2022-05-26 –, Space Language: English
Fortress Europe has declared war on migration and people on the move, committing crimes against humanity on a daily basis. Insights and discussion about pushbacks, criminalization and externalization of borders.
Freedom of movement is a right, not a crime. Yet over the past decade, thousands of people in connection with driving migrant boats across the Mediterranean Sea have been arrested, accused and imprisoned, predominantly in Italy and Greece.
In our talk we describe their journeys from sea to prison, examining and taking a stand against the criminalization of migration.
Europe has spent decades pursuing people who have done nothing other than to drive a boat of migrants towards safe shores, utilizing criminal law, undercover police operations and emergency anti-Mafia powers to re-enforce Europe’s border regime. In addition,we would like to invite you to continue the discussion and with the overall question
“how do you struggle against the externalization of this border regime policies ?”. We would like to share with you practices to collectively discuss solutions and to share insights into European externalization policies, their consequences and our struggle against them.
From the Sahara to the Central Mediterranean, from Tunisia to Ceuta, from Turkey and Greece to Slovenia and from Egypt - with an update about the current situation.
The criminalization of migration extends to those in solidarity with people on the move – and it is systematic. In addition to sea rescuers, it affects countless grassroot NGOs and activists whose daily work at EU's external borders and along the Balkan route has become increasingly difficult in recent years. Between 2013 and 2019, approximately 250 people faced legal proceedings in Europe for showing solidarity with people on the move. We will shed light on the criminalization of solidarity on the example of the current Iuventa trial.
Kathrin has been active at the EU's external borders since 2015, including civil sea rescue - on the ship, in the air and on land. Among other things, she was on mission for a year with the Iuventa, which was seized in 2017, and worked with survivors of pushbacks in Turkey. Kathrin is currently facing trial with 3 other crew members of the Iuventa in Italy, where they face up to 20 years in prison. Together with Jihed, she also works for the feminist sea rescue project Louise Michel.
Beside his involvement in the Louise Michel project, Jihed is a Tunisian activist who was involved in the Tunisian revolution. 2011 he joined local groups supporting people on the move in the south of Tunisia and has been active with Watch the Med Alarmphone since 2017. In his research he reconstructs shipwrecks, pushbacks and does follow up with survivors and families affected by human rights violations in the central mediterranean. As part of the ffm migration control project he documents the externalisation of the EU border regime in North and West Africa.