Every day we receive images from Idomeni. Images of despair, misery and disease, but also images of resistance and hope. Every day we see images of a nationalist Germany. Images of racist attacks, of exclusion, of the cheering AFD and self-confident Nazi marches. But there are also images of self-organizing structures, which provide practical and unlimited solidarity over months.
The European elites accept the deaths of hundreds of thousands of refugees, who try to escape from war and misery. The Balkan route was de facto closed overnight – this is the result of a competition amongst the elites and with the far right for who finds the hardest statements of how to fight the refugees and reinforce the Fortress Europe. Austria recently announced proudly the arrival of zero refugees per day. In Germany upper limits (the so-called „Obergrenze“) are still being discussed while the asylum law is tightened down to an unhuman minimum – seemingly unnoticed by the broader public. At the same time the rise of the nationalist right is not only being watched, but also promoted through public discussions with AFD and Pegida. A fraction of Europe's elites wants to prevent by all means that more refugees are entering the Fortress Europe. In order to achieve that, they are using tear gas at the Macedonian border, threaten Greece with expulsion from the Schengen area and sign a bloody pact with the Turkish government.
But despite all these measures, the refugees will not disappear, not even with the closing of the borders. On the contrary, these measures will only create more suffering, despair and anger. And what else should they do when war, violence and destroyed livelihoods prevent a life in dignity? In summer 2015 Europe’s walls were taken down for the first time. No matter how high the next fences will be, they will be torn down for the second time. And that's good! The world produces poverty, war, and exclusion. And this does not just come from anywhere but is the immediate expression of the ruling politics. Let's not leave those who are struggling and those who are already tired at the borders on their own! Let’s tear down those walls, let's welcome them and let's challenge local politics to develop and put into action solidarity concepts for a common life for all!
It is time to engage in practical support against the border regime. Whether in a caravan, in documenting struggles or in direct actions at the borders, against the borders and for opening the borders. The current "refugee crisis" is an expression of an intented crisis and decades of imperial EU policies. It is time to intervene in the hegemonic discourse of border regimes and to give an answer to the question of what kind of Europe we want to live in from the left in direct actions of solidarity. Because we want a Europe of freedom of movement, of open borders, equal right for everybody, of real democracy and solidarity. It is clear to us that this vision of a Europe of solidarity for all cannot be obtained under the current conditions of capitalism. But it is time to start with the demolition - and where else better than at the borders?
Therefore, we call out for and support the border actions, that will take place in the next weeks and months. Let’s attack the heart of the Fortress Europe at the Austrian-Italian border in April and send a clear message against racism and exclusion in Greece in June / July.
We support and call for action:
- 25.-29. March: #overthefortress Convoy from Ancona (Italy) to the Greek-Macedonian border
- 3. April: Mobilization to the Italian-Austrian border
- 24. April: Demo and festival at the Italian-Austrian border
- 1.-3. July: Antiracist festival in Athens
- July: NoBorder Camp und actions in Greece
Interventionistische Linke (Interventionist Left)