05.07.2026 Potsdam

On the first day of the LET FEAR GO refugee empowerment bus tour we drove to Potsdam. Arriving at “Refugee Emancipation solidarity” – a structure where refugees and citizen live together. Exchanging about the current situation and processes. Aferwards we connected with refugees living in a camp in the middle of an industrial area. A camp for families and single man. We shared drinks, cookies and stories. The Kids enjoyed painting and dancing as well as the adults. 

Some of the refugees shared a dinner impressions and demands with us. Which was hold on Freiland Potsdam, a place Seebrucke Potsdam invited us in solidarity. We heard the difficulties of the life in the camp. A place, where people, also kids with special needs, live since years. Where different people and families need to share bathrooms. Where one need to leave their private space, also in the middle of the night, also the little ones, to go to the toilette. While the repressive system is putting pressure constantly – situations between single persons and realities of families on small space can tense massively. An situation full of pressure in which persons get forced to life. Created prison like structures -we have to break free!

06.07.2026 Greifswald

We have just left Straze in Greifswald, a place where we met people who are actively connected to people on the move. We learned that there will be a caravan through Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from august 26th to september 3rd. Solidarity, Equality, Unity. The community organizing goes beyond that.We were inspired by people, who offer cooking, sewing and stitching workshops to open a room to share about experiences. 

Now we are on our way to Lübeck, we leave very thankful and inspired. Also with new people on board!Join us! Wherever you want – we are happy to have you with us! Stronger together.

07.07.2026 Lübeck

Yesterday we arrived in Lübeck. Our first stops were at two different camps. One again in an industrial compound next to the airport, the other a field filled with container. In both places we were expelled by the working staff. However we did not give up like that. In the evening we visited a third camp where we had the opportunity to talk to people and witness their stories. Again the vulnerable and sick are left behind. Despite them having the right to stay, they are forced to continue to live in this stressful conditions with shared bathrooms, because it is impossible to find a flat in Lübeck. #housingForAll

In the afternoon we learned the history of Lübecker Flüchtlingsforum and Solizentrum. The first exists since the deadly attack on a refugee camp in Hafenstraße 1996, where 10 people lost their lives and 39 more people where injured. The Solizentrum has existed since 2015, when ten thousands of refugees passed through the city to continue to scandinavia.

08.07.2026 Osnabrück

Yesterday we arrived in Bramsche Hesepe. We meet another group, after installing our materials: flyers,tables ..we went around the Bramsche-Hesepe’s camp of course not inside as usual they can’t let us be in camp because they pretend that we need an appointment. However we have exchanged with some refugees who are very angry: They complain about the food, the violence of the security guards, they are suffocated in the rooms (8 people per room all nationalities) and as a result living together is not easy at all because each country has its own culture.

Regarding Dublin, all Dublin ticket holders are required to sleep in their assigned room until they are removed from the premises by police. To ensure compliance with this requirement, checks are carried out morning and evening to verify that individuals have indeed slept in their rooms.There were some refugees who wanted to join the bus tour. One of them finally couldn’t because of his Dublin’s situation and the 3 others have promised to come and they also have information about the departure’s time. We left Bramsche- Hesepe at 6:00pm to Osnabrück, Hannoversche where we have a delicious dinner with the entire team.

09.07.2026 Bremen

Yesterday we were warmly hosted in Bremen at Altes Sport­amt who showed a lot solidarity with our struggle. Although the German state, companies and securities did not want us to reach people in all 4 camps we visited. We were still able to talk and exchange with several people, with whom we shared our experiences. They described their conditions as difficult.

At all the camps we visited, there were only a few people left. At one camp in Bremen-West, only 50 people were left from the former 1200 people (capacity was only for 800). This is the reaction of the new GEAS law that already was planned years ago but is implemented now. The European borders are closed and people from the camps are moved away or deported.  A Red Cross worker told us that Germany is pushing the racist and nationalist European law to another extent. With this strategy, Germany is responsible for deaths not only in the Mediterranean Sea but also in large areas of Central and Northern Africa as people are push-backed there already now.

Our tour is growing, we are getting stronger and we will fight until everybody is free. 

10.07.2026 Göttingen

Today, north of Göttingen, we visited a huge camp that’s isolated and surrounded by right-wingers. There, wonderful people from Göttingen handed out food. Together with people from the camp, a local group organized a rally in front of the camp. There were moving speeches, colorful banners, and plenty of sunshine  We’ve criticized the fascist European border regime as well as the German state’s complicity in murder. After a musical ride back, we were once again treated to a delicious meal in Göttingen. There was a great evening program there, featuring personal exchanges, ideas, and inspiration from past bus tours.

11.07.2026 Hamburg

After an intense and strong day of exchange the LetFearGo Tour spend in Hamburg – the bus is already around Kiel. The NINA – Frauen in Aktion collective welcomed us in Hamburg at M1 for an full day of exchange, book reading, movie screenings, shared food and discussions – surly with some dancing along. While there was also individuals from Lampedusa Hamburg, Soli Asyl, Soli Café and Alarm phone present we could share about the backlash and immense growing repression under GEAS, but als  networks of strong resistance and building ties. Followed with an visit at the Lager “Schachthofstraße”, which is Iocated in Harburg – holding unacceptable conditions, a place where our brothers and sisters have to stay sometimes over years…

Complete lack of privacy, visitor ban, aggressive security –  daily repression. The encounter at the camp was an harsh security which forced us away – avoiding us to connect. As we wouldn’t accept this situation, there was an spontaneous Anmeldung to demonstrate officially – after police encounter. Which involved into loud music, chants – short speeches and more detailed exchange with people staying around. As well as two people joining us from the spot for the tour.  We are here and we will fight freedom of movement is everybody’s right.

12.07.2026 Kiel

In Kiel, we were warmly welcomed by the local group who organized a rally in front of the camp in Kiel. We played music, offered child games, maaany cake and had a lot of fun with many people. We exchanged, danced and shouted our our demands: no borders, no nations, stop deportations!
Later, we visited a Heim where we danced again, drank some coffee and had some deep talks. Further, we visited near that Heim an occupied tree as the area should be used for military services instead of social flats. In the evening, the Kiel crew cooked great food for us where we also had a short exchange.
Thanks a lot for this lovely and intense time.

13.07.2026 Düsseldorf

information will follow

14.07.2026 Mainz

Yesterday we received a warm welcome at the University Campus in Mainz. We were allowed to participate in a workshop on political prisoners in Russia, where we subsequently wrote letters to prisoners.
Afterwards we visited a camp and a home, both of which were already closed. We listened to the experiences of local groups.
In the evening, in addition to delicious food, there was an exchange room where we shared our experiences and learned from the participants.

15.07.2026 Darmstadt

Yesterday we experienced a diverse day with a visit to a camp near Mainz, where a resident approached us who had been there for three(!) years. She described her situation to us and shared her desire for an apartment.

Afterwards, we were in Darmstadt for the regular “prison earthquake,” a large and loud rally in front of the deportation prison. It was particularly moving that we were able to communicate directly with the prisoners. You asked for music and spoke to us via phone call directly over the speakers.
Finally, we sat with 40 people in a wonderful place. There we talk over delicious food, share thoughts and ideas, and exchange ideas about past and current struggles.
We thank the dear people of Mainz and Darmstadt for this day!

16.07.2026 Frankfurt

Today we visited Frankfurt and met with the Seebrücke collective at 12 pm at medico international. We had some getting to know each other and introducing each other before we started with the press conference at 2pm. A few journalists were present as well as some members of the Seebrücke collective and supporters. We introduced the Let Fear Go bus tour with a short video that has been prepared beforehand from migrantifa about the cities and lagers that we visited so far, moments shared in the bus, speeches held and photos showing the repression and personal stories that have been shared with us about the horrific conditions and circumstances withing the lagers. In the press conference Napuli was talking about the urgency and reason behind this bus tour. It was a very powerful conference where our comrades living in lagers – joined the bus tour shared their thoughts, demands and emotions.
Afterwards, we had lunch before meeting with project shelter. Where we had a warm welcome with a short introduction round following a presentation from project shelter about their collective and actions. Sharing a delicious dinner and some time for exchnges and more calm moments. At last, we introduced the bus tour in more detail and had a questions round – staying loud and clear : refugees are welcome here!

