Here is Caravan Bremen's message:
“Close the Katzhütte camp! Close the Katzhütte Camp! Close the Katzhütte Camp!”
We want to announce very clearly in all languages spoken at the Katzhütte Camp that we insist in closing Katzhütte and all other refugee isolation camps. We want to inform you that you are not alone; we and many others are with you in this struggle.
Whereas even birds are relatively free to fly everywhere that they want, it is shameful to force the people in an isolation camp like Katzhütte to stay in one place. Although the refugees of Katzhütte are said to be "living in Germany", in fact they are placed outside of Germany. This is an inhuman way of treating people and goes against what they literally accept as their responsibility to refuge for those in need of it.
In spite of the just demands of refugees for better living condition, the authorities have tried to forcefully separate the refugee activists from the others and exert more pressure over those refugees who continue to be forced to live in Katzhütte. They hope to break the peoples' will by forcing permanent prison conditions on refugees.
But they are wrong. The refugees are resisting and the Caravan stands with them side-by-side and is there to inform them more and more about the facts and the rights of the refugees.
We know that imposing isolation condition over the refugees in Katzhütte is not an exception; this is a routine act of this system. They impose this kind of pressure all around especially over those people who dissent. Even they themselves see that their system is sinking fast like a ship in stormy waters. This is because of the very daily capitalistic and colonial acts of their system.
Their solution for this catastrophe is to make more wars, making more refugees, and building higher walls to prevent people from arriving here. They would instead prefer to see them die on their way here, while simultaneously deporting those who succeed to overcome the borders of Fortress Europe. Once here, the refugees who resist are and forced to live in isolation camps, with the rest being prepared to become the servants of their failed system.
We say no to all of this, and we are right. When we say close these isolation camps, we mean stop this reactionary system of producing refugees and causing them to die while escaping your wars and the threats of your puppet regimes. When we say close these isolation camps, we mean stop deportation, stop degrading and humiliating the people , stop social exclusion, stop resident obligation, stop racism, stop police brutality, stop exploitation, stop colonialism.
We know very well that so long as their capitalistic system continues to rule the absolute majority of mankind will suffer. Katzhütte is a symbol of their system, and it must be closed.
25.03.2009 the Caravan Bremen
*Invitation to the Campaign of The VOICE Refugee Forum: Katzhütte is not closed yet!
*Press Conference on 26.03.2009 in Erfurt - Katzhütte Isolation Camp is not closed yet!
Refugees Calling - *Refugee Congress on Lagers and Isolation Camps in Erfurt, 26. – 28.03. 2009