"Where, please, is Europe?"

5
(3)

Post photo: shards | © Pixabay

Here are my thoughts on the new refugee crisis at the eastern EU border. During my research, I was particularly impressed by a newspaper report describing the terrible experiences of a group of Somali refugees in the border area between Poland and Belarus. It is depressing and almost unbearable for the image of the EU as a community of values ​​that the community does not want to succeed in finding a common concept for the problem area of ​​"refugees, asylum and migration".  

"Where, please, is Europe?" — The new refugee crisis on the eastern outer border of the EU

Under the ambiguous headline “Where, please, is Europe?”, the Süddeutsche Zeitung recently reported on the new refugee crisis on the eastern EU external border between Poland and Belarus, which has been going on there since August this year. To what extent the new crisis can be compared with that of 2015 is not to be examined in more detail here. The current figures are undoubtedly not comparable to 2015. But where there is little experience with refugees, even relatively small numbers seem to trigger violent reactions. Lithuania declared a state of emergency on July 9.7.2021, 150, when the number of immigrants had risen to around 9.7.2021 a day (sueddeutsche.de July 1.9.2021, 2,50: "Lukashenko reacts with anger towards the West"). Emergency law has also been in force in Poland since September 14.10.2021st, 366 in the border area with Belarus. At the end of August, work began on erecting a 14.10.2021 meter high barbed wire enclosure. On October XNUMX, XNUMX, the majority of the Polish parliament approved the construction of a permanent border fortification. In the Süddeutsche Zeitung report, this is described as a solid, high barrier, equipped with a surveillance system and touch detectors. The facility is said to cost the equivalent of XNUMX million euros (sueddeutsche.de, October XNUMX, XNUMX: “Poland’s parliament approves construction of fortifications on the EU’s external border”). 

One can only guess what exactly is happening in the border area between Poland and Belarus. After Parliament approved the state of emergency at the beginning of September, neither doctors nor the Red Cross, no European observers and no journalists no longer have direct access to the approximately 400 km long border. (sueddeutsche.de, October 26.10.2021, XNUMX: “Where, please, is Europe?”). The interested newspaper reader suddenly realizes how important free and unhindered reporting by independent media is for the citizens of a democratic state in order to be able to get an idea of ​​what politicians do and don't do. The Süddeutsche Zeitung report quotes a Polish border officer whose statement doesn't bode well: “These people are like stones. Lukashenko throws them over to us, we throw them back." Given this statement, the reports about the dramas and tragedies that are taking place in the border area - shielded by the state of emergency - are probably correct.

Using the example of the 23-year-old Somali Abdi Fatah describes how an escape from Africa to Europe works and what can happen to the refugees. Abdi Fatah wandered through the forests and swamps of the border area together with seven compatriots. They made it to the Polish village of Siemianówka, some 24 km from the border, on the night of October 25-6, where they Florian Hassel, a journalist from the Süddeutsche Zeitung, told them that they had previously been picked up seven times by Polish border guards and sent back to Belarus. Here is a passage from the report verbatim: 

“The thermometer dropped to minus four degrees in the night from October 24th to 25th. But their jackets are thin and don't even protect against a fresh summer wind. Abdi Fatah and his traveling companions are frozen to the bone, they haven't eaten for five days, they've only drunk water from puddles. Somalis lost their shoes while wading through one of the swamps that dot the forests here at Bialowieza National Park. The men and women are finished.” 

sueddeutsche.de, October 26.10.2021, XNUMX: “Where, please, is Europe?”

In addition, it is reported how the parents of Abdi Fatah scraped together all their money so that their son could set out for Europe. Although he learned public administration in Mogadishu (whatever that may mean in Somalia), he couldn't find a job. He describes the situation there in a few sentences: “My country dangerous. no job No stability. No security.” There is neither work nor a stable government there, and no one can say whether the terrorist militia al-Shaabab will soon control the whole country.

According to Wikipedia, the Federal Republic of Somalia – as the state has been called since 2012 – is considered an “extremely fragile and undeveloped state, both in terms of political and economic development. After the fall of the authoritarian government Siad Barre In 1991, due to the ongoing civil war, there had been no functioning central government for more than 20 years. The transitional governments formed under the protection of the international community from 2000 onwards were largely unsuccessful; At times they were barely able to keep the capital under their control. Large parts of the country fell into the hands of local clans, warlords, radical Islamist groups or pirates” (de.wikipedia.org: “Somalia”). Somalia had to – and perhaps still has to – be described as a “failed state”. Wikipedia describes Somalia as one of the countries with the world's largest population of refugees and internally displaced people. In 2016, there are approximately 977 Somali refugees registered with the UNHCR.

