Fortress

Kindesmissbrauch: Justizministerin kritisiert Richtlinien der katholischen Kirche (Die Zeit)

2010-03-12T08:55:30+00:00

Justizministerin Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger hat die katholische Kirche erneut aufgefordert, mehr mit der Justiz zusammenzuarbeiten. Jene müsse ihre Richtlinien ändern.

Menschenhandel zunehmend innerhalb Europas (wallstreet:online AG)

2010-03-12T05:36:12+00:00

Madrid/Wien (pte/12.03.2010/06:20) - Die Finanzkrise könnte dazu beigetragen haben, dass Menschenhändler vermehrt in EU-Staaten nach potenziellen Opfern Ausschau halten.

Menschenhandel zunehmend innerhalb Europas (Pressetext.at via Yahoo! Nachrichten)

2010-03-12T05:20:00+00:00

Madrid/Wien (pte/12.03.2010/06:20) - Die Finanzkrise könnte dazu beigetragen haben, dass Menschenhändler vermehrt in EU-Staaten nach potenziellen Opfern Ausschau halten. Das erklärt Eurídice Márquez ...

Die Katastrophenhilfe geht online (net-tribune.de)

2010-03-11T10:57:15+00:00

Genf - Zwei Monate nach der Erdbebenkatastrophe in Haiti leben noch mehr als 600.000 Menschen in Zelten und anderen Notunterkünften. Für die Koordination der Hilfe nutzen die humanitären Organisationen Google Earth.

Genauso windschnittig wie der große Bruder (Münchner Merkur)

2010-03-10T15:03:44+00:00

Karlsfeld - Sie sind windschnittig, lassen sich exakt manövrieren und reagieren auch auf die kleinste Brise.

Computer & Cyberspace Haiti-Helfer nutzen Google Earth (AP via Yahoo! Nachrichten)

2010-03-09T01:05:59+00:00

Karte mit Angaben über Notunterkünfte wird ständig aktualisiert

Europas Borderline

2010-03-08T15:50:47+00:00

Matthias Monroy

"Verbesserung", "Ausweitung", "Stärkung": Die erst fünf Jahre alte "EU-Grenzschutzagentur" Frontex will jetzt eigene Ausrüstung und Personal

Frontex steht symbolisch für die Entwicklung einer eigenen EU-Politik der inneren Sicherheit. Nun soll die erst 2005 geschaffene Behörde neue Kompetenzen erhalten. Die Rede ist von Helikoptern und Schiffen, dem Initiieren von Operationen sowie Sammeln und Prozessieren von Personendaten. Zur Durchsetzung der Forderungen verschärfen Kommission und Frontex das Vokabular rund um illegalisierte Migration.

[heise.de] Pünktlich zum jüngsten Treffen der EU-Innenminister in Brüssel hat die neue EU-Kommissarin für Innenpolitik, Cecilia Malmström, einen Vorschlagzur Neukonfiguration der EU-"Grenzschutzagentur" Frontex vorgelegt. Die bisher gültige Verordnung von 2004 soll demnach in entscheidenden Punkten geändert werden, um "festgestellte Schwachpunkte zu beheben" und "ein einheitliches und hohes Kontroll- und Überwachungsniveau" zu gewährleisten. Kern des Papiers, das auf einer Evaluierung von 2008 basiert, ist die anscheinend immer noch nicht zufriedenstellende Zuarbeit der Mitgliedsstaaten für gemeinsame Operationen. Die Behörde moniert etwa die fehlende Bereitschaft, zugesagte Ausrüstung oder Personal zu stellen, so dass die Einsätze nur ungenügend geplant und durchgeführt werden könnten. (weiter auf heise.de)

Europas Borderline (TELEPOLIS)

2010-03-08T15:24:45+00:00

bringing you… the infopoint brochure

2010-03-07T15:00:07+00:00

Long promised, hard worked on, full of fascinating stories: We bring you the brochure about the infopoint that we set up during the noborder camp 2009 in Lesvos. Tons of stories, experiences, insights and a strong example of the difference one can make with a little determination and collectivity.

Editorial
Circus Tent towards a Welcome Island: Reflections on the Infopoint in Mitilini / Lesvos in Summer 2009
Unbelievable Days: Interview with Azadi – Translator & Activist at the Infopoint
Eden: Interview with Eden
I just Wanted to Say, that I Arrived fine: Refugee women from Eritrea in the Greek Transit
We are on the Move to Stay: Impressions from the ›Farewell Parade‹
We are Walking until Noborders: Interview with Mr. X
We Saw Things can be possible! The Story of two Afghan Families who Resisted Detention
Help yourself! Insights of the Infopoint
Medical Advice
We really didn’t Feel like Refugees! Reflections on Lesvos two Months after Noborder
Last Days of Pagani in October 2009
No to Pagani and no to any Prison
The End, and the Beginning: A Flight from Greece to Germany
I would like to Follow a Star. But there is no Star to Follow: birdsofimmigrants.jogspace.net – A Blog by underaged Refugees
Hartino Karavi – A Paperboat: Permanent Info- and Welcomepoint for Refugees in Mitilini
Useful Links & Information

Download the infopoint-brochure as pdf (7.9 MB)

Gefängnis im Kopf

2010-03-06T12:44:33+00:00

In Deutschland unterliegen Asylbewerber der Residenzpflicht. Ohne eine Genehmigung der Ausländerbehörde dürfen sie ihren Landkreis nicht verlassen. In elf Bundesländern gibt es Landkreise, die in einem solchen Fall Gebühren verlangen. Ein togolesischer Flüchtlingsaktivist hat dagegen geklagt.

von Astrid Schäfers, Jungle World, 4.3.2010

bringing you…the infopoint brochure

2010-03-06T12:31:37+00:00

Editorial
Circus Tent towards a Welcome Island: Reflections on the Infopoint in Mitilini / Lesvos in Summer 2009
Unbelievable Days: Interview with Azadi – Translator & Activist at the Infopoint
Eden: Interview with Eden
I just Wanted to Say, that I Arrived fine: Refugee women from Eritrea in the Greek Transit
We are on the Move to Stay: Impressions from the ›Farewell Parade‹
We are Walking until Noborders: Interview with Mr. X
We Saw Things can be possible! The Story of two Afghan Families who Resisted Detention
Help yourself! Insights of the Infopoint
Medical Advice
We really didn’t Feel like Refugees! Reflections on Lesvos two Months after Noborder
Last Days of Pagani in October 2009
No to Pagani and no to any Prison
The End, and the Beginning: A Flight from Greece to Germany
I would like to Follow a Star. But there is no Star to Follow: birdsofimmigrants.jogspace.net – A Blog by underaged Refugees
Hartino Karavi – A Paperboat: Permanent Info- and Welcomepoint for Refugees in Mitilini
Useful Links & Information

Download the infopoint-brochure as pdf (7.9 MB)

Of course, the brochure will also be printed. Information, where to obtain it can be asked at transact [at] so36 [dot] net via email.

You might also want to check out schengendangle, another blog by young migrants trying to skip from Greece. And those speaking German, we have a campaign-site for the upcoming Dublin II-Campaign at dublin2.info.

Freie Wahlen unter strengen Sicherheitskontrollen (Morgenweb)

2010-03-06T02:34:15+00:00

Die Sonne strahlt über dem Maimarktgelände, vom Parkplatz schallt kurdische Tanzmusik herüber, und die Sicherheitsmänner am Eingang wippen im Takt: Die Stimmung vor dem Wahllokal für die irakische Parlamentswahl ist entspannt. "Heute müssen viele Wahlberechtigte ja arbeiten. Am Wochenende wird dann richtig viel los sein", vermutet einer der Wahlhelfer. Dann werden Exil-Iraker aus ganz ...

Fahrt nach Berlin als Straftat?

2010-03-05T21:47:37+00:00

Der Prozess ist verschoben und findet nicht am 12. März statt!

Residenzpflicht-Prozess in Zossen

Vor dem Amtsgericht Zossen findet am Freitag, 12. März, 13 Uhr eine Verhandlung wegen eines Verstoßes gegen die Residenzpflicht statt. Der 33-jährige Kenianer Teddy M. wurde im Sommer 2007 am U-Bahnhof Amrumer Straße ohne »Urlaubsschein« aufgegriffen.

Seit dem Jahr 2003 lebte Teddy M. im Flüchtlingslager Ludwigsfelde. Für jeden Besuch bei seiner Freundin und Mutter seines Kindes in Berlin musste er zunächst zur Ausländerbehörde nach Luckenwalde fahren, um dort einen »Urlaubsschein« zu beantragen. Kostenpunkt: 4,60 Euro – viel Geld bei einem Taschengeld von 40 Euro monatlich. Ob dem Antrag stattgegeben wurde, kam einem Glücksspiel gleich. War die zuständige Sachbearbeiterin nicht da, wurde der »Urlaubsschein« meist verweigert, mit einschneidenden Konsequenzen. Woher sollte Teddy M. wissen, wo genau der Landkreis endet? Jede Begegnung mit der Polizei war so von Angst begleitet. Mehrmals wurde er kontrolliert, zwei Mal wurde er zu Geldstrafen von 200 bis 300 Euro verurteilt. Im Sommer 2007 dann eine erneute Kontrolle am U-Bahnhof Amrumer Straße. Ein halbes Dutzend Polizisten umringt ihn und zwei weitere Kenianer. Sie werden durchsucht, die Papiere werden ihnen abgenommen.

Dieser Verstoß kommt am 12. März zur Verhandlung, es droht eine Haftstrafe, und das obwohl Teddy M. mittlerweile eine Aufenthaltserlaubnis hat und in Berlin wohnt.

Teddy M. würde sich über eine solidarische Unterstützung vor Gericht freuen.

Ungelöste Probleme (Neues Deutschland)

2010-03-04T20:46:03+00:00

Mehr Ressourcen, mehr Mitbestimmungsrecht, mehr Eigenleben für die Europäische Grenzschutzagentur Frontex. Das verspricht die neue Verordnung von der EU-Kommissarin für Innenpolitik, Cecilia Malmström.

France/Algeria: Joint maritime surveillance and security operation

2010-03-04T16:55:44+00:00

France and Algeria will undertake a joint maritime surveillance and security exercise named Raïs Hamidou 10 from 2 to 19 March 2010 in the western Mediterranean within the framework of the strengthening of bilateral cooperation and friendship between the two countries stemming from the defence agreement signed on 21 June 2008.

[statewatch.org] The exercise follows on from the one carried out from 30 January to 15 February 2009 to consolidate the operational coordination between the French and Algerian navies to develop interoperability between navy units, share know-how and experience, thus promoting the two navies' readiness to act jointly and respond to crisis situations. The exercise will unfold over four phases: from 2 to 9 March 2010 in Toulon to "create cohesion between the two countries' crews" and prepare the operations at sea, including workshops, conferences and courses; from 9 to 13 March off the Algerian coast in the stretch between Toulon and Oran; a complementary joint aero-maritime surveillance, interception and assistance operation between Oran and Algiers from 13 to 16 March; and a final evaluation and de-briefing phase after disembarking in Algiers from 16 to 19 March.

The French deputy squadron admiral Yann Tainguy, prefect for the Mediterranean region, whose responsibilities include all the domains in which the state's activity at sea is concerned and the coordination of all actions and means used by administrations whose activities have sea-related components, will oversee the exercise, travelling to meet his Algerian counterparts in Algiers on 16 and 17 March. Tainguy is responsible for the rescue of people and goods, prevention and countering sea pollution, "maintaining public order at sea", hydrography and nautical information.
The means that will be made available for the exercise include a French surveillance frigate, "Germinal", with a Lynx helicopter on board, one maritime surveillance aeroplane of the Atlantique 2-type, the Toulon maritime operations centre (Centre d'Opérations Maritimes, COM) and the Toulon naval base's onland training facilities. On the Algerian side, two coastguard patrol boats, one corvette equipped with missiles, one sea rescue boat and a plastron boat, one maritime surveillance aircraft, one group of naval fusiliers and the national surveillance and rescue operational centre (Centre National Opérationnel de Surveillance et de Sauvetage, CNOSS) based in Algiers.

Sources:

Exercice algéro-français de surveillance et de sécurité maritime, Le Portail des sous-marines, 26.2.2010

Press dossier on the 2009 exercise: "Exercice Franco-Algerien Rais Hamidou 08"

El Moudjahid (Algeria), 28.2.2010

Source: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2010/mar/01france-algeria.htm

A safer life for EU citizens

2010-03-03T09:57:56+00:00

[euroalert.net] The EU's first Internal Security Strategy was adopted by the ministers for the interior on 25 February. It lays down a European security model, which integrates action on law enforcement and judicial cooperation, border management and civil protection, with due respect for shared European values, such as fundamental rights.

The new EU Internal Security Strategy sets out the main threats and challenges the EU faces. They include various types of crime, such as terrorism, organised crime, cyber-crime and even youth violence. Natural and man-made disasters, such as forest fires and energy shortages, also require cross-border preparedness and response. Another challenge is to address common phenomena that pose threats to citizens across Europe, for example road accidents.

The Strategy places a strong focus on prevention. Member states need to step up intelligence sharing, making full use of biometric and other technologies. This will serve not only to bring offenders to justice but also to forestall crime.

Prevention also means tackling the root causes and involving a wide range of actors. Cooperation will be sought, for instance, with schools, in order to prevent young people going down the criminal path. In the private sector, financial institutions can contribute to the prevention of money laundering. Civil society organisations could play a role in running public awareness campaigns.

Since internal security depends to a large extent on external security, it is necessary to work closely with the EU's neighbours and other countries as well as with international organisations.

The work of agencies, institutions and bodies is very important: a number of agencies specific to the EU have been created and these include Europol, whose main aims are to collect and exchange information and to facilitate cooperation between law-enforcement authorities in their fight against organised crime and terrorism,Eurojust, which drives coordination and increases the effectiveness of judicial authorities, and Frontex, which manages operational cooperation at the external borders.

