Reward 2015: The VOICE Refugee Forum - The refugee political resources in Germany

By voice, 21 April, 2015

- What we stand for: Respect for our human rights, freedom and human dignity
- Review: Refugee Resistance in Germany 1994 – 2014
- Why we need your support: The VOICE Refugee Forum on Self-organized grassroots resistance

*Unite against Deportation and Social Exclusion - Break the isolation culture of lager control in Germany
*We need your donation! - Start your contribution and make regular donation to support our struggle!

In October 2014, we had a 5-day anniversary celebration of 20 years of refugee struggles and resistance in Germany with the theme “Unite against deportation and social exclusion”. Now, we want to rise to the challenge to keep on the struggles of the refugee community and the campaigns of refugees and migrants against racism and the ongoing victimization, discrimination and police brutality.

In times of the hypocritical German “welcome culture” (read more below) we stay alert in our struggles! We are continuing to raise alarm and protest deportation and deportation threats, the isolation culture of lager control and restriction of movement in the daily repression of refugees by the German state. We continue to demand justice through our campaigns for freedom and equality, and the dignity of refugees in Germany. We are organized as refugees and political activists to maintain the power of our solidarity for human dignity. We stood for this from the very beginning and we will continue to fight for it.

“The victim who is able to articulate the situation of the victim has ceased to be a victim: he or she has become a threat.” (James Baldwin)

To aid us in doing this, we need your support and solidarity and that is why we solicit your kind donation. The movement for freedom from oppression is the solution! We can neither hide nor shy away from it!

This donation call is made by The VOICE Refugee Forum (Network) on behalf of our political platform of self-organized refugees activists nationwide.

We want to end the deportations and break the Isolation! Support and donate for the movement!

The VOICE Refugee Forum

Donation Account:
Förderverein The VOICE e.V.
Sparkasse Göttingen
Kontonummer: 127829
BLZ: 260 500 01
IBAN: DE97 2605 0001 0000 1278 29
BIC: NOLADE21GOE

What we stand for
Respect for our human rights, freedom and human dignity

We have realized a growing competition in the organized integration of and civil humanitarian projects for refugees and at the same time, a growing number of deportations of Roma and “Dublin” – refugees with a new regime of imprisonment of refugees, an ongoing debate on expanding the refugee lager control into Africa including EU-Frontex control facilities at the borders of refugee countries and a continuation of the tightening of the deadly and criminalizing traps of Frontex controls at the seas.

Germany's new „welcome culture” still remains obnoxious regarding the general issue of refugee freedom here. Isolation and victimization of refugees is still the regular trademark of socio-political exclusion of refugees from the general society. The overall aim is still to facilitate deportation, detention and elimination from Germany and hereby, the denial of refugee right to freedom from oppression. The hostile system of authority threats against refugees is designed to create public insecurity for people of colour in Germany and to stigmatize refugees and migrants – by means of state repression, discriminatory rules and laws, of institutionalized racism and police brutality, of deportation and social exclusion.

In times of the hypocritical German “welcome culture” we stay alert in our struggles! We are continuing to raise alarm and protest threats of/and deportation, the isolation culture of lager, and restriction of movement in the daily repression of refugees by the German state. We continue to demand justice through our campaigns for freedom and equality, and the dignity of refugees in Germany.

Our projects

• Refugee Workshops and manifestations of refugee struggles against state violations of refugee rights in Germany

• Refugee regional community assemblies and mobility agenda to promote the social basis of our political community, empowerment and self-determination

• Refugee Community Campaigns:
- Against deportation in general, of Roma, Sinti and Ashkali within Europe and against deportations related to Dublin Regulation
- For civil disobedience – for the abolition of German apartheid laws - on lager residence obligation and on the restriction of movement for refugees, racial profiling and other discriminatory orders of the German state.
- In the refugee lagers and ghettos for information and unifying solidarity of the collective struggles of refugees (meetings and organizing tours)

• Community network in the documentation of our political activities

WE, The VOICE Refugee Forum stand for:

 Respect of our human rights, freedom and human dignity
 For self-organized grass root resistance
 The abolition of deportation and social exclusion of refugees in Germany, including the fight against colonial injustice in Germany and Europe