It is not surprising that young Somalis like Abdi Fatah head towards Europe in search of a better future. "Belarus sends them on, Poland sends them back." The Süddeutsche Zeitung calls it "a story about people nobody wants." One might ask which legal pigeonhole people like Abdi Fatah can be sorted. Are they politically persecuted who can assert a right to political asylum? The asylum template may not fit properly. They are often labeled with the discriminatory term "economic refugees". An ambiguous term when you consider that in the 18th and 19th centuries millions of such "economic refugees" emigrated from all European countries to the USA in order to find better future prospects there. The "economic refugees" from Europe made America strong and powerful -- but they were not always welcome in the United States either. 

Lukashenko is the “head of a state smuggling ring”

At the meeting of EU foreign ministers on October 18.10.2021th, XNUMX in Luxembourg, the German foreign minister said Heiko Maas, the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko is nothing more than the head of a state smuggling ring. How this happens in practice is described in the report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, which has already been quoted several times. 

The Somali Abdi Fatah flew from Mogadishu first to Istanbul and from there to Minsk, the capital of Belarus. He didn't tell the journalists what was happening there. However, the report describes what other refugees have described: First, the stay as a tourist in a hotel in Minsk and the surrounding area. Then – usually at night – transport by bus or truck to the Polish border and then: happy journey towards the EU. There are currently four daily flights between Istanbul and Minsk alone. There are currently 15 migrants waiting in Minsk to continue their journey to the west. The SZ report quotes a former Belarusian security official who told Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza that the smuggling of migrants to the Polish border was a joint operation by the Lukashenko regime and the Russian secret service FSB. According to a Belarusian ex-diplomat, Lukashenko set up twelve front companies posing as travel agencies, which work with the secret service to organize transport to the border. (When I heard this description, it occurred to me that Putin completed his “training years” with the Russian secret service in the GDR). The German Foreign Minister's statement that Lukashenko is the head of a state-run smuggling ring can apparently be substantiated.

The Somali group is likely to be like this or something similar Abdi Fatah reached the border area and, after several unsuccessful attempts, reached the Polish town of Siemianówka, where helpers initially took them in and cared for them. To prove that in the Polish border region not only refugees are deterred and chased back to Belarus, I want another passage from the report of the Süddeutsche Zeitung repeat in verbatim; She comes from the border town of Michalowo (3 inhabitants):

“Then at the end of September the city called for warm clothing to be sent to the refugees. In the Machalowo fire station, the fire brigade pulled out a fire truck to make room for the jackets and coats, shoes and energy bars arriving from all over Poland. The donations are passed on to helpers, kindergartens or hospitals in the border region. 'It's not about supporting illegal immigration or people smuggling. It's about preventing people from dying in the woods at night,' said Deputy Mayor Konrad Sikora. According to the aid organization Granica, ten people have officially been found dead so far. But no one knows how many died in total.”

sueddeutsche.de, October 26.10.2021, XNUMX: “Where, please, is Europe?”

The helpers in Siemianówka, including Frank Sterczewski, an opposition member of the Polish parliament, summon the border guards and several journalists to have witnesses for what happened next. Abdi Fatah has a piece of paper with him that says in English in capital letters: "I want asylum in Poland." 

Legal or illegal? It's a matter of definition, which can be subtle or human, depending on the direction. The SZ writes: “For thousands of migrants … the path ends at the border. Officially, Poland's border guards prevent hundreds of "attempts at illegal border crossings" every day, with many apparently being counted multiple times. According to international law, migrants have the right to apply for asylum even if they have crossed a border illegally. In reality, however, Poland's border officials immediately push people back across the border into Belarus. It's a practice that was “legalized” by a Polish law a few days ago, but according to the United Nations contradicts international law.” … Sejm MP Sterczewiski is one of the few Polish politicians “who are working to make it illegal too Refugees and migrants who have crossed the border can apply for asylum, in accordance with international law -- and are not pushed back across the border first.”         