17.07.2026 Stuttgart

In Stuttgart we visited a camp in Ludwigsburg. We knew beforehand that it was more open than the ones weve seen so far during the tour – once we got there, prepared tables, snacks and music- a person who lives there shared positive experiences with us regarding the accomodation. Issues were discussed about missing financial support structurs. It was very nice to hear good things along the way. Families have their own apartment there instead of one tiny room, it is a quite surrounding with lots of green around and a garden in the back. Afterwards, we invited him and his family to join us for dinner in Stuttgart where we had a very warm welcome from Prisma. We had a tour around, an introduction round where we got to know all the different structures existing within Prisma such as a Legal Cafe, Language Cafe and AQA and many different initiatives. We learned and heard a lot from the Afghan Youth Structure, Kurdish Resistance and Migrantifa Stuttgart. It was a very impressive and empowering exchange.
Thank you – until the next!

As well we took time to watch together for impression of our exchange and discussion from Hamburg :

https://vimeo.com/1209291090

18. – 19.07.2026 München

Bellevue di Monaco

Bellevue di Monaco, located at Müllerstraße 2 is a city funded association with nonprofit status that operates since 2015, in tandem with its apartments where young people(18-27) stay during their vocational training, the section housing families, a „normal“ cafe, and the social center for refugees. Although most of the staff (around 500 people) are volunteers, there are also paid employees; the social center offers a wide range of activities, from German language courses to asylum counseling, and from Arabic lessons to football and boxing. Gender roles were visible in the atmosphere but many women were talking about that they are challenging the patriarchal roles in the space.

Visit to the Ankerzentrum

The camp we visited as a group of seven or eight people looked ordinary from the outside, but inside it was a massive structure spread across three separate sections. We set up tables right in front of the camp, put out our drinks, food, and informational materials (Bellevue di Monaco, Let Fear Go), and turned on the music box. Although the camp residents were generally a bit hesitant since they didn’t know us but still curious, so we were able to talk to quite a lot of people.

According to what they told us, the conditions weren’t too bad: they had almost no complaints about security or social workers, and the food varied from day to day. Three meals were served, each in three-hour time frames; there was no kitchen. They could stay maximum 3 nights outside the camp; after that, the check-out would happen. The rooms were generally clean, accommodating two or three people each, and there was also a family section—we didn’t hear any serious complaints aside from the elevator having been out of order for months. However, when conflicts arose among the residents, the only penalty security imposed was a five-hour suspension. We handed out brochures to those unfamiliar with Bellevue di Monaco; but many people knew it already. And at least 3 people was interested to join the bus tour, at least for few days.

Generally, people spoke cautiously, without going into too much detail; English, Arabic, Swahili, and a little German could be heard in the talks. A few people asked about our objectives, which group we were working with, and where we would publish the reports we were collecting; however, the answers we gave were not very satisfying.

Two camp staff members (one chef and one security) came over and asked us to move the tables about one meter outside the camp’s boundary. We did so, and the matter was settled—though the interest they showed while reading our materials showed a nervousness as they tried to understand what we were doing.

The police also stood in the corner and told us if AfD shows up we can approach them, it was an interesting talk for sure; half an hour later, they returned and asked for a contact person, noting that they were aware this was not an official rally, because it is less than 50 people without megaphones. And one of us volunteered, and their data was in the end given—but at least, we weren’t directly forced to register.

Later we packed up and moved to the Infoladen of a Hausprojekt, where we found a corner to sleep.

19.07.2026

Today, after a long tour of intense 2 weeks, was a day for us to rest a bit, recharge, do our laundry, and clean the truck. After breakfast and our internal meetings, we left the infoladen where we were staying and went to “The TENT,” a place operated by the city of Munich since 1972 (but currently facing the threat of cuts to their financing!) where especially young people can stay for a low cost. Even though it looked like an ordinary hostel in a green field, you could see left-wing stickers and posters everywhere; and there was generally a friendly (and left-wing) atmosphere.

There, we had informal conversations and exchanged information, ideas and contacts with many people; but especially with activists from city of Rosenheim and Seebrücke Munich, as well as with a Munich city employee who works on migration and accomodation issues. We felt very welcome and right at home there—we’d like to thank everyone again for the friendly talks and the support! Later that night, we settled in to sleep under a massive tent alongside hundreds of other people.

20.07.26, Nürnberg

The area around the Heim and the entrance were very quiet; we could go inside and talk to people. Inside, massive and numerous signs warning against cigarettes, hookahs, drugs, knives, etc., caught our attention. Once inside, we spoke with two social workers. We learned that 150 people were staying there, that it would close in November 2026, and that the Red Cross was the operating organization (Träger). And the reason of closure was that there weren’t enough refugees staying. They wanted to distribute the refugees to rural areas who were staying in that Heim. It was actually a capitalist logic, because the operating organizations weren’t making enough money off the refugees. And, of course, people will be affected by the closure; many people work in Nürnberg, attend school and language classes, and use health services. In rural areas, however, they will be isolated and deprived of these opportunities.

Social workers are also affected by this; even though they’ll be working under the Red Cross, they don’t know where they’ll be “transferred” to—in a way, they’re sharing the refugees’ fate.

However, since there weren’t many people inside or around the shelter, and we thought we might encounter more people, we went to the Ankerzentrum.

Ankerzentrum:
It was definitely very different from the Heim; it looked like a prison, with high fences and even fences on the balconies—perhaps to prevent people from throwing things outside or committing suicide. Security checks were strict—the complete opposite of the Heim. When we asked if we could go inside, the security guard told us we could enter with an “Anmeldung” after obtaining permission from the Diakonie in the city. He was definitely stressed; he basically told us to go far away—to the train station—and set up a table somewhere far. He was filled with fear and anxiety, and a controlled anger; he even added that he might lose his job because of us. Actually, he wasn’t any different from the staff at the Ankerzentrum in Munich—he, too, was afraid and worried about potential decisions from chefs and his superiors. Afterward, we went to an empty area just outside the camp, but we were chased away again by security there, and one of us was even told, “Go back to your home country.” To avoid causing any more stress, we crossed to the other side of the road and set up our tables there.

Still, we were able to exchange information about camp conditions with many camp residents passing by. For example, we learned that they’re given a white piece of paper for entry and exit, that it’s physically processed, that they can’t leave without handing it in, and that in exchange, they receive a number. They can stay outside for 5–6 days; after that, they’re deregistered (Abmeldung). And there’s a ban on visitors, like all initial reception centers. On average, about three people stay in the rooms—there are both families and individuals. The food is generally bad, but the kitchens allow you to cook your own meals. They also mentioned that there is no internet or there are constant connection problems. Another issue, as is common in many camps, is that residents often have conflicts with one another.

Meanwhile, the security guards called the police during these talks, so the police arrived. The police asked us what we were doing there; we explained that we had come from Berlin, were on a tour visiting the camps, and wanted to talk to the refugees. They asked about our purpose, who had written the slogans on the sidewalks with chalk (“Refugees Welcome,” “Fuck AfD,” “Let Fear Go”), and how long we planned to stay. They told us that what we were doing was technically a crime but that they wouldn’t cause any trouble—as long as we left the area clean. It was also interesting that some of us were asked questions about who was a “real Berliner.” They only asked the „white Germans“ among us—asking where they were from and where they were originally from, as if it were small talk. It was definitely an interesting conversation. The police were a bit curious, but at the same time, they also wanted to discipline and keep the leftists from Berlin in line. They left after warning us that if we didn’t leave the place clean, the contact person (Ansprechperson) would face a fine. After few hours we slowly continued on our way toward Jena.

21.07.2026 Jena

Reflection Round after breakfast, we gathered for a reflection round; during this time, in addition to topics such as respect, boundaries, and division of labor, we also discussed moments when we sometimes failed to understand one another, our communication and behavior ways, and our responsibility toward the community. Perhaps we should repeat a session like this more often.

First Heim – at the gathering in front of the Heim—organized and largely prepared by Oma Gegen Rechts—we spent time with the camp residents and Oma Gegen Rechts activists, playing badminton, ball games; drinking coffee, tea, and lemonade; and eating sweet and savory pastries. Despite the rain, an exchange took place, though it was more of a social gathering than a deep exchange of information and ideas. However, from what we learned, people were staying in the rooms in pairs; some were families, others were living alone. There is no obligation checking in after some days, and people generally seemed content with their situation, though bureaucratic issues persisted, and rejection decisions continued to arrive. Conversations were generally in German, Arabic, English, and a bit of Somali.

