Make Erfurt a safe haven! Open Letter from Seebrücke Erfurt

Dear Mayor,

Dear city council of Erfurt,

the situation for refugees, especially at the Mediterranean Sea and in Libya, is getting worse and worse. In this year alone, more than 1000 people drowned, in the last one it was far more than 2000! This makes the external border of the EU the deadliest around the word. In the future, too, people will be forced to flee from hunger, poverty, war and persecution. Who will save them? Where will they be able to live in peace?

While the EU continues to seal off its borders, even arming a Libyan militia, dying in the Mediterranean continues. At the same time, refugees and returnees are held in Libyan torture camps. Even the UN explicitly instructs Europe not to bring people back to Libya because it is not safe there. By disregarding these conditions, the EU is violating human rights to a large extent.

Since 2015, the EU member states have been struggling to find a solution. Currently, it is only the civil Search & Rescue NGOs, such as Sea-Watch, SOS Méditerranée or Sea-Eye etc., that are rescuing people from the Mediterranean, defending human rights and thus facing up to the humanitarian responsibility that is simply ignored by the state. Rather, the NGOs are repeatedly sabotaged and criminalized in their work by the EU and its members. Ports closed to them often force the civilian sea rescue ships to wait for weeks at sea, putting the rescued people in danger again.

Because these conditions are unacceptable, a broad civil society solidarity movement has formed in Europe. Many municipalities and cities want to accommodate people and thus offer the rescued a safe haven.

By making a decision at the municipal level, a city or municipality can declare itself a safe haven and thus actively combat human rights violations. We therefore demand that Erfurt also declares itself a safe haven and actively participates in the alliance of safe havens. This is how the city shows its solidarity with refugees and offers receptive places beyond the distribution ratio. Furthermore, it commits itself to ensuring safe and dignified arrival and stay by providing all necessary resources, especially in the areas of housing, medical care, work, education, social and cultural participation. Such an application will be submitted to the Erfurt City Council in the beginning of 2020.

We must not longer just stand idly by and watch. We must seize the opportunity presented by the decision of the Landtag to make Thuringia a safe haven for a Europe of human rights („Für ein Europa der Menschenrechte - Thüringen wird sicherer Hafen“). Therefore, support the setting-up of a safe haven for refugees in Erfurt.

Together with us, ensure safe escape routes and respect for human rights in the Mediterranean!