Four people from the Somali refugee group are taken from Siemianówka to the hospital in the small town of Hajnówka. The four others, including Abdi Fatah, were to be driven by truck to the border guard base in Narewka. “But when the truck didn't go to Narewka, but in the opposite direction. There he disappears near the village of Babia Góra in the restricted zone at the border, which has been declared a state of emergency.” …

I deliberately reproduced this story from the Polish-Belarusian border area in great detail. The journalist's description Florian Hassel I think it is excellent journalistic work. "Where, please, is Europe?" the refugees may ask as they wander through the forests in the border region. Are we already "over there" or are we still in the country of the autocrat Lukashenko, who lured us here with big promises? But the question is also aimed at the EU: “Where is Europe please?” Six years have passed since the great refugee crisis of 2015 and not much has changed. Deterrence, isolation, defense of Fortress Europe and push-backs still seem to be the only response from the EU community of values. But it sounds like the irony of fate: Poland was and is one of the member states of the European Union that has so far blocked the much-vaunted "European solution" and now the country is hoping for the solidarity of the others...

Lukashenko seeks revenge for EU sanctions

This new refugee crisis did not start in August 2021. Its actual beginning dates back years. Ruled since 1994 Alexander Lukashenko Belarus with an iron hand. He allegedly won the last presidential election in August 2020 with around 80 percent of the votes. He either did not admit opposition candidates, drove them out of the country, or had them arrested. Wikipedia reports that political scientists refer to him as "Europe's last dictator". It can be assumed that the election result was falsified and that the opposition's demand for new elections is fully justified. The EU does not recognize the election result either. After Lukashenko brutally cracked down on demonstrations against the outcome, it imposed sanctions on a number of people responsible for the brutal bludgeoning of the protests. When the regime intercepted a Ryanair passenger plane flying from Athens to Vilnius on May 23.5.2021, XNUMX, forced it to land in Minsk and forced the government critics on board Roman Protasevich and had his girlfriend arrested, the EU imposed further sanctions; this time not only against individuals, but against important sectors of the economy of Belarus, e.g. B. against the manufacturers of tobacco products, the oil industry and the potash and fertilizer production. Foreign Minister Maas stated that the sanctions would continue consistently if President Lukashenko does not end the suppression of the democratic opposition and clear the way for new elections. “We want to make a contribution to ensuring that this regime is dried up financially, and that is not the end of the story” (tagesschau.de, 21.6.2021/XNUMX/XNUMX: "A strong sign towards Minsk?"). The official news agency Belta reported on the plane incident that Lukashenko himself had ordered this because there was a report about explosive substances on board. However, such substances were not found (tagesschau.de, May 23.5.2021, XNUMX: “Forced landing, blogger arrested”). 

"Lukashenko reacts with anger towards the West," headlined the Süddeutsche Zeitung a report on the reactions of those in power (sueddeutsche.de, 9.7.2021): "It happened, as the expert (the Belarusian political scientist Artyom Schraibman) predicted.

 “Lukashenko is counting on full confrontation with the EU and closing ranks with Moscow. He threatened counter-sanctions against Western companies without being specific. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Minsk, the dictator said, "must react more actively to any unfriendly actions against Belarus." His regime no longer has many means for this, he has already severed most of his connections to the West." (sueddeutsche.de, July 9.7.2021, 9.7.2021: “Lukashenko reacts with anger towards the West”). Lukashenko said on July XNUMX, XNUMX that he would no longer stop migrants at the border, "we have neither the money nor the strength to do so - because of the sanctions." Why large numbers of refugees are flying to Minsk at once and later on the Polish- He did not say that they would appear at the Belarusian border.

So much for the prelude to the new refugee crisis on the eastern outer border of the EU. In July 2021, he did not say that Lukashenko was already working hard to smuggle the refugees to the border. Lukashenko simply wants to “take revenge” for the EU sanctions and he considers refugees to be a tried and tested means of doing so. Deep-rooted political or even moral points of view -- it was planned to use people as "pawns" -- are unlikely to have played a role in his coordination with Putin. The main concern of the two autocrats was to test the EU, to tease and sow discord between EU member states in an area where the Union -- as has been shown since the crisis of 2015 to date -- is divided and vulnerable is. 