Around 3pm, the police arrived the second time and told us that the green space where we were staying was private property and that the building’s owner wants us to leave. As a result, we packed up our things and moved on to the next Heim.

The Second Heim – when we arrived here, we encountered families and children; there was no social worker or security at the entrance, so we went straight inside, knocked on the doors of the rooms, and were able to visit people and invite them downstairs. The place looked generally clean; as we entered the communal kitchens and knocked on doors, people came out and joined us. They complained about the rooms being excessively hot and, in particular, about the overcrowding in case they are big families.

Just outside the Heim, we set up tables, brought out food and drinks again, and hung up banners. For a while, we played music and danced, ate and drank, chatted, and played ball and badminton; even though we couldn’t have in-depth conversations about camp and asylum conditions here, we had a good time together.

After our second camp visit, we moved on to the Polaris Youth Center. There, we first ate the meals prepared by the activists together and had informal conversations with people from different groups and backgrounds throughout the meal. Then, about 30 of us gathered to form a circle; in this circle, refugees—both activists and non-activists—, non-refugee migrants, activists from Jena Seebrücke, Omas Gegen Rechts, and ROSA (Rolling Safe Space), and us—the activists from the bus tour—stood side by side. English, German, Turkish, Arabic and French could be heard during the discussion. Around 10pm, we headed back to our sleeping place.

22.07.2026 Leipzig

When we arrived at the camp in Leipzig around 1pm, a well-organized group of refugee and non-refugee activists greeted us; there were already about 20 people in front of the camp, and that number later grew to about 50. Tables had been set up, banners hung, informational materials laid out, and they were unloading the food they’d prepared from the cars. Usually, when we arrive at the camp, the area is empty, and we set everything up ourselves, but this time it was interesting to arrive as a sort of “guest.”

From what we learned, an activist group visits that camp (but also other camps sometimes) almost every week, and generally, the activists maintained a good relationship and cooperation with the camp management. However, despite the good relationship, the police insisted that the event be officially registered an threatened to give a fine.

Meanwhile in addition to the banners already on-site, new ones were painted; hair was cut; people played with balls; music from different regions was played and people danced; children participated in various activities; and people engaged in informal conversations and exchanged information with one another.

As we learned the rooms at the camp accommodated between 4 and 20 people; in this regard, we learned that the lack of private space was a major problem. There is no kitchen, and it’s forbidden to take the prepared food upstairs to the rooms, meaning if they aren’t hungry at that moment, they can’t eat it later. Some people do the 80-cent jobs (cleaning, cooking, translation), while others do not. Camp residents can stay outside for a maximum of 3 days; if they exceed that, they are de-registered. There are also complaints that the toilets are not clean. Although there are occasional issues with security, relations with social workers are good—at least for some refugees!

Around 5pm, we gathered and set off as a fairly large group by bus toward an area called Ostwache; and a police car followed us the whole way!

Ostwache:

When we arrived there, everything was again very well-organized. Tables and chairs had been set up, and people were chopping and frying vegetables. From what we learned, Ostwache used to be an old fire station; it’s now used as a community center. It currently operates under an association; on one side, there’s the bicycle community workshop, where people can repair their bikes with help from others. In the entrance area on the other side, various (info-) events are held. A flea market is also set up from time to time in the empty space in the middle. The property belongs to the city, but its future status is uncertain; while the people who use the space want to convert it into an NGO and continue operating it, it is also under threat of privatization.

After playing some music, playing with balls, and having informal conversations for a while, we moved to the indoor section. There, after showing a video about our bus tour, we briefly explained our goals and political perspectives, such as building relationships with refugees and activists, coming together, empowering ourselves, and that we aim to stop deportations, and abolish borders and camps. The groups from Leipzig shared that there will be a protest next week 28th of July from 6pm at Halle Leipzig airport to oppose the mass deportation to Afghanistan. After a few more announcements and slogans, we moved on to dinner! After a delicious dinner, we continued with music and dancing or sitting around the fire bin. At around 10.30pm, we headed back to the places we sleep.

23.07.2026 Magdeburg

After Leipzig we headed toward an isolated camp in Magdeburg’s industrial district. On the way, since the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt were approaching, we saw plenty of AfD campaign posters, including the following:

„Wieder sagen wie man denkt
Tanken statt tränen
Nieder mit Windrädern
Abschieben ab Minute 1
Die fleissigen Belohnen”

The “right” to use discriminatory language, anti-environmentalism, xenophobia, and “asocial” stigmatization had found their way into this far-right party’s election propaganda.

When we arrived at the camp around 2pm, local refugee and non-refugee activists had set up tables, laid out food and drinks, and placed informational materials and T-shirts with political messages on the tables. Since it was a registered event, there was a heavy police presence; and as we learned, the police had initially arrived with 10 police cars based on false intelligence that the “far left” was planning to enter the camp. However, they generally didn’t cause any stress.

Just like during our other visits, we set up our tables, brought out the speaker, listened to plenty of music, danced, and had informal chats. We wrote our political messages in different languages (English, German, Kurdish, Farsi, Somali) on the ground with chalk (freedom of movement, woman life freedom, freedom bread work, no one is illegal…). In addition, one of us took the microphone to talk about the goals of the bus tour and called on everyone to both strengthen the struggle and join the bus tour. Our visit in front of the camp ended with an amazing rap performance by a camp resident.

“Knast”, Youth Center:

Around 5pm, we moved on to a youth center. In 1990, local punks occupied a closed Stasi prison, and through agreements with both the city and the church, they were granted the right to use it as a youth center that same year—hence the name “Knast.”

There, one group had taken the initiative to print T-shirts, while another was cooking. Others were gathered in small groups—some playing table tennis, some playing soccer, and some doing pull-ups. Some were doing their makeup, while others were stringing beads to make bracelets.

Around 8pm, after an amazing dinner, we gathered again, and people from our group, activists from Magdeburg as well as the Hamburg-based “Women in Action” and an Afghan women’s refugee initiative active in Saxony-Anhalt, shared their struggles and perspectives. Around 9pm, we wrapped up and headed to our sleeping place where we continued our exchange around the big fire bin.

24.07.2026 Berlin

After a sunny breakfast in our hosts’ courtyard we entered our bus a last time to reach our final destination Berlin Oranienplatz.
Two and a half hours later we emerged chanting slogans and holding up banners. We were welcomed by a small group who already prepared the infrastructure of the day. Together we continued setting up tables, benches and pavilion. Our truck was decorated and served as a stage. More and more people arrived. Info tables were filled with material. The group against Bezahlkarte offered a coupon exchange. Frauen machen Druck brought beautiful linol prints. Migrantifa Berlin was present with infos and snacks.
Who else had an info table?

At 3pm the stage program started. There was space for all the groups in attendance to present their work. Afterwards the refugee activists who participated in the tour shared their experiences. More of these speeches we will share publicly another time.
The event concluded with music and dancing. At 9.30 pm we packed while the Dyke* march arrived at the square. Also there, an activist from Nina (women in action- Hamburg) gave a powerful speech and the whole group chanted “Kein Mensch ist illegal, Bleiberecht überall”

(no one is illegal, right to stay everywhere)

Both events will start with input from a comrade who was part of the O-Platz occupation where tactics such as negotiations, the spreading of harmful rumors, and rhetoric about legitimacy were used by the state to weaken the movement. Afterwards, we plan to continue reflecting on these topics in break-out groups and an open assembly.

The events will take place at New Yorck im Bethanien and will start at 11:00. The input and discussions will be in English.

Update: The discussion on Sunday, January 22nd about movement defense and restoring solidarity will start at 12pm!

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https://radar.squat.net/en/node/427132
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https://radar.squat.net/en/node/427133

Undisturbed is a tunnel to understanding global leftist movements.

Another podcast from Colourful Voices

Colombia was witness of massive protests and police violence throughout last weeks. In an interview with Veronica Velez, A Colombian activist and lawyer based in Berlin, I ask about the roots of the incidents happening now in Colombia as well as the results/reactions.

Listen to the podcast, subscribe and forward!

