The
Deadly Consequences of "Fortress Europe"
- More than 9000 Deaths - |
The UNITED 'List of Deaths'
Since 1993 UNITED has monitored the deadly results of the building
of a 'Fortress Europe'. More than 9000 deaths of refugees and
migrants have been documented up to now. These deaths can be
put down to border militarisation, asylum laws, detention policies,
deportations and carrier sanctions. They are linked to the carrying
out of decisions taken on highest political level: the Schengen
Treaty, the Dublin Convention and EU border control programs.
These deaths are not isolated
incidents. They are symptomatic of policies that no longer see
the humanity of those fleeing their homeland, but prefer to see
them as numbers, or worse, as a natural disaster, 'a flood'.
By making legal immigration and asylum nearly impossible these
policies lead to the death of refugees, who fled because of war,
persecution, despaired poverty or natural disasters.
Action: Wake up the policy-makers!
In this publication you will find statistics on refugee deaths
that can be put down to 'Fortress Europe' and also ideas and
suggestions for action.
UNITED for Intercultural Action protests against the building
of a 'Fortress Europe', which leads to the death of desperate
people looking for safe refuge. Europe is not capable of effectively
shutting its borders, no matter how hard it tries. It is shutting
its eyes to the realities of the global political and socio-economical
situation.
More than 9000 deaths since
1993
If the death of over 9000 people does not wake up politicians
and policy makers, what will? We have to publicise these gruesome
facts.
The statistics inside this publication were created using the
UNITED 'List of Deaths'. They reveal the cruel and inhuman consequences
of the European policy of exclusion.
CONTENTS
1.
THE
SITUATION OF REFUGEES IN EUROPE
1.1 WHAT
ARE THE NUMBERS BASED ON?
1.2 DEATHS
IN EUROPE
1.3 CAUSES OF DEATHS
1.4 DEATHS
DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO STATE-SERVICES
2. CAMPAIGN
AGAINST THE DEADLY CONSEQUENCES OF 'FORTRESS EUROPE'!
2.1 WHY?
2.2 WHAT
YOU CAN DO
2.3 HOW
UNITED CAN HELP YOU
3. 20
JUNE - INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE DAY
4. ‘THE LIST’ - A project by Banu Cennetoglu
5. FOR MORE INFORMATION
ON REFUGEE DEATHS AND THE TREATMENT OF REFUGEES IN EUROPE:
1.
THE
SITUATION OF REFUGEES IN EUROPE
Every year thousands
of refugees are trying to flee to Europe in their search for
safety from persecution, for economic security or just 'a better
life'.
Each year hundreds of them
drown on the way from Africa to Italy or Spain, suffocate in
sealed containers, starve in locked trucks, are blown to pieces
by landmines between Turkey and Greece or freeze on their way
over the mountains. And if they finally manage to arrive in "Fortress
Europe" they are not at all safe. They are fenced in, in
so called refugee centres, some of which do not differ from a
normal prison. Some of these refugees cannot deal with the misery
and the inhuman conditions in which they are held and so they
start a hunger strike or sew their eyes and mouth shut to protest
against their situation. Some of them even commit suicide.
If a state decides that a refugee
has no right to apply for asylum, he is deported to his home-country,
even if he has been living in his new home-country for ten years.
Often the children are deported too, even if they do not speak
their mother-tongue.
Sometimes people die during
deportation, as was the case for Marcus Omofuma, who suffocated
during his deportation. His guards had taped his mouth and restrained
his body. People sometimes are murdered or 'disappear', because
the country they were deported to was not safe after all, and
they were killed or imprisoned by state forces.
Although many European states
celebrate the lowest numbers of refugees in years, people still
cry for stricter rules and limitations for refugees. The Austrian
government even demands a complete rethinking of the right on
asylum. They suggest to transform it from an individual right
towards an policy that mainly serves the needs of the country
of destination. But it is sure, that as long as Europe does not
change its attitude towards African and other "Third World"
countries, refugees will keep on coming.
click on the map to see a readable version (jpeg 700KB)
1.1 WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS BASED ON?
The charts in this publication are based on the data
collected in our archives since 1992. UNITED received this information
from newspapers, journalists, organisations working in the field
of refugee and migrant issues, private researchers and governmental
organisations. The figures given can only be taken as an indication
of the true number of deaths.
Each case published by UNITED is documented in the UNITED archives.
Further information can be supplied on request. The "Documentation
on Refugee Deaths" can be downloaded on the UNITED homepage
(www.unitedagainstracism.org).
Researchers and journalists can also order the scientific part
of the documentation, to use it for their studies.
