of law in Europe. To this end, let us address this urgent petition with as many signatures as possible to the Federal Government and the European Council: Germany must offer refugees protection!

With European greetings

Erik Marquardt MEP , Sven Giegold MEP, Clara Anne Bünger and Ansgar Gilster

Click here for the Petition

Study proves: Migration to Europe independent of sea rescue

Erik Marquardt on November 20, 2019

The "Migration Policy Center" comes in the study "Sea Rescue NGOs: a Pull Factor of Irregular Migration?"concludes that people don't get on dinghies in the rubber dinghies in the Mediterranean because there are rescue ships there. This confirms the results of previous studies, such as "Death by Rescue"[ Door Closes ] And... Border Deaths in the Mediterranean.

The present study has investigated for the period from 2014 to October 2019, whether there is a correlation between the presence of NGOs and the number of people who set off from Libya on their way across the across the Mediterranean Sea towards Italy is related. The is not the case. The evaluation took place month by month over the period of five years. During this time, the political situation on the Mediterranean Sea has changed dramatically several times. Instead of rescuing people from distress at sea rescue people from distress at sea, civilian aid organisations have had to take over this task in recent years. have had to take over this task in recent years. But their work is not only made more difficult – often they are criminalised and intimidated for their humanitarian work and intimidated. This is often coupled with accusations that the sea rescue is increasing the number of people fleeing Libya. But the study shows once again that this connection does not exist.

There are understandable motives that force people on the dangerous crossing. Libya is a politically disrupted state, where refugees and migrants from refugees and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are threatened by torture, enslavement, sexual abuse and existential poverty. The people don't get on the rubber dinghies because there are boats to rescue them. There but more people die when there are no ships to rescue them.

In most cases, people do not wear life jackets and are not equipped with communication or navigation tools navigation equipment. Many cannot swim. The completely overcrowded boats are usually unable to reach the next safe place on their own. reach the next safe place. This alone puts people in distress at sea.

There is no evidence to support the assertion that people make their escape presence of lifeboats, there is no evidence. Nevertheless such connections are repeatedly brought into the discussion. Thus the FDP recently claimed in a Tweet of October 8, 2019, that Seehofer's promise, to take in people rescued from distress at sea in Germany would drive more people on the Mediterranean Sea.

Spiegel Online writes under the title: "More rescuers, more refugees - why this is so not true", which the results of the previous studies, which are now confirmed by the new study. confirmed by the new study. The migration scientist Matteo Villa collected data on how many migrants departed from the Libyan coast from the beginning of January to the end of June 2019, and Libyan coast and on how many of those days boats from private sea rescue sea rescue NGOs were in operation. His conclusion is that on the 31 days that NGOs were operating in the Mediterranean, the tugboats sent an average of sent 32.8 people out to sea; on the 150 days when no NGOs were present, the tugboats were present, the traffickers sent an average of 34.6 people on their way. Villa's conclusion, according to Spiegel Online: "The pull factor does not exist."

Studies:

Sea Rescue NGOs: a Pull Factor of Irregular Migration?

Death by Rescue

Border Deaths in the Mediterranean

Interview on the situation at the EU external border with the SZ

Erik Marquardt on November 19, 2019

I spoke to the Süddeutsche Zeitung about the terrible conditions on the Balkan route. Here you can read the interview.

Inhumane conditions at Croatia's external EU border

Erik Marquardt on November 11, 2019

At the beginning of August I visited the Bosnian city Bihać on the EU's external border and saw conditions there that are absolutely inhumane. The place has become a bottleneck for people seeking protection because they can't get any further from here. In Bihać you can see homeless refugees everywhere on the street because there is not enough space in the shelters.

even worse is the situation in the informal camp Vučjak, which is located on a former garbage dump in the middle of nowhere. people are being driven up like cattle by the police, surrounded by mosquitoes and land mines. far too many men are crammed together in tents that are far too small, even the water has been turned off there in the meantime. the red cross is still distributing small lunch packages, but they are not enough. medical care is no longer available there after a team of volunteers led by the german photographer Dirk Planert was expelled from the country. the reason: they did not have a work permit. however, you cannot get a work permit either, because it is not an official camp. the conditions there are so bad that iom and unhCR do not want to become active, because they say that this would be tantamount to recognition of the camp. yet this camp should not exist at all.

