Apartheid Residenzpflicht Law
Refugee Activists from Schwäbisch Gmünd stand to denounce any law that undermines their natural human rights as human beings
The so called Residenzpflicht Law – or better the German Apartheid Law – that is said to be abolished since last year still exists in this Democratic State of Law in Germany and still is executed.
This law that postulates ristrictions to the right of free movement of refugees is a racist law and we highly denounce it.
We are still incriminated by the letters of this law just because we were traveling to Jena on the 17th of April in 2014. In the train to Jena we were sidelined and controlled by two federal police officers. Since then we have been criminalized by the Schwäbish Gmünd authority officials and local courts with the options of either paying fine for using our right to free movement or being imprisoned for coercive detention.
According to our fellow refugee Rapheal the Residenzpflicht law is an abusive law because it segregates refugees from the society and is therefore a law that violates the fundamental human right to Freedom of Movement and the German constitution respectively, which postulates dignity, equality and prohibition of racial and ethnic discrimination. In accordance to the decision of our fellow refugee Franklin we have collectively decided not to pay fine for the execution of our freedom to move. Paying such an illegetimate fine would mean to legimate and obey to an abusive racist law. According to Farooq Khan it is a shame that this Apartheid Law is still and exclusively executed in Germany only.
The propaganda that the Apartheid Residenzpflicht law does not exist any more is a political scandal. We are still criminalized by the Schwäbish Gmünd state officials who are trying to force repressive options on us: either to voluntarily pay fine for “violating” Apartheid Law or going into coercive detention as to force us to pay. But we choose another option – we are ready to go prison but only to our fight to the end. We are calling on all refugee and human right activists to solidarize in our resistance of civil disobedience and intervene in our common interest.
We refugees activist from Schwäbisch Gmünd ( Ostabkreis ) keep on wondering why refugees in Germany are still assaulted with criminal threats for moving from one city to another.
Testimonies of Schwäbisch Gmünd activists (literal):
Leke:
Apartheid in Germany just because we went to Jena for workshop on asylum and deportation situation in Germany.
That is why we be came fines of €126 or they send us to prison because of so called Residenzpflicht law. But we have choose to go prison for it because we disagreed to respect any law that disrespect our fundamental human rights because no border can stop our freedom of movement.
We are now calling on our fellow refugees from different part of Germany, activists, students, interested politicians, lawyers, for solidarity to fight together against this Apartheid Residenzpflicht law.
Rapheal
Residenflicht law is a racial law because it segregates refugees from the society, and its a law that abuses the fundamental right of human freedom of movement, and the refugees initiative Schwäbisch Gmünd has blatantly refused to abide to such law.
We have been accused of voilating this racial law simply because we exercised our right of movement; we have been subjected to a fine, and which we also refuse to complied. We have received all sorts of treating letters on this regard to take us to jail if we refuse to pay for this fine.
We (Refugee Initiative Schwäbisch Gmünd) have made the declaration that we cannot pay for the right of our movement because freedom of movement is everybody's right.
We are calling on the national humanright activist and that of the world as a whole to intervene on our situations.
Franklin
We refugee activist from Schwäbisch Gmünd stand to denounce any law that undermines our human rights as human beings. The so call Residenzpflicht law or the Apartheid law that was long abolish still exist in this democatic state of Germany. This law that ristrict the movements of refugees is a racist law and and we highly denounce it.
We are today victims of this Apartheid law just because we traveled to Jena to paticipate in a workshop on deportation and the planification of festivities to crown the 20th annivesary of the Voice Refugee Forum in Deutschland.
On this day the 17th of April 2014 while on the train to Jena we were sideline and controled by two police officers; when we ask them “Why only us?” they responded "We are just doing our job" and further proceeded to tell us that we are not supposed to be in Jena. We now told them that freedom of movement is everybody's right.
Since then we have been criminalized by the Schwäbisch Gmünd state officials with options of either going to prison or pay a sum of € 126 for voilating this Apartheid law. We have decided not to pay for our freedom of movement, because paying means legimating the law and secondly freedom of movement is everybodys right as stated in the german constitutional law.
We are undergoing a very difficult situation as we have been branded as trouble makers just because we want to claim our basic rights. In this light we are calling for a nation wide solidarity so that together we can fight to really end this racist law.
We are determined to go to any extent and no form of intimidation or repression can stop our activism.
Farooq Khan
Hallo I am against Residenzpflicht law beaucse this law stop my freedom of movement. i am against this Apartheid law which exists only in Germany but no other European country. We are victims of this law because we travelled from schwäbisch Gmünd to Jena for a workshop. So they controlled us in Jena train station and they say we are not allowed to travel out of Baden-Württemberg. We are not just victims of control but of racist control. So we must pay for our freedom of movement in strafe now but I say why I pay strafe for my freedom of movement? No! I never pay for my right! Now the all Schwäbisch Gmünd law maker tell us to pay or we go to prison. So we choose another option to go prison and we are ready for our fight to go to end. We are calling every refugee to support us and we need more solidarity for every one to fight against this Residenzpflicht law and I believe we can finish this law for ever for every one. So we can move in all Germany freely and without fear.