Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants in Germany.
KARAWANE für die Rechte der Fluchtlinge und MigrantInnen
Remscheid - Press conference for an end of all controls
Press Conference on March 17, 2009 at 10:00 am
Place: Jakobus Haus, Hackenbergerstraße 6, Remscheid Lennep
We struggle for our self-determination
March 16, 2009
We invite you to our press conference to be held in Jakobus Haus on March 17, 2009 in Remscheid Lennep.
On January 20, 2009 we wrote an open letter to Mr. Mast-Weisz in charge of social affairs in the city of Remscheid. With the open letter we aimed inform the public about our daily life. We, 53 refugees from Remscheid could not any longer bear our daily life. Mr. Mast-Weisz held two meetings in the refugee camps. He showed efforts to solve the presented problems. These were daily presence controls, vouchers instead of money, obstacles for medical care, problems getting working permits, and the security cameras in the camps. After the meetings he announced the end of the vouchers but connected it to two conditions: to the presence controls and to the cleanliness of the camps. The presence controls were loosened after the first meeting. We are not obliged to sign every day anymore, but once a week. Mr. Mast-Weisz also announced that for cloth money will be given instead of vouchers.
At first sight the changes are positive for our life. Nevertheless, we think, that our open letter have not been well understood by the city administration of Remscheid.
There is no difference for us, if we sign every day or every week. The control itself limits our freedom. The control, be it daily or weekly, is a control. Regarding our demands for abolition of the security cameras Mr. Mast-Weisz could not name one single reason.
We have decided to inform the public again about our problems and push our demands for an end of the presence controls and the abolition of the cameras further. Our demands from the open letter still remain. Therefore we invite to the press conference in Remscheid and want to inform the interested public, press and people about the following topics:
- Opening with an introduction to the specific situation of Remscheid
Araz Ardehali, CARAVAN for the rights of refugees and migrants, Wuppertal office - Police raid against the refugee camp of October 24, 2007 – Legal violation of our rights?
Lawyer Klemens Roß, Association of republican lawyers (RAV) e.V. - Control system – Presence controls, security cameras and searching of our rooms
Tallatu Saccoh, refugee from Remscheid - The situation of ill people and their care in Rmescheid
Isaac Jawara, refugee from Remscheid - Residence permit fort he parents of German children, practice of the foreign office of Remscheid
Tallatu Saccoh, refugee from Remscheid - 1-Euro jobs and working permits
Camara, refugee from Remscheid - Closure - questions and discussion
We invite Mr. Mast-Weisz, the responsible person for social affairs and the city mayor Mrs. Wilding to the press conference as well, to give them the opportunity to explain the reasons for our situation.
A selection of press articles, statements of the CARAVAN network is listed below.
Best regards
Araz Ardehali, in the name of CARAVAN for the rights of refugees and migrants, Wuppertal office
Contact:
CARAVAN for the rights of refugees and migrants
c/o AZ Wuppertal, Markomannenstr. 3, 42105 Wuppertal
Telefon: 0160 27 4244 4
E-Mail: wuppkarawane@yahoo.de
Internet: http://thecaravan.org
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further Information on Remscheid:
open letter of the refugees and list of supporters
http://thecaravan.org/node/1813
partial success for the refugees in Remscheid
Press Release from February 26, 2009
http://thecaravan.org/node/1870
City of Remscheid did not held its first promis
http://thecaravan.org/node/1835
Worse than in prison
TV-report from WDR, February 7, 2009
http://www.wdr.de/mediathek/html/regional/2009/02/07/lokalzeit-bergisches-land-fluechtlingsheim.xml
Refugees complain about harassments
Cosmos TV Coverage of the WDR
articel: http://www.wdr.de
/themen/politik/nrw04/remscheid_wohnheime/index.jhtml
TV-report: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASr3l5_UbUI
Refugees complain about the Camp Situation
Rheinische Post Online, Remscheid, January 22, 2009
http://www.rp-online.de/public/article/remscheid/663769/Fluechtlinge-bemaengeln-Zustaende-in-Heimen.html
Refugees demand freedom of movement
junge Welt, 23.01.2009 / Inland / Seite 5
http://www.jungewelt.de/2009/01-23/047.php
Less controls in the refugee camps in Remscheid
WDR short news
http://www.wdr.de/themen/kurzmeldungen/2009/02/09/kontrollen_in_remscheider_fluechtlingsheim_nur_noch_woechentlich.jhtml
The association of BAF focuses on trust of the refugees
Remscheider General-Anzeiger, Artikel vom 14. Februar 2009
http://www.rga-online.de/lokales/remscheid.php?publikation=2&template=phparttext&ausgabe=47742&redaktion=2&artikel=109007815
City administration rejects the accusation of the refugees
Remscheider General-Anzeiger, Artikel vom 14. Februar 2009
http://www.rga-online.de/lokales/remscheid.php?userid=&publikation=2&template=phparttext&ausgabe=47742&redaktion=2&artikel=109007817
Monika Düker zu Gast im Asylbewerberheim rga Online.