Castbox: https://bit.ly/3fIOuHp
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WEB (Anchor): https://bit.ly/3uLhMt4

On 31/1/2021 at 21:00 we have a continuation of a workshop about Sudanese refugees from Schaumberg/Niedersachsen online to discuss the refugee’s situation.

This is the 4th workshop now. We are not going to be silent, until the deportation is stopped, until the isolation of refugees is broken, and until the primary, secondary, and universal rights of refugees are back. We know the system is gaining much on making refugees under constant stress, underlining the isolation of refugees from all corners of life. The disappointment, aggression of refugees and conflicts is the system’s success, but we are going to win it, if we come and gather our voices and strength again this system. We call upon your solidarity!

Sudanese and Sudan issue is invisible one of the ways to make it visible is to do these workshop, or you can bring you ideas as well.

If you want to join us, here is the link: https://join.skype.com/asb9eYXmawpe. Contact via email: bw.humanrights@yahoo.com.

Update 2:

On 10/12/2020 we have a continuation of a workshop about Sudanese refugees from Schaumberg/Niedersachsen to discuss the refugees’ situation. This is the third workshop now, we are not going to be silent until the deportation will be stopped, until the isolation of refugees is broken, and until primary, secondary, and universal rights of refugees are back.

We know the system is gaining much on making refugees under constant stress. Underlining the isolation of refugees from all corners of life. The disappointment, aggression of refugees and conflicts is the system’s success, but we are going to win it if we come and gather our voices and strength again this system, we call upon your solidarity! Sudanese and Sudan issue is an invisible one of the ways to make it visible is to do these workshops, discussions, conference as well as social media.

Mistreatment, discrimination, Racism,and isolation is a crime. Therefore, we must stand and fight against it, theworkshop is going to be on Skype at 12 Am, the language is Arabic and English.

If you want to join us, here is the link: https://join.skype.com/asb9eYXmawpe. Contact via email: bw.humanrights@yahoo.com.

Update:

On 21st of November 2020 at 12:00 PM, we will continue with the Sudanese refugees’ discussion on asylum policy in Germany on Skype instead of meeting at Bethanien. However, the workshop was about the situation of Sudanese refugees here in German and the situation in Sudan. It took place on 24th and 25th of October, and was directed to refugees from Sudan living in Germany. Their situation is extremely bad: in terms of human treatment, education opportunities, self-determination, and their daily life in Sudan and in Germany. The main question of these Sudanese refugees’ is why they are not given any opportunity in Germany?

Therefore, this skype talk will discuss how to bring the issue to the public. If any of you like to participate in this, send us a email: bw.humanrights (at) yahoo.com.

We have a conference about refugees mainly from Schaumberg / Niedersachsen to discuss the refugees’ situation: what is the refugees’ situation in the camps right now considering coronavirus and how should the activists and others support? If there is any new development on refugee issues?

As we know, the systematic isolation of refugees, deportations and rejected applications put refugees under constant stress. They reinforce isolation from the EU by combining all functions of immigration and refugees’ control such as the Dublin III regulation. Refugees are permanently exposed to external and internal controls, authorities; institutions have constant access to their private life. This creates frustration and aggression for refugees, and even conflicts between refugees to fight each other as the order of the day. Refugees are presented to the population as a danger, as illegitimate supplicants – but asylum is a human right!

People who support refugees are criminalized. Refugees and activists are often played off against each other. But there is resistance. Not only in Berlin, but everywhere where they are exposed to repression and discrimination, refugees come together and fight for their rights. Together with local initiatives, they break the isolation and form networks of solidarity. This creates access to legal support. that many people in the asylum and residence are otherwise denied.

Above all, however, these activist networks stand for a very concrete political vision of living together in solidarity, which represents an alternative to the anti-migrant, nationalist, racist and patriarchal patterns of thought and action of right-wing movements and parties.

Unfortunately, many of these solidarity initiatives and self-organized movements are often poorly networked and have few resources. There is also a lack of concrete strategies and methods, both regarding the internal conflict dynamics in heterogeneous groups and regarding dealing with state repression, police violence, right-wing agitation, and deportations. Better networking, the exchange of experience and awareness are required here. This is important now. Therefore, coming together to discuss and share the experience is our strength.

The event will take place on 24 and 25/10/2020 from 12 AM to 3:PM in New Yorck / Bethanien (Mariannenplatz 2a, Berlin-Kreuzberg). Due to coronavirus we can have only have 10 people on board. Others will participate online, using skype etc.

Each participant has to write him_herself in a list. The distance rules must be maintained. Wearing a mask is recommended.

Please contact us through bw.humanrights@yahoo.com, if you want to participate.

Grab your copy or a pack of newspapers to spread from your local distributor in Neukölln, Café Karanfil (Mahlower Str 7, U Boddinstr) – or write a mail to dailyresistance@systemli.org. Email us, if you want to distribute Daily Resistance in your city, in your initiatives, spaces or other contexts.

The PDF version can be read and downloaded here:

You can also read several articles of the issue online (with more texts to come) on oplatz.net, e.g. an interview in English with Adam Bahar on the revolutionary situation in Sudan (you can find the text in Turkish in the new issue): https://www.oplatz.net/sudan-revolution-interview/ , or the farewell statement of City Plaza in English (the Greek original has been printed in the newspaper): https://www.oplatz.net/39-months-city-plaza/

Looking forward to your feedback, comments, suggestions, and articles for the next issues! Come to our regular meetings, every second Thursday, and become part of the editorial team of Daily Resistance!

Daily Resistance is a periodical newspaper on actual paper written by activists aiming to reach people in lagers. We want to inform them on the state of resistance in Germany and to empower them for their everyday resistance against the system. Together with local supporters, we look to inform and invite as many people as possible to break the isolation.

A: Adam Bahar. I am coming from Sudan. I’m born in Sudan but I’m in Germany since 2012. Politically active in Sudan since 2002. I was in university fighting for the right of the people of Sudan and against the dictatorship. Also especially because I am coming and I was born in Darfur, where there is war since 2003.

That’s why my main motivation was to start something against the government. Also when I was in this time in university and I was part of a group of Sudanese students organizing themselves. We were organizing ourselves for democracy and people of Darfur.

Result out of that is that we got in trouble with the government and I had to leave Sudan. I came to Europe in 2008 and I was in different countries of Europe. I lived in Greece, Italy, France for 2 years and in 2012 I came to Germany.

T: Our first question is what is the actual situation in Sudan? There was an agreement between Forces of Freedom and Change and the military. And some organizations like Sudan Communist Party told we are getting out from this agreement. Were there other groups inside Forces of Freedom and Change that got out from the agreement?

A: Actual situation in Sudan right now: last week (17th of July, 2019), they signed on the Sudanese constitution transition process. They signed the first letter and it will be completed on 17th of August 2019.

In the first form of the new cabinet there will be 6 people from the opposition parties and 5 people from the military. They will form the cabinet together and power will be hold first 18 months by military and other 18 months by civilian government. New government is supposed to initiate after the 3 years of transition.

But it is just the first part of the whole constitution in Sudan. Second part, there will be a president, there will be a parliament and 67 percent of the parliament will be from the opposition parties which the people are inside and leading the revolution. 33 percent of the parliament will be from the people who were not really taking participation in the revolution but they were also against government and they never worked with the old government of Omar al-Bashir. And the third part of the constitution all the people like youth and women will be the part of parliament.

Sudan in the future will have a parliamentarian government and ministries will have the real power. It will not be like before with only the president having the power. Like how we are having in Germany for example. There is president but president doesn’t have so much power. In Germany there is chancellor – in Sudan we will have prime minister. Also there will be opposition parties.

The problem between the Sudanese Communist Party and the other parties is they don’t want to be a part of the government of the transition period. 5 people from army and 6 people from civilians. Because these 5 people from the army that will take part in, are accused to committing crimes against the people who were protesting in the streets. So Communist Party will not participate in this. But the communist party will be part of the future parliament, because there won’t be any army in the parliament. At the same time they will continue to take part in local politics. They will not just participate in the first level of government where the army that are being accused.

Sudan has been all the time, since 1965, the time when it gained independence from Great Britain, governed by the army. It means army is governing Sudan more than 60 years now. And to take them out completely needs some time.

