The horrific news from the European borders do not end. Hundreds of people die again and again in shipwrecks in the central Mediterranean and near the Canary Islands. Also this year there are already more than 160 people who did not survive the dangerous crossing to Europe. The dark figure is likely to be significantly higher. There are hardly any legal escape routes into Europe. People fleeing misery or political persecution cannot simply board a plane to Germany to apply for asylum here. This is prevented by an absurd EU law that obliges airlines to cover all costs of accommodation, meals, etc. in case the asylum application was rejected. So all that remains is the uncertain and life-threatening route across the Mediterranean.
Refugee camps such as Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos await those who make it to Europe. Before it burned down completely in September last year, Moria was nicknamed "Hell", which described the catastrophic conditions in the completely overcrowded camp quite well. But even after the fire it didn't get any better. The children and families spent the winter in partially unheated tents in a newly built, worse camp on a former military training area, where parts of the area were verifiably contaminated with lead. Many of them are still suffering from the horrors of the great fire and a place of refuge worthy this name is missing. A similarly frightening and undignified picture emerges on the inner borders of Europe. Thousands of refugees are homeless in Bosnia because camps are repeatedly closed without replacement and people are being chased away even from abandoned houses by the police. If they cross the border into Croatia, they are often humiliated and forcibly pushed back. They are denied their right to apply for asylum - this violates European law!
These images and messages have been omnipresent for years and give the impression that dying off Europe's coasts is just as inevitable as the catastrophic accommodation of refugees within the EU. There seems to be no alternative to European asylum policy. But none of this is without alternative and none of it is acceptable! The Seebrücke movement is responding to this inhumane policy of the European states with a clear plan: Together with the cities and municipalities, we will create Safe Havens (Sichere Häfen) for people on our own! Asylum and migration policy is a central municipal task, because the actual admission of refugees, their care, access to living space, integration through education, work, social and cultural participation and truely living together all take place in the municipalities and not in the German Bundestag or the European Commission. So it is these cities and municipalities that should decide whether to accept refugees. In Germany alone, more than 230 cities and municipalities are currently willing to accept many more people than they would have to according to the federal distribution key. They declare themselves to be a Sicherer Hafen and thus set a strong signal for solidarity and cosmopolitanism, for responsibility and helpful pragmatism.
We, the Chemnitz Seebrücke group , are committed to making Chemnitz a Sicherer Hafen for people who are looking for a safe future for themselves and their families. We are committed to ensuring that no one has to lose their life because they have the wrong place of birth or passport and that Europe protects and does not violate the rights of all people - including those who had to flee. A world without isolation, without camps and without detention centers is possible, because human rights and the right to asylum are indisputable. Refugees welcome!