SOS NÖRDLINGEN
We urgently appeal to the members of civil society to support the Children in the Nördlingen Lager,since we are aware that the authourities may try to enforce their habit of persecuting mothers for keeping the kids in hunger, which is absolutely not true!
Report on Nördlingen Refugees Strike Action
Since the 2008 protest of Refugees in Nördlingen, the District administration has made no visible impact but rather left the Refugees in abject frustration and societal mockery.
According to the Refugees, We want to co-exist in peaceful and harmony, but we will no more accept any form of injustice and abuse to our right of human dignity.
Since the 28.02.13 the Refugees in Nördlingen have embarked on a boycott of the usual food packet supplies which they described as unhealthy and as a show of discrimination from the district.
Notwithstanding the ever questionable and propaganda Judgment from the Federal Constitutional court confirming the AsylbLG as violating human dignity – after more than 18 years German paraded horrible living Conditions for Refugees.
Germany continues to ignore its responsibility to respect human rights while the living situation of Refugees remains on the level of Test-Project as confirmed by the Representative of the Schwaben Regional Office from Augsburg.
After the spontaneous protest associated with the Food Packet Boycott on Thursday 28.02.13, the Refugees had continued with more intensive community networking with a call for solidarity to their action.
The atmosphere has been much tensed with the Lager Boss and the Housemaster as well as the representative of the Caritas whom the refugees are blaming for ignoring its duty as an affiliate of the Church.
Their demands ranged from Closure of the lager, No more Packet food supply, abolition of Residence obligation Law (Residenzpflicht) and an end to deportation with rights to human development etc.
It is absolutely abnormal that the Alien Authorities (Ausländerbehörde) has continuously embarked on the collection of 10 Euros to offer permission for Refugees to leave the district even when they have to visit their lawyer (Practical confirmation from a Refugee).
The experience that individual Refugees are compelled to pay 10 Euros to have a Key to their room and 5 Euros to have a Postbox is also scandalous. Non payment for these means living in a Room with an option to share a key with your roommates and to have to collect your letters directly from the lager official respectively.
Limited medical attention lingers on like ever. Approvals to visit the doctors takes days thus endangering refugees needing urgent medical attention and further still with medications given at a cost unlike before the pocket money increment.
The Refugees complained that the increment from the Pocket money for refugees is been exploited in one way or the other by the Authorities – according to the Refugee, It is now a routine to always hear that we now earn more money and hence we should be able to take responsibilities ranging from paying for medicines, transportation cost to the district Office and even lawyers and otherwise.
They expressed the horror of being held hostage in a racially Hostile Community as they shared their individual experiences with great frustration and disappointment.
The horrible situation of Single mothers who have no option but to share 2 Toilets with 30 adults of both genders in the Lager was also a serious issue.
Instead of considering the demands of the Refugees on a level of Dignity which is imbibed in the first sentence of the German Constitution, the reverse remains the case as refugees are faced with massive police threats in the Nördlingen Lager.
During the solidarity visit of Activist of The VOICE Refugee Forum, the Refugees suspicion of a car parked at a viewing position was confirmed at about 10.30am when several Police Vans were seen heading towards the direction of the lager and a couple of minutes later, we were informed that the entire lager has been covered by police with the Refugees being compelled to remain in their rooms. The Police squad doubled the number of Refugees as they occupied the whole passage, stair cases with Officers stationed in front of every door from the first to the last floor.
At the same time, more than 20 Police officers held 5 Refugees from Schwabisch Gmuend Hostage at the Train Station with the Refugees abandoning their German-State-dehumanizing identity documents as they boarded the train to their destination.
Some Police Officers also invaded the Game House with a thorough search even to the Toilet in search of Africans with three of us being controlled at the Internet section
This control was purely racial since any Black Skinned person found on the street of Nördlingen had to be controlled by the police.
Questions on why the controls were selective were meted with absolute arrogance especially from the young Officers who appeared like Police officers in the training school tending to impress their Bosses in this case.
Provocative response of expressing it as a normal control with the acting nice Police trying to be calm to explain that they were in search for five people and they just want to find out if we were one of them.
One of the officials from the Public Order Office (Abteilung Öffentliche Sicherheit und Ordnung im Landratsamt Donau-Ries) was very annoying as he posed questions of who is the leader, the Refugees must not make anymore troubles otherwise... (culture of what they are trained for - brutality as usual). He expressed so much pride about himself to be a German and knowing all the rules better and warned the Refugees not to make any more pressure although it is clear that some things were wrong; - but I doubt if he meant it because he may have been stocked up with not knowing the right words to express himself in English.
After the demise of the Police, further discussion with the refugees confirmed the wrong information and threat from the Lager Official Mrs Rheinhold who claimed that Refugees who rejected the Food packages would be penalized.
She was the same woman who would tell the refugees that they are all one and that they have to help each other; meaning the refugees should keep calm in this horrible situation while she gains elevation to have kept the refugees to be destroyed slowly.
Aditionary, some Refugees offered the opportunity to look into the pile up of food stuff as they express their frustration to have to live with this practices of limited choice of food articles for as long as they have been living in the lager.
The Nördlingen Refugees delegated some persons to attend the Muenic Refugee conference at the weekend as part of empowerment and mobilization for nationwide solidarity to the strike in Nördlingen.
The Oranienplatz organized Bus Tour is been planned to pass through Nordlingen on Tuesday 05.03.13 as part of Solidarity with the Refugees as they proceed on the next line of action with the Food packet boycott.
Noerdlingen as we can evaluate is typical of a racially unfriendly community hence solidarity is needed especially from outside.
Please observe the ongoing protest in Nördlingen. Your presence with the Refugees would be highly appreciated.
Contact: 0176-27873832
Or email: thevoice_bdw@yahoo.de