Hamburg, 16.10.2013
Open letter by the group „Lampedusa in Hamburg“ to the senate of Hamburg and a renewal of our offer for talks
Dear Mr. Scholz, dear Mr. Neumann,
We, members of the group „Lampedusa in Hamburg“, do not hide our identity, but the European governments themselves are hiding from their responsibility and refuse to face the reality.
On 1 May 2013 we, the Libyan war refugees, appeared in the public in Hamburg and made the circumstances of our existence in Hamburg visible, explaining why we came here. The reasons why the entire European Union including Hamburg are responsible for the recognition and practical application of our Italian refugee status were also made clear.
We have asked for discussions with you, the Hamburg government, in order for you to find a political solution to our traumatic predicament of living without any rights. You have never sought discussions with us, but instead hide behind a law, which poses a threat of to our lives. You ignore the reality by claiming that the return to Italy is the only (legal) possibility, and thus you fail to acknowledge the dangerous situation refugees face in Italy.
Discussions with us never took place. Therefore on the 22. May we marched to the city hall, fruitlessly requesting talks. Through this action, the general public and media became aware of our situation. Many have become acquainted with us. For nearly six months we have been in public. At our protest and information tent , we speak with the citizens daily, likewise with the many tourists. Human rights representatives, priests and imams, Teachers and pupils , EU-parliamentarians and members of the Bundestag have also visited us. We appear with our names and stories in the media. We openly demand our rights and we publicly announce meetings.
We are not generally against giving our papers to the authorities, so that law can rule. In the view of the refusal to approach us and the refusal to recognize the life-threatening emergency we are in, we fear that you inhumanely want to prepare our deportation. In our desperate situation, we need to know, what will happen to us, if we hand ourselves over to the authorities. But we don’t know what they are planning and we have the fear that the European politics will destroy our lives once more.
We would like to remind you of the only discussion which took place in our tent with a representative of the Sozialbehörde and a representative the Flüchtlingszentrum. At the time, when the much needed humanitarian aid, which allowed us to have shelter instead of sleeping on the streets, was already being provided by members of the public, churches and the mosques. We were told there was no available accommodation in Hamburg, that the situation was very difficult, however you would try. We were to submit a list with our names and if something was found, we could partially recover from the weeks of living on the wet and cold streets, as a preparation for our return journey back to Italy. The first negotiations between you and the Nordkirche failed.
No further discussion was sought with us. You publicly announced that there was no scope of action for Hamburg to take.
In a press conference, together with our lawyers, we stated that Hamburg does have legal possibilities. The paragraph 23 residence act exemplifies our common escape and life story beginning from the escalation of the war in Libya in March 2011. This paragraph was created in order to avoid complex individual procedures for a large number of people who all fulfill the same criteria. The application of this paragraph lies at the discretion of the respective federal state government with approval of the Federal Minister of Interior.
With reference to the most likely refusal by the Federal Ministry of the Interior you rejected this option. They however pointed several times to the sovereignty of Hamburg – first, in an answer to an enquiry at the parliament, then in the answers to the persons who had signed the petition, then through the human rights commissioner of the federal government.
Since you refused our proposal to apply §23, the Northern Church again tried to hold talks directed at a solution. The outcome was that our lawyers, together with Fluchtpunkt and following your proposal, submitted anonymous model applications. We had decided to make a further application stating the name of the person. All applications represent all of us. Your administration rejected all applications. The substantial reasons stated in the applications were countered by quoting from the law. Thus, the second attempt of the Nordkirche to mediate had failed.
We have continued to stand in public attention. Support and understanding for our cause have grown steadily. Discussions and conversations about how to achieve a political solution took place.
In this very moment – even while the agony for the latest deaths at Lampedusa is still fresh – you start a police operation against us, who have survived the war and the flight to Lampedusa. This shocks the world.
Laws were violated and perverted in the process. To the emotionally strained public you defended these measures by giving a wrong presentation of our situation and our status. Therefore the clarification:
- We are in possession valid documents . This puts a question mark to the entire police operation.
- We do not hide our identity, on the contrary, we are one of the most present and most public groups of people in town.
- We do not apply for asylum because we have gone through the procedures in Italy already. This not only makes a second procedure unnecessary, but also it does not make sense legally.
We appeared in the city for reasons which we did not produce or are responsible for. But we are indeed responsible for the fact that many people in the city stand by our side. We have always declared where we came from, why we came and that we are here to stay, and why. In this fight, we are confronted with wicked allegations and harsh repression, but we believe that our cause is just.
A problem as complex and sensitive as ours cannot be solved with the sledge hammer. Constructive talks between us, the affected, and you, the responsible representatives of this city, should be way out of the spiral of escalation, that has gripped the city Hamburg. We, the group „Lampedusa in Hamburg“ have always signaled our willingness to talk and renew our offer for talks once more. Our telephone numbers and the numbers of our lawyers are known.
Sincerely,
Affo Tchassei (Tel. 0176-717 402 36)
Asuquo Udo (Tel. 0152 146 725 37)
Anane Kofi Mark (Tel. 0152 170 045 94)
Friday Emitola (Tel. 0152 170 052 71)
Speakers of the group „Lampedusa in Hamburg“
Here you can download the Open Letter as a PDF-file