I could now explain how the EU should or should behave in this dispute. Above all, whether it would make sense to seek contact with Lukashenko, similar to Erdogan, or whether one should not approach Putin directly, since the decisive decisions in this matter will undoubtedly be made in Moscow. A report by the Süddeutsche Zeitung about a video conference between Putin and Lukashenko on November 4.11.2021th, XNUMX is noteworthy. Closer cooperation between the two countries was agreed, particularly in the area of ​​economics. The monetary and financial policy between Russia and Belarus should be adjusted, the tax system harmonized and a common market for oil and natural gas created; Furthermore, agricultural policy should be standardized. In addition, the countries want to work together more closely militarily; joint training and combat centers are said to have already been founded. The SZ report notes that Lukashenko has so far rejected Russian military bases in Belarus. But since Lukashenko has isolated himself within Europe, he has become more and more dependent on Putin, and - as the Süddeutsche Zeitung writes -- "Putin will try to tie Minsk as closely as possible to Moscow and to establish this dependency for the future" (sueddeutsche.de, November 5.11.2021, XNUMX: “Putin assures Lukashenko of his support”).

But I want to take a different perspective: With his refugee campaign, Lukashenko unintentionally holds up a mirror to the European Union and rubs salt in an open wound in the Union. When it comes to refugees, asylum and migration, there are two weak points within the EU that can definitely become a crucial test for the community:

  1. A contradiction is revealed between the claims to humanity, the values ​​and essence of the EU, and the realities since 2015 - here a moral dilemma becomes visible.
  2. It reveals the inability of the EU community of values ​​to solve a problem that can only be solved together six years after the crisis of 2015, namely to develop a common concept for the area of ​​“refugees, asylum and migration” that is binding for everyone. Here a dilemma of practical politics becomes visible.

Comments on number 1.

If you search the Internet for statements on the key word “fundamental values ​​of the European Union”, you will repeatedly come across the term “community of values”. On September 24.9.2009, XNUMX, the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) formulated the following under the heading “The Values ​​of the European Union”: “The EU has long been misunderstood as a purely economic community. Although the economy plays an important role in the EU, it must not be forgotten that the EU is first and foremost a community of values.”

The state center for political education in Baden-Württemberg defines it in a similar way (lpb) the purpose and principles of the EU: The European Union is a community of values

The EU is based on common fundamental democratic values, which are set out in Article 2 of the EU Treaty as amended by the Lisbon Treaty and in more detail in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Respect for human dignity, freedom, pluralistic democracy, tolerance, equality and non-discrimination, justice and the rule of law, as well as respect for human rights, including the protection of minorities, form the foundation of the European Union.

The Lisbon Treaty put it similarly:

Article

The values ​​on which the Union is founded are respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values ​​are common to all Member States in a society characterized by pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men.

Special provisions on the right to asylum, among other things, can be found in the Charter of Fundamental Rights European Union:

Article 18 Right of Asylum

The right to asylum is granted in accordance with the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967 relating to the Status of Refugees and the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter " the contracts").

Article 19 Protection in the event of deportation, expulsion and extradition

(1) Collective expulsions are not permitted.

(2) No one shall be deported or expelled or extradited to a State where he or she faces a serious risk of being subjected to the death penalty, torture or any other inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.

In its Düsseldorf program of October 28.10.2012th, XNUMX, the EUROPA-UNION Germany stipulated the creation of a democratic, constitutional federal state on the basis of a constitution as the goal of European unification. 

This state is referred to in paragraph 3 of Düsseldorf program described as follows:

3. Europe as a community of values

The European federal state is founded on the values ​​laid down in the Council of Europe's Human Rights Convention and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, which include, above all, the inviolability of human dignity and the inalienable rights of the individual. These values ​​are the goal and yardstick of his political actions. Promoting democracy and human rights peacefully requires the European Union to work particularly closely with states around the world that also peacefully promote democracy and human rights.

Statement by the President of the European Commission:

"Europe will always remain true to its values ​​and reach out to people fleeing persecution or war - that is our moral duty."

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (Source: "Good reasons for the EU - Why we need the European Union" - European Commission, July 2020)

(The President of the Commission did not distinguish between “legal” and “illegal” refugees).

So far the Theory on the keyword “European Union community of values”. To describe the Reality I took the following critical chapter headings from the website of the Federal Working Group Pro Asyl (overview: EU asylum policy):

  • Death at Europe's borders
  • The expansion of Fortress Europe
  • Third countries as bouncers
  • Inhuman and lacking in solidarity: The Dublin system
  • At an impasse: refugees in Greece
  • Human Rights Free Zone Balkan Route
  • Imprisonment and Homelessness: Refugees in Hungary
  • Why Europe's "refugee crisis" is a racism crisis

The Pro Asyl paper primarily describes what happened after the developments since 2015. With a view to the current crisis on the eastern EU external border, two headlines from reports in the Süddeutsche Zeitung can be added:

  • "Death at the border" (sueddeutsche.de, 30.9.2021)
  • "When people are declared weapons" (sueddeutsche.de, 27.10.2021)

Comments on point 2.

