From Tripoli to Berlin, to Mazara del Vallo and to Frankfurt
The series of events to amplify the voices and demands from Refugees from Libya continued in the last months. On 18th and 19th of October in Berlin a panel and several workshops were co-organized together with the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). Arranged by the “Convention on the Rights of the Mediterranean“ another two day event took place on the 29th and 30th of November in the Sicilian city of Mazara del Vallo. Another public discussion happened on the 10th of December, the international day of human rights, by invitation of a mayor from Frankfurt/Main.
The Berlin Event
The event was split into two days: Friday’s panel titled “Evacuation, not Externalisation! The Right to Move against an EU for the Few” and Saturday fully dedicated to three different workshops:
- Collective Hotline: Limits and perspectives of an indispensable tool;
- Accountability avenues and challenges for international crimes against people on the move in Libya;
- Fighting for Freedom of Movement: Connecting struggles and exchanging strategies.
Representatives from Refugees in Libya (RiL), from the Alliance with Refugees in Libya (ARiL), from ECCHR, a Member of the German Parliament, members from the Civil Fleet and from other organizations as well as individuals came together with the goal to cast light on the current situation of refugees and migrants in Libya and offer new solutions for evacuation mechanisms in Germany.
A centerpiece of the campaign is the Mobile Exhibition, which showcases written and video testimonies from detainees at Ain Zara and Human Rights Defenders in Libya. This powerful collection documents the repression faced by protesters and their ongoing struggle for their rights and for evacuations and it was also presented in the events in Mazara del Vallo and in Frankfurt.
A more detailed report on the Berlin event can be find here: https://www.refugeesinlibya.org/post/from-tripoli-to-berlin
Refugees in Libya Event in Berlin, Credit: ARiL
The Mazara del Vallo Event
The Municipality of Mazara del Vallo has an ancient history of relationships and collaborations with the populations overlooking the common Mediterranean sea, which over the centuries have had relationships with the Mazara communities. The choice to hold the conference in this city, where the church bells echo and the muezzin’s song at prayer time, was dictated precisely by the characteristics of Mazara. Its historic center has neighborhoods with names like Kasbah and Giudecca, which testify to its multi-cultural and multi-religious roots.
In the introduction session activists from RiL highlighted the living conditions of refugees in Libya, the violence they suffer daily and the risk of being arrested at any time or kidnapped by gangs of traffickers. The Evacuate Human Rights Defenders from Libya campaign aims to get as many people as possible out of Libya.
In the following round table session, a bishop, several Sicilian mayors and institutional actors as well as a member of European Parliament presented their approaches and forms of solidarity to support the right to move for people on the move.
On the second day several workshops took place with activists involved in civil sea rescue organizations, in solidarity groups on land borders and in communication networks of migrant communities.
Refugees in Libya event in Mazara Credit: ARiL
A detailed report can be found here: https://www.refugeesinlibya.org/post/from-tripoli-to-sicily-evacuate-human-rights-defenders-from-libya-mazara-del-vallo-29-30-november
The Frankfurt Event
The Green (Sub)Mayor from Frankfurt invited and introduced the event under the title “No Democracy Without Human Rights – Right to Flee, Sea Rescue, Admission from Libya”. The former Eintracht Frankfurt (football club) President gave the welcoming address in reference to international day of human rights. This was followed by a panel discussion with representatives of Refugees in Libya, Pro Asyl and Seebrücke Frankfurt. The background to the event is the intensified efforts of a new alliance for a Europe-wide reception campaign using the very specific example of human rights defenders in Libya. A corresponding working group has been formed in Frankfurt.
From their call: “Frankfurt, the safe haven city, should take in 20 human rights defenders from Libya! The city council declared Frankfurt a safe haven in September 2021 – an important sign of solidarity. However, this must also be followed by practical steps. We expect Frankfurt to declare its willingness to accept 20 human rights defenders from Libya. This would also be an important example for other cities to take action in the same way. Our goal is to get 10 more European cities to agree to take in human rights defenders. The demand for 221 evacuations concerns a manageable number of people, for whom a small new window for safe escape routes is to be opened. But it also sends a signal: there is no future without human rights and people are needed to stand up for them! Let’s defend the open migration society! Let’s support people on the move! Evacuate now !”
Contact – evacuatenow.ffm@gmx.net