Am 9.12.2008 besuchte Monika Düker die ...
Flüchtlingsunterkunft in Remscheid.
Demonstration in Remscheid in memory of Mohammad Sillah
Criminalisation, harassment and ...exclusion of refugees.
300 police officers on drug search
Remscheider General-Anzeiger, 25.10.2007
http://www.rga-online.de/archiv/archivsuchergebnis.php?userid=1&publikation=2&template=artsuchneu&ausgabe=42145&archiv=
1&redaktion=2&artikel=108565301.
Refugees complain about harassements
WDR Regional: Around 300 police officers were involved in the operation of October 24, 2007. They searched one refugee camp in Remscheid, but the suspicion of drug dealing was not confirmed. The refugees feel harassed.
WDR Audio File.
The communes play around with the taxes
junge Welt, 04.02.2009 / Inland / Seite 5
http://www.jungewelt.de/2009/02-04/044.php?sstr=Remscheid
Secrets about the death of an african
Remscheider General-Anzeiger, 31.01.2007
http://www.rga-online.de/archiv/archivsuchergebnis.php?userid=&publikation=2&template=artsuchneu&redaktion=2&artikel=108298698&archiv=1Kontakt:
KARAWANE für die Rechte der Fluchtlinge und MigrantInnen
c/o AZ Wuppertal, Markomannenstr. 3, 42105 Wuppertal
Telefon: 0160 27 4244 4 ×€ E-Mail: wuppkarawane@yahoo.de ×€ Internet: http://thecaravan.org
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Open letter to
Head of Social Office Remscheid, Burkhard Mast-Weisz
Copy to
Mayor of Remscheid, Mrs Beate Wilding
Social Welfare Office (Sozialamt) of RemscheidCitizens of Remscheid
Mrs Düker, Speaker (NRW) of the Green Party for domestic affairs
Refugee Council NRW
Stop the signature practice in refugee Heims in Remscheid
Dear Mr. Mast-Weisz,
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
we are refugees from different Parts of this World. We all live in Remscheid, some of us since many years, some of us for not so long. We write this open letter, because we feel like prisoners.
We are not allowed to move freely. We are forced to confirm our presence every day by signatures at the Hausmeister Office in our Heims. If we do not sign, we are punished. Either the monthly payment is reduced, or we receive only vouchers (Gutscheine), or we are unregistered without our knowledge from the Heim.
The BAF (Betreuung ausländischer Flüchtlinge), that administrates the refugee Heims in Remscheid, states that with such a practice they can first control that we do not work “illegally” and second we do not violate the Residenzpflicht. The Residenzpflicht is a racist law, that reduces our human right of free movement. But it is not the responsibility to watch over the Residenzpflicht. Nevertheless, within our district we could visit for example our friends in Solingen. But we can not do so, because we have to confirm our presence everyday by signing at the Hausmeiterbüro.
Apart from the signature practice, there is a camera at the entrance of our Heim and in its courtyard. All our movements in and out of the Heim are controlled. These leads to the situation, that we feel like prisoners. We have committed no crime. We are not dangerous and do not need to be controlled. In other cities, there are neither cameras nor signature lists. Why are we refugees in Remscheid treated like prisoners in an open prison?
We are waiting for your invitation as was promised to us, to meet with the Sozialamt, with the BAF and the janitors to solve our problems. We demand to live in Remscheid in dignity and with respect.
signed by 53 refugees from Remscheid