The EU has also created the role of the Counter-Terrorism Coordinator. Other bodies and networks have also been established in the fields of training, drugs, crime prevention, corruption and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

Next steps

Following the Action Plan for the implementation of the Stockholm Programme, the Commission will adopt a Communication on the Internal Security Strategy which will include action oriented proposals. Further developing, monitoring and implementing the Internal Security Strategy must become one of the priority tasks of the Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security (COSI). Furthermore, according to the Stockholm Programme, the Commission will consider the feasibility of setting up an Internal Security Fund to promote the implementation of the Internal Security Strategy.

Source: http://euroalert.net/en/news.aspx?idn=9626

Unisys Corp.

2010-03-03T00:16:39+00:00

Eine Spinne im Netz informatisierter "Sicherheit"

von Eric Töpfer

[cilip.de] Ehemals viertgrößter Rüstungskonzern der USA, hat sich die Unisys Corporation inzwischen weltweit als einer der führenden Anbieter von Technologien für die "Homeland Security" etabliert. Ihre Geschäfte und Politik sind exemplarisch für die geballte Macht des sicherheitsindustriellen Komplexes.

Beschäftigt man sich mit den technischen Großprojekten der europäischen Polizei- und Justizzusammenarbeit, reibt man sich verwundert die Augen. Ob es um die Programmierung der Prüm-CODIS-Schnittstelle für den Abgleich der nationalen DNA-Datenbanken und ihren Draht über den Atlantik geht, um das Upgrade des Schengener Informationssystems zum SIS II und dessen "Synergien" mit dem Visa-Informationssystem, um die Entwicklung von Europols Informationssystem oder die Vernetzung der Kraftfahrzeugregister im Rahmen von EUCARIS, um die Standardisierung des Datenaustausches zwischen den nationalen Strafregistern oder um eine Vorstudie für das Critical Infrastructure Warning Network der EU[1] – ein Name ist immer dabei: Unisys. [weiter auf cilip.de]

France Urges EU to Tighten Mediterranean Borders

2010-03-02T23:29:38+00:00

By A. D. McKenzie

The European Union is studying a range of measures aimed at strengthening its external borders to deter undocumented migrants from entering via Mediterranean member states such as Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Spain.

[ipsnews.net] Following a meeting of EU immigration and interior ministers called by France late last week in Brussels, the 27-nation group wants to implement a "European police force" and bolster Frontex, the EU agency responsible for external border security, French immigration minister Eric Besson told journalists.

Meanwhile, the French human rights organisation GISTI (Group for Information and Support to Immigrants) has called for Monday, Mar. 1, to be a day without work and/or consumption, to "protest against the fate meted out to foreigners, legal or undocumented".

The group said it wants to stress its support for "equal rights between French people of all origins and foreigners or supposed foreigners." It is organising demonstrations in Paris, Nice, Marseilles and other towns under the banner "24 Hours Without Us". Many essential jobs throughout France are done by immigrants.

With the newly proposed EU measures, the French government says it wants to protect lives and to dismantle migrant-trafficking networks.

"Faced with the worsening situation in the Mediterranean, which is the scene of daily ‘irregular- immigration’ dramas, France has not ceased, since the summer of 2009, to alert the EU to the major challenges posed by the illegal migration networks in this strategic region for the Schengen Area," Besson said in an address to his counterparts in Brussels.

"People are dying every day in the Mediterranean, anonymously, victims of the cynicism and the greed of modern-day slavers," he added. "People are entering illegally every day into the Schengen Area from the Mediterranean, sometimes in a sincere search for protection, but most often without this motive."

France, a member of the Schengen zone that has dismantled its internal borders, has proposed 29 measures for the EU to consider. These include "urgent revision" of Frontex’s regulations to improve its operational capabilities, and the dismantling of migrant-trafficking networks a priority for Europol, the EU’s criminal intelligence bureau.

France would also like to see "systematic operational cooperation" between the EU and the countries from which the migrants emigrate or which they use as transit points, said the French immigration ministry.

Such cooperation would mean the repatriation of undocumented migrants, the strengthening of surveillance, the establishment of common land and sea patrols, and the collection and exchange of information, the ministry said.

Besson also proposed several joint projects with Libya and Turkey, where many migrant-trafficking networks allegedly operate. He said the measures were urgent and should be implemented without delay, preferably by the end of the year.

He first called for an EU plan of action last September after eight African migrants drowned off the coast of Morocco when their overloaded boat sank as it headed to Europe. Dozens of people have died in their attempt to reach European countries and the prospect of better lives.

Some critics, however, see the French and EU actions as further moves to fortify Europe against asylum seekers. The proposals also come ahead of French regional elections in March where right-wing politicians seem keen to benefit from anti-immigrant sentiment.

The group French Coordination for the Right to Asylum (CFDA), which comprises some 20 organisations including Amnesty International and Médecins du Monde, says that the right to asylum is being "profoundly recast" with a climate of suspicion being created around those seeking refuge.

Among industrialised countries, France ranks second after the United States in the number of asylum requests registered, with 47,000 last year, an increase of more than 10 percent from 2008, Besson said. Overall, the EU had an estimated 119,000 asylum requests in the first half of 2009, according to figures from the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency.

But developing countries are also dealing with large migratory flows, with an estimated 40 percent of all refugees based in these states, the UNHCR says. Most of these countries are ill-equipped to take care of refugees, a situation that NGOs say the EU should take into consideration.

"There should be no reason why European countries are so fearful of migrants," Dan Rosenthal, a spokesman for the transnational network No Borders, told IPS.

"They (governments) have created a connection between being a migrant and being a criminal," he said. "People should be able to go where they want to, and the money currently being spent on tightening borders, preventing immigration and detaining people could be used more wisely."

He said migrants leave their country of origin for reasons including war, official repression, poverty, climate change and a range of other reasons that are not being addressed by government officials.

Many of the undocumented migrants in France are from war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan, the two countries that accounted for most of the asylum-seekers that landed in industrialised countries last year, according to the UNHCR. Somalia, also in the grip of a civil war, was the third-largest source country of asylum seekers.

"Why is there such ‘aggression’ by the state against migrants forced to flee from wars, violence and misery?" asked the French group SoS Sans Papiers when French authorities expelled undocumented migrants from a hangar in Calais recently.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy said on television that he did not want to see migrants "arriving on rafts" or being deposited on the beaches of France by traffickers as has happened in the Mediterranean.

Source: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50491

Interaktive Karte liefert Infos über Notlager in Haiti (AFP via Yahoo! Nachrichten)

2010-03-02T16:50:00+00:00

Die nach dem verheerenden Erdbeben in Haiti tätigen Hilfsorganisationen können über eine interaktive Karte des Internetriesen Google nun sämtliche Lager mit Obdachlosen in dem Katastrophengebiet finden.

Nachbericht zum Rat der Justiz- und Innenminister am 25./26. Februar in Brüssel

2010-03-02T13:35:07+00:00

Am ersten Tag des Rates, bei dem die Innenthemen behandelt wurden, wurde die
deutsche Delegation durch BM Dr. de Maizière bzw. am Nachmittag durch PSt Dr.
Schröder geleitet. Die Tagesordnung umfasste folgende Punkte für den Bereich Inneres:

Vorstellung der neuen Innenkommissarin Cecilia Malmström
Kommissarin Malmström gab einen Überblick über die Prioritäten der KOM für den JI-Bereich. Hierzu gehören im Innenbereich insbesondere:
• die Entwicklung eines Gemeinsamen Asylsystems, dessen Erfolg von einer größeren Gesetzgebungsharmonisierung abhänge,
• die Entwicklung eines einheitlichen europäischen Raums des Schutzes im Einklang mit der Genfer Konvention,
• die Förderung legaler Migration, wobei die Mitgliedstaaten die Sektoren und den Bedarf selbst festlegen müssten,
• die Bekämpfung der illegalen Migration,
• die Beseitigung von Integrationsbarrieren,
• eine humane Rückführungspolitik in enger Zusammenarbeit mit den Herkunfts- und Transitländern,
• die baldige Vorlage eines EU-PNR-Vorschlags,
• eine Bestandsaufnahme zur Umsetzung der EU-Terrorismusbekämpfungsstrategie,
• die Vorlage einer umfassenden Sicherheitsstrategie im Herbst 2010 (darin u.a. Verbesserung der polizeilichen Zusammenarbeit, des Schutzes der Außengrenzen, Lastenteilung beim Katastrophenschutz),
• die baldige Vorlage eines Aktionsplans zum Stockholmer Programm.

Download: http://euro-police.noblogs.org/gallery/3874/100225_Nachbericht_JI_Rat.pdf

Source: Internet

BAE Systems awarded EU contract to develop organised crime database

2010-03-02T13:04:11+00:00

Fresh from agreeing a Transatlantic government pay-off to end bribery and corruption investigations, it has emerged that BAE systems has been awarded a €2.3 million contract to develop a “Strategic crime and immigration information management system” (SCIIMS) for the European Union.

[neoconopticon.wordpress.com] The contract has been awarded by the European Commission under the €1.4 billion EU Security Research Programme (ESRP), part of the ‘FP7‘ framework programme 2007-2013. The ESRP has been dominated by defence and IT contractors keen to diversify into the highly lucrative ‘Homeland Security’ market.

The EU contract tasks the SCIIMS consortium with developing:

“new capabilities improve the ability to search, mine, and fuse information from National, trans-national, private and other sources, to discover trends and patterns for increasing shared situational awareness and improving decision making, within a secure infrastructure to facilitate the combating of organized crime and in particular people trafficking to enhance the security of citizens”

Essentially an international police intelligence system for use by European and national agencies responsible for combating trafficking in human beings and organised crime (including EUROPOL and FRONTEX), SCIIMS represents the further outsourcing of EU policy to private contractors under the ESRP.

The stated objectives of the project are to develop “a secure information infrastructure in accordance with EU Crime and Immigration Agencies information needs” along with “tools to assist in decision making in order to predict, analyze and intervene with likely people trafficking and smuggling sources, events, and links to organized crime”.

The use of controversial information technologies such as data mining, profiling and predictive modelling are explicitly mandated by the EU contract, in spite of widespread concerns about their legality and effectiveness. Both the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights have recently called on governments to regulate and limit the use of these kind of technologies.

SCIIMS will mine “large data sets” in the hope of producing useful intelligence for state agents. This could include EU databases such as the EUROPOL and Schengen Information Systems, as well as national police and immigration databases in the member states. Unless these practices are regulated by national or international law, they will almost certainly be unlawful. Yet there is no mention whatsoever of data protection within the EU-BAE contract.

The SCIIMS project is coordinated by BAE Systems’ Integrated Systems Technologies Ltd. UK. BAE’s partners in the SCIIMS consortium are:

Elsag Datamat S.P.A., Italy (a Finmeccanica company)
Indra Sistemas S.A., Spain
Denodo Technologies SL, Spain
Universidade da Coruna, Spain
Columba Global Systems Ltd. (Ireland)
The Computer and Automation Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Source: http://neoconopticon.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/bae-sciims-project/

Bremen will mehr Sicherheit auf See

2010-03-02T13:01:44+00:00

Unternehmen gründen maritimes Kompetenznetzwerk

Von Krischan Förster

[weser-kurier.de] Bremen. Jedes der fünf Bremer Unternehmen für sich ist längst erfolgreich und auf dem jeweiligen Sektor Weltspitze. Auf, am oder unter dem Wasser, in der Luft und sogar im All. Künftig wollen sie gemeinsam auf den Meeren aktiv werden: Gestern wurde unter Regie der Wirtschaftsbehörde ein Vertrag über die Gründung des neuen Netzwerks (Clusters) 'Maritime Sicherheit' unterzeichnet.

Es ist ein schlagkräftiges Bündnis, das sich da formiert: die Raumfahrtunternehmen OHB und EADS Astrium, die Rüstungsfirmen Rheinmetall und Atlas Elektronik, die Reederei 'Beluga Shipping' sowie als Koordinierungsstellen das Zentrum für Kommunikation, Erdbeobachtung und Navigationsdienste (CEON) und die Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen (WFB). Sie sollen ihre Kompetenzen bündeln, mit Raumfahrt und maritimer Wirtschaft zwei ausgewiesene Stärken Bremens zusammenbringen und vom Start weg gleich im weltweiten Vergleich den Takt vorgeben. 'Wir wollen hier Europas führendes Kompetenzzentrum aufbauen', sagte gestern Wirtschaftsstaatsrat Heiner Heseler.

Beim Thema 'Containerüberwachung' ist das bereits gelungen. Das von einem Konsortium aus EADS Astrium, Hellmann und Eurogate entwickelte Überwachungssystem 'SecureSystem' ist bislang konkurrenzlos, es soll sich als Alternative zu dem von den USA geforderten lückenlosen Scannen aller Seecontainer entwickeln und gutes Geld in die Kassen bringen.

Diesem Einzelprojekt sollen möglichst viele weitere folgen. Bereits definiert wurden als zentrale Themen Hafen- und Verkehrssicherheit, Logistik, Umwelt, Schiffssicherheit und Ressourcensicherheit, jeweils eines der beteiligten Unternehmen soll dabei die Führung übernehmen. Der Fantasie sind zunächst keine Grenzen gesetzt. Neben diversen Überwachungs- und Kommunikationssatelliten im All könnten künftig auch unbemannte Flugzeuge über der deutschen Bucht kreisen oder autonome Unterwasserfahrzeuge durch die Nordsee patrouillieren. Ausgestattet mit hoch sensiblen Sensoren oder Kameras, vernetzt mit Sicherheitsanlagen an Land und auf Schiffen. Klingt wie eine Utopie, ist es aber nicht. Denn die Einzelkomponenten sind längst entwickelt.

