Demonstration: Don’t let refugees drown!
Sunday 21 April, 14.00 hour – 16.00 hour
Dam, Amsterdam
Taken from: https://www.facebook.com/events/557336814769209/
The EU has recently decided to stop saving refugees in the Mediterranean. At the same time, the EU is investing in expanding the number of border soldiers. In 2027, 10,000 border soldiers must be at the ready to keep refugees off of the European continent.
The bottom line is that the EU doesn’t want to spend money on saving drowning refugees, but once refugees do make it to the European mainland, suddenly there is money for armed border soldiers to meet them, lock them up and then send them back to the misery from which they fled.
Volunteers who do their best to help refugees in the Mediterranean are criminalized in various ways. Several volunteers in different countries have been arrested for having the courage to lend a helping hand to refugees in need.
In the meantime, it has become so dire that the only ship that went out sea to save human lives in the Mediterranean, the Sea-Watch 3, is no longer allowed to sail. The ship sails under the Dutch flag and the Dutch cabinet states that the “crew and safety requirements” are not strict enough. According to Sea-Watch, this is a political trick aimed at stopping Sea-Watch’s activities
The Dutch government and the EU should be ashamed of this denigrating policy. This can and must change. Don’t let people fleeing war, violence, poverty and climate chaos drown, instead offer them a safe place where they can build a new existence.
With this demonstration, we call on the Dutch government to:
• let the Sea-Watch 3 do its work;
• Create a safe route for refugees so that there won’t be any more unnecessary deaths;
• Stop arms trade.
But the city of Amsterdam must also take its responsibility when it comes to refugees. The arrival of a 24-hour shelter for undocumented refugees is very welcome – but by no means a definitive -solution. The agreement is that no one needs to sleep on the street in Amsterdam, but in reality, people do sleep on the street. Right now, for example, there are about 60 refugees who are left to be taken care of by churches as a result of the closure of the winter shelter. The city has so far refused to arrange alternative accommodation for this group.
That is why we call on politicians in Amsterdam to:
• Immediately reopen the winter shelter for at least three months;
• Establish as quickly as possible a permanent emergency shelter for undocumented refugees and homeless people.
More information about the program and the cooperating organizations will follow soon.