"Once upon a time - a good idea," says a report on tagesschau.de of September 22.9.2020, XNUMX on the Dublin Agreement, the cornerstone of the Common European Asylum Policy (CEAS). "It regulates that only one Member State is responsible for an asylum seeker, namely the one that the person seeking protection entered first. The aim was to prevent all potential host countries from declaring that they are not responsible and a refugee from being pushed from one state to another.” The agreement stipulates that refugees must apply for asylum in the EU country in which they first entered the EU . The report will do so Petra Bendel, the managing director of the Central Institute for Regional Research at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, quotes: "It was a birth defect of the Dublin procedure that it did not provide a mechanism for the solidarity and fair redistribution of refugees." "Dublin has failed", is the headline of this report at tagesschau.de. On the website of the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) explains when this failure became clear: "In the course of the so-called refugee crisis (since 2015), the weaknesses of the Dublin rule became clear, and a debate began about reforming the system."

In my opinion, it was not only the Dublin rule that failed, but above all also the European Council of Heads of State and Government of the EU member states, which was unable to agree on a new regulation. On the council, every member knew what he or she didn't want. Several of the Commission's proposals, which initially aimed primarily at a fair distribution of refugees, failed. On September 23.9.2020, 2020, the Commission presented the draft of a new migration and asylum pact. In a report from September XNUMX, the Science and Politics Foundation - German Institute for International Politics and Security describes the initial situation and also what could happen to the new proposal:

"Since the great migration of refugees in 2015, the fronts in the EU have hardened: the asylum systems of the countries on the southern EU external borders -- above all Greece -- are chronically overburdened; the governments are therefore demanding a solidarity distribution of the new arrivals in the EU. On the other hand, the four Eastern European Visegrád states as well as Austria categorically reject a mandatory distribution of asylum seekers or recognized refugees. The governments of the other EU member states are under internal political pressure and therefore insist on a pan-European distribution in order to achieve a long-term viable solution..." 

(SWP Update No. 78 – September 2020)

The SWP described this initial situation as a "dysfunctional mixture" which the commission is trying to counter with a "big hit".

But the discussions on this “big shot” at a European solution to the problem now seem to have gone “nowhere”. The commission draft is not mentioned in press reports about the most recent meeting of heads of state and government on October 22nd/23.10.2021rd, XNUMX. Several of these reports on the meeting -- probably the last summit at that Angela Merkel took part as German Chancellor – are headed “EU struggles over migration and argues with Poland” (stuttgarter-zeitung.de, 22.10.2021; Neue Westfälische Zeitung, nw.de, 22.10.2021/XNUMX/XNUMX).

sees a glimmer of hope Robert Habeck by the Greens in view of the new developments on the border of Poland and Belarus. So far, Poland has strictly refused to redistribute refugees. Habeck: "Maybe the PiS government will rethink" (tagesschau.de, 24.10.2021/XNUMX/XNUMX: "Financial aid for Poland or border controls?"). "Maybe..." Habeck said. I'm not very optimistic.

Because there is still no functioning common concept, each EU country can practically do whatever it wants. This situation pleases nationalists like Kaczynski and Orban. They therefore continue to thwart any attempt to find a European concept. The elections in Poland and Hungary could bring about a change of course. A current report from Greece shows that other member states are also acting neither in solidarity nor with humanity: “Anyone who receives asylum in Greece is financially on their own after a short time. Thousands are fleeing from hunger and homelessness to Germany” (sueddeutsche.de, 7.11.2021: "My kids don't deserve this." 

The question: "Where, please, is Europe?" is -- as far as the problem area "refugees, asylum and migration" is concerned, still unanswered...


How helpful was this post?

Click on the stars to rate the post!

Average rating 5 / 5. Number of reviews: 3

No reviews yet.

I'm sorry the post wasn't helpful to you!

Let me improve this post!

How can I improve this post?

Page views: 2 | Today: 1 | Counting since October 22.10.2023, XNUMX

Share: