Mourn the Dead, Respect the Survivors – Create safe Passages!

01. November 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für Mourn the Dead, Respect the Survivors – Create safe Passages! · Kategorien: Alarm Phone, Mittelmeer · Tags:

Alarmphone | 01.11.2017

Alarm Phone 8 week report, September 4 – October 29, 2017

+++ EU intensifies border collaborations with Northern African governments +++ Alarm Phone resistance and political campaigns +++ New Harraga Movement from Tunisia +++ Developments in the Central Mediterranean, Aegean Sea, Western Mediterranean, and Black Sea +++ Summaries of Alarm Phone distress cases from all three Mediterranean regions

Over the past 8 weeks we continued to witness the EU’s violent attempts to thwart sea migration in cooperation with third country allies. In (Northern) African and Turkish transit spaces, the situation remains precarious and dangerous for hundreds of thousands of migrants stuck there. In Libya, the situation is constantly deteriorating, not least due to escalating conflicts in particular in Sabratha, a nodal point for migrant journeys.[1] Also in Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, reinforced migrant deterrent or containment practices have been reported, a consequence of EU and member states’ border externalisation strategies.[2] The newest addition to a long list of agreements is a deal signed between Germany and Egypt, where both governments agree to fight smuggling networks and irregular migration in Egypt as well as to continue cooperation in border control.[3] Meanwhile, the European Parliament approved plans to create an automatic entry-exit-system that will require all non-EU citizens to provide biometric photos and fingerprints when they enter the Schengen area.[4] This will further increase the huge amount of data the EU collects on foreign travellers, allow to monitor visa overstayers, and make it more difficult for people without a valid visa to avoid border controls. As legal routes to the EU remain largely absent, this will only increase the likelihood that people will risk embarking on dangerous sea journeys.

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Tunesien: Die neue Route der Migranten nach Sizilien

18. Oktober 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für Tunesien: Die neue Route der Migranten nach Sizilien · Kategorien: Alarm Phone, Italien, Tunesien, Video · Tags: ,

Video giving safety advises, for people planing to cross from Tunisia

„Poor, but not desperate. A lot of them try to cross the Med again and again, risking their lives and convinced that this is the only possibility to have a future“, said an Tunisian activist from the Alarm Phone association of Watch the Med.

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Reuters | 18.10.2017

Smugglers offer new routes to Europe for jobless Tunisians

Tunisian smugglers are offering migrants seeking a fresh start in Europe a new route from Africa to Italy

Thousands have made the dangerous 300 km journey between Libya and the Italian island of Lampedusa this year and hundreds more are thought to have died trying to crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach European shores.

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3 Jahre Alarmphone – Neue Broschüre

05. Oktober 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für 3 Jahre Alarmphone – Neue Broschüre · Kategorien: Alarm Phone

[DT] [EN]

Einleitung

Das Alarm Phone nach 3 Jahren widerständigen Handelns im Mittelmeer

Maurice Stierl

Am 25. Juni 2017 erreichte das Schichtteam des Alarm Phones, wie schon so oft zuvor, eine Nachricht von Pater Mussie Zerai. Er war von einem Boot in Seenot mit etwa 100 Menschen an Bord alarmiert worden. Sie waren in Al-Khums, in Libyen, aufgebrochen und befanden sich zu diesem Zeitpunkt außerhalb der Einsatzzone der humanitären NGOs. Obwohl wir das Boot immer wieder anzurufen versuchten, war es uns nicht möglich, direkten Kontakt herzustellen. Aber wir konnten Guthaben auf das Satellitentelefon der Reisenden laden, um sicherzustellen, dass sie weiterhin von sich aus telefonieren können würden. Da wir ihr beständig sinkendes Guthaben einsehen konnten, wussten wir, dass sie dieses auch kontinuierlich taten. Wir informierten die italienische Leitstelle für Seenotrettung (MRCC) in Rom. Außerdem kontaktierten wir die Moonbird, die zivile Luftaufklärungsmission, die von der NGO Sea Watch und der Humanitarian Pilots Initiative (HPI) ins Leben gerufen worden war. Wir übermittelten ihnen die GPS Koordinaten des Bootes und sie bestätigten, das Gebiet abzusuchen. Wenig später hob das Leichtflugzeug der NGOs ab, entdeckte schließlich das Boot und leitete die aktuelle Position an uns und die italienischen Behörden weiter. Wir erhielten die Rettungsbestätigung ein paar Stunden später.