Allerdings haben die Firmen bislang eher selten miteinander, viel häufiger dagegen in Konkurrenz zueinander gearbeitet. Wie zuletzt das Ringen von OHB und Astrium um den Zuschlag für die Galileo-Satelliten gezeigt hat. Künftig sollen sie zum beiderseitigen Wohl gemeinsame Sache machen und ihr Knowhow mit dem der anderen Partner verschmelzen. Mit der Schwergutreederei Beluga, um Schiffe auf dem Meer schneller und besser orten zu können. Das könnte im Kampf gegen die am Horn von Afrika grassierende Piraterie helfen, hieß es gestern. Oder mit Atlas oder Rheinmetall, um zum Beispiel für die gesamte Deutsche Bucht über und unter Wasser ein umfassendes Überwachungssystem zu entwickeln, das nicht nur dem Anti-Terror-Kampf oder der besseren Verfolgung von Warenströmen dienen könnte. Fortgeschrittenste Technologie mache es auch möglich, sagte OHB-Vorstand Fritz Merkle, selbst kleinste Meeresverschmutzungen zu entdecken und somit die Umwelt effektiver schützen zu können.

Es steckt aber noch mehr hinter dem Netzwerk-Gedanken: Gemeinsam soll es besser gelingen, spartenübergreifend innovative Konzepte und anwendungsreife Technologien zu entwickeln. Dafür dürften beim Bund und bei der EU auch mehr Forschungsmittel zu bekommen sein. 'Wenn sich künftig auf diesem Gebiet etwas bewegt, wollen wir ganz vorn mit dabei sein', sagt CEON-Chef Stephan Holsten.

Source: http://www.weser-kurier.de/Artikel/Bremen/Wirtschaft/122851/Bremen+will+mehr+Sicherheit+auf+See.html

02.03.2010 - DJ PNR /WatchGuard stellt zur CeBIT neue XTM 2 und XTM 5 Serie vor (4investors)

2010-03-02T09:30:37+00:00

Das WatchGuard-Portfolio hat Zuwachs bekommen: Pünktlich zur CeBIT präsentiert der Netzwerksicherheitsspezialist mit XTM 2 und XTM 5 seine neuesten Sicherheits-Appliances im Bereich Extensible Threat Management.

PNR /WatchGuard stellt zur CeBIT neue XTM 2 und XTM 5 Serie vor (Finanzen.net)

2010-03-02T09:26:45+00:00

IT-Sicherheit ist keine Frage der Unternehmensgröße Das WatchGuard-Portfolio hat Zuwachs bekommen: Pünktlich zur CeBIT präsentiert der Netzwerksicherheitsspezialist mit XTM 2 und XTM 5 seine neuesten Sicherheits-Appliances im Bereich Extensible Threat ...

DJ PNR /WatchGuard stellt zur CeBIT neue XTM 2 und . (Stock World)

2010-03-02T09:25:20+00:00

Documents, documents

2010-03-02T00:25:04+00:00

So the Commission proposed an amendment to the Frontex regulation. Here are the official documents: COM(2010) 61 final: Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 establishing a European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union [...]

Investitionsprogramme: Deutsche Konjunkturpakete bewirken nur wenig (Die Welt)

2010-03-01T17:14:06+00:00

Die Konjunkturpakete der Bundesregierung haben nur einen geringen Teil dazu beigetragen, dass die Wirtschaft 2009 nicht noch tiefer abgestürzt ist. Dies haben Banker der UniCredit ausgerechnet. Demnach haben vor allem Entlastungen für die Konsumenten gewirkt. Die immerhin kauften ordentlich ein: zum Beispiel neue Autos.

Military Technology to Track Down Migrants?

2010-02-27T14:28:44+00:00

By David Cronin

Arms manufacturers have been asked to advise an official European Union (EU) body on how their products can be used to stop asylum seekers entering the bloc’s territory.

[ipsnews.net] Frontex, the EU’s border management agency, will host an event in Spain this coming June at which several makers of pilotless drones - or unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) - will give presentations.

Although these camera-carrying planes have been designed for war and have been used extensively in attacks on civilians in Palestine, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the agency is studying how they can be adapted for border surveillance.

A Frontex source said that none of these drones has been used in its work to date but that it is examining what "added value" they can bring to tasks performed by the coast guards of EU member countries. "Special attention" is being paid to drones as they could be capable of monitoring vessels at sea for longer periods than the equipment now in use by coast guards, according to the source.

Frontex is one of many bodies in Europe eager to use drones for security purposes. Earlier this month, the Merseyside police in England sought credit for the first known use of a drone to arrest a suspected criminal. Yet the affair turned into a controversy, when it emerged that the police did not have a licence to use these planes.

Amnesty International said this week it would be concerned if surveillance technology helped Frontex to erode the right to have asylum applications processed in Europe. "Is this being used to fulfil human rights obligations?" Nicolas Beger, director of Amnesty’s Brussels office, told IPS. "If it isn’t, that’s a problem."

The EU’s executive, the European Commission, published a plan to strengthen Frontex Feb. 24. Under it, EU governments would be required to ensure that boats and planes are at the agency’s disposal. Frontex, which has mainly performed a coordinating role between national border management authorities of EU states since its inception in 2005, would gradually be able to buy or lease its own equipment.

Cecilia Malmström, the EU’s recently appointed home affairs commissioner, said that migrants are "not criminals" but "people coming in search of a better life". Asked why technology invented for military purposes is being tested for migration control work, she insisted that "there has been absolutely no decision" on using drones for those purposes.

She also stated that "fundamental rights must not be infringed" by Frontex and announced that an independent monitor will be present when the agency is assisting with the expulsion of rejected asylum seekers. "I don’t exclude at all that there have been errors committed [by Frontex in the past]," she added.

In June last year, Frontex coordinated Operation Nautilus, in which a boat carrying an estimated 75 migrants was intercepted off the Italian coast. Using a German Puma helicopter, the operation was the first of its kind in which Frontex succeeded in forcing migrants from the central Mediterranean Sea back to Libya.

Human rights organisations criticised Frontex over this operation, contending that it was unable to give guarantees that the Libyan authorities had allowed people on that vessel the possibility to apply for asylum. Under international law, all individuals are entitled to seek protection from persecution in a country other than their own.

Bjarte Vandvik from the European Council on Refugees and Exile, a network of organisations working with asylum seekers, said that the research on drones highlighted how Europe’s debate on migration issues is being determined by a "security approach".

"We can’t accept that people are being sent back to possible torture or death without even being given an opportunity to have their claims dealt with," he said. "People are being turned away from the borders of Europe today without being screened one way or another to see if they are here looking for protection or here looking for employment and a better life, which is not a crime either."

Despite impressions conveyed by some politicians that the EU is "swamped" with more asylum seekers than it can afford to accommodate, asylum applications have fallen sharply in the past two decades. When the Union had just 12 member states in 1992, it registered 550,000 asylum claims. Yet in 2008, the number for the EU – which now comprises 27 countries – was 238,000, while provisional data indicates that the number fell to about 223,000 last year.

Amnesty’s Beger said there has been "a lot of myths and scaremongering" about migration in Europe. There is a "very stark absence," he argued, of any recognition that asylum seekers and other migrants are human beings.

Because the EU’s policy "disproportionately aims at returning people", rather than upholding the right to asylum, migrants are undertaking ever more hazardous journeys in their attempts to enter Europe,'' Beger said.

Alfredo Abad from the Spanish Commission for Refugees accused the EU of "big hypocrisy" in setting out to build a common system of asylum in recent years, while simultaneously preventing refugees from arriving here.

Source: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50459

Wegezoll für Flüchtlinge ist rechtswidrig

2010-02-26T22:40:26+00:00

Gericht kippt Verwaltungsgebühr für »Urlaubsschein«

Von Marina Mai, Neues Deutschland, 27.02.2010

Komi E. hat sich erfolgreich gegen eine Gebühr für Asylbewerber von zehn Euro zur Ausstellung einer Erlaubnis, den Saalekreis zu verlassen, gewehrt.

Das Verwaltungsgericht Halle hat am Freitag die Erhebung von Verwaltungsgebühren für die Erstellung eines »Urlaubsscheines« an Asylbewerber für rechtswidrig erklärt. »Wir haben festgestellt, dass es für solche Gebühren keine gesetzliche Grundlage gibt«, sagt Gerichtssprecher Volker Albrecht gegenüber ND.

Fokus Europa | 26.02.2010 | 15:15 (Deutsche Welle)

2010-02-26T15:38:28+00:00

Suche nach Datenschutzabkommen mit der USA +++ Bessere Ausstattung für EU-Grenzschutzbehörde Frontex +++ Langsame Erholung in der EU von Wirtschaftskrise +++

Frattini: "Griechische Krise ist Glaubwürdigkeitstest für Euro-Länder" (Euronews)

2010-02-26T08:40:48+00:00

Die Finanzkrise hat Griechenland schwer getroffen. Nun gilt das Land als schlimmster Schuldensünder der Euro-Zone und muss eisern sparen, will es aus den Schwierigkeiten wieder herausfinden.

The Freiburg Programme

2010-02-25T22:40:08+00:00

A five year plan on deviant behaviour, creating a European space of freedom, anti-capitalism and rebellion

deutsch: http://outofcontrol.noblogs.org/post/2010/02/26/freiburg-programm
serbian: http://outofcontrol.noblogs.org/post/2010/02/26/frajburski-program

The European wide network „out of control“ was created in 2009 with the purpose of a cross-border collaboration of activists against a European security architecture. We are comprised of a wide range of activists throughout Europe, that all have in common their will to bring out a clearer overview of the European security and control architecture. We are certain that we can move on from understanding and analysing, towards structuring and organising resistance.

We focus on police collaboration and databases, policing crowds at large events such as summit protests, the security industry and security research as well as EU-wide treaties which endanger civil liberties all over the world.
We notice that there is no European wide response towards the border-crossing repression of the EU while it evolves into a state with its own powers. Struggles are taking place in some EU member states in sub-areas like data retention or of course against the EU migration regime and the Frontex agency. Further on, we also notice the lack of a common understanding of the construction of the security architecture and its European architects.

As a first step, we want to exchange experience, knowledge and information to have a clearer collective and common idea of the European security architecture. In a second step we want to establish common and convergent actions and campaigns. We are not suggesting to single out one of the numerous struggles against the European security state as a priority. But we want to ask ourselves collectively how we can struggle together to arrive at effective practices against this new security order. We are not naive. We know that it will take a lot of time of synthesising, understanding and commitment. We are looking at this project as a long term process. We are sure, that the cross-border repression organised on EU-level must be countered by cross-border solidarity and action.

After a constituting meeting in summer 2009, we came together in autumn to a broader assembly in Freiburg with participants from a handful of countries in the EU. Our first step was to analyse the means that changed the landscape of European security collaboration. We looked at technical tools such as border control sensors, biometrics, video surveillance, police usage of satellite data, flying cameras, non-lethal weapons, investigation software, “predictive analysis” and databases like the Visum Information System VIS, the Schengen Information System SIS or the fingerprint database EURODAC.

Thereupon we reviewed European level actors, such as the European Commission, its agencies Frontex, Europol and the European Gendarmerie Force EUROGENDFOR, and looked at strategies like the „Stockholm Programme“, the Lisbon Treaty, the scheduled „internal security strategy“ and the merging of police, military and intelligence. Further on, we also focused on various European companies that provide this apparatus with ever new technical gadgets.
Hereafter we discussed the radical changes which accompany the merging of internal and external security and its forces, shifting towards a database society, whilst also pushing the will to enhance surveillance and improve control by technical means.

The final session of our meeting had the aim to decide on future networking and action. We did not yet focus on concrete plans, but agreed on a long-term analysis and collaboration in various forms of protest and resistance. The idea of the five year “Freiburg Programme” was born.
Decisions on a European level need some time for their national implementation in the 27 member states, we want to be prepared and launch actions as early as possible. One of the the protests we were involved in was during the resistance against the NATO summit in Strasbourg, where we organised the action day against the European security architecture with a „PaRaDe SoLiDaIre CoNtRe Le CiRqUe SeCuRiTaIrE“. Some of us will participate in the No Border Camp in Brussels, which is scheduled for October 2010 during the Belgian EU presidency.
We plunged into several working groups dealing with our internal organisation, outreach and actions. We are communicating via a social network for radical activists (see https://we.riseup.net). We have decided to meet again in 2010. The date is yet unclear, keep an eye out.

In order not to get too depressed by dealing with cross-border repression, we decided to create a new Blog collecting calls and actions that target European security architectures.
Find more on http://outofcontrol.noblogs.org.

Network „out of control“

outofcontrol@riseup.net

Der Umgang mit Strömen (Neues Deutschland)

2010-02-25T20:39:38+00:00

Gestern haben die EU-Innenminister mal wieder versucht, einen Damm zu bauen, um den – wie es heißt – wachsenden Flüchtlingsströmen zu wehren. Die Grenzschutzagentur FRONTEX soll weiter ausgebaut werden. Man kennt das ja: Boote stoppen und zur Umkehr zwingen – zumeist ins menschliche Nichts.

Tanger, 16. Februar 2010 von Helena Maleno

2010-02-25T20:03:59+00:00

Stell Dir vor, dass Du am letzten Sonntag in einem öffentlichen, marokkanischen Krankenhaus entbunden hast. Ein prächtiger Junge.
Stell Dir vor, dass Du am folgenden Tag entlassen wurdest, Montag.
Stell Dir vor, dass Du nach hause zurückgekehrt bist, müde, mit nachgeburtlichen Blutungen, noch mit Schmerzen in der Gebärmutter, die darum kämpft in ihre alte Lage zurückzukehren.
Stell Dir vor, dass Dich zu hause Deine Tochter, die 2 Jahre und 2 Monate alt ist und Dein Partner erwarten.
Stell Dir vor, dass während Du heute morgen das Baby badetest schon gesehen hast, dass es Schwierigkeiten hatte zu atmen.
Stell Dir vor, dass Du zum öffentlichen, marokkanischen Krankenhaus eiltest.
Stell Dir vor, dass man Dir sagte, dass man Dich nicht behandeln könnte.
Stell Dir vor, dass Du zweimal hingingst.
Stell Dir vor, dass beim dritten Mal Dein Baby zu atmen aufhörte fast vor dem Eingang des Krankenhauses.
Stell Dir vor, dass Du um Hilfe für Dein totes Baby batest
Stell Dir vor, dass sie es in die Leichenhalle des Krankenhauses trugen.
Stell Dir vor, dass man Dich, Deine Tochter von 2 Jahren und 2 Monaten und Deinen Partner zur Polizeiwache brachte.

