"Showing solidarity with migrants is not a crime!"

Solidarity with Alican Albayrak and Hüseyin Şahin
Both are supposed to be condemned for their humanity
while the EU, Germany & Greece perpetuate barbarism

deutsch: „Sich mit Migranten zu solidarisieren ist kein Verbrechen!“
statement as PDF: english & german

Alican Albayrak and Huseyin Şahin were persecuted for their political activities in Turkey against exploitation, deprivation of rights of the people and wars and therefore had to leave the country. Since 17 November 2020, they have been deprived of their freedom and are now in prison in Greece on the island of Chios. The reason: They helped two people from Turkey seeking protection, who were threatened by repression and political persecution in their land, to reach the coast. They are now accused by the Greek government of "smuggling" (violation of the migration law) and "resistance against state power". On Monday, 10 May 2021, is the trial against both. If convicted, they face deportation to the country where more years of deprivation of liberty await them.

We stand in solidarity with Alican Albayrak and Hüseyin Şahin because they have always stood up against deprivation of rights and exploitation. Within the Socialist Party of the Oppressed ESP and together with the Peoples' Democratic Party HDP, they have always sided with the marginalised people in Turkey. They have organised with the oppressed people the resistance against the occupation of Taksim Square, against the criminalisation of Kurds and against the expansion of drugs into the poorer neighbourhoods. Huseyin Şahin himself says (1) about his four detentions in Turkey:

"My first arrest took place in 2011 because I participated in a Newroz celebration. The AKP had banned the peaceful celebration for political reasons. We were on the streets together with millions of people, with the Kurdish people and ESP. My second arrest took place during the Gezi protests. When the AKP's destructive policies aimed to turn nature into concrete and spread its anti-democratic repression, the protests quickly turned into a mass movement. We were in the front ranks together with the masses. My third arrest took place during an anti-drug campaign we were organising in our neighbourhood against degeneration. We were taken into custody during a night operation. Lastly, I was arrested as part of an operation against our ESP party, along with dozens of workers from the party."

We stand in solidarity with Alican Albayrak and Hüseyin Şahin. Even though they themselves are refugees without a clear perspective and future and in a precarious situation on the island of Lesbos, they do not leave their companions and fellow human beings to drown and lie unprotected, but they help them to get to land. This attitude of basic solidarity and courage is to be their undoing and has led to their arrest on Lesbos on 17 November 2020.

We are neither surprised nor disappointed by the Greek government or the European Union. Because the imprisonment and the accusation are yet another proof in the long chain of barbarism that we people from Africa, Asia and Latin America have known for centuries. But also, the people living in Europe today are witness to this barbarity that is taking place before our eyes every day. For years, all people living here have known through the numerous reports of the murderous activities of FRONTEX not only at the external borders of Europe, but also outside European territory (2 to 7): destruction of boats, threats to people seeking refuge on the high seas, illegal push backs into the hands of the torturers or into camps in Libya, Tunisia or elsewhere. All are witnesses to how people of all ages and genders are forced to live in camps. Europe deliberately wants to keep the refugees on the Greek islands, in Turkey, in Jordan, in Kenya, ... or elsewhere in a miserable condition and demonstrate: "You are not welcome!". The programmes of the German government are meant to stabilise the camp situations in these countries. The European Union's deal with the Turkish government serves to keep the borders tight. Everyone can witness people being beaten or shot at the borders, like last year at the Turkish-Greek border or as so often at the Spanish-Moroccan border.

While members of the German government and the European Union constantly raise the flags of democracy and human rights, they carry conflicts into our countries through economic as well as military interventions and are thus themselves responsible for the causes of flight. In this barbarism, egoism and blind obedience are demanded. That is why fishermen in Sicily are condemned for helping people in need on the high seas. That is why schoolchildren are criminalised because they do not accept the deportation of their classmate and protest. That is why people are criminalised for shouting "Oury Jalloh, that was murder!".

Alican Albayrak and Hüseyin Şahin stood up against this barbarism because they are not yet infected by this egoism that is preached to us. We stand against this barbarism and show solidarity with Alican Albayrak and Hüseyin Şahin.

Spread this call. Express your solidarity, write them letters or postcards, be creative on the net or protest at appropriate places on 10 May 2021 and demonstrate your humanity against colonial barbarism. Letters to Alican Albayrak and Hüseyin Şahin can be sent to the following address:

Prison address on the island of Chios:

Theodorou 1
Chios 82132
Greece

The Freedom for ALİCAN ALBAYRAK & HÜSEYİN ŞAHİN Initiative would appreciate if you could inform them about your events, expressions of solidarity, actions or other activities: freealbayrakandsahin@gmail.com

In solidarity we remain united ...

CARAVAN for the rights of refugees and migrants
May 5, 2021 | Wuppertal office

CARAVAN for the rights of refugees and migrants
Wuppertal office
Marienstr. 52 | 42105 Wuppertal
email: wuppkarawane@yahoo.de
internet: https://thecaravan.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karawanewuppertal oder https://www.facebook.com/caravannetwork

References

1. Freiheit für Alican Albayrak und Hüseyin Şahin, Rote Hilfe e.V. | Ortsgruppe Berlin, 12. März 2021: https://www.berlin.rote-hilfe.de/freiheit-fuer-alican-albayrak-und-hueseyin-sahin/
2. Abschlusserklärung „FLÜCHTLINGSTRIBUNAL GEGEN DIE BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND“, 5.7.2013, KARAWANE für die Rechte der Flüchltinge und MigrantInnen Quelle: https://thecaravan.org/node/3833
3. Conni Gunßer, Push back Frontex! No more left-to-die cases at sea!”, Vortrag zur EU-Grenzschutzagentur Frontex Weltsozialforum Tunis 2015 Quelle: https://afrique-europe-interact.net/1302-0-Vortrag-Conni-Guner-WSF-Tunis-2015.html
4. Illegale Push-Backs: Druck auf Griechenland und Frontex steigt, 15.11.2013, PRO ASYL Quelle: https://www.proasyl.de/news/illegale-push-backs-druck-auf-griechenland-und-frontex-steigt/?gclid=CjwKCAjwm7mEBhBsEiwA_of-TMSDLYG5eEKb5ksIvCbvtQGizeYlKrAmUV9QbbRFivr4uaxTseBKKBoCwYoQAvD_BwE
5. Giorgos Christides, Steffen Lüdke und Maximilian Popp, Deutsche Bundespolizisten in illegalen Pushback verwickelt, 28.11.2020, Spiegel Quelle: https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/frontex-skandal-deutsche-bundespolizisten-in-illegalen-pushback-in-der-aegaeis-verwickelt-a-d4e45196-a5b2-43a5-9050-72885b349996
6. Simone Gaul, Wie Frontex mit den Lobbyisten Deals aushandelt, 9.2.2021, ZEIT Online Quelle: https://www.zeit.de/politik/2021-02/frontex-files-grenzschutz-waffenlobbyismus-betrug-ermittlungen-nachrichtenpodcast?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
7. Sara Creta, Bashar Deeb, Klaas van Dijken, Emmanuel Freudenthal, Steffen Lüdke und Maximilian Popp, Wie Frontex hilft, Migranten in libysche Folterlager zurückzuschleppen, 29.04.2021, Spiegel. Quelle: https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/libyen-wie-frontex-hilft-fluechtlinge-in-folterknaeste-zurueckzuschleppen-a-e80e275d-0002-0001-0000-000177330683