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Stop the boats – The lie of saving lives at sea

28. September 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für Stop the boats – The lie of saving lives at sea · Kategorien: Alarm Phone, Termine [alt] · Tags: ,

medico international

Filmvorführung mit anschließender Diskussion in drei verschiedenen Städten

Der Film „Stop the boats“ dokumentiert, wie ein Boot mit 65 Flüchtlingen – vorwiegend TamilInnen aus Sri Lanka – im Mai 2015 auf dem Weg nach Neuseeland auf hoher See von der australischen Küstenwache aufgebracht wird.

Die Flüchtlinge werden in marode Boote verfrachtet und bewusst in Seenot gebracht, bevor man sie schließlich auf einer Pazifikinsel interniert. Im Lager werden sie von VertreterInnen der Internationalen Organisation für Migration (IOM) dazu genötigt, einer Rückkehr in ihre Herkunftsländer zuzustimmen, was einige auch tun.

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Alarm Phone 6 Week Report, 24th July – 3rd September

08. September 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für Alarm Phone 6 Week Report, 24th July – 3rd September · Kategorien: Alarm Phone, Mittelmeer

Alarm Phone | 07.09.2017

Deterrence no matter what – Europe escalates its War on Migrants

Exactly two years ago, thousands of travellers opened the Balkan corridor by launching the ‘March of Hope’. Enacting their freedom to move, they crossed several borders, reached their desired places of arrival, and thereby broke the European border regime during this historic summer of migration. We as the Alarm Phone worked around the clock to support those crossing into Europe by boat from Turkey, Libya, Morocco and elsewhere. Many others assisted along the Balkan route, and the new brochure by Moving Europe – ‘Still Moving Europe, Resistance along the Balkan Route’ – gives an account of that extraordinary time.[1] Also in response to these unauthorised movements, the EU and member states have sought to establish ever-more violent obstacles, and following the EU-Turkey deal of March 2016, they have focused their energies even more on Libya. The drastic consequences are currently becoming more visible than ever before.

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URGENT DISTRESS: 38 people nearly 24 hours at sea because coastguards did not react.

01. September 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für URGENT DISTRESS: 38 people nearly 24 hours at sea because coastguards did not react. · Kategorien: Alarm Phone, Marokko, Mittelmeer, Spanien · Tags: ,

Alarmphone | 01.09.2017

Yesterday, 31st of August, the Alarm Phone was in contact with a boat in distress with 38 people on board, among them were 7 women. They left from the town of Assilah, west of the Moroccan coast, at 4 am CET. Their engine soon stopped working and they began drifting southerly. The passengers asked us to inform the Spanish Salvamento Marítimo at 11am. Less than one hour later the situation in the boat was so bad that the passengers asked the Alarm Phone to inform the Moroccan Marine Royale. We did so at 11:45 am. Neither the Moroccan nor the Spanish rescue authorities reacted, even though the passengers were in a high level of distress and a GPS position for the boat was available.

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Italien: Ermittlungen gegen Flüchtlingsretter Zerai

11. August 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für Italien: Ermittlungen gegen Flüchtlingsretter Zerai · Kategorien: Alarm Phone, Italien, Libyen · Tags: , ,

nd | 11.08.2017

Denunziert von Wachleuten mit Kontakt zu »Identitären«/ Behörden werfen dem Priester Beihilfe zur »illegale Einwanderung« vor

Im sizilianischen Trapani wird italienischen Medienberichten zufolge gegen den eritreischen Priester Don Mussie Zerai ermittelt. Der Mann, der seit Jahren in Italien lebt, wird beschuldigt, die »illegale Einwanderung« begünstigt zu haben. »Don Moses«, wie er von den Flüchtlingen genannt wird, war vor zwei Jahren Kandidat für den Friedensnobelpreis – eben weil er Migranten hilft. Die Staatsanwaltschaft bestätigte die Berichte am Donnerstag auf Anfrage zunächst nicht.

Wie schon beim Fall der deutschen NGO Jugend Rettet scheinen die Anschuldigungen gegen den katholischen Priester auch dieses Mal von zwei Wachleuten auszugehen, die auf einem Schiff der Hilfsorganisation Save the Children arbeiten. Die beiden, das haben die Ermittlungen bereits ergeben, haben wohl Kontakte zur rechtsextremen Identitären Bewegung. Diese haben es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, Europa gegen die angebliche »Flüchtlingsinvasion« zu verteidigen. Sie sollen ausgesagt haben, dass Don Zerai gemeinsame Sache mit Schleuserbanden macht und mit ihnen in irgendwelchen »geheimen Internetchats« Informationen austauscht. »Alles Verleumdungen«, wies Mussie Zerai am Mittwoch die Vorwürfe zurück.

