We Are Here, for our Right to Be
Refused refugees living on the streets of the Netherlands struggle for
life
Eviction of protest camp in Amsterdam expected this Friday November
30, 2012
The Mayor of Amsterdam, capital city of the Netherlands, has ordered
the eviction of the protest camp of refugees in the western suburb of
Amsterdam called Osdorp. A verdict by the court will be announced on
Wednesday 28th at 9 a.m. The approximately 100 refugees demonstrating
in the camp are determined to stay where they are and face the police
force and subsequent detention. They call on all people to witness
this show down and show support in a manifestation in front of the
camp and on the streets of Amsterdam. This event starts Thursday 29th
of November at 2 p.m.. The eviction can be expected the morning after.
We call for witnesses, observers and comapssionate citizens to join
and demand the rigo a Theatre of Hope.
Info: +31.686263381
email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/169302156549604/
Twitter: @WeAreHere
Website: http://wijzijnhier.org
Blog: http://kamposdorp.blogspot.nl/
If you want, you can call us:
el mouthena :0685602714
younes :0685270643
mustafa :0684566733
bayisa : 0684482895 mamadou : 0684997713
There will be a press conference in the Camp on Wednesday 28th of
November at 5 p.m. (Central European Time)
Location: Notweg 32, NL1068 LL Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Background:
In Amsterdam and The Hague rejected refugees from Africa and the
Middle East are enduring the harsh weather in make shift tent camps
where they demonstrate against the Dutch way of treating rejected
refugees since September 4th (Amsterdam) and 19th (The Hague). Since
2010 asylum seekers who have been rejected are no longer entitled to
basic rights such as shelter and food. Even when it is impossible to
return to their countries of origin, the Dutch government argues that
they can leave voluntarily. Denying them access to reception centers,
putting them in prison and forcing them to survive in parks, railway
stations and insecure hiding places, that is the way to convince them
to leave this country. In the first half of 2012 4.680 asylum seekers
have been dumped on the street without any life support, according to
the International Network of Local Initiatives with Asylum seekers
(INLIA). These self-organized action by the refugees have highlighted
a humanitarian problem that has been growing for years and was hidden
from the public eye. Now these people have made themselves visible and
seek solutions by entering in dialogue with civil society and
democratic representatives. To realize their aims they need to be
together, safe and visible. Apparently the authorities want to make
them disappear again. The only offer is for some of the refugees to go
for 30 days in dispersed shelters for homeless people. After that they
would again be on their own, insecure and invisible. A growing number
of supporters is trying to create sustainable ways to continue this
struggle for human rights. One way would be to make a space available
as a meeting point for refugees, a House of Hope.
On their blog, the refugees that camp out in Amsterdam declared:
"We are here because our life is in danger. There are many reasons for
this. War is the most important one. There are several armed conflicts
in Africa that cost many lives, disrupt families and livelihoods.
Political violence and oppression, religious division, problems
between tribes and clans add to make solutions complicated. Drought,
famine and other economic factors also push people to find a better
future elsewhere. All these cases are inter-related. We can see this
in the extremist movements. They make life impossible for you if you
do not conform to strict rules. Having a drink can cost you your life.
Being a member of another tribe, or of another religion, can bring you
into deep trouble. So we are here because we face persecution and
danger in our countries. We need to be in the Netherlands because this
country is a free country where our lives are safe and we could build
a future. "
We want your help. We want to get out of this situation. We want your
help, not just with food and drinks, but with the broader issues. Help
us with publicity, be creative: think about how you could help.
Whether you're politically active, or a journalist, everyone can help
in their own way. We have 5 representatives you can talk to, to
explain our situation.
The name “Refugees-on-the-Street” was coined when they started
organizing in the spring of 2011 in Utrecht, with support of the STIL
Foundation, a solidarity group for migrants without a residence
permit. They are people who fled their home country, asked for asylum
but were denied permission. The capstone of the asylum procedure is
deportation. Undocumented migrants are systematically held in
administrative detention for up to 18 months and this can be repeated
endlessly. If they cannot be deported they are put on the street
without any title of right, no shelter no care, nothing at all. Most
of them go in hiding, including women with children. They depend on
charity, on good will (or bad will) of private people. But more and
more refuse to hide and they fight for a decent life, for hope.
Since the big tent camp in ter Apel everybody knows they are here.