Although minors enjoy special protection, children are also included in Vučjak. I spoke to an eleven-year-old who told me that he was forcibly returned to Bosnia-Herzegovina by the Croatian border police. What should I tell this eleven-year-old child about the EU community of values?

Escaped shows us his destroyed smartphone.

The Croatian police cannot simply send people seeking protection back to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Anyone who crosses the border into the EU has the right to apply for asylum. But this right is literally being trampled underfoot. A report by Amnesty International documents how the Croatian police mistreat people. In addition, their money is taken from them, their mobile phones are destroyed and some even have their shoes taken away. These are not excesses by individual police officers. This is systematic violence ordered from above. Individual police officers have already addressed Croatian media and said that they will be threatened with sanctions if they refuse to use this brutality against fugitives.

It would be the task of the EU Commission to clearly identify this daily breach of law and, in addition to border protection, to ensure that an independent control authority is set up at the border. But the Commission has so far turned a blind eye. When Ursula von der Leyen travelled to Croatia shortly after her election as Commission President, she did not mention the daily breach of law at the EU's external border. The Commission also spoke out in favour of admitting Croatia into the Schengen area. I too would like Croatia to become a member of the Schengen area soon. But I would also like us to ensure that basic human rights are respected at Croatia's EU external border before then. Croatia will take over the EU Council Presidency on 1 January and the hard winter is approaching for the people in Vučjak and Bihać.

I, along with other Members of Parliament, have expressed this criticism in a letter to the Commission, and we have asked it to work to improve the situation.

We must do everything in our power to find a quick solution and prevent people there from freezing to death on our external border. This situation deserves more attention. We must help Bosnia-Herzegovina to provide decent housing for people, but we must also demand that Bosnia-Herzegovina work on a sustainable solution. In addition, the illegal and violent deportations by the Croatian border police must stop.

Everyone deserves dignified treatment, regardless of their passport, and in Europe everyone has the right to an asylum procedure based on the rule of law.

Further information

BBC report

„Scaling Fences“: Migration to Europe scientifically investigated

Erik Marquardt on November 11, 2019

Earlier this week, the UN published a study entitled "Scaling Fences", which questioned some 3000 people from 43 African countries who have come to Europe in recent years.

What is special about the study is that it is not about people who cite war and persecution as reasons for fleeing, but rather about those who left their homes in search of a better life but had no legal means of entering the country.

The findings of the study are exciting. those who leave their home countries are better educated than average, earning 60 percent more than the average in their home countries.

The main reason most people cite for their migration is that they are looking for better jobs. the second most common reason cited is poor governance and the security situation in the countries of origin. So it is often young and well-educated people who migrate to democratic countries from corruption and autocracy.

Having arrived in Europe, most of them work below their qualifications. a fifth of men work as fruit and vegetable pickers, a third of women as cleaners or domestic helpers. many are employed informally and earn less than the minimum wage. because they are not allowed to work but have to work, they are particularly often victims of exploitation.

Most of the respondents stated that they knew about the dangers of the journey. 41 per cent nevertheless said that there was nothing that could have dissuaded them from the journey. only two per cent said that they would not have set out on the journey if they had known in advance how dangerous the journey would be. 91 per cent of the respondents said that they had come to Europe by sea.

These figures also show that we must finally recognise migration as a reality and start working on a better migration policy instead of working on isolation.

Another main motive for migration is the will to support families in the countries of origin. 78 percent support their families with remittances, but this comes at a high price for them. this includes exploitation on the labour market, racism and poor housing conditions. more than seven years after their arrival, 12 percent of those interviewed are homeless.

For me, this study shows that we need to stop forcing people into overcrowded rubber dinghies in search of a better life. We need agreements with the countries of origin and a quota for legal migration for people we need in our ageing societies. We need an expansion of study programmes that enable people from African countries of origin to train and study in Europe, including temporary work visas that allow people to enter legally, work legally and later return to their countries of origin. Many people will return to their countries of origin with new know-how. Others will stay in Europe and support their countries of origin with remittances. This is also a way towards sustainable and effective development cooperation from which the countries of Europe and Africa can benefit.

The worst thing we can do is to ignore the reality of migration and try desperately to seal ourselves off from the rest of the world in a "Fortress Europe".

You can download the study download here.
A summary of the most important results can be found here at Spiegel Online.