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Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants, Munich
http://carava.net
Call to Action! Collaboration of the Nigerian Embassy in the deportation of Nigerians from Germany
As we, the Caravan for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants, Munich, have recently learned, the Nigerian Embassy is coming to Munich, Germany, in order to issue 'travel certificates' (TC) for Nigerians living in Munich to the end of their deportation from Germany. The Bavarian Foreigners' Authorities have sent letters summoning Nigerians to attend this hearing with the Nigerian Embassy taking place on Wednesday, the 8th of August in the Munich refugee camp in Tischlerstrasse, and the hearings may well span over several days. The Nigerians summoned are being told that they have to attend in order to have their identity clarified, which means that if they are identified as being a Nigerian citizen, they will be issued a TC which in turn will allow the German Authorities to deport them to Nigeria.
We strongly protest this decision of the Nigerian Embassy to neglect their duty to look after the welfare of their citizens abroad and rather collaborate with the German Authorities in order to tear Nigerians living in Bavaria out of their lives here and help to put them, forcefully, on a plane bound to Nigeria. This is not the first time that the Nigerian Embassy has come to Munich Tischlerstrasse. When they held these hearings in 2004, we observed a large number of deportations of Nigerians afterwards. We also want to state plainly that with this decision, the Embassy is assuming responsibility for the
inhuman and degrading practice of deportation, a practice that already has lead to numerous deaths. It is not long ago that the Nigerian citizen Osamuyia Aikpitanhi was killed by Spanish officers while being deported from Spain in June 2007. The list of persons killed during a deportation is however much longer.
Since we were informed of the Embassy coming down to Munich, we have addressed them in a letter urging them not to come. We have not received a reply, but through an official, we heard that the Embassy went to consult the 'Bundesamt f?r Migration und Fl?chtlinge' (the
German authority concerned with the issues of flight and migration, BAMF) to ask them what to do. In our opinion, this shows who is giving the orders. Instead of consulting with the relevant authorities in Nigeria how to tackle the issue of providing welfare to all Nigerians abroad (as it is expected of an Embassy), they rather went to consult a
German authority infamous for denying the right to stay to many Nigerians, Africans and migrants in general. The Nigerian Embassy claims that there is a German law forcing them to hold this hearings, however it is known to us that various embassies of other Countries have stated very clearly that they are not willing to provide such services to the German authorities. We therefore would like to ask about the real motives behind this collaboration. If they were of a personal and economic nature, or of a similar immoral category, the Nigerian Embassy staff would surely have forefeited their right to
represent Nigerians abroad.
Given the Embassy's intransigence, all that remains is public action. We will state our protest in Munich, but we also urge you to send a protest letter, fax or email to the Nigerian Embassy demanding from them to reverse their sinister decision and not to comply with the wishes of the German authorities, wished that only mean the deportation of Nigerians from Germany. Remind the Embassy of their obligations to Nigerian citizens living abroad and let them know that they are acting in a manner that lacks any respect for the Human Rights globally agreed upon.
What you can do
We have prepared a short text that you can use for your protest letter to the Nigerian embassy. Since we need some kind of feedback, we ask you to send us a carbon-copy of your letter.
Via email: info@nigeriaembassygermany.org and carbon-copy to:
caravane-munich@zeromail.org
Via fax: ++49 (0)30 21230-212 and carbon-copy to: ++49 (0)89 762236
Via mail: Nigerian Embassy, Neue Jacobstra?e 4, 10179 Berlin, Germany
and carbon-copy to: Caravane Munich, c/o EineWeltHaus, Schwanthaler
Str. 80, 80336 M?nchen, Germany
Sample text protest letter
Your Excellency Ambassador Abdul-Kadir Bin Rimdap,
With great distress I have learned of the decision of the Nigerian Embassy to travel to Munich, Bavaria around the 8th of August 2007 in order to issue travel certificates to Nigerians living in Bavaria whose sole purpose is to facilitate the deportation of these people.
This is a cruel fate for the victims of such practices, and it in stark contrast with my view that the Nigerian Mission should have an interest in the welfare of all Nigerian citizens living abroad. The dishonourable circumstances under which such a hearing takes place clearly constitute a humiliation of those whose welfare you should have a personal interest in and thus, any kind of such cooperation is prohibitive.
I believe that such an action would have severe consequences which are incompatible even with your interests. As experience has showed, a large number of Nigerians will be deported from Germany, Nigerians that have established a living here and are often providing vital support to their families at home and their country in general.
