Germany:Refugee protests
01 January 1991
Germany:Refugee protests
artdoc April=1993
The German government's decision to cut down on social assistance
to refugees, replacing subsistence cash payments with food and
goods parcels, has led to a wave of militant protests across
Germany.
In February, Romanian asylum-seekers protested outside the
central reception centre in Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Goldburg. At
another hostel, in Eisenach, between 100-140 refugees, protesting
against the introduction of food parcels, were forcibly evicted
by the police and transferred to the central reception centre for
asylum-seekers in Gotha.The plan now seems to be to split the
refugees up. The authorities claim that, whilst at Gotha, 60
asylum-seekers threatened staff, broke furniture, and intimidated
other refugees into not accepting food parcels.
Meanwhile, according to the Berlin branch of SOS Rassismus,
the police raided a refugee centre in Falkenrchde, Brandenburg,
on 3 January after refugees protested against the introduction
of food parcels. The police are alleged to have told the refugees
that if they did not accept the parcel they would be deported.
One refugee family and another single refugee were then removed
to an inaccessible camp in Wachnow. SOS have reported the
incident to Amnesty International (Deutsche Press Agency and SOS
Rassismus press release).
In Nauen, Brandenburg, refugees, supported by and racist
groups, organised a protest against the introduction of food
parcels. As a result of this and other protests, political and
anti-racist organisations are being banned from entering the
camps and hostels (Die Tageszeitung 8.2.93).
Romanian deportation programme
As part of the bilateral contract between the German and Romanian
governments, about 3,000 Romanian refugees were deported from
Berlin to Bucharest in February, say social workers at Schonefeld
airport The refugees, about one-third of whom are Roma, are
escorted by members of the Romanian security forces (Die
Tageszietung 13.3.93).
Ghanaian refugee takes his life
Kwaku A, a 35-year-old refugee from Ghana, committed suicide at
a refugee hostel in Munich, in January. The Ghanaian priest, who
was due to be deported the next day, hung himself.
(Die Tageszeitung 15.1.93).
Europe
IRR European Race Audit no 3, 1993.
Contact: Liz Fekete, Institute of Race Relations,
2-6 Leeke Street, London WC1X 9HS. Tel: ++ 071 837 0041