T: The revolutionaries around the world are curious about how this revolution was being organized? In the neighborhoods – what were the people talking and discussing?

A: The revolution started in December 2018 and it started not because changing of the political situation but started because of the price of bread, which increased 3 times. It started in a marginalized area of Sudan called Atbara where just students of a school went out to the street and demanded to get a bread. Somehow police and security service started reacting violently against the people and killed many students. After that, other people joined this protests of the kids. And because of that, they were really angry and burned the building of the party of Omar al-Bashir, the National Congress Party. The next day people from different cities also went into solidarity with Atbara. Thats how the revolution started.

Before that, we have to also link it to the history. This is not the first revolution in Sudan. But there were two revolutions, 1946 and 1958. And all the time who were pushing for the revolution are the worker unions. When Omar al-Bashir came to power, first thing he did is to crack down all the worker unions. The idea behind it was that the worker unions cannot take any position to fight the government. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) started in 2012 to create an autonomous worker union and they first started with lawyers and doctors. Since 2012, they were just fighting for the worker rights like minimum wage etc. By this way they organized many members inside.

SPA had one demonstration register right of the workers and rise of the minimum wage. 2 days before what happened in Atbara. When they see what’s happening in Atbara they took the lead. And they changed the demand of the demonstration. Not only for the minimum wage, they called all the citizens to join them and putting down the regime of Omer al-Bashir.

This is how SPA took the lead. It was also an autonomous structure where no one knows who they are. But somehow they have been existing since 2012. They called in Facebook all citizens of Sudan to participate and organize themselves. At the same time there were local organizations working in districts called “Sudanese Resistance Committees”. It was created by people seeing themselves not a part of SPA but rather like “I need to participate in revolution”. And they made small groups consisting of 4-5 people. Those people know each other very well. By this way, 15-20 groups are created in every district. And no one knows who is inside of other groups. And they were going to demonstrations together.

At the same time, more people were joining also autonomously structured SPA and starting politically to have this demand. Then after 1 months of beginning, on 1st of January 2019, SPA made a call for a paper called Freedom and Change. In this paper there were suggestions how Sudan should be governed in the future. They said we need a democratic Sudan, this government has to go without any discussion. We don’t want Omer al-Bashir, we don’t want his government anymore. We need Sudan to be democratic country where people feel participating in politics, autonomously deciding for themselves.

They called all opposition parties if they agree on this paper to sign. For example the Sudanese Communist Party, the Sudanese Umma Party, the Sudanese Union Party signed it. And were part of the coalition. Also different political groups and civil society groups signed this paper.

There were 3 different groups who were working in revolution. One group SPA, another group local committees doing practical work mobilizing people to streets, tell them about the demonstrations. SPA was calling for the demo and organizing it.

What made this revolution successful is the local structure. You know, structure is built in this way but no one knows who is inside the structure. It was local in every place and it still exists until now. In this period of transition time of 3 years nothing will stop their mobilization and work. Every day they are doing different kinds of activism. They go to the streets, visiting the local people in the neighborhoods, visiting and supporting the people whose relatives or friends are killed. This is the structure that remained until now. This kind of structure is really helping because people will not rely on political parties still they will have their own structure in a local way. To guard the revolution and don’t let dictatorship to come again.

For example, in the last two days, one political party opened new office in Sudan and local people directly went there and asked where they took the money from to open this office. Because it was a nice place, in the middle of the country. Maybe it was funded by corruption and we don’t want corruption anymore in Sudan.

T: A woman in the revolution said: “Not the bullets but the silence is killing us.” How the people came to that point to sacrifice their life, how they came to this point? We know also that women took an important part in the revolution.

A: This has to do how much women were under repression from this regime. Because this regime of Omar al-Bashir is since 30 years like Muslim Brotherhood regime. Holding power in Sudan in the name of Islam, Sharia law. Unfortunately, when there is Sharia law, first things they do is to control woman. Women are not allowed to sit in public spaces, women are not allowed to wear trousers or other clothes, or in an area they cannot do this job because men are there. There were some universities just for women or just for men. These were happening for a long time since beginning of this government.

But in 2002 there was a law called Public Order Law with laws inside that were clearly against women. Since 2002-2003, women started to fight against this law and organized themselves. This also made women more experienced and have their autonomous structure. When this revolution started, women were already ready. That’s why when we see women on the streets it’s something normal.

Now in the new constitution paper that they signed, government has to support the rights of women. For example, in the parliament women will have a 40% quota.

We still see it’s not enough, because we need to also change the old structure of the opposition parties. Because in many parties women are not really presented. In the negotiation group there is just one or two women, the rest is men. Because of opposition parties who were not participating political work since 30 years in Sudan. They had to only work underground and that made it for women not so easy to participate. By writing this in constitution and pushing the political parties to change their structures, it will be possible for women to participate equally in Sudan.

T: People participating in the revolution didn’t really use violent methods. The reason was because they couldn’t obtain guns or was it a decision from the beginning?

A: I think you have to look to the history of Sudan. In Sudan, there has been war between North and South for 20 years. And the result of it is that South Sudan was born into new country in 2010. There is war in Darfur since 2003, there is war in Nuba Mountain and Blue Nile since 2011. And result of that more than 2 million people got killed, millions of people had to flee. Since 20 years people are getting killed and fleeing because of that reason.

People had this idea in their mind that we can not change this dictator with weapon anymore. Because also Darfur and in Nuba Mountain different groups are fighting against the government with weapons since 2003 and 2011. But they haven’t achieved anything. Because government has always more weapons. And people decided that the only method we can use is a peaceful revolution. For this, we are not going to use any violence against anyone. Because, if we use violence we are not stronger enough than the government. The government has more power to use violence and it gets supported by other countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, even Egypt. All these countries also don’t want Sudan to become a democracy.

Because civil disobedience has more success than using violence. That is what people learned from the history of Sudan. Also learned from the outside, for example what is happening in Syria. Using weapon against weapon collapses the country, but not bringing the people to power. That’s why we say all the time in Sudan, revolution is also about learning, about learning internationally from each other.

The same things happening in Rabaa al-Adawiya revolution in Egypt. All dictatorships learn from one book, but the interesting thing is that people doing the revolution they learn better than dictatorships. In Sudan, the army evicted them with violence and the army had the idea of people will be afraid, they won’t go to the street anymore and that we can hold the power. People saw it already in Egypt and they didn’t accept this. After the big massacre, people went to the streets more and more. The last demo was 30th of the July and in every city there were not less than 2-3 million people.

In Sudan, violence is not something new for us, we have had it since 30 years. This government is killing people since 20 years but people don’t talk about it. All other powers, especially Europe, because of controlling refugees don’t talk about it because of their own interests.

If you see how many people died in the revolution since 8 months maybe we can say 500-600 people. But now, revolution succeeded to reach something. But if people had used violence, maybe millions of people would have died and there wouldn’t have been any success.

T: If there weren’tany street actions, would the soldiers do a coup against the Omar al-Bashir regime? Is there is a big difference between today’s military and the Bashir’s regime?

A: First, if people did not go to the streets, they would not do anything. They are under pressure, because people are on the streets everyday. And that’s why people made the sit-in in front of the army building. This has to do for a long time with the history of Sudan, old revolutions have happened here before. People are going to streets and the army stayed on the side of the people and supported people and take the dictators out. This was happening two times in Sudan already.

For sure they would not do it, because for 30 years they didn’t do it. Because of the pressure by people they are doing. Now the difference is: people take their right on their hand. People are going to streets everyday, everywhere in Sudan opposition parties are making events, discussions and they don’t need to register. Even, it is better than what is going on in Europe. In Europe you have to call the police and ask for demonstration. In Sudan people are going to demo without telling to police. People took their right in their hand.

And in the constitution it will be written that people have the right to demonstrate. Police will not have the right stop people without any reason. Before, the Security service in Sudan had the right to do everything. They could arrest you, they could kill you. They were taking so much power from the president. But from now on it will be just an institution to collect information and give to police under the law.

T: With the Arab Spring there were revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. But the revolutions were stolen by the different powers inside the states or by the international powers. Do the people who are doing the revolution in Sudan have a prevention to stop this? Or can also Sudan revolution be stolen?