During this deportation, the people concerned are exposed to the risk of stress, harrassment, maltreatment and even death, as it has recently occured during the deportation of Osamuyia Aikpitanhi, who was gagged and choked to death by Spanish officers, an event that sparked outrage of Nigerians all over the world. If the Embassy were to engage in this activity, you become an accomplice in the inhuman practice of deportation and assume co-responsibility for the death and sufferings of those being deported.
Please do also consider that the relations between Nigerians living in Germany and the Embassy will suffer. Already in the years prior to 2007, Nigerians have experienced the Embassy as a mere extension of the German government because of such activities. As a result, the reoccurence of distrust and fear can be anticipated if such a delegation were to come to Bavaria for said purpose. This consequence can clearly not be in your interest.
I therefore ask you to reconsider your decision and to rather care for the welfare of all Nigerians living in Germany. Don't send the Embassy delegation to Munich. Refuse to collaborate with the German authorities whose sole aim is the forceful deportation of so many Nigerians living in Germany, a decision taken by many embassies in Germany.
Yours truly,
Signature:
Address:
Couuntry
Protest gegen Vorführung bei der nigerianischen Botschaft
Vom 7. bis 9. August findet in München wieder eine Botschaftsvorführung statt. Diesmal ist die nigerianische Botschaft vor Ort. Bei diesen Terminen werden abgelehnte AsylbewerberInnen gezwungen, bei einer Delegation der Botschaft ihres (oft auch nur vermuteten) Heimatlandes vorzusprechen, um als Bürger desselben identifiziert zu werden. Im Falle einer Identifikation wird dann ein so genanntes Travel Certificate (TC) ausgestellt, mit dem eine Abschiebung erst möglich wird. Botschaftsvorführungen und Papierbeschaffung sind also zentrale Vorgehensweisen der Abschiebebehörden. Die Karawane München hat sich schon seit Jahren gegen diese Termine eingesetzt, zuletzt im April gegen ein Termin mit der Delegation der irakischen Botschaft. Meistens, wie auch heute, finden diese Termine im Flüchtlingslager in der Tischlerstraße statt. Die nigerianische Delegation hält sich die ganze Woche in München auf, und deswegen rufen wir auch weiterhin zu Protest auf. Konkret sind angemeldet
Kundgebungen gegen die Botschaftstermine mit der Nigerianischen Botschaft
Donnerstag, 9. August 2007
Flüchtlingslager in der Tischlerstraße (U-Bahn Fürstenried West)
9.oo bis 14.oo Uhr
Protestfax an die nigerianische Botschaft hier zum download
Bericht von der bisherigen Aktion:
Heute waren schon etwa 15 Menschen trotz Regen vor Ort, um ihrer Protest kundzutun und ankommenden Flüchtlingen den Hintergrund zu erklären. Die Polizei war mit rund 30 Beamten vor Ort und versuchte wiederrum (wie auch im April), Kontakt zu Flüchtlingen zu erschweren. Insbesondere stellten sie sich bei jedem Gespräch dazu und hörten mit, was wir als klare Einschüchterungstaktik einschätzen. Das penetrante und andauernde Abfilmen aller VersammlungsteilnehmerInnen wurde diesmal unterlassen, wir gehen davon aus, dass dies im Zusammenhang mit unserer Beschwerde beim bayerischen Datenschutzbeauftragten steht.
Bei der Abschiebeanhörung nigerianischer Flüchtlinge die vom 7. bis 10. August in München stattfindet, wird sich die Korruption im Herkunftsland zu nutze gemacht. Für jedes „Interview zur Identitätsklärung von Flüchtlingen“, welches nigerianische Botschaftsvertreter durchführen, erhalten sie 250 Euro von der Bundespolizei. Weitere 250 Euro Erfolgsprämie bekommen die Vertreter des korruptesten Landes in Afrika, wenn ein „Emergency Travel Certificate“ ausgestellt wird, das eine sofortige Abschiebung abgelehnter Asylbewerber ermöglicht. 2005 weigerte sich Nigeria noch, durch Anhörungen an Abschiebungen mitzuwirken. Nachdem das Kopfgeld von 130 Euro auf 250 Euro erhöht wurde, finden sie nun wieder statt.
Ob, wie es oft behauptet wird, es für Flüchtlinge eine Straftat darstellt, bei einem solchen Termin sich nicht einzufinden, bezweifeln wir. Nach einem Urteil des OLG Celle steht davon nämlich schlichtweg kein Wort im Gesetz. Wir fahren trotzdem eine zweigleisige Strategie und wollen auch weiter Druck auf die nigerianische Botschaft aufbauen, sich aus diesem schmutzigen Geschäft zurückzuziehen.