Jetzt stell Dir vor, dass du dich vor Schmerzen in den Eingeweiden krümmst, der bittere Schmerz über den Tod Deines Sohnes, der Schmerz einer Gebärmutter, die Dich daran erinnert, dass Du gerade ein Kind zur Welt gebracht hast, der Schmerz der Milch, die Dir in die Brüste schießt, die hart wie Steine sind. Aber jetzt stell Dir vor, du bist schwarz, stell dir vor, Du bist Afrikanerin, stell Dir vor, Du bist arm und stell Dir vor, dass du keine Papiere hast.
Du sitzt, gebeugt über Deinen Bauch in diesem schmutzigen Polizeirevier, wo sie kommen und gehen und in einer Sprache mit Dir sprechen, die Du nicht verstehst. Dort sehe ich Dich und versuche die Fragen zu übersetzen, die mir dumm, grausam und inhuman erscheinen.
Sie wollen wissen, was ihr in ihrem Land macht, wie ihr eingereist seid und wie lange ihr schon da seid. Sie wollen wissen, wie ihr heißt, wie Eure Eltern heißen und warum ihr gekommen seid. Dein Partner fleht und bittet um Mitleid. Er weiß, dass alle Fragen darauf ausgerichtet sind, eine Abschiebung in die Wüste zu rechtfertigen. Dein Partner fleht und er beruhigt Dich, indem er Dich „Süße“ nennt. Deine Kleine lächelt, spielt mit ihrer Mütze und singt „Halleluja“.
Die Polizei holt einen arabisch/englisch Übersetzer, um das Schriftstück zu machen und Euch zum Gericht zu bringen
Du sagst mir, dass - wenn sie Dich in die Wüste abschieben, sie Dich dort vergewaltigen werden und dass Du glaubst, dass Du den Schmerz nicht aushalten wirst, da Du gerade entbunden hast.
Ein Polizist nähert sich mir und fragt mich: “Warum macht Ihr das? Aus Spaß?“ Dieser nette Polizist nennt „das“ – Eltern zu begleiten, die in ihrem Schmerz versunken sind, etwas zu essen zu kaufen für die Kleine, die den ganzen Tag ohne einen Bissen verbracht hat und zu versuchen etwas Menschlichkeit oder zumindest eine gute Behandlung in dieses verfluchte Revier hineinzubringen.
Dann sehe ich ihn an, seine Gleichgültigkeit entsetzt mich und ich antworte ihm, dass wir es aus Liebe tun. Ich sehe in ihm diejenigen, die essen, scheißen und den Polizisten machen um weiter essen und scheißen zu können. Es tut mir leid.
Sie behalten Deinen Partner im Polizeirevier und erzählen mir, dass Du als humanitärer Fall zu hause schlafen darfst. Morgen musst Du zusammen mit Deinem Mann zum Gericht gehen.
Du verlierst die Fassung. Es ist das erste mal, dass ich Dich sehe, wie Du diesen Bauch presst, der Dich schmerzt. Du schreist und weinst bis Dich ein Polizist auffordert aufzuhören.
Ich halte diese Szene nicht mehr aus und bitte darum zu verstehen, dass Dein Kind heute gestorben ist, dass Du soeben eine Entbindung hinter Dir hast, dass Dir Dein Innerstes wehtut.
Er antwortet mir mit Verachtung, dass es in diesem Land Gesetze gibt, dass man hier das macht, was der Staatsanwalt sagt und dass Du eine schwarze Illegale bist.
Morgen werden wir zum Gericht gehen, morgen wird ein Staatsbediensteter entscheiden, ob sie Dich und Dein Kind in der Morgendämmerung in die Wüste hinauswerfen. Von da ab entscheidet das Glück, ob Du vergewaltigst wirst, ob Deine Tochter entführt oder auch missbraucht wird.

Stell Dir vor, dass Dir das alles heute passiert ist.
Stell Dir vor, dass uns Frauen ihr Innerstes weh tut
Stell Dir vor, dass uns allen unser Innerstes weh tut

Source: email

EU will Zusammenarbeit für innere Sicherheit verbessern (AFP via Yahoo! Nachrichten)

2010-02-25T13:12:00+00:00

Die EU will beim Kampf gegen illegale Einwanderung, Terrorismus und organisiertes Verbrechen stärker kooperieren.

EU will rasch neue Verhandlungen mit USA über Bankdatenabkommen (AFP via Yahoo! Nachrichten)

2010-02-25T10:37:00+00:00

Die spanische EU-Ratspräsidentschaft hat sich für rasche Verhandlungen mit den USA über ein neues Bankdatenabkommen ausgesprochen.

"Interne Sicherheitsstrategie" der EU soll nachhaltig werden

2010-02-24T18:14:29+00:00

Matthias Monroy

Morgen treffen sich die Innen- und Justizminister der 27 EU-Mitgliedsstaaten zur zweitägigen Ratssitzung in Brüssel

[heise.de] Ganz oben auf der Agenda steht die eilige Verabschiedung der "Internen Sicherheitsstrategie für die EU", deren Ausformulierung im Stockholmer Programm festgeschrieben wurde. Die spanische EU-Präsidentschaft hat einen überarbeiteten Entwurf vorgelegt, in dem von "nachhaltiger innerer Sicherheit" die Rede ist.

Fraglich ist, wozu die EU nach dem "Stockholmer Programm" ein weiteres Manifest zur "inneren Sicherheit" benötigt. Die "Sicherheitsstrategie" sei als "politisches Dokument gedacht", schreibt hierzu die deutsche Delegation in Brüssel an den Innenausschuß des Bundestages. (weiter auf heise.de)

Commission wants to strengthen Frontex

2010-02-24T17:26:22+00:00

Today, February 24 2010, the European Commission through its Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, has proposed a new Regulation to strengthen Frontex.

[frontex.antira.info] While the full text of the COM is not yet available, the press conference, as well as some articles that have already appeared, allow to glean what is to come.

1. Operations: There is supposed to be a “revised mechanism” to make Frontex operations stronger. The problem seems to be that Member States pledge to support operations with resources and staff, but don’t follow up, at times leaving operations with the resources and staff of the hosting country. Now, Frontex is supposed to announce a year beforehand what operations it is going to run. Member States than “signalise” what they are willing to contribute, and will then be bound by their pledge. Also, Frontex will be allowed to “gradually” lease material given the need. There will be no budget raise (at 80 M€ so far) in this budget term, so money will need to come from the current budget.

2. Coordination: Coordination remains the mandate for Frontex, this will not be changed. Frontex is supposed to be strengthened however (it was that vague at the presse conference) and is also supposed to be strengthened on the evaluation of operations. Member States should also be forced to provide more information for risk analysis.

3. Third Countries: Frontex should be allowed to supply “technical assistance” to Third Countries and to also station liaison officers there.

4. Fundamental rights: Deportation flights are supposed to respect fundamental human rights and should also be monitored by an NGO representative (eg Red Cross). This is supposed to function through an “obligatory code of conduct”. Frontex is also supposed to continue its training of national border guards on fundamental human rights and international law, e.g. the law of non-refoulement. Frontex is also supposed to work closely with the new Asylum support office in Malta and the EU Human Rights agency in Vienna.

Several journalists asked if this meant that Frontex had before indeed violated human rights. Ms Malmström said, this was before her time, but later acknowledged that there might have been incidents: “There have been errors”.

The proposal will be submitted to the Council and the Parliament. Ms Malmsträm also stated that she would make more proposals in due time on asylum, possibilities of legal migration and the “fight against illegal migration”, asking for a “coherent and holistic view on migration and asylum in the EU”.

Further clues: One journalist wanted to know if the EU was negotiating with Libya on migration. Ms Malmström denied that.

Ms Malmström hinted that Frontex might be coordinating even more deportation flights (31 in 2009 with about 1.500 people deported).

Mr Barrot, Ms Malmström’s predecessor, started negotiating a cooperation treaty between Frontex and Turkey. There are regular contacts, and Ms Malmström seemed content that there would be a treaty.

On the Regional Frontex Office in Piraeus, Greece. Ms Malmström stated it was pilot project, to “reinforce what was already in the region”. It would certainly be linked to the Greek authorities and should be “up and running soon”. If it turns out to be successful, setting up more such offices is considered.

Information sharing between Frontex and other EU Agencies such as Europol, Sitcen etc. This is not in the proposal although it was identified as a problem. Ms Malmström will propose a general revision (read: liberalisation) of data sharing mechanisms in the EU.

Will Frontex have its own border guards? “It could be possible to have a pool of […] human resources”, but Frontex will certainly not be a European Border Guard, that is not its function.

On Malta’s refusal to participate in operations if migrants detained will be brought to the host country instead of the nearest port. Ms Malmström stated that the law of the sea gives indications how this is to be handled, and that the mechanism would be set up beforehand.

Questioned why Frontex is researching the use of UAVs/drones in border control, although these techs are developed for war, Ms Malmström stated that they are not being used, that there is research, but there has not been any decision yet.

This post will be updated as we go along, so stay tuned.

Source: http://frontex.antira.info/2010/02/24/commission-wants-to-strengthen-frontex/

Commission wants to strengthen Frontex

2010-02-24T15:38:12+00:00

Today, February 24 2010, the European Commission through its Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, has proposed a new Regulation to strengthen Frontex. While the full text of the COM is not yet available, the press conference, as well as some articles that have already appeared, allow to glean what is to come. 1. Operations: There is [...]

EU verstärkt Kampf gegen illegale Flüchtlinge (Giessener Allgemeine Zeitung)

2010-02-24T15:37:26+00:00

Brüssel (dpa) - Die Europäische Union rüstet im Kampf gegen die illegale Einwanderung auf. Beim Grenzschutz soll künftig die EU-Agentur Frontex den Einsatz der Polizisten planen und auf Boote und Helikopter der 27 Mitgliedsstaaten zugreifen können.

Widerstandsmöglichkeiten gegen die Residenzpflicht

2010-02-23T23:58:45+00:00

Veranstaltung der Initiative gegen das Chipkarten-System Berlin

Montag, 15. März 2010
19:00 Uhr
BAIZ
Christinenstr. 1
Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg

AktivistInnen von Flüchtlingsorganisationen und antirassistische Gruppen berichten von Kämpfen gegen die Residenzpflicht und diskutieren über Möglichkeiten, sie ein für alle Mal abzuschaffen!

Grenzschutz: Brüssel will mehr Macht für Frontex (diepresse.com)

2010-02-23T21:08:17+00:00

Die EU-Grenzschutzagentur Frontex hat mehr als 100 Schiffe in ihrem Register. Sie soll laut Vorschlag der Kommission Flüchtlinge auf die 27 Staaten verteilen und die Mitgliedstaaten für Versäumnisse kritisieren dürfen.

Keine Reisefreiheit für Flüchtlinge

2010-02-22T18:55:25+00:00

Residenzpflicht wird nicht aufgehoben

Flüchtlinge dürfen Berlin weiterhin nur mit Genehmigung verlassen, Innensenator Ehrhart Körting (SPD) verzögert die geplante Aufhebung der Residenzpflicht. Flüchtlingsrat und Experten sind verärgert.

VON SEBASTIAN KEMPKENS, taz vom 22.02.2010

Innensenator Ehrhart Körting (SPD) zögert weiterhin, die Residenzpflicht für Flüchtlinge aufzuheben. Bei einer Anhörung im Innenausschuss des Abgeordnetenhauses am Montag bekräftigte Körting zwar seinen politischen Willen, die umstrittene Reisebeschränkung aufzuheben; aus Angst vor juristischen Einwänden zögert er aber bei der Durchführung. Flüchtlingsräte und Opposition kritisierten das “bürokratische Versteckspiel” des Senators.

Anhörung zur Residenzpflicht im Berliner Abgeordnetenhaus

2010-02-22T16:19:00+00:00

Sachverständige: Die Residenzpflicht muss weg

Pressemitteilung des Flüchtlingsrats Berlin

Bei der heutigen Anhörung im Abgeordnetenhaus ließen die Sachverständigen Beate Selders, Rolf Stahmann und Georg Classen keine Zweifel daran, dass die Residenzpflicht einem staatlich verordneten Integrationsverbot gleichkommt und umgehend abgeschafft werden muss. Rechtliche Möglichkeiten dafür gibt es bereits.

Rechtsanwalt Rolf Stahmann erläuterte, dass mit Hilfe einer Verwaltungsvereinbarung eine Zusammenlegung Berlins und Brandenburgs zu einem gemeinsamen Residenzpflichtbereich möglich ist.

Georg Classen vom Berliner Flüchtlingsrat: “Schon jetzt ist eine erhebliche Erleichterung für die Betroffenen möglich wäre, wenn die Ausländerbehörden ihre Ermessensspielräume voll ausschöpfen würden.” Er fordert eine großzügigere Praxis der “Urlaubsscheine” für Geduldete und Asylsuchende. Die Ausländerbehörden könnten beispielsweise bei der regulären Verlängerung der Aufenthaltspapiere generelle Verlassenserlaubnisse erteilen, die genauso lange wie der Aufenthaltstitel gültig seien. Brandenburg kann zudem sofort auf die Beschränkung der Bewegungsfreiheit auf den Landkreis verzichten und den Residenzpflichtbereich auf das gesamte Bundesland ausweiten.

Der Flüchtlingsrat Berlin fordert den Senat von Berlin auf, schnell konkrete Schritte im Sinne der betroffenen Flüchtlinge einzuleiten. Die Verhandlungen mit dem Land Brandenburg über die Zusammenlegung zu einem gemeinsamen Residenzpflichtbereich dürfen nicht durch unnötige Prüfaufträge auf den Sankt Nimmerleinstag aufgeschoben werden!