A: I don’t think so. Because, if you look at the constitution now, it will be built in a way that the old regime will not exist anymore. I think the problem with the all other revolutions in different Arabic countries is that they change the president but they don’t change the constitution. That means, people who are working for dictators still have the power and can bring us new dictators. People in Sudan learned from it. They say they need to change the whole constitution. That’s why there will be a new parliament where only people who were doing the revolution will be sitting.

The only way for the army or a dictator to come back again is to make a coup again. But also people will not accept this, people will go to streets again. Structures are not in the hands of the army anymore.

When in Egypt people did the revolution they just took out the only Husnu Mubarak, but the regime stayed. Exactly this is what’s happening also now in Algeria. The President of Algeria is away, but the whole constitution is there and the whole government is there.

T: Inside Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) there were different groups like the Sudanese Communist Party, but also there were  anti-capitalist Muslims with the tradition of Mahmoud Mohammed Taha. What kind of groups is there in FFC and what is their ratios as power?

A: There are really left, anti-capitalist groups like Communist Party or Republican Party (anti-capitalist Muslims, Mahmoud Mohammed Taha). There are also different communist groups like Movement of Right (Harakat Haqq). They are also part of this coalition. Then, the other side, you see also traditional parties like the Union Party and the Umma Party.

In the constitution any kind of discrimination like race, religion, gender won’t be accepted.

And all agree on this and reached this point. Now, in Sudan, the left ideology is more accepted in society, because Omar al-Bashir government did everything in the name of Islam and Sharia for 30 years. That’s why, in the future, when people go to the streets, the first things they will demand that religion shouldn’t be a part of politics anymore. Religion has to stay in mosques and churches. There has to be a clear division.

But we shouldn’t forget that Sudan is an African country where the structure is not really strong. There is big movements that don’t want capitalism anymore, at the same time there is a big group of people thinking we need to develop the country, we need to have nice buildings, like thinking in a capitalist way. The next step is to not allow capitalism get power in Sudan. This is our next fight.

For example, I’m part of different groups doing politics since 2002, now also in Germany since 2012. But we are kind of a capitalist group, thinking Sudan has to be like Europe, like Germany. An important part of us saying no to it. We say now, until revolution maybe we are friends, but after the revolution we will be enemies. We will fight against capitalism, because we see what capitalism have done to the people. We don’t want capitalism to be strong in Sudan.

T: People who are on the streets leading and joining the revolution, what are the people’s professions? Were they workers, villagers or unemployed? What are their ages, what are their classes?

A: In the beginning it was generally young people who were in the street. First 3-4 months so many young people were on the streets, especially students and workers. I can put inside the workers from the doctors till the unemployed. Also, unemployed people organized themselves and making their own block. Also women did their own block.

But the interesting thing is that the whole society participated in it. Who was not going to streets tried to organize safe places for the people when they got attacked by the police and army. When there was a demo going on and a attack happened by police, old people stayed in front of their doors, opened their door and hid young people.

People, who are out of Sudan, for example in Europe, were preparing themselves from the beginning, spread the information, did info events, organized money, did demonstrations, talked about the involvement of imperialist countries and how they don’t want revolution to be successful.

T: How was the interest to the Sudan revolution from the left wing or opposition movements in Europe?

A: Unfortunately, there was not such a big interest in it. For example, in Berlin, we were fighting hard to just bring the voice of revolution to different groups, even to the streets. We were not really supported by any group. After 3-4 months, when the revolution was getting violent by the army, different left parties tried to lighten the issue but it was not really what were hoping for.

We shouldn’t also forget that Europe has a big interest in not changing Sudan, because the Bashir regime was working for Europe since 2014, for example in Khartum Process, a deal between Europe and African countries to stop African refugees to come to Europe. For that deal, the Sudanese old government got so much money, got training from European countries to control the borders.

I was writing everyday press releases about the situation in Sudan and was sending them to all parties from SPD to the Left Party (Die Linke) and I didn’t get any answer from them. After 2 months we could get an answer from Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung to make an info event about Sudan.

2 months before, when revolution was almost successful, we had a talk with one Left Party member from Germany Bundestag. We worked together and she held a Bundestag sitting where she asked about Sudan revolution and the money Germany gave to the Sudanese old government. But not more.

We made a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany and we went inside the ministry and handed over our demands. We had also a demo in front of EU and we made a call of Sudanese people living in Europe. There, we also gave our demands to stop this deal with Sudan. Our work succeeded to put pressure in government of EU. EU stopped to give money for training the police of Sudan.

The new government will come and they will try to talk again about the deal. This is also our next step to work in Germany as Sudanese community here. Because we are sure to face deportations in Germany or in Europe. Because they will say now, Sudan is democracy then you have to go. They will try to activate the Khartum process.

Unfortunately, there is no international solidarity from left groups or even from left parties. From my side, I wouldn’t focus on leftist parties – I would focus on leftist groups. But leftist groups, they are not interested. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Sudan is far away. They never called for demo revolution in Sudan until now. And I was really thinking like: Is this about racism? This has because African people are not worth it? Are they not equal in the mind of leftists? They are really far away and cannot have any contact with African revolution?

For me, what’s happening in Sudan now, is really politically close to the leftist scene. A revolution hold by people, starting with autonomous structure, where people succeeded to kick out the dictator, where women take the lead. There was not really an interest in these issues. I’m questioning myself from time to time to understand the reason. And I couldn’t see a reason until now. But maybe we have to wait for the activists of the leftist scene to tell us why they don’t have any interest in the revolution of Sudan.

Am 30. Juni 1989 riss Omar al-Bashir die Macht im Sudan durch einen Militärputsch gegen eine zivile Regierung an sich. Dabei wurde er von der Islamischen Partei ideologisch massiv unterstützt. Schon zu Beginn seiner diktatorischen Herrschaft wurden Tausende entlassen und verhaftet. Nach der Ermordung von 28 Generälen, die sein Regime kritisiert hatten, im Ramadan 1993 begann eine massive Auswanderung aus politischen und ökonomischen Gründen, die die Wirtschaft des Landes erheblich beeinträchtigte.

Gleichzeitig begann im Süd-Sudan der Widerstand gegen die neuen Regeln für das öffentliche Leben, die die Islamische Partei durchgesetzt hatte, und führte bald zur Forderung nach Unabhängigkeit und eigener Verfügung über das Öl. Da das sudanesische Öl vor allem aus dem Süden stammt, bedeutete das ökonomische Probleme für das Land. Auch in anderen Teilen des Landes kam es zu kriegerischen Auseinandersetzungen, die mit der Bildung einer großen Zahl von schwer bewaffneten Stammes-Milizen einherging. Die Wirtschaft litt unter den verschwenderischen Militärausgaben und wachsender Korruption, die Unterstützung von weltweit operierenden Terrorgruppen durch al-Bashir und seine Verstrickung in Anschläge führten zu Sanktionen, die die ökonomische und soziale Situation weiter verschlechterten.

Linke und andere sozialen Kräfte begannen sich zu organisieren und entwickelten politische Kampagnen mit Forderungen, die alle Menschen im Land vor Hunger und Armut bewahren würden. Diese haben in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten die Grundlage für die Revolution gelegt, die wir heute im Sudan bildeten erleben.

Die Bürger*innenproteste gegen die Regierung begannen im Dezember 2018 zunächst wegen der stark gestiegenen Brot-Preise, der allgemeinen Verschlechterung der Lebensbedingungen und des zunehmenden Zerfalsl staatlicher Infrastruktur. Schnell entwickelte sich daraus die Forderung nach dem Rücktritt al- Bashirs. Es begann in Städten mit starker Arbeiterschaft wie al Damazin, Port Sudan, Qadrif und Atbara vor allem in Norden und Osten des Landes ebenso wie in der Hauptstadt bis alle gemeinsam nach Khartum zogen, um einen zivilen Staat und das Ende der Militärdiktatur zu fordern. Beim Rücktritt von al-Bashir und wenig später, als der General und Übergangspräsident ibn Ouf zurücktrat, waren 4 Millionen Menschen mit der Forderung nach einer zivilen Regierung auf den Straßen.