On the history of and our on-going work
Review: 20 Years of Refugee Resistance in Germany 1994 – 2014

On behalf of members and activists of the refuge movement in Germany, we also want to use this opportunity to express our gratitude and pleasure to share our solidarity with all the people who have contributed to the inspiration of refugee struggles becoming an eminent self-organized resistance in Europe. You have made the continuity of The VOICE Refugee Forum possible since 1994, especially our fight to end deportations and social exclusion of refugees. You supported the rise of a self-determined refugee resistance to be successfully organized, to break the isolation and to stop the deportations. We could not have imagined all this before the foundation of (then) “The VOICE Africa Forum” in 1994 in Mühlhausen - Thüringen, Germany.

Substantial parts of our engagement have always been to fight colonial injustice, to break the isolation of refugees, to close the lagers, to be self-organized in resisting racist discrimination and in fighting every single deportation.

Since 1996 we have closed down more than a quarter of the isolated lagers in Thüringen and advocated for normal housing in the cities within the State of Thüringen and beyond.

Many refugees have been inspired and thus taken the initiative to resist and stop their deportations, which collectively developed into nationwide deportation stop campaigns and international networks on deportation stop.

Our continuous experience of racist police controls and violence led us to the slogan: „control the police" as we are not ready anymore to accept discrimination and criminalization on the grounds of racist profiling.

The Refugee: Base on Our History of The VOICE Refugee Forum Network 1994 to 2014

Together, we are inspired to continue our struggles to expose the injustice of the system and the Western countries, their creation and perpetuation of wars and exploitation, which are the major reasons that force us to flee and migrate from our home countries.

Your support makes it all happen and we will continue to be heard!

Our continuity is our highest reward!

Why we need your support
The VOICE Refugee Forum – more than 20 Years of self-organized grassroots resistance

We need your regular contribution and financial support for our nation-wide organizational structures to maintain refugee self-organized, independent political activities. We need working materials, logistics and development of our working space and mobility to enable us to continue our self-defined mission.

The political needs of refugee self-organisation have increased tremendously within the last years inside and beyond Germany.

As a major network of self-organized political refugee activists we have been hosting and coordinating regional and nationwide political activities and transportation facilities for several hundreds of refugee communities and migrants’ participants every year. At the moment this regular continuity is in danger as a result of our lack of finance.

We have ongoing campaigns on deportation, refugee residence obligations and institutionalized repressions, which are also being planned to continue this year in Thüringen, Baden-Württemberg and other states in Germany:

The VOICE Refugee Forum Germany: Call for a Coordinated Regional Community Assembly

We may not be able to reach out beyond basic needs of our work without your support as our financial situation has become critical since the beginning of this year. Also our one and only old car, which aided our trips to the Lagers, is now and finally off road. New computers and media materials are needed for our offices and support in the Lagers.

We are a politically and financially independent refugee network. We don't accept sponsorship or make financial application to any political party, state institution or state related NGO. We rely on your support and solidarity and count on your goodwill and donations.

We therefore highly welcome unconditional support from individuals or group donations.

Contribute to our continuity!

Thank you all!
In solidarity,
The VOICE Refugee Forum

Donation Account:
Förderverein The VOICE e.V.
Sparkasse Göttingen
Kontonummer: 127829
BLZ: 260 500 01
IBAN: DE97 2605 0001 0000 1278 29
BIC: NOLADE21GOE

Basic Campaign: What does The VOICE Refugee Forum continuously stand for?

Fight against Social Exclusion and Isolation:
Long years of Experience in the Fight against Isolation of Refugees in Camps and Lagers |Campaigns for the Closure of Isolation Camps |Successful Closure of Refugee Camps in Germany

Fight against Deportation:
Publicity | Campaigns for single persons | Support of single persons | Campaign against the Collaboration of Embassies in Deportation Hearings | Scandalizing of Deportation as Racism and Human rights' abuse

Demands and Support for Self Organization:
German-wide with The Caravan Network for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants in Germany

Deutsch:
Donation und Spende:
Belohnung 2015: The VOICE Refugee Forum - Die politischen Ressourcen der Flüchtlinge in Deutschland

Languages

English