1.2 DEATHS IN EUROPE
As shown on the map (published in 'Le Monde Diplomatique' based on UNITED research), most of the documented refugee deaths occur between Africa and Spain in the Strait of Gibraltar, around Malta and on the way to Italy. Many people drown in the sea before arriving on European shores. The amount of people that really drown is unknown – for sure many times higher than the documented number. For example, Spanish government officials reported that -only in 2006- about 6000 African migrants have died or gone missing on their sea journey to the Canary Islands. They estimate that of every three drowned people only one body is discovered.
1.3 CAUSES OF DEATHs
As Alain Morice puts it in 'Le
Monde Diplomatique' (3/2004), one of the reasons for refugees
to enter a country 'illegally' is that «the governments
want to shut down all legal options of migration for people who
try to escape their unbearable living conditions».
Used data for
this statistic based on research results in 2007
click on the chart to see a bigger version (jpeg 50KB)
1.4
DEATHS DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO
STATE-SERVICES
This chart shows the number of persons whose death can
be attributed to police or border guard action. It is nearly
10% of the total number of deaths. These cases include deportation
deaths or suicides in refugee centres, and cases of border guards
shooting people that cross borders 'illegally', as well as police
chasing 'sans-papiers' to their deaths. The number of these cases
is alarming and it is to be feared, that it indicates an even
higher occurrence of maltreatment of refugees in Europe.
Used data for
this statistic based on research results in 2007
click on the chart to see a bigger version (jpeg 50KB)
2. CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE DEADLY CONSEQUENCES
OF 'FORTRESS EUROPE'!
2.1 WHY?
The unbelievably high - and still growing - number of
refugee deaths that is documented by UNITED research is reason
enough to campaign against the fatal realities of 'Fortress Europe'.
It is time to act to prevent these unnecessary deaths in the
future.
2.2 WHAT YOU CAN DO
All organisations, large and small, can contribute to
the fight against more deaths. The UNITED European-wide campaign
aims to raise awareness in all relevant areas of society. The
main targets are the media and the general public. With your
help it is possible to force European politicians to rethink
European immigration policies. You can organise activities such
as lectures, multicultural evenings, debates or preparation of
a petition. You should also consider lobbying, for example, your
local Member of the European Parliament. If you want to give
your event a special significance you can organise it on International
Refugee Day, on 20 June.
For UNITED's documentation of refugee deaths it is necessary
that we continue to receive good information on deaths cases
of refugees in Europe. So please send us newspaper articles,
statistics and all other information you can gather on this issue.
Please add UNITED to your mailing list.
2.3 HOW UNITED CAN HELP YOU
Since several years, UNITED has coordinated the international
refugee campaign on 20 June. It consists of two complimentary
parts:
· Protesting against the restrictive asylum and migration
policies, that are referred to as
'Fortress Europe': especially focusing attention on the deaths
of already more than 9000
people who tried to find a safe haven in Europe.
· Promoting a safe environment for refugees and asylum
seekers without racism and
intolerance.
You can order campaign posters (up to 100 are for free) and/or
more copies of this leaflet. If you need more for special purposes
contact the UNITED secretariat. If you want to find partner organisations
for your campaign or project you can use the searchable database
of UNITED or call us for help.
3. 20 JUNE - INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE DAY
In 2001 a special UN General Assembly Resolution was
adopted to pronounce the former African Refugee Day as the International
Refugee Day as an expression of solidarity with Africa, which
hosts the most refugees. The General Assembly noted that 2001
marked the fiftieth anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating
to the Status of Refugees, and that the Organization of African
Unity (OAU) had agreed to have the International Refugee Day
coincide with African Refugee Day on 20 June. The Assembly therefore
decided that, as from 2001, 20 June would be celebrated as International
Refugee Day.
4. ‘THE LIST’ - A project by Banu Cennetoglu
During 2 full weeks in March 2007 the complete UNITED ‘List of Deaths’ was displayed in 110 large bill boards throughout the city of Amsterdam. The purpose of this project was to confront the general public with the ‘Fatal Realities of Fortress Europe’.