Die Sudanese Professionals Alliance (SPA), eine Allianz aus 17 Branchengewerkschaften, übernahm in diesen Auseinandersetzungen die Führungsrolle, forderte die Demonstranten auf, keine Waffen auf das Militär zu richten und verlangte von der Regierung den friedlichen Protest zu respektieren. Am 1. Januar veröffentlichte sie gemeinsam mit 21 weiteren fortschrittlichen Organisationen die „Erklärung für Freiheit und Wandel“, die Grundlage eines breiteren Bündnisses ist. Unsere Stärke liegt in unserer Einheit und der Orientierung auf den Frieden. Das führte dazu, dass sich auch Teile des Militärs mit den demonstrierenden Massen solidarisierten und sich weigerten, auf sie zu schießen. Dennoch wurden die friedlichen Demonstrationen immer wieder angegriffen um sie aufzulösen. Tränengas, Gummigeschosse, aber auch immer wieder Schusswaffen wurden eingesetzt. Die Toten und Verwundeten trugen zur Empörung der Bevölkerung bei und ließen die Proteste nicht abreißen: im Mai erreichte die Beteiligung mit 6 Millionen – das bedeutet jede*r sechste Einwohner*in – ihren Höhepunkt. Bemerkenswert ist, dass eine deutliche Mehrheit dieser Menschen Frauen sind, ebenso wie die Sprecher_innen des Bündnisses für Freiheit und Wandel.

Am 11. April verkündeten die Militärs die Absetzung von Omar al-Bashir und den Beginn einer zweijährigen Übergangsperiode, die mit Wahlen enden soll, nach denen die Macht von der Militärjunta übergeben werden soll. Diese Ankündigung wurde von der sudanesischen Bevölkerung mit Empörung aufgenommen, weil sie einen zivilen Staat fordert. Schon seit dem 6. April hatten Millionen von Demonstrant_innen aus der gesamten Region um Khartum begonnen, den Platz vor dem Hauptquartier zu besetzten und dieses sit-in wurde bis zu seiner gewaltsamen Auflösung am Ende des Ramadan am 3. Juni aufrechterhalten. Hunderte wurden getötet; weil viele Leichen in den Nil geworfen wurden, ist es schwer, eine exakte Zahl zu nennen. Mehr als 500 Menschen wurden schwer verletzt. Die Abschaltung des Internet hat die Kommunikation zwischen den Sudanesen in- und außerhalb des Landes extrem erschwert, so dass es schwierig ist, an zuverlässige Informationen zu kommen.

Nach dem Massaker hat die Afrikanische Union die Mitgliedschaft des Sudan ausgesetzt. Saudi-Arabien, die Emirate und Ägypten unterstützen weiter den Militärrat und die westlichen Länder hüllen sich ebenso wie die meisten Medien in Schweigen.

Am 30. Juni werden Sudanesen überall im Land und weltweit auf die Straßen gehen, um deutlich zu machen, dass sie ihren Traum von einem zivilen Staat, gesellschaftlichem Frieden, sozialer Gerechtigkeit und Gleichheit für alle nicht aufgeben, sondern weiter dafür kämpfen, dass er Wirklichkeit wird.

Die “Erklärung für Freiheit und Wandel” ist auf der Seite der SPA dokumentiert:

Lisa Doppler: In interviews we did some month ago you, Napuli, talked about the situation in Lagers where a lot of people get aggressive, start to hate everybody but also that this changed for a lot of people when they joined the protest movement of Refugees. And you, Bino, wrote in your “We are born free manifesto”² about fear and how we can work on overcoming that for creating more humanity. Can you elaborate on that?

Napuli Paul: When I came to Oranienplatz, the first thing I saw was fear. Maybe in the Lager people learn to fear one another. First of all people fear that they are in Europe now, because from that moment on the system is the one leading them. The first thing when you come to seek asylum is that you loose your right and are now lead by them. They tell you from now on you follow the given rules. If you do something that is not according to these rules, you get a crime record in your file. Then we fear that we get deported or get other problems because our file is dirty. Therefore I want to appear as a very good person and I always stay in the Lager, I don’t go anywhere.

Bino Bwansi Byakuleka: I don’t want to get a Strafe.

N: And then some Refugees become very crazy.

L: What do people do when they become crazy?

N: In the Lager some people threaten other people. Some people kill themselves because they were in that kind of fear for years. They are aggressive or drink just to calm themselves down. And then there is no trust anymore to anyone. Because different people tell so many different stories- if you do this you can get that. These stories keep you calm, prevent you from getting active, and at the end you are under deportation. So for us, the activists, we came from that fear, too. But we said no. I can’t be like this, I am a human being. And most people who already were activists in their countries, they totally rejected this system from the beginning. They said we have to do something. So my friends said no, we don’t accept the Lager, we go. Together we broke Lagerpflicht³ and we came to Oranienplatz, Berlin Kreuzberg in 2012. From there on, we didn’t fear the police or whoever is there, we just said no way. We broke the fear because we are illegal. We came together as illegal people – that’s power already. We support one another, we are illegal. That’s also why they did not come to Oranienplatz to arrest someone, they already knew that we are illegal.

B: But for me, I was legal, I conceived myself as legal.

N: Yes, but they saw us as illegal. Also when we make protest, we don’t register it. We just do it like that. Same with the lawyers, we ask them later, not before. We create the activities first. Because if we consult them before the activity, they will tell us all the risks and recommend not to do it. So we say, we just do it and consult them later so that fear cannot stop us.

Every year we have an information tour and we visit activists from other cities and people living in Lagers. This year it is even a transnational tour and our slogan is “World Refugees let Fear go”⁴. We chose the title because fear is the main enemy: With fear you control yourself, you plaster your mouth and put a rope on your eyes so that you cannot see. In the end, you chain yourself and you support the government to control you because actually you control yourself before.

B: I think it’s an instrument the capitalist system is using to keep people down, it’s a tool of dehumanisation. And I think since from the beginning when the idea of capitalism came in and some people became superior to others, that’s when the people lost their consciousness of what they are. And when people loose their consciousness, that’s when fear comes in. Today people are talking about it, but it’s still very difficult to understand it. When we talk about fear, people only mean fear of people coming. Fear of sharing. Fear of giving away. But also fear of being independent.

L: I agree. Because I also think when we talk about fear we first of all have to talk about the fear that everybody in this capitalist consumer society has. And everybody is participating in creating this situation. That’s also what social philosopher Herbert Marcuse, with whose theory I am working, was writing about: All your work and all your free time is just directed to creating needs and then fulfilling them and then there is a new need, you think you need something else, more stuff. Through this mechanism more and more people develop anxiety disorders and panic attacks but they don’t know why. The fear is an echo of the failed attempt to integrate into the system, because nobody can deal with this system.

B: Exactly. Because first of all what fear does to you is to loose your being, and you become helpless, vulnerable, which means you are powerless.

N: And fear can also let you attack.

Erez: But how do I loose fear? When I am afraid, I am attached to something I want or have – a work, food, anything. So how do I loose my fear? When I have nothing to loose, I cannot be afraid of anything. The system needs us to have something to loose, makes degrees of how much people get that they can loose. The fear is directly attached to the possible loose. But when you resist, you find yourself in a point of having nothing to loose. The moment you are there completely, the system cannot control you.

B: So once you realise that you have nothing to loose and you keep calm, you stay calm is that the solution to overcome fear?

E: For me yes. This is my zero point.

B: Is this not the point where you have to fight for your independence?

E: This is my zero point. I am just here. I don’t move. I am not afraid to loose something on the way.

N: But the fear also can come to you even if you are just there. Like for example in 2015 when the Syrian Refugees started to come, people switched automatically to the right side. Why? Because the system used the media to let people have fear. Without seeing the root of the problem they just attack that people – we don’t want Muslims, you are terrorists and so on. For me fear means when you are not moving.

B: I think then you are contributing to it.

N: Yes, when you keep silent you contribute. Because of that in the non-violent philosophy does not mean that you just let people continue with their violence and go away. Then you contribute to that violence. No, you are supposed to interfere. There are different levels of fear: the state has fear, the public has fear, but the fear of Refugees coming and taking whatever is really a psychological fear and direct fear that kills people. We all have fear, even in our family. For example the rules that your father puts up already create fear.

L: Yes, that is the same mechanism seen from the psychoanalytical view, what was once the father is society now. That’s controlling you.

N: Yes. For me it’s the same mechanism on different levels. There is the father, there is the community, there is the state. The state is the maximum level. So we have to know what kind of fear the state is creating. This fear we are talking about, the fear of moving freely, that’s really cutting a basic human right.