Zudem sollen die Länder Berlin und Brandenburg die heute von Innensenator Körting in Aussicht gestellte gemeinsame Bundesratsinitiative zur Aufhebung der Residenzpflicht für asylsuchende und geduldete Flüchtlinge baldmöglichst einbringen.

Download Stellungnahme Flüchtlingsrat Berlin
Download Stellungnahme Beate Selders

Stellungnahme von Beate Selders

2010-02-22T16:18:42+00:00

Stellungnahme zur Anhörung im Innenauschuss des Berliner Abgeordnetenhauses am 22.02.2010

Download Stellungnahme

Stellungnahme des Berliner Flüchtlingsrats

2010-02-22T16:17:52+00:00

Georg Classen: Residenzpflicht macht krank

Stellungnahme zur Anhörung im Innenausschuss des Berliner Abgeordnetenhauses am 22.02.2010

Aus der Stellungnahme:

Die Residenzpflicht für asylsuchende, geduldete und bleibeberechtigte Ausländer ist integrationspolitisch kontraproduktiv. Sie führt zur Kriminalisierung der Betroffenen, zur Belastung von Polizei und Justiz mit Bagatelldelikten, sowie zu Mehrkosten für die Sozialleistungsträger. Eine selbstbestimmte Lebensgestaltung wird durch die Residenzpflicht im Zusammenwirken mit den weiteren ausländer- asyl- und sozialrechtlichen Restriktionen für Asylsuchende und Geduldete in allen Bereichen (Wohnen, Ausbildung, Spracherwerb, Arbeit, Essen, Kleidung, Gesundheit, Familie, Sozialkontakte) über vielen Jahre hinweg umfassend verhindert. Die Betroffenen werden auf Dauer depressiv und psychisch und physisch krank, bis hin zur Erwerbsunfähigkeit.

Download Stellungnahme

Ministerin greift wieder Google an (Pocketbrain.de)

2010-02-21T09:12:09+00:00

Zwei Wochen nach ihrer ersten Kritik an Google legt Verbraucherschutz-Ministerin Ilse Aigner nun nach. Nach Google Street View nahm sie sich jetzt Google Buzz vor. Dies meldet das Magazin Focus vorab online.

Anhörung zur Residenzpflicht im Abgeordnetenhaus von Berlin

2010-02-18T13:29:30+00:00

Gemeinsame Pressemitteilung der Flüchtlingsräte Berlin und Brandenburg am 18. Februar 2010

Einladung zum Pressegespräch

Flüchtlingsräte: Bewegungsfreiheit zwischen Berlin und Brandenburg jetzt verwirklichen!

Im Innenausschuss des Berliner Abgeordnetenhauses findet am 22. Februar, 10 Uhr eine Anhörung über die räumliche Beschränkung für Asylsuchende und Geduldete statt. Nach dieser in Europa einmaligen asyl- und aufenthaltsrechtlichen Regelung dürfen Asylsuchende und Geduldete ohne Erlaubnis ihren Landkreis bzw. das Bundesland nicht verlassen. Tun sie es doch, drohen ihnen Geld- oder Haftstrafen. In Berlin als dem räumlichen, sozialen und kulturellen Mittelpunkt Brandenburgs betrifft dies insbesondere Asylsuchende und Geduldete aus Brandenburg, die in Zügen, auf Bahnhöfen oder öffentlichen Plätzen von der Polizei kontrolliert werden.

Sitzung des Innenausschusses:
Montag, 22. Februar, 10.00 Uhr, Raum 311

Ende Oktober 2009 sprach sich die rot-rote Landesregierung Brandenburgs im Koalitionsvertrag für die Abschaffung der Residenzpflicht aus. Sowohl im Potsdamer Landtag als auch im Berliner Abgeordnetenhaus setzen sich SPD, Linke und Grüne dafür ein. Allein der Berliner Innensenat zögert, obwohl sich auch die Berliner Landesregierung schon 2006 auf eine Zusammenlegung der Residenzpflichtbereiche geeinigt hatte.

Am 22. Februar hört der Innenausschuss des Abgeordnetenhauses den Berliner Anwalt Rolf Stahmann, Autor eines Gutachtens über die rechtlichen Möglichkeiten einer Residenzpflichterweiterung, Sozialwissenschaftlerin Beate Selders, Autorin einer viel beachteten Studie zum Thema, und Georg Classen, Sozialrechtsexperte des Flüchtlingsrats Berlin.

Pressegespräch: 13.00 Uhr, Raum 377

Auf Einladung der Abgeordneten Canan Bayram (GRÜNE) findet im Anschluss an die Sitzung des Innenausschusses (voraussichtliches Ende 13 Uhr) in Raum 377 des Abgeordnetenhauses ein Pressegespräch statt. Die Sachverständigen Rolf Stahmann, Beate Selders und Georg Classen werden eine Einschätzung der Anhörung und möglicher weiterer Schritte abgeben. Ein betroffener Flüchtling aus Brandenburg wird seinen Fall schildern.

Anhörung und Pressegespräch sind öffentlich. Plätze für die Sitzung des Innenausschusses können online reserviert werden.

Vorbereitungstreffen in Berlin zum Prozess in Halle

2010-02-15T22:32:12+00:00

Am 26. Februar 2010 entscheidet das Verwaltungsgericht Halle/Saale über die Klage von Komi E. gegen die Gebühren von über 10 Euro, die von Flüchtlingen bei jedem Antrag auf Verlassen des Landkreises zu zahlen sind. Die ohnehin rassistische Ausgrenzung von Flüchtlingen in Deutschland durch die Residenzpflicht wird damit durch weitere finanzielle Hürden verschärft.

Vorbereitungstreffen für die gemeinsame Fahrt am 26. Februar nach Halle:

Samstag, 20. Februar 2010
19 Uhr
Syndikat
Weisestr. 56
12049 Berlin

Material

Radiointerview mit Komi E.

De La Rue führt das erste eID-Projekt in Ostafrika durch (NewsAktuell/Ots via Yahoo! Nachrichten)

2010-02-11T07:10:46+00:00

London (ots/PRNewswire) - De La Rue Identity Systems, ein weltweit anerkannter Experte in sicheren e-Government-Identitätslösungen, gab heute bekannt, dass das Unternehmen im Zuge ...

De La Rue führt das erste eID-Projekt in Ostafrika durch (FinanzNachrichten)

2010-02-11T07:10:14+00:00

London (ots/PRNewswire) - De La Rue Identity Systems, ein weltweit anerkannter Experte in sicheren e-Government-Identitätslösungen, gab heute bekannt, ...

De La Rue führt das erste eID-Projekt in Ostafrika durch (Presseportal)

2010-02-11T07:06:57+00:00

London (ots/PRNewswire) - De La Rue Identity Systems, ein weltweit anerkannter Experte in sicheren e-Government-Identitätslösungen, gab heute bekannt, dass das Unternehmen im Zuge des aktuellen National ID-Projekts (NID) das erste ...

Spenden für den Wiederaufbau der Ausstellung »Residenzpflicht – Invisible Borders«

2010-02-10T19:06:28+00:00

Ausstellung durch Neonazi-Brandanschlag zerstört

In der Nacht zum 23. Januar 2010 verübte ein 16-jähriger Neonazi einen Brandanschlag auf das »Haus der Demokratie« in Zossen, Landkreis Teltow-Fläming. Der Anschlag reihte sich ein in eine Kette von Angriffen gegen die das Haus betreibende Bürgerinitiative »Zossen zeigt Gesicht«. Vermutlich wusste der 16-Jährige nicht, dass in jener Nacht die Ausstellung »Residenzpflicht – Invisible Borders« im Haus deponiert worden war. Sie sollte in der folgenden Woche eröffnet werden. Dazu kam es nicht mehr, der Brand hat sie vollständig zerstört.

Nur das fixe Inventar des »Hauses der Demokratie« war versichert, die untergestellte Ausstellung nicht. Ohne Spenden und Zuwendungen ist ein Wiederaufbau nicht möglich. Die Neonazis, denen die Bürgerinitiative als »Volksverräter« und Asylsuchende als »Sozialschmarotzer« gelten, hätten erreicht, was sie wollten.

Anfang Februar beschloss ein Kreis von Unterstützer/innen um Philipp Kuebart, den Autor der Ausstellung, den Wiederaufbau in Angriff zu nehmen. Rund 2000 Euro Materialkosten und ein halbes Jahr unbezahlter Arbeit wurden durch den Brandanschlag zunichte gemacht.

»Residenzpflicht – Invisible Borders« war in Berlin, Potsdam und Hannover mit begleitenden Veranstaltungen gezeigt worden. Weitere Orte sollten folgen. Die Resonanz der Besucher/innen war groß, ging »Invisible Borders« doch neue Wege, die »Residenzpflicht« für Flüchtlinge darzustellen. Mit Installationen, Architekturmodellen, Audiodokumenten und Videoperformances wurde am Beispiel der Residenzpflicht um ausgewählte Brandenburger Flüchtlingslager herum das Thema Grenzen und Raumkontrolle dargestellt. Der Fokus lag auf den Techniken zur Überwachung von Raum und Bewegung und ihrer Wirkung auf die Betroffenen. Dieser verfremdete Blick auf ein oftmals nur moralisch behandeltes Thema eröffnete neue Sichtweisen auf die Ausgrenzung einer bestimmten Bevölkerungsgruppe, wodurch die gesamte Gesellschaft von neuen Kontrollpraxen durchzogen wird. Was die Residenzpflicht einer Minderheit antut, schlägt auf die Mehrheit zurück.

Damit »Residenzpflicht – Invisible Borders« so bald wie möglich wieder gezeigt werden kann, benötigen wir Spenden.

Verwendungszweck: »Residenzpflichtausstellung«
Förderverein des Brandenburgischen Flüchtlingsrats e.V.
Mittelbrandenburgische Sparkasse Potsdam
Konto-Nr.: 350 1010 000
BLZ: 160 500 00

Die Ausstellung von Spendenbescheinigungen ist über den Flüchtlingsrat Brandenburg möglich. Senden Sie dafür bitte eine E-Mail mit Name und Adresse und dem Betreff “Spendenbescheinigung Residenzpflichtausstellung” an info [at] invisibleborders [dot] de

Bilder der zerstörten Ausstellung

[Mit PicLens anzeigen]

Prozess in Würzburg gegen »The Voice«-Aktivist

2010-02-10T00:05:19+00:00

Am 19. und am Morgen des 20. September 2009 fand in Frankfurt-Rödelheim das vierte antirassistische Fußballturnier „Just Kick it“ statt. Zu diesem Fußballturnier kamen Flüchtlinge aus Thüringen und Sachsen-Anhalt, um ihre Erfahrungen mit Isolationslagern, Residenzpflicht, Erniedrigung und Ausschluss und in letzter Konsequenz Abschiebung mit interessierten Menschen und der anwesenden Presse zu teilen. Doch die unsichtbaren innerdeutschen Mauern an jedem Landkreis, die durch die Residenzpflicht für Flüchtlinge und MigrantInnen gelten, erschwerten ihren Weg. Auf der Hin- und Rückfahrt wurden unsere Freunde aus Thüringen selektiv an den Bahnhöfen in Eisenach und in Würzburg kontrolliert. (mehr)

Am morgigen Mittwoch, den 10. Februar 2010, findet eine Gerichtsverhandlung gegen Osaren Igbinoba in Würzburg statt. Er hatte bei der Kontrolle in der Nähe von Würzburg die Polizei aufgefordert, sich auszuweisen. Im folgenden dokumentieren wir die Beschreibung des Vorganges durch Herrn Osaren Igbinoba.

Herr Osaren Igbinoba ist Gründungsmitglied von The VOICE Africa/Refugee Forum, lebt seit 1994 in Deutschland und ist ein koordinierender Aktivist der Karawane für die Rechte der Flüchtlinge und MigrantInnen.

Würzburg Gerichtsverhandlung: Verfolgung wegen Osaren Igbinobas Protest gegen rassistische Polizeikontrolle im Zug

Verhandlung in Amtsgericht Würzburg, Ottostrasse 5, am 10. Februar, 8.40 Uhr

Protestiert gegen rassistische Kontrollen und unterstützt unsere Forderung nach Identifikationspflicht für Polizisten auf Verlangen

„Wenn die Mörder Oury Jallohs in der Polizeistation identifiziert worden wären, hätte der Dessauer Polizeiskandal weniger Irregularitäten im Justizsystem des deutschen Staates enthüllen können.“ Nach dem sogenannten mysteriösen Tod Oury Jallohs ist noch immer keine Wahrheit darüber in Sicht, wer Oury Jalloh in der Polizeistation ermordet hat.

Am Nachmittag des 20. September wurde ich zusammen mit meinen Kollegen und Mitgliedern von The VOICE Refugee Forum und der Karawane für die Rechte der Flüchtlinge und MigrantInnen auf unserem Weg von Frankfurt zu Opfern der sogenannten Bundespolizei (ehemals Bundesgrenzschutz), die uns absichtlich einschüchterte und im Zug rassistische und selektive Kontrollen gegen uns vornahm, bevor wir in Würzburg ankamen.(mehr)

Bitte nehmen Sie zu Kenntnis, dass ich beschuldigt werde, mich geweigert zu haben, meinen Ausweis zu zeigen. Das ist richtig. Aber es ist ebenso zu Kenntnis zu nehmen, dass die Polizei in Bayern gesetzlich
ebenfalls verpflichtet ist, sich auf Verlangen auszuweisen. Jedes Mal, wenn ich die Grenzpolizei in Bayern danach gefragt habe, ihre offizielle Identität zu zeigen, haben sie das ohne Beschwerde akzeptiert.

Wir hatten einen Zug von Frankfurt über Würzburg nach Thüringen genommen. Bevor wir am Würzburger Hauptbahnhof ankamen, sah ich im Zug einen Polizisten, der zusammen mit einer Polizistin auf meinen Kollegen zueilte, um seinen Ausweis zu verlangen. Ich hörte, wie mein Kollege den Polizisten bat, sich auszuweisen, bevor er seine – meines Kollegen (Dr. A.M.) – Identität überprüfte, denn auf der Polizeiuniform befanden sich weder Namen noch Dienstnummern.