For pictures see:
5. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON REFUGEE DEATHS AND THE TREATMENT
OF REFUGEES IN EUROPE:
Austria:
Asylkoordination Österreich
asylkoordination@to.or.at,
www.asyl.at
Belgium:
European Council on Refugees & Exiles - ECRE
euecre@ecre.org, www.ecre.org
Platform International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants
info@picum.org, www.picum.org
Migration News Sheet - info@migpolgroup.com
Mouvement contre Racisme Antisémitisme et Xénophobie
mrax@mrax.be, www.mrax.be
Human Rights Watch - hrwbe@hrw.org, www.hrw.org
No Fortress Europe
no-fortress@europarl.eu.int - www.no-fortress-europe.eu
Bulgaria:
Bulgarian Helsinki Committee - Refugee Protection
peregrine@aster.net, www.bghelsinki.org
Cyprus:
Action for Equality Support & Antiracism - KISA
kisa@cytanet.com.cy, www.kisa.ort.cy
Czechia:
Consortium of Refugee Assisting Organisations in CZ
konzorcium@seznam.cz, www.refugees.ecn.cz
Counseling Centre for Refugees
poradna@refug.cz, www.refugees.cz
Denmark:
Danish Refugee Council
drc@drc.dk, www.drc.dk
Worthy Life for Asylum Seekers
folkesagen@folkesagen.dk, www.folkesagen.dk
Refugees United Organisation
info@refunite.org, www.refunite.org
France:
Migreurop Network - migreurop.org
Association Nationale d'Assistance aux Frontières pour les Étrangers - ANAFE
contact@anafe.org, www.anafe.org
Féderation des Associations de Solidarité avec Travailleurs Immigrés - FASTI
solidarite@fasti.org, www.fasti.org
CIMADE - infos@cimade.org, www.cimade.org
Germany:
Antirassistische Initiative - ARI
mail@ari-berlin.org, www.ari-berlin.org
Pro Asyl - Bundesweite AG für Flüchtlinge
proasyl@proasyl.de, www.proasyl.de
The Voice Refugee Forum / Africa Forum
voice_mail@emdash.org, www.thevoiceforum.org
Hilfe für Menschen in Abschiebehaft
info@gegenabschiebehaft.de, www.gegenabschiebehaft.de
Borderline Europe
mail@borderline-europe.de, www.borderline-europe.de
Great-Britain:
Asylum Policy Information Service
frank@exile.org.uk, www.asylumpolicy.info
Institute of Race Relations - IRR
info@irr.org.uk, www.irr.org.uk
National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns
ncadc@ncadc.org.uk, www.ncadc.org.uk
Statewatch
office@statewatch.org, www.statewatch.org
British Refugee Council
info@refugeecouncil.org.uk, www.refugeecouncil.org.uk
Greece:
Greek Helsinki Monitor / Minority Rights Group
office@greekhelsinki.gr, www.greekhelsinki.gr
SOS Racisme - Greece
grsosracism@yahoo.com, www.cosmosofculture.org
Greek Refugee Council
gcr1@gcr.gr, www.gcr.gr
Italy:
ARCI Nuova Associazione Anti Racism & Immigration
immigrazione@arci.it, www.arci.it
Associazione Rieti Immigrant-Provincia
cfi-ari@libero.it, www.ariweb.it
Associazione Studi Giuridici sull’Immigrazione ASGI
info@asgi.it, www.asgi.it
Fortress Europe - http://fortresseurope.blogspot.com
Luxembourg:
Ass. de Soutien aux Travailleurs Immigrés - ASTI
ensemble@asti.lu, www.asti.lu
Netherlands:
Amsterdams Solidariteits Komitee Vluchtelingen - ASKV
askvsv@dds.nl, www.askv.nl
Fabel van de Illegaal
info@defabel.nl, www.defabel.nl, www.gebladerte.nl
Vluchtelingen Organisaties Nederland - VON
info@vluchtelingenorganisaties.nl, www.vluchtelingenorganisaties.nl
Norway:
Norsk Organisasjon for Asylsøkere – NOAS
noas@noas.org, www.noas.org
Romania:
Romanian National Council for Refugees
office@cnrr.ro, www.cnrr.ro
Poland:
Polish Humanitarian Organisation
pah@pah.org.pl, www.pah.org.pl
Portugal:
Portuguese Refugee Council - CPR
geral@cpr.pt, www.cpr.pt
Spain:
Centro Estudios y Documentacion sobre Racismo y Xenofobia / Mugak
mugak@mugak.org, www.mugak.org
Comité de Defensa de Refugiados Asilados e Inmigrantes - COMRADE
comrade@comrade.e.telefonica.net, www.comrade.es
Movimiento Contra la Intolerancia - MCI
secretaria@movimientocontralaintolerancia.com
www.movimientocontralaintolerancia.com
Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado CEAR
europa@cear.es, www.cear.es
Sweden:
Flyktinggruppernas och Asylkomm. Riksråd
info@farr.se, www.farr.se
Swedish Refugee Aid - SWERA
info@swera.se, www.swera.se
Switzerland:
Solidarité sans Frontières
info@asyl.ch, www.sosf.ch
Vivre Ensemble - Service d'Information et de Documen-tation sur le Droit d'Asile
vivre.ensemble@asile.ch, www.asile.ch/vivre-ensemble
Graphical impressions of 'Fortress Europe':
www.social-impact.at/e_index.htm
www.denblanken.com
www.go-no-go.nl
www.the-list.info
www.unitedagainstracism.org/pages/list-exhibition.htm
For addresses of more than 4000 organisations including Refugee
Councils,
Offices of UNHCR, grass root NGOs etc. visit our searchable
database at: www.unitedagainstracism.org
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