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While the world looks to G20 in Hamburg, Hundreds drown at sea – Alarmphone report 12th June – 23rd July

27. Juli 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für While the world looks to G20 in Hamburg, Hundreds drown at sea – Alarmphone report 12th June – 23rd July · Kategorien: Alarm Phone, Mittelmeer

Alarmphone | 27.07.2017

When the world’s attention was grabbed by the G20 spectacle in Hamburg in early July, where those came together who are responsible for many current wars and conflicts in the world that prompt millions to flee, and who create and maintain barriers to the free movement of the world’s poor while reinforcing neo-liberal forms of capitalist exploitation, hardly anyone noticed some of the devastating consequences of their policies: the ongoing mass dying in the Mediterranean Sea.

On the 17th or 18th of June, more than 120 travellers are feared to have died in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya, with only a few survivors.[1] On the 4th of July, we learned about one of the largest recorded shipwrecks in the Western Mediterranean Sea. After drifting at sea for several days, up to 49 travellers seem to have drowned on their way to Spain, with only three survivors.[2] On the 7th of July, the NGO Sea-Watch found the remains of a capsized rubber boat, stating that ‘nobody can or wants to imagine the story behind it’.[3] One day later, on the 8th of July, at least 35 people, including seven children, seem to have drowned in the Central Mediterranean, when their boat sank off the coast of Libya. Fishermen rescued 85 people.[4] This year’s official death count stands at 2365 fatalities at sea.[5] These 2365 individuals lost their lives because of the bordered state of the world. Hegemonic governments, including those of the EU, profit from both the creation of unlivable living conditions in many parts of the world and the simultaneous criminalisation and deterrence of precarious travellers.

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„Non-Governmental Actors rescue thousands while Europe continues to criminalise their work“

27. Juni 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für „Non-Governmental Actors rescue thousands while Europe continues to criminalise their work“ · Kategorien: Alarm Phone, Mittelmeer · Tags: , ,

Alarmphone | 27.06.2017

Over the past three days, more than 10,000 travellers were rescued from precarious boats in the Central Mediterranean Sea and two fatalities have been confirmed. On Monday alone, more than 5000 people, including many children, were rescued off the coast of Libya and many more lives would have been lost, had it not been for the Search and Rescue (SAR) NGOs, who worked at and beyond their limits. It is only due to their tireless efforts that we have not yet heard of major shipwrecks and mass fatalities.

Since Saturday, we as the Alarm Phone have dealt with emergency situations in the Central Mediterranean daily. Yesterday, on the 26th of June 2017, we were following one boat in distress whose passengers had lost orientation and their fate remains unknown. The Moonbird, an airborne reconnaissance mission launched by the NGO ‘Sea-Watch’ and the ‘Humanitarian Pilots Initiative’ (HPI), had informed our shift team around noon about a boat that carried about 160 people and had asked us to reach out to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Rome to demand a rescue operation. In several phone calls with the Italian authorities between then and 5pm, they suggested first that the boat had probably been rescued, despite evidence to the contrary. Only later did they state that they were very overwhelmed and had a lack of capacity so that they could not deal with the boat in question. We also contacted the SAR NGOs, but overburdened with several ongoing rescue operations, they were unable to follow up on the boat in question. We are not giving up our hope that the travellers survived and that they will not be amongst Europe’s growing toll of border deaths, which currently stands at over 2000 officially counted fatalities.

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#World Refugee Day

21. Juni 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für #World Refugee Day · Kategorien: Alarm Phone · Tags:

Alarmphone | 20.06.2017

The humanitarian crisis at Europe’s borders demands a humanitarian answer.

Share the demands of our network for a humane migration policy with your family, friends, local politicians on World Refugee Day!

PREFACE

All the demands we outline here – as NGOs involved in alleviating suffering and rescuing persons in distress in the Mediterranean – chime with our fundamental belief that safe passage must be established for people suffering from the consequences of war, terror and other factors which drive them to leave their homes. Only safe and regular passage will save their lives!

The current plans of European states to outsource control over large parts of the Mediterranean to the Libyan Coastguard (LCG) is unacceptable. Libya is by no means a stable and safe country for refugees and migrants, neither legally nor in practice. Even worse is the track record of the LCG, which has often endangered lives. The European Union must assume responsibility and comply with its obligations under international law. Otherwise, even more people will die.

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