Bevor ich einschritt, hielt der Polizeibeamte meinen Kollegen davon ab, einen Telefonanruf entgegenzunehmen. Mein Kollege bestand weiterhin darauf, dass sich der Beamte identifizieren sollte und ich hörte auch, wie derselbe Polizist gegenüber den anderen Mitreisenden behauptete, wir seien illegal – noch bevor er uns überhaupt identifiziert hatte. Die anderen Reisenden wurden aufgrund des Stresses und der Einschüchterungen der Polizei gegenüber meinem Kollegen im Zug beunruhigt. Ich ging zu dem Polizisten, um ihm zu sagen, dass es richtig wäre, dass er sich auswies, denn es handele sich um eine selektive Kontrolle, die von der Polizei häufig als rassistische Kontrollen ausgeführt würden, und dass es mein Beruf sei, rassistische und selektive Polizeikontrollen gegen Flüchtlinge und MigrantInnen in Deutschland zu beobachten und dagegen zu protestieren. Doch die Polizei bestand darauf, dass wir unter Arrest stünden. Sie behaupteten, dass sie die Polizei in Würzburg informiert hätten, damit sie uns in Würzburg festnehmen.

Der Polizeibeamte hat uns die ganze Zeit über seinen Ausweis nicht gezeigt.

Als der Zug in Würzburg ankam, wurden wir von noch mehren Polizisten erwartet.

Ich sagte dem Polizeichef, dass wir in Deutschland und vor allem in Bayern alltäglich selektive Polizeikontrollen erfahren würden und dass wir den Polizisten gerne kennen würden, und dass es normal sei, nach der Identifikation der Polizei zu fragen. Der Polizeichef sagte, dass ich aus Deutschland weg in mein Land gehen sollte, als ob ich sein persönlicher Gast wäre.

Bevor die Polizei aufgehört hatte, mit meinen anderen Kollegen zu diskutieren, akzeptierten ich und meine anderen Kollegen, ihnen offiziell unseren Ausweis zu geben, als der Polizeichef plötzlich ärgerlich wurde, seine Kollegen anwies, mich und einen meiner Kollegen zu fesseln und man inhaftierte mich in einer Polizeizelle ohne
Arrestgrund.

Ich wurde am selben Tag entlassen nachdem ich danach verlangt hatte, telefonisch meinen Anwalt zu kontaktieren und meine Kollegen in Berlin, Hamburg und Wuppertal zu informieren, die mittels telefonischen Protests gegen meine polizeiliche Festnahme intervenierten.

Von der Polizei wurde kein einziger Grund angegeben, warum man uns verhaftet hat und warum man mich, nachdem man uns durch Fesselung in Handschellen Gewalt angetan hatte, inhaftiert hatte.

Ich akzeptiere diese rassistische Kontrolle und die Einschüchterung durch polizeiliche Brutalität in Würzburg nicht.

Ich protestiere gegen rassistische Kontrollen und gegen Polizeibrutalität, ich protestiere gegen meine Verhaftung und Inhaftierung durch die Würzburger Polizei.

Protestiert gegen das rassistische Profiling

Protestiert gegen rassistische Kontrollen und unterstützt unsere Forderung nach Identifikationspflicht für Polizisten auf Nachfrage als Teil unserer Mindestforderungen!

Wir verlangen die sofortige Abschaffung des rassistischen Apartheidsgesetzes der “Residenzpflicht”, das den Aufenthalt von Flüchtlingen allein auf ihren Meldelandkreis beschränkt.

Solidarität ist unsere Waffe. Unsere Beständigkeit ist unsere Kraft. Wir übernehmen diese Verantwortung!

Bewegungsfreiheit muss das Recht eines jeden und einer jeden sein ohne jede Einschränkung!

Vereinigt euch gegen koloniales Unrecht und nehmt teil am Karawane-Festival im Gedenken an die Toten der Festung Europa durch die Militarisierung der europäischen Grenzen durch das Frontex-Regime (siehe Aufruf).

Wir verbleiben in Solidarität!

Osaren Igbinoba, Gründungsmitglied von The VOICE Africa/Refugee Forum, lebt seit 1994 in Deutschland und ist ein koordinierender Aktivist der Karawane für die Rechte der Flüchtlinge und MigrantInnen, eines
bundesweiten Netzwerks für antirassistischen Protest und Menschenrechtsaktivitäten in Deutschland seit 1998.

Nebenbemerkung:

Für den Prozess werde ich auch einen offiziellen Dolmetscher für EDO/BINI, meine Muttersprache, benötigen.

Osaren Igbinoba

The VOICE Refugee Forum Jena

Adresse: Schillergässchen 5, 07745 Jena
Tel. Handy 0049(0) 17624568988,
Fax: 03641 / 42 02 70,
E-Mail: thevoiceforum [at] emdash.org,
Internet

Angeblich Überlebender in Port-au-Prince gefunden (DPA via Yahoo! Nachrichten)

2010-02-09T14:53:00+00:00

Washington/Port-au-Prince (dpa) - Vier Wochen nach dem Erdbeben in Haiti ist in Port-au-Prince angeblich noch ein Überlebender aus Trümmern geborgen worden.

CNN: Überlebender in Port-au-Prince gefunden (Handelsblatt)

2010-02-09T07:52:34+00:00

Vier Wochen nach dem Erdbeben in Haiti ist am Montag nach US-Medienberichten ein Überlebender aus den Trümmern eines eingestürzten Gebäudes in Port-au-Prince geborgen worden.

Angeblich Überlebender in Port-au-Prince gefunden (Leipziger Volkszeitung)

2010-02-09T07:41:02+00:00

Foto: dpa Vier Wochen nach dem Erdbeben in Haiti ist ein Überlebender aus den Trümmern eines eingestürzten Gebäudes geborgen worden (Symbolbild).

PNR / WatchGuard: Erfolg auf ganzer Linie (Finanzen.net)

2010-02-08T09:26:03+00:00

DJ PNR / WatchGuard: Erfolg auf ganzer Linie (Stock World)

2010-02-08T09:25:46+00:00

WatchGuard bricht Erlösrekorde und gehört zu den beliebtesten Herstellern Das Jahr 2010 konnte für den Netzwerksicherheitsspezialisten WatchGuard Technologies gar nicht besser beginnen: Das Unternehmen verzeichnet sowohl für das vierte Quartal als auch für das gesamte Kalenderjahr 2009 deutliche Ertragszuwächse -ein Beweis dafür, wie gut die Produkte von WatchGuard im letzten Jahr angenommen ...

Greek fisherman and Greek rescue...

2010-01-04T22:00:00+00:00

Greek fisherman and Greek rescuers have recovered the bodies of 21 migrants in the delta of the Maritsa/Evros river that forms the border between Greece and Turkey. It is believed that they belong to a group of people who failed in an attempt to cross the river from Turkey into Greece.

three additional bodies have bee...

2009-12-16T22:00:00+00:00

three additional bodies have been recovered from the river Tizra after a boat carrying 15 migrants sank in an attempt to cross from Serbia to Hungary on October 15th.

a fifteen year old afghan migran...

2009-12-15T22:00:00+00:00

a fifteen year old afghan migrant was killed while crossing a highway outside Calais. He was part of a group of migrants looking for opportunities to cross into Britain by hiding in a truck.

a boat carrying 27 migrants sank...

2009-12-12T22:00:00+00:00

a boat carrying 27 migrants sank in bad weather off the coast of the Greek island of Leros. Local fishermmen managed to rescue 25 passengers from a rocky islet and recovered the bodies of two others, who appear to have drowned.

We have to sleep in 3 hour shifts

2009-11-13T16:30:54+00:00

11.11.2009 Athens
M. is an Afghan unaccompanied minor who was released from Pagani.
He was in the group of 130 refugees released the last day and who left for Athens with the boat and since then he is in Athens trying to survive. Actually M. like most other minors in Pagani,got released with a paper saying that he is staying in the villa Azadi the minors house in
Mytilini. But he has never been informed about this ,he has never been brought up to the villa and he doesn’t know his right to be protected as a Minor. Most minors that have been in Pagani the last two months have been release with this paper without having been informed about their right to be taken to the minors house.

We met in the centre of Athens . He came with a little Afghan boy of about 7 years with whose family they share a room. We sat in a coffee place and orders something to eat. M. eat very little and very slowly and explained to me that he had not eaten since two days and that when you have no money for food ,but you get food you have to be careful to eat little otherwise your stomach is hungry soon again because it got used to food. He also mentioned that he doesn’t go out from the place he stays,one room shared by 36 persons among them two families. They have to sleep in a 3 hours shifts on the mattresses. They are lucky that the family of one of them gives them shelter. Most others from Pagani are sleeping in the scare in Athens in the park. He doesn’t go out because when you are in the treats you all he time see people eating and drinking and this makes you even more hungry and thirsty. I asked him if he could speak about the situation after they came out of Pagani:

What happened when you arrived in Athens?

M: When we arrived we were 190 persons ,we went to the ministry and the
ministry told us go to the gsr (Greek council of refugees) but gsr did
not pay attention to us. After that we come to Attiki park and we pent two days there.
After those two days we find some relatives we are living together we are
sleeping 36 persons, four families are with us and twelve boys, minors,like us.
All people from Pagani. All refugees.
We are just sitting after one, two days we are eating little bread. Its bad for people. That they pay not attention the government to us.

I told them in the GSR. I said they want to give us food? They said no!
We don’t have enough home to give you If you want you can only be in the Pagani. We said no! we don’t want to be in the Pagani! We want to live in the centre. Because of that we are here.

What do you think to do now?

I am thinking that after two days I want to left this place but I cant because I don’t have money I don’t have anything to go.

Where do you want to go?

I want to go to Germany,all the people want to go to Germany you ask them where you want to go all of them want to go to Germany. There was a family here they where deported from Austria they where deported. They where with us in the church . So one day we go to the church and eat something the other day we don’t go. Because the police is coming taking our papers,we have a lot of problems,they beat us.

You know their are places you can go to eat?

Yes! the church.But the police is beating us saying :go!its finished food! Its a lot of problem.
They beat us when we go for food!

The Greek government is not giving attention to any refugee. Some guys have been here 4 months 6 months. So they have red card. But the Greek government don’t give attention to them they just leave us like this and our families don’t know where we are, they are saying if we are alive or we are dead they don’t know. Its very difficult.

A., also a unaccompanied minor in Greece is in Athens six since months, trying to get out of Greece. He is registered by the Greec police about five or six times now.
A. is trying since half a year ,M. just starts now, thousand others unaccompanied minors who should be protected and families, single men and women are only wishing to be able to leave Greece as soon as possible and to arrive in some european country where their rights being refugees are respected.

But Greece doesn’t let them go!!!!!

Next stop Xios

2009-11-13T00:43:09+00:00

Our faithfull source in Greece just told us a story about going with the ferry trip from Mytilini ( over Xios ) to Athens.

Last night I travelled by ship from Mytilene to Athens. That gave me the opportunity to observe a transfer from Pagani to Xios. On board there were around 50 people that the police was bringing from Pagani to the prison in Xios. The police gathered them outside on deck, guarded by about four or five police men. As I tried to approach them the police told me that I am not allowed to do so. After a short discussion I could at least talk to one man from Somalia. He told me that the police didn´t take their fingerprints until now and that he doesn´t know where the police will bring them. I told them that I think that they will bring them to the prison in Xios.
When we arrived in Xios the police brought the people down to the exit. They tried to hold them all together but they were not separated from the other people. One police man was quite nervous as if he was fearing something would happen. Next to the ship there was a turistic bus waiting for the people.
When I returned inside the ship in order to go to Athens, I met a group of people that I already met in Pagani. Most of them were Afghan families with little children. Two of them told me that the police wrote a higher age on their paper than they are , if they are obviously under-age. Like that, they lost the special protection their are supposed to retrieve as under-age refuges.
First time I these people was on Sunday. Probably they have been taken to Xios on Monday. Now the police gave them the deportation decision and let them free. That means that they stayed about two nights in Pagani and another two nights in Xios. In between they have been transferred from one island to another. In a very short time the families were bothered a lot. First by keeping them in Pagani which is in an even worse status after the revolts. Then by bringing them to another prison. For sure it is more expensive to transfer them with police and pay them first one ticket to Xios and then another one to Athens. For sure I could imagine a lot of things better to invest that money

Birds of immigrants

2009-11-12T12:33:05+00:00

We are reporting on this blog since several month about the no border actions and the situation for refugees and migrants on the island of Lesvos. There is a blog written by under-age refugees on their way to Europe. It is a good opportunity to read about this topic written in a different perspective, the on from the refuges themselves.
Birds of immigrants

“We really didn’t feel like refugees!”

2009-11-10T13:44:41+00:00

Athens, 25th of October 2009 | Reflections on Lesvos two months after Noborder:

Hello, my name is Milad. I am 17 years old. I was for 23 days imprisoned in Pagani in Mitilini and first I want to define how was the situation inside this prison and how was the behaviour of police and doctors with us.

Some guys were sick for weeks, they were calling for a doctor, but nobody was ready to listen to our voices. There was no treatment for sick persons and the drinking water had a bad smell. If we asked for a doctor, for clean water or anything, mostly nobody was even listening.

They also did not have a good behaviour to the families with the small kids. One day I saw the kids had their ten minutes time to go out. They were playing football and one policeman was beating a small kid, he was about 8 years old, his mother was crying.

