On the Move! “Break Isolation Strike”
Refugee Demonstration and liberation Bus Tour 2013
BREAK ISOLATION and Solidarity Act in Jena // Financial call out for solidarity and documentation https://thevoiceforum.org/node/3164
The BREAK ISOLATION Solidarity Action on 8th of April in Eisenberg (Central Admission Lager for Refugees in Thuringia) and Jena has been organized by a broad alliance between The VOICE Refugee Forum Jena, the BREAK ISOLATION Networks, Students Council (Department of Human Rights Representation) and many more civil initiatives in Jena as to send a powerful signal towards the struggles of Roma Self-Organizations for self-determination and against structural exclusion, general and institutionalized discrimination, human rights abuse, Europe wide denial of asylum, deportation and any other form of ruthless violence against Roma people, including sexual rape of women and children accordingly.
The Action started at noon in front of the Central Admission Lager for Refugees in Thuringia in Eisenberg (Landesaufnahmestelle – LAST) with music and inflating balloons showing the logos of the “ALL STAY”-campaign and International Roma Day respectively. The spirit of solidarity jumped over the redlining fences and gates of control almost the very moment after registration talks with the officials in charge for administrative authorities had been finalized, who refused to understand the aim of our action by pleading for their racist legal regulations.
Nevertheless a crowd of 30 to 40 Roma people and other refugees – many of them children – pureed out of the fencing gates to be part of the celebration.
We spread our information flyer in German and Serbo-Croatian language, inflated balloons and danced together…the bans of authority could not hold back this momentum of breaking down isolation and fear.
Our invitation to Roma refugees to join in for our further actions in Jena went out in fertile plains. 4 families and further single individuals adopted the spirit of the Roma “red-letter”-day and agreed to join for further action to Jena. They took their freedom of movement despite the backdrop of residential obligation (“Residenzpflicht”) and referred to the consciousness of their natural rights – especially on that traditional day of Roma self-determination. Communication was managed by a Roma Activist from the Jena, who also was strongly involved in preparations.
After arrival in Jena the group of Roma from Eisenberg was guided to the Jena lager side at Schulstrasse 11, where the housekeeper could be convinced by friendly assertiveness to allow the Roma from Eisenberg to enter the courtyard as to enjoy tea and coffee served by the local Roma families.
The police in the first place tried to regulate the planned demonstration to the pavement, which could not succeed as confident negotiations and even more the body count of about 150 people that had been gathered could not be patronized as usual.
Balloons as the main signal and just one big banner send the signal out to the city and beyond. Arriving at the final destination of the action day at Holzmarkt right in the heart of Jena city center a rally was held with a variety of speeches about the discriminating situation of Roma in their countries of origin but also in Germany and Europe. Maki, the Roman activist was giving emotional thanks towards the solidarity, the Roma people had experienced during this day in contrary to the everyday treatment by German state, authorities and racist parts of German society. He expressed the confidence emerging out of this solidarity that there must be the possibility for Roma to become a coequal community in the middle of German or any other European society. He stated: “Forget about everything you heard about us. No matter how different you think we are – we are still a capable part of any given society. You will realize, if you honestly invite us to be a normal part of this community.”
The balloons were sent to the sky one after another as part of the world wide confirmatory message that Roma people are an equitable part of the peoples on this common planet – notwithstanding their identity and self-determination to be different than others, who dominate by distinguishing themselves by bordering into nation states.
! BREAK ISOLATION ! ! ALLE BLEIBEN ! ! OPRE ROMA !
!!! SOLIDARITY IS OUR WEAPON !!!
The VOICE Refugee Forum Jena
BREAK ISOLATION Network Jena
Students Council (Department for Human Rights Representation)
People without paid Employment (MobB Jena)
Action Networks against right wing extremism Jena (ANW Jena)
Democratic Youth Circle Jena (DJR Jena)
KoKont – Coordination bureau Jena
Voucher Exchange Initiative Apolda
For more information: https://thevoiceforum.org/
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