B: I also explained in my writings that fear is a virus which spreads to most of the humans and this virus comes from inside, the self-ego but also from external forces as Napuli was saying about the society and family. So when this comes together you find that the person is spoiled completely because of not being able to handle or overcome it. That’s why people are raising up, going on the streets, protesting that they don’t want Refugees to come here. People are becoming racist. These people were not born racist, but their self-ego and the pressure of the society they are living in pushes them into this dilemma and they become totally spoiled and dangerous. So the only way is to overcome it. I liked your explanation, Eraz, your spiritual way, but for me it is not spiritual, more a kind of meditation. What’s going on with me can be realised by having time to think about myself, who am I and what is surrounding me, what is important.

L: And you also have to come to value yourself and then the people around you.

B: Exactly. Because it comes from you, the disease is from you. Until people have this consciousness we can’t overcome it.

N: I think this is where the German society rejects to think. They block everything. Don’t talk about Hitler, it’s finished, it’s the past. And then you can see history repeating itself.

L: The problem is that the remembrance in Germany has become ritualised. That people say it was horrible, but it’s finished, we are the champions in overcoming it. It’s not true at all, it’s not real, people have not dealt with themselves. It’s just a ritual.

B: For me, I even say that I’m happy that this Pegida came out. Those are our friends.

N: Haha, yes.

B: Because they revealed the true image of Germans. Not just to cover everything and saying “Alles klar, alles klar”, people are rotting in the camp, people are dying over the sea, the army pushing people back in the sea.

N: I even call it concentration camp. Of course it is not the same like when they killed millions of Jews in the camps, but for us the whole Western system is a kind of concentration camp, too. Frontex, Fingerprint, Residenzpflicht – if you count it together, it is a concentration camp. People are dying, people are committing suicide.

L: But it is still something very different if you are killing people systematically or if you implement an inhuman system where people are dying but murder or genocide is not the official agenda.

E: Both is a division of the people. They first divide the people, don’t give privileges, control. In concentration camps it was going a lot further. Today not all who are divided and stigmatised are dying, but it’s an alarm bell. We have to reask the question how to prevent not to come to such a situation again.

L: There are always legacies in history. Frantz Fanon⁵ was writing that under colonialism people have to go somewhere with their aggression, they tried to resist but they failed so the aggression goes against yourself, you destroy yourself but also the others, what he called “Black on Black violence” and another thing that he observed was that people had very strong dreams about running, about getting away. Because the dreams were the only realm of freedom. That’s what I wanted to ask if you see similarities in the mechanisms of what was happened under colonialism to what is happening to people living in Lagers for example.

N: Yes, of course. I can still see it in the old people in my country. There it is also fear that prevents more people to talk about it, a lot of them say, no, let history be history. The fathers in Africa still beat their children, it is still there. So how can we overcome it? We have to understand and think about what we can do now with these people to come to peace:

B: Similarities are still there and I think there is no way to end it until there are strategies to end capitalism. Because we are enslaved ourselves. People are not taking time to realise who they are instead of running away. In case of the Black people, we don’t see ourselves as powerful persons, humans. We can do everything, we have the knowledge, the resources, but the people don’t believe in themselves, they are enslaved, even if not physically, than mentally. And for the whites, too, you are enslaved because of the privileges you have you can’t speak out the truth, you can’t speak out loud. Even if you try to speak, as we saw in the protest, you have limits. That’s what we saw during the arrests, the police was trying to separate us, they said you have German passport, what are you doing here with these people? So people had to rethink about their own privileges, about the consequences when they get involved in that. I also had a big argument with a Black man who was saying: You have the privilege to do it because you don’t have the German passport. But when you get the papers you will realise that it’s not possible to fight against them.

L: That’s what you, Erez, also said. When you have something to loose… And that’s also what Marcuse⁶ was writing about, the integration through privileges, goods.

B: So the people don’t see themselves first, but they are dependent. People can’t fight the system because they think that they need the system to survive, which is not true. That is enslavement. Therefore we need strategies to deconstruct that. And I think what we are doing here is one of the strategies- to open the talk instead of having big conferences, big podiums.

L: Take more time to talk?

B: The more time we take, the closer we come and the more we realise that we are humans who can do something by ourselves. In this process of realisation we can combine our effort together and break these chains. The believe in the system is based on our isolation.

N: There are a lot of small things that can separate the people. That’s why we say we have to trust each other, first.

B: We have to find a common goal we are fighting for. That’s why I came out with the concept of humanity. That’s the only thing I see that connects me to you. Because this is what we are, this is what humans are, you can’t take it away.

N: But we cannot come to that point, you know why? Because-

B: I can answer it myself: self-ego.

N: Aha, selfishness and our interest, different interests.

L: Can we be real humans in this system?

B: We can, I believe so. But there is no space to realise. I do not believe in these negative strategies and thinking. For example you, Lisa, sorry for pointing at you, I am pointing at you as the white, not personally: We can be human if we are ready to reflect and to give away our own interest. If you are ready to give away your whiteness and ready to see yourself inside Black, if I meet you I see myself white. If I meet you, Napuli, I see myself a woman. If I meet you you see me inside yourself a man. Then there is a breakdown of the system.

E: It’s all like addiction. I learned from drug addicts that people don’t want to be strong. People want to stay with the other weak people. Why do I say this? I can’t loose my Israeliness, my whiteness and my maleness. But I can go and use it for my believe to break the politic of the privilege and find other solutions. The point is, the system uses the fear to make people protect the resources of the system.

N: For me, I don’t agree on Black and White. What we have is beyond that. Imagination of power makes you white. We should not target single persons but the system. For example I don’t hate Donald Trump. He is honest, he is just representing the system. So why do people target him? I don’t believe that we all come together, we have different interests. But we have to give everybody what he wants. For example in the left there is fight about eating meat or not, but that is ridiculous, we are fighting ourselves. Some eat meat, others not. What’s the problem? And we have to talk more, we need more floor to talk.

L: I interviewed about ten activists from different cities where Refugee protest was strong in the last years and what a lot of them said is that it is important in the movement to create spaces to really reflect and to have longer meetings, workshops also across the cities to talk about what happened and how to go on. To work against the divisions in the movement. It does not help to have these big conferences, we have to find more time and the supporters also have to stop inviting the same people again and again but to create spaces – it is very similar to what you just said, Bino. Maybe to conclude you could point out what your strategies in the movement now are to overcome these divisions and fear? How do you create other spaces?

N: This is what we are doing now, we do this transnational tour and we take along with us the workshop. It’s not just explaining, but we have to go deep. About four to six days in the same place to create a discussion about what was going on and then to concentrate- this fear thing is something that you cannot understand in five minutes. It has to go to your blood. Really practising. That’s why we do this workshops, let it come from you. How can we solve? It’s not to give you solution. It’s not that you see a film and then go out and forget everything you saw. In a conference there are maybe 1000 people but only very few can really concentrate. We have to involve them in everything. At Oranienplatz we were learning everyday.

E: Fear is a result of confusion. As I said, if you are attached to material things you cannot move. When people came to Oranienplatz, they found other things, really other things to be connected with and then they lost the fear.

B: Me, to finish, I will still remain with humanity. For me it is very important to meet a common point in us. If not we are just joking, playing devil games, we will never solve anything. That’s why we have to see ourselves beyond what we are physically. What society made out of us. What the system forced us to be and what we forced ourselves to be.

N: I will call upon the institutes that have power to give a floor for discussions like this. Schools for example. Because the children grow up with these pictures like of the poor people in Africa. So they also have to meet Black persons in the schools and talk in a different way. And universities, theatres, they have to open the floors for discussions like this.

L: The point is that they are also part of what is creating the problems.

B: That’s why I say we need not to rely on these structural spaces, but we can create our own spaces. Why don’t we create a theatre? A university? A free clinic? Why don’t we create this knowledge that heels?

We published a zine about the Röszke 11, that provides an overview and gerneral analysis. It summarizes the story of the Röszke 11, the political context, and similar cases of criminalization in Greece and Luxembourg. You can download it when you click on the pdf-signs above or below. The version above is the smaller web-file, the one below is the large file for printing, the cover (front and back) and the rest of the zine are in 3 separate files. Spread and print it!
Resistance and struggle continues!