Nothing was good in Pagani! The police was saying: “You are not in jail you are in camp.” How is this a camp? In 23 days they didn’t let us go out even for 5 minutes to breathe in open air. When they were bringing us, they took us one by one out of the bus and put us into that store. They just open the door very short and push you inside. At first they gave us some soap, but there was nothing to really wash you or take a bath. They were giving tea to us, but there is nothing to make hot water. Some guys they make some steel wires, by these wires they make the tea and it is really dangerous. In the beginning we had light for all the day, then they switched of the lights. It was not only in our room. There were 8 rooms and about 5-600 people when I was there. There were sick people that were in a dangerous condition,

I think it was possible that somebody would loose his life

. A doctor was there, but she was not working. The police was all the time abusing us. When we were asking for anything, for a doctor, for water or to turn on the light they were just abusing us.

In our room there was one guy, who was kept inside for 50 days. And in the next room there was one guy, who stayed for 85 or 90 days. He was totally crazy. At night he was beating himself. When we asked his friends what was happening with him, they just said: “He got totally crazy!” He was beating on the walls and beating himself and he was shouting at night.

One very sad thing was, that we were kept inside during Eid. We are Muslim and one time in the year we have Ramadan and at the end we celebrate Eid for three days. Like Christians they celebrate Christmas every religion has their own special days. At the three days of Eid we should meet each other, we should be happy and relaxed. At that time a guy was with us, he was 11 or 12 years old. He was travelling alone and it was the first time he was without his family. All the night he was crying. He was a Pashtoon guy and when we asked him please to stop crying and why he was doing this, he said it was the first time in his life, separated on Eid from his family: “I was always happy on Eid and now I am in Pagani. I am missing my brothers and sisters.” We didn’t have any possibility to reach them. We had mobiles but we could not use this, police didn’t allow us. On Eid nobody was in contact with their families.

That was the situation. Nobody had a good behaviour with us. When we asked about light, when we asked about clean water – they just abused us. The situation in Pagani was not so good! But in Samos camp it is also like this, one of my friends was in Samos and we talked about it, only the drinking water was more okay in Samos.

We started a hunger strike for two days and the situation was very difficult. For two days we did not eat and even did not drink any water. The police was asking us: “Why are you doing this?” We answered to them: “We want our freedom. We don’t want to be here, we want to go forward.”We wrote some banners of hunger strike. But nobody was taking care of us.

So at last when we had been inside more than 20 days, we had to do something to fight for our freedom and to get our rights.

Some guys were in a very bad condition. They were ready to fight against the police. And some of them were even ready to loose their lives. Day by day they were going to be more crazy. At last they take a demonstration against the police. At first they took some wood and they started a fire inside the room, then they put some blankets inside the fire. We were shouting: “Freedom, Freedom, Freedom!” The police was smiling, they just did not open the door, they were relaxed as if nothing was going on here. There was too much pollution and we were feeling some unrelaxed, we couldn’t breathe even. The windows were closed and we saw that outside of Pagani there was ambulance. And police was ready to fight against the refugees. They were ready to beat us. Ambulance and fire brigade was there.

Police was releasing some teargas and fire-extinguisher was there. And at last we had to do anything because we couldn’t breathe! Nobody could see each other inside by the distance of one metre. It was totally black night.

So some guys took the beds and broke the windows, they have broken the frame of this windows also, and then we came out, because we were afraid we will loose our lives. If we didn’t struggle, in five minutes maybe we could die in that smog. And so we got outside, we needed free air. After we came out the police called the fire brigade to go inside Pagani. All the room was soon full of water. Matraces and blankets and everything was wet. We were shouting: “We want to leave! Release us! We don’t want to be here!” We were standing in front of the window in the first floor like balcony, not real balcony, it was a small place it was possible for 10 persons, but in that space we were standing with 80 persons. Some Arab guys were there, they became crazy. They were ready to jump down. We stopped one. Before he had smashed the lights and he wanted to put his fingers inside – totally they became crazy in that prison, they didn’t want to live any more!

In this situation some supporters and journalists came. They took pictures. The police was just standing, but before one of them had showed us a knife and they showed us their guns, they were shouting: “Stop this demonstration! Go inside!” Nothing was there to help us to go inside to breathe. After some time we saw that some people were still inside the room, like sleeping, but they were not sleeping, they were injured! At these moments everything had happened here and there – and by accident they fall down and they were injured by the broken windows. Some had the glass from the windows inside their foot and legs and some of them had like accident with the wall. When we saw them, we called for the ambulance. After a long time at last one doctor came that promised help. They took some of them out to the hospital. The door stayed closed.

A police-officer came and we discussed with him and they promised that we will be released after two days. Thereby the strength was coming more and more back to the room. After one day they really released us, about 60 persons. They promised also to give us a ticket for Athens, but we didn’t get the ticket, we had to buy them. By bus we came to the port, we just were kicked out of the bus. We were too late for the ferry and we didn’t have a place to stay for the night. Even we did not have 10 Cents to buy anything to eat or to drink. When the police had taken our money and our mobiles we lost 3 mobiles and 300 Euro totally – we were 30 guys and the money was not complete when they returned it. We told to anybody: “We did not get all of our money!” But nobody was listening to us.

Do you think without the revolt, they would have kept you longer imprisoned?

Yes! When we got released, we saw our pictures in the newspaper. And the people of Mitilini they had complained to the police: “Release them!” I think the revolt was really helpful for us. And really the journalists and media helped us. But police didn’t allow them to get inside of Pagani. They were asking us there questions from outside of Pagani. Police was ready to fight with them and also with us. I don’t think police inside this Pagani were human.

Can you also describe the situation in Athens, where you went afterwards?

The first time when we were let free, we just stayed in the Mitilini port. Really the situation was bad. We didn’t have so much money. We lost our mobiles and contact numbers. Police even snatched from us our contact numbers!

In the first days our situation in Athens was not too good. Nowadays we manage a place to sleep and some money lent from here and there. And we all want to go forward! We are all under 18 years old, but nobody ever offered us a place to sleep. We try to care for everything for ourselves.

One of the first nights we spent in a park in Athens and some fascists came and they started beating people. The police came one hour after it happened. Police came – and they were also beating the guys! The Greek guys from that fascist group they complained against the refugees. So the police started also beating those guys and they were snatching their papers, this white paper we got from Pagani. I was there, I was standing outside of the fight and I could see it. The guy who was beaten, he was only ready for his defence. He was for sure not fighting, he was only guarding himself. Due to this, we do not even have the right to defend ourselves! Because he had his hands in front of his face to defend himself, police was accusing him to fight against the Greek guys!

The situation in Athens is not too good! And it is different from the situation in Mitilini. Really the people there have been so nice! Not government, not police, not any other organisations – only the residents of Mitilini. Some of them were good with refugees. In Athens nobody is ready to help you. Even one woman, I saw her at park in the night at 12 o’clock. We asked her, what she was doing. She told she couldn’t find a place to sleep. She came from Mitilini some days ago, she was arrested there and she had lost her husband. She did not know what to do and she was sleeping alone in the park.

Finally about the days we spent together in Mitilini: what do you think about it?

When we reached in Mitilini, we were thinking: “What shall we do? Where do we go now?” We didn’t know anything about the rules of Greece. We didn’t have papers, we were totally illegal. Then we saw in a park some Afghan guys sitting and also refugees from Eritrea and Somalia. And they told us about the place with the tents. That you can stay here, that there is food. About one week we were with you. And really we were thinking it will be really difficult for us to manage.

When we passed seven days and we were inside the Noborder camp in the end and we were ready to leave and to go to Athens, the guys told me to translate some things for them because they couldn’t speak English. They asked me to tell you, that really Noborder was a nice camp. They were saying that

nobody felt that we are refugees here. Nobody feels that we don’t have place here.

It was like our home. Some activist from all the countries, they were really like friends with us. We were feeling like we are at a picknick-point. We really didn’t feel like refugees! Everything was fixed: dinner, lunch. And the place was so relaxed. Even the police could not say anything to us.

It was a crazy week!

Really: within 7 days nobody asked us about papers! Only due to this Noborder camp! We were very relaxed. And until now we are missing Noborder. We are missing these days!

How did you experience the final party?

(Laughing) The last night it was a very important night in my life! It was a good place on the beach. There were all the activists and the refugees from all the different countries all together. It was our last night that we were at Noborder Camp. And really we enjoyed that night! We were dancing and singing and beating the drums. When the drummers got tired there were loudspeakers. We were free from everything! Nobody was disturbing us. It was an open area. Really we enjoyed that night! The songs were about our country, about Afghanistan. One is from one famous singer… I cannot sing, so I cannot show it now. Our singer was Hamid, he is a really funny guy. Even in Pagani he was singing. He was singing, and inside the Dari song he was adding “No border! No nation!” It became a funny song and this night became a really special night. Until now all the guys are talking about that night. “At that night I did like this… I danced like this… you looked like this…” We will not get this night again in our lives! It was first and last night. Even if we pay 10.000 Euro we cannot get this night. It was the one special night in our life!

And so you enjoyed it till the last minute.

We didn’t sleep the whole night. When the time had come to move towards Athens, some guys were not ready to come. They were saying: “We will never get this night back!” They were not ready to go to Athens. They were ready to continue the party and to be with you. Within this one week we had a special relation, like family. We didn’t think: “We are Afghan, they are Eritrean.” Or that you are from Germany. We were like a family. When we left I saw some of you were crying and some of us were also – but not in front of you, they were hiding it when they turned to go. Like leaving family members. It was a strong party till the moment we had to go.

And then you went to the port and directly into prison… and continued the party?

(Laughing) Yes, because we were missing that night! So to make ourselves some strong, Hamid was making the group to dance and to beat the drum. Even in Pagani we were dancing and singing for three days. Then we got tired. Police was not too good with us – they were trying to stop us: “Don’t make noise! Don’t do this! Don’t sing!” Only two or three days. We were ready to fight after that, because they didn’t let us to go outside even for 10 minutes, so the guys were becoming tired. The situation was too bad.

Too bad to sing?

Not only to sing – even to breathe! Last day the situation was even too bad for breathing! Singing was good only for one or two days. (Laughing)

It was a heavy fight you were fighting inside. From singing till this final smoke!

When we left the Pagani prison, finally we went to the small park, to the place where the infopoint had been. Standing there and saying: “This was here… that was the place where…” And really we were missing these days! And we were saying this was our own place, our home. After we come out, we didn’t find anything like it was before. Only Jamal was left.

Jamal: They were asking to me: ”Where are all the others?” And I said: “I am very alone now!”

Yeah, you called me sometimes inside Pagani, but we could use the phone only like hidden from the police. We didn’t have permission to use it. Always when he called I was standing in the middle of the cell and I was shouting: “It’s Jamal who is calling! Regards to all of you!” And all of us after he called, we really missed that days so much! He was remembering us to those days. When we finally met outside, he told us: “Your picture is in the newspaper!” When we saw our pictures we were happy. These pictures gave a positive result. Due to these pictures Mitilini’s people were informed about the situation of refugees. And the people complained. After this we came out. First we didn’t believe we are really free. Everybody was taking a long breathe. We had the permission to speak as loud as we wanted! Everybody was talking about the Noborder camp. We were sitting at the place of the infopoint and everybody was talking about that days. At this night we were about 60-65 persons. We slept at the park. The weather was cold and we get outside the restaurant, we took the tables and the chairs. We made with some of the clothes like tents and slept under the chairs.

Jamal: But I offered you, if you want to go with me, I would take you!

But I know that it was not possible for him, because we were too many, about 65 persons. Our own group was 26 guys. And I couldn’t leave them.

Unfortunately you don’t have a big villa! And when you have lost your heart to 25 others you have been in prison with, it is too hard to leave them behind…

Really, he offered me, but I couldn’t. At three o’clock in the night I really remembered that he told me! Why didn’t I go? It was so cold! And I was feeling a pain in my heart. At this night nobody had money. Not even 10 cents and we were really hungry. Some other guys who had some money bring some food, but it was not enough. It was a difficult night for us.

And you and your friend, you were all the time together?

We met in the days of Noborder camp. Our group is 26 persons. It is also due to Noborder camp, because the camp was collecting refugees to make relation between each other. (Both are laughing).

You organised yourself!

Not only us! You were organised very well! At these days we had not even clothes and the people bringing clothes to us it was a real need. Even in Pagani we got some clothes from supporters. One funny thing is after some days in Pagani, Jamal and other activists they came. Somebody was shouting: “Look who is coming!” And everybody ran to the window. And we saw that they had a big suitcase, as big as this table. It was full of clothes and tea and sweets and cigarettes. All the things we needed inside. They told the police to give it to us, it was a gift of Noborder activists. But the police didn’t give us. They threw the clothes in the dustbin, they stole the sugar. And one of them brought the cigarettes to us and sold them. It was ironic! It was a gift and they sold it! But the most important thing was that it remembered us at Noborder.

Do you think we should do something similar next year?

Next year? You must do this! Not should, you must! Really we enjoyed this week so much. And it really helped us. If you do it next year, some other refugees will be relaxed for some days.

Jamal: Will you come back when you got your asylum somewhere?

I told you before! On those days we were not legal, we didn’t have papers. We couldn’t be in the first line of the demonstration. I promised in the night of the party, that one day when I will be legal, when I win my case and I have a passport and a permission to travel in Europe, I will be with you in the first line. It was not only me: all the guys from our group of 26 gave the promise that one day, when we will get our papers, we will gather again. We want to be inside Noborder and do meetings and planings and actions! We want to fight for our rights. And to help other poor people, who are facing difficulties. For this I am ready to fight! I told you before: all over the world the people should be equal and there should be no borders. I will be ready for the first line!

Jamal: If you are still here you should join the demonstration on 31st of October.

If I am still here, I will.

Unfortunately Milad could not attend the demonstration. When he tried to make his next step in direction to Norway, he was caught in the harbour of Italy and got deported to Greece. He called from inside the ship during his deportation to say that he is in problems in the moment and that he might probably stay in prison for another three months. He was laughing when he said goodbye and added that we would for sure find each other again, maybe in Germany or any other place in Europe. Some minutes later his phone was switched off.

