The Federal Ministry of the Interior, under Minister Dobrindt (CDU), is blocking the admission of injured children from Gaza. The arguments for this are flimsy: there are security concerns, aid on the ground is more effective, and we’re already providing a lot of financial assistance.
In fact, we are constantly taking in injured and sick children—from Ukraine, from Afghanistan, from Africa—but children from Gaza are being denied help, without any real justification.
Winter is approaching; the UN can barely prevent a famine in Gaza, and the medical infrastructure there has been destroyed. A humanitarian catastrophe is looming, triggered in part by the deafening silence that prevails in Germany. Criticism of the Israeli government is quashed with sweeping accusations of anti-Semitism, and a climate of fear has gripped most of the media as well, so that there is hardly any reporting on the events in Gaza.
Just last week, a little girl in Gaza was forced to watch as her mother was burned alive following an Israeli attack. The girl, now an orphan, suffered burns herself, not to mention severe trauma. She will receive little help.
YOU can help! Please write to your local representative and your mayor. Ask them to advocate for medical aid for the most vulnerable. You can read all the arguments in our brochure, and here you’ll find access to letter templates:
Es gibt Fortschritte! Wir haben viele Unterstützer: Ärzte ohne Grenzen, Ärzte der Welt, Care, IPPNW, Seebrücken, DPG, Health not Arms, Friends of Standing Together und viele, viele mehr. Zusammen bewegen wir viel - und mit mehr Zeit noch mehr.
New deadline: 04/09/2027 Signatures at the time of the change: 1,035 (640 in Munich)
wir brauchen deine Hilfe! Wie du siehst ist aus unseren Petitionen mittlerweile eine Initiative hervorgegangen, die echte Chancen hat, Kindern aus Gaza nachhaltig zu helfen. Gemeinsam mit vielen NGOs und Interessensgruppen arbeiten wir daran, in 2027 eine große Bundestagspetition für die Aufnahme von Kindern aus Gaza einzureichen.
Währenddessen wird es Winter und den Kindern steht wieder ein harter Winter in Zelten bevor. Wir versuchen aktuell, viele deutsche Städte zu bewegen, Kindern zu helfen.
Bitte hilf auch du mit, deine eigene Stadt zu einer öffentlichen Aussage bringen, Kindern zu helfen. Schreib deinen Oberbürgermeister und deinen Direktkandidaten per Mail an. Mache sie auf unsere Initiative aufmerksam, bitte sie, den lokalen Interessensgruppen zuzuhören, wie den Kindern geholfen werden kann. Lass nicht zu, dass die Blockade des Innenministeriums zu noch mehr Schuld führt, die wir Deutschen durch unser Schweigen und unser Nicht-Handeln auf uns laden.
Wir haben die Laufzeit der Petition bis zum Jahresende verlängert, weil wir guten Grund haben, anzunehmen, dass sie sich gegen Jahresende sehr gut verbreiten wird.
New deadline: 12/31/2026 Signatures at the time of the change: 608 (376 in Munich)
Argumente wurden hinzugefügt, weshalb München eine geeignete Stadt für die Aufnahme verletzter Kinder ist.
New justification:
When children are affected by armed conflicts, State are obliged under International Humanitarian Law, to undertake “all feasible measures to ensureto ensure protection and care” for the children, to ensure that the children “do not take a direct part in hostilities” (Art. 38 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; Geneva Conventions) – which the parties are not fulfilling right now. The legal basis is constituted by section 22, sentence 2 German Federal Residence Act (AufenthG): admission is possible for urgent humanitarian reasons, also if initiated by municipalities or federal states. Section 23(1) of the German Federal Residence Act: state admission programs of the federal states in coordination with the federal government.
The urgency to act is enormous: Surgeries are often done without anaesthesia or pain medication. Many of the children are weakened due to famine and days without food. Gaza's medical infrastructure is vastly destroyed. The lack of medical care can lead to lifelong impairments and death.
Germany has experience in medically evacuating injured children (e.g. Yazidi children). 2 children from Gaza have already been treated in Germany.
Switzerland, Spain, Italy and Norway have already admitted children for treatment.
Hanover, Kiel, Düsseldorf, Bonn, Leipzig and Bremen as well as Hamburg and Freiburg have already advocated for the admission of injured children from Gaza and called on the federal government to take appropriate action.
With
Munich sees itself as a “cosmopolitan city with a heart.” We Munich residents are rightly proud of our way of life, our “Mia san Mia” mentality, and our tough exterior paired with a soft core.
In 2015, we welcomed war refugees with open arms at the central station, and during the attack at the Olympia shopping mall, we opened our doors to fellow residents who were stranded on the streets.
Munich is strong. Munich can help: with its world-class hospitals, Munichour offerscity has highly specialized treatment options.capabilities and already regularly helps children from war zones to recover and process trauma. Now it is time to extend this support to children from Gaza.
Signatures at the time of the change: 345 (230 in Munich)