Through their demonstrations and actions, by their presence in the
media and in politics they have joined the public debate. In Amsterdam
the Camp against the Cold started on the 4th of September where a
growing number of refugees find shelter, food, safety and medical
care. With their slogan “WE ARE HERE” (WIJ ZIJN HIER) they show that
WE are human beings, WE have nowhere to go, WE stay here until we have
a solution that respects our human rights. In the camp at Notweg 32 in
Amsterdam Osdorp are mainly African men and women (children are not
allowed by the Mayor of Amsterdam) from Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Sudan, Kenia, and francophone people from Congo, Mauretania, Ivory
Coast, Sierra Leone, Mali and Guinee. There are individuals from Yemen
(2), China and Armenia.
In Den Haag a group of Iraqi (mostly Kurdish) refugees is camping near
the central Staion in open tents in worse conditions than in
Amsterdam. They carry the name RIGHT TO EXIST.
Self-organization
The two actual groups of activists continue previous actions, notably
the massive protest camp of last May in front of the Deportation
Complex in the northern village of Ter Apel. Most of the 400 refugees
of this camp are still lodged in various reception centers, where they
enjoy limited freedom and are not able to demonstrate. The activists
share their experiences and views by mutual visits, mobile phones, and
some via Facebook and email. Around the camps a network of helpers,
supporters and activists (type Occupy), artists, academics etc. gather
to provide direct aid, temporary solutions and advice en optuions for
more structural and political tactics.
M2M (Migrant to Migrant) Foundation initiated the project WE ARE HERE
right after the eviction of the big camp in Ter Apel. The aim was to
collect all graphic material from the camp and make collabaritively a
selection to produce a mobile exhibition for a wide audience. An
underlying purpose was to maintain the communication between the
dispersed groups and to reflect on the experiences of the self-managed
camp.
Parliament of Refugees
On September 1st 2012 M2M organized a work conference in Arnhem with
30 participants from the Ter Apel camp and 3 academic supporters. By
elaborating on the values of the experiences en putting them in a
perspective of future solutions the concept arose of a parliament of
refugees. This body could articulate the common ground and the vision
of the various groups of refugees and undocumented migrants into a
coherent discourse and enter into a dialogue with society and
authorities. This would help a lot, because a sustainable approach to
the global complex of migration cannot be elaborated without the equal
participation of all stakeholders.
Theatre of Hope
“I don’t want to die. I need life, I need hope.” These are the words
of the Ethiopean woman Meskeren to mayor Kompier of Vlagtwedde during
one of her visits to the tent camp of Refugees-on-the-Street in Ter
Apel (May 2012)
The Theatre of Hope is a building in Amsterdam where refugees-on-the-
street can live and demonstrate as the face and the voice of a growing
group of outlawed people. It is a stage for dialogue with Dutch
society in search for a normal life. A ring of supporters around the
tent camp in Osdorp provides the building and a supporting structure
to enable the users to manage the building and the program of
activities. This is how the initiators hope to contribute to the self-
organization, communication and participation of the Refugees-on-the-
Street. This project is about empowerment and democracy in a
situation that pushes thousands of people over the brink of civilized
life. The democratic process in the Netherlands has created a
substantial infringement on the human rights and the dignity of
migrants. The Theatre of Hope is a step towards a solution. The
creation of a public space is a vital contribution to repairing the
present gap of democracy and human rights in our own country today.
Design the Future
The concept of the Theatre of Hope was born in the first workshop
called Design the Future on October 13th in the camp itself, again
with thirty participants and some ten professional artists, architects
and social designers. This workshop was a co-creation of M2M and The
Beach of social designer Diana Krabbendam. The Theatre of Hope in the
House of Hope will meet the two most urgent needs of the refugees: a
place to stay in the winter and a space to develop their movement.
In the last two months the Theatre of Hope and the Parliament of
Refugees have actually already started in practice. The camps attract
wide media exposure and negotiations are going on with council member,
mayors, ministers, members of parliament and diplomats. The internal
organization and procedures for decision making are in place: general
meetings when needed bring all campers together, and every week a
public General Assembly ratifies the steps proposed in the workshops.
Recently, on October 23rd. A round table meeting with 6 parties who
form together a progressive minority in Parliament was prepared by a
team of Women against deportation, bringing to the fore the voice of
the women in the camp with their gender specific issues and stories.
In this manner the process of articulating an independent and coherent
discourse the first steps towards a creating a representative body
have been taken.
The tent camps are a public manifestation, a stage for direct and
mediated exchange with neighbors and society at large. Demonstrations
and public actions at offices of the Immigration Service and in front
of the Parliament are equally public performances of presence, passion
and power.
The Theatre of Hope was first presented on October 20th in
collaboration with the Sandberg Academy of Design within the framework
of a public debate on Soft Power.
Every Saturday the workshops Design the Future will continue to
provide a structure for building both the community and intensifying
communication and collaborations with supporters.
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