20 acres of military estate to be turned into refugee settlement

2009-11-09T21:56:10+00:00

… 20 acres of this estate are going to be turned into an “exemplary refugee camp”, as the Minister of National Defence, Mr. Evangelos Venizelos stated in a recent press conference in Athens. This ambitious plan is a cooperation between the Ministries of Citizen Protection and National Defence, and the Hellenic Army National Staff.

read the hole article here

the bodies of three more victims...

2009-11-08T22:00:00+00:00

the bodies of three more victims of the shipwreck off Bodrum have been recovered by the Turkish coast guard.

Hunger strike in Pagani

2009-11-08T18:35:08+00:00

We will not eat in a place like here!!

The 30 people in Pagani are angry. Most of them are families with a lot of kids. The people refused the food because of the horrible ambiance. One woman is disgusted about the circumstances inside the “open centre” of Pagani.

Our close are all wet, we have nothing dry to wear. The sheets and beds are used, dirty and hideous. They will not give us fresh sheet our dry clothes. It is ridiculous, they bring us to the hospital to check f we are ll or something but they let us sleep in sheet full of virus and with wet clothes!?

Close down Pagani and every detention centre, now and all about!!!

Out of the frying pan into the fire

2009-11-07T20:03:17+00:00

News from the “Open Centre” in Pagani:

Today 60 people were n Pagani, all together in one cell. The cells are still open but the atmosphere does not seem very open. The people were transported today at 6:00 pm to the detention centre in Xios, of course accompanied by the police. The refugees have now arrived in Xios. Obviously the end of pagani is only the begnnng. As it seems now the plans are pointing in the direction of a new detention centre will be opening n Lesvos in the one or two years. Until then, Pagani will be used as a open transit centre.

There is only one thing left to say:

No Detention Centre! Not n Pagani, not in Xios and nowhere!!!

… into a new odyssey

2009-11-07T14:44:50+00:00

From behind the bars into the ship. The stories of a family, a young girl and a baby.

A family on their way to Europe

Is it allowed to put a three-year-old in prison???

This young girl from afghanistan is 12 years old. She spent 20 days in the detention centre of Pagani and is now on her way into a unknown future.

four Palestinians drowned and on...

2009-11-06T22:00:00+00:00

four Palestinians drowned and one was missing after their boat capsized off the resort town of Bodrum in southwestern Turkey. Thirteen passengers were rescued after local residents heard shouting from the sea and sailed out in a fishing boat.

42 new people in pagani

2009-11-06T21:18:41+00:00

A building collective memory can not be erased through cleaning or repairing the building.

Pagani has been “closed” few days ago. All refugees that where part of the revolts have been free and could leave Mytilini. Probably that was one of the reasons to close Pagani , the hope that all the knowledge about the revolt would disappear together with the refugees. But also buildings have a collective memory.and no repair or cleaning can take away from the walls of Pagani the history of the revolts. the walls will all the time talk to the newcomers and tell them the stories they heard, and they will all remember!

40 people spent night in Pagani

2009-11-04T17:22:39+00:00

Pagani is not been shut down. Last night 40 people slept there with open cell doors, possibly open yard doors and one (or few) cops guarding outside. These people are beeing transfered right now to Mersinidi, Chios.

There are a lot of speculations about future developments regarding detention. Today (4/11) local newspapers are writing that Pagani will be functioning as a transit registration center. The renovation will be finished at the end of December and on the mean time one cell will “host” migrants overnight in cases there are no ferry. Maximum number of detained migrants will be 150 (rmk: when they first opened Pagani the official maximum number was 70-80!).

On Monday at the Global Forum on Migration and Development Vougias (Deputy Citizens’ Protection
Minister) declared an agreement with the Defense Minister for using an 8 hectares military area to build a new camp. Local newspapers are refering to it as “model” camp “for adults and minors”, with “police guarding just outside”. The new camp will be located at ‘Kata Tepe’ (Black Hill, this is turkish) that is about 10 km north from Mytilene.

About the deputy’s statements and report from the GFMD (in english)
The report about the new camp (in greek)
(*) by the way: a student’s union denounced last weekend occupation of Paparisva building because they haven’t been informed and haven’t discourse with university authorities first. Of course they declare their absolute solidarity to migrants.

Serbian authorities have lifted ...

2009-11-02T22:00:00+00:00

Serbian authorities have lifted another two bodies, a child and a man, out of the river Tisza. The belong to a group of migrants that drowned two weeks ago attempting to cross the river from Serbia into Hungary. Altogether eight bodies have been recovered so far.

Hungarian and Serbian police hav...

2009-10-29T22:00:00+00:00

Hungarian and Serbian police have found five drowned bodies in the river between the two countries after a boat carrying 19 migrants from Kosovo sank when they tried to cross the River Tisza into Hungary on october 15th.

the Spanish coast guard has resc...

2009-10-29T22:00:00+00:00

the Spanish coast guard has rescued two migrants from a small boat off the south eastern coast of Cartagena. The bodies of two other migrants were retrieved from the boat as well. The surviving passengers were found in a serious condition with dehydration and hypothermia and were transferred to a hospital in Santa Maria del Rosell.

Eight migrants - five minors and...

2009-10-28T22:00:00+00:00

Eight migrants - five minors and three women - drowned off the Greek Island of Lesvos in the eastern Aegean when the boat carrying them from Turkey capsized. The greek coast guard rescued 10 people.

Frontex reagiert

2009-10-06T20:53:05+00:00

Nachdem der Unmut über Frontex nach dem gestrigen Bericht in Report Mainz zumindest im Internet gut sichtbar ist, geht Frontex in die Gegenoffensive. Associated Press berichtet: Die Europäische Grenzschutzagentur Frontex hat Medienberichte zurückgewiesen, denen zufolge tausende Bootsflüchtlinge mitten auf der Überfahrt Richtung Europa zur Umkehr gezwungen wurden. Zwar seien im vergangenen Jahr tatsächlich 5.969 Bootsflüchtlinge [...]

Zwei Videos über Frontex

2009-10-05T22:38:04+00:00

Lief gerade in der ARD: Report Mainz – Krieg gegen Flüchtlinge. Die EU-Grenzschutzagentur FRONTEX hat im vergangenen Jahr 5.969 Menschen auf See abgefangen und nach Afrika zurückgeschickt. Das berichtet das ARD-Politikmagazin REPORT MAINZ heute Abend um 21:45 Uhr im ERSTEN. Die Abfangmanöver wurden im Rahmen der Operation „Hera 2008“ durchgeführt. Deutschland stellt für Frontex-Einsätze Bundespolizisten [...]

Die neue Broschüre ist da

2009-08-11T14:22:57+00:00

Seit heute verfügbar: Die neue Frontexbroschüre, herausgegeben von der Informationsstelle Militarisierung und dort auch erhältlich: Frontex – Widersprüche im erweiterten Grenzraum. Inhaltsverzeichnis Grundlagen Einleitung der Karawane für die Rechte der Flüchtlinge und MigrantInnen, München Frontex: Das nachrichtendienstliche Vorfeld Operative Einsätze an den Außengrenzen Das Agenturwesen der EU Die Evaluierungen von Frontex und das Border Package Frontex im Einsatz Abschiebeagentur Frontex? Von Grauzonen und Legalisierungen [...]

Libyen fordert 1 Mrd Euro

2009-06-01T21:08:07+00:00

Schon klar, war eine längere Pause. Viel ist passiert, wenig ist hier geschrieben worden. Jetzt soll es aber weitergehen. Italien scheint ja mit seinem Vorhaben, Libyen in das Grenzregime einzubinden, voranzukommen. Dafür hat Italien schon mal 3.7 Mrd. Euro springen lassen, aber es bleibt weiter teuer. Die Times of Malta weiß: Libya asks EU for $1bn [...]

Katz-und-Maus reloaded

2009-04-12T14:51:34+00:00

In der spanischen Zeitung el dia wird ein neuer Trick beschrieben, der von den cayucos vor Westafrika benutzt wird, um der Überwachung zu entgehen: Un cayuco con medio centenar de personas a bordo podría estar ya cerca del Archipiélago, después de que observadores internacionales en Mauritania comprobaran que la embarcación con los pasajeros se alejó de [...]

Warum Nautilus IV nicht ablegt

2009-04-09T13:57:21+00:00

Der Start von Nautilus IV verzögert sich, das hatten wir schon vorgestern berichtet. Damals wollte sich noch niemand dazu äußern, es wurden “technische Probleme” angeführt. Wir hatten das schon bezweifelt, und nun scheint es bestätigt, auch wenn Frontex und die maltesische Regierung immer noch keinen Kommentar dazu abgeben wollen. Es geht vielmehr darum, wer die [...]

Libyen & Europa

2009-04-09T13:48:26+00:00

Die EU ist ja seit langem bemüht, Libyen in die Migrationskontrolle zu integrieren. Diese Woche ließ sich in der Presse verfolgen, wie kompliziert das ist. Am Dienstag, den 7. April 2009, meldete AFP: EU urges Libya to work to stop illegal immigration. The European Union urged Libya Tuesday to boost cooperation in the fight against illegal immigration [...]

Immer wieder Ärger mit Nautilus [update]

2009-04-07T07:50:50+00:00

timesofmalta.com meldet: Frontex anti-immigration patrols in the waters between Libya, Malta and Italy, have been delayed by technical hitches between participating states. The patrols were due to have started at the beginning of this month, but no fresh date has been set yet. The patrols by the EU’s border control agency were this year supposed to cover [...]

Drama vor Lampedusa, Teil 2

2009-04-02T17:10:09+00:00

Wie sich mittlerweile ergeben hat, und anders als noch gestern geschrieben, sind nicht drei Boote gekentert, sondern lediglich ein einziges. Die vermutete Zahl der Toten liegt jedoch weiterhin zwischen 300 und 400. Die Süddeutsche Zeitung schreibt: Nach dem Untergang eines Flüchtlingsbootes haben die Behörden an der libyschen Küste bislang rund 100 Leichen geborgen. Man gehe davon [...]

Pavshino detention-camp has been closed

2009-03-13T22:00:04+00:00

In December 2008 the detention-camp in Pavshino has been closed. But before, they built up new “resources”: In September 2008 a long-term detention-camp in oblast volyn (near the Polish-Ukrainian border / 180 places) opened, and already in July 2008 they built up a new camp in region Chernigiv (near the Russian-Belarus-Ukrainian border / 250 places). [...]

Another EU-project in Ukraine

2008-08-05T16:04:25+00:00

Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom (with support from ICMPD) have started a migration related project to “step up its management migration system”. Every involved country has his own job: * Hungary will support Ukraine to open up eight “screening centers” in Eastern Ukraine. In [...]

Ukraine: Racial discrimination on the rise

2008-08-05T14:43:17+00:00

by Amnesty International 10 July 2008 We fear for our children who are going to schools and kindergarten — they can be attacked or killed at any time. Tomas Lukayi, Director of the African Association in Kyiv (Kyiv) In a report published today, Amnesty International warns about an alarming rise in violent attacks against foreigners and members of [...]

UNHCR and Frontex

2008-07-04T13:09:45+00:00

“In Warsaw today (17.06), UNHCR and the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at External Borders (FRONTEX) are exchanging letters to strengthen their partnership. The agreement between the two agencies includes a number of areas of cooperation such as regular consultations, exchanges of information, expertise and experience, inputs into training (particularly on international [...]

Dikili No-Border Camp 2008

2008-07-04T11:59:10+00:00

Now it´s clear: The No-Border Camp in Dikili (Turkey) will take place from 3. to 7. September 2008. More Info: no-racism Dikili-Blog The call: The holiday and skippers’ paradise of the Aegean Sea between Greek islands and the Turkish coast has made a name as a passage since the 1980ies. A lot of people escaped the repression of the Turkish [...]

pawschino.antira.info is still alive!

2008-04-13T15:03:14+00:00

As you see in the publishing dates of the articles on this side, there was not so much activity during the last month. But this does not mean, that we have no more interest in fighting against the swinishnesses in the east, the EU has to take the responsibility for! Quite contrary, some [...]

Peripherie als schwarzes Loch

2008-03-03T22:07:00+00:00

sorry, only in German: NoBorder-Camp lässt Osteuropa links liegen Die Unterschiede hätten kaum größer sein können: Während in Rostock und Heiligendamm Duschcontainer, Internetzelte oder multiflexible Volksküchen zum allenthalben begrüßten Campstandard gehörten, ging es beim NoBorder-Camp in der Ukraine vergangenen August ungleich bescheidener zu. Die rund 350 TeilnehmerInnen aus über 15 Ländern verpassten allerdings, den gesellschaftlichen Ursachen dieses [...]

Racist murder in Kiew!

2008-01-31T18:03:14+00:00

On sunday, the 17 of January a refugee from Congo was killed by nazis in Kiew. The refugees in Kiew need our support: “I WRITTE YOU TODAY AGAIN BECAUSE THE SITUATION OF REFUGERS NOW IS VERY CRITICAL. I WROTE YOU FEW DAYS AGO TO EXPLAIN YOU THAT (…). AND NOW 2 DAYS AGO, ON SUNDAY IN [...]

BBC Video

2008-01-28T20:48:25+00:00

Outside of EUrope documentary

2008-01-21T23:10:19+00:00

This documentary was produced after the noborder-camp near ushgorod in ukraine last august (English). BBC-report about the Slovakian-Ukrainian border (English). kanalB documentary (German - English subtitle)

Documentation

2007-12-05T00:33:39+00:00

It seems, that for a lot of people the Ukrainian noborder-camp and the “new” eastern eu-borders in general are still really interesting and in their minds. This is what was published recently in the issue: Crossing Borders - Transnational Newsletter, 4th Issue, October 2007 (English, French, Italian, Turkish, Spanish, Greek, German) “Hinterland”-Article about the camp (German) Articles in [...]

Frontex an the Ukraine

2007-11-15T00:05:46+00:00

frontex presentation Here some news from the other side. CIRAM, the so called “Common Integrated Risk Analysis Model” is part of Frontex an tries to develop prognoses about upcoming undocumented border crossings. For them, it seems clear that the route over the Mediterranean Sea will be used by fewer and fewer migrants. Instead, they predict that [...]