Migrante Europe

Tag: undocumented migrants

  • We condemn EU’s anti-migrant ” Mos Maiorum ” – ILPS

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    ILPS-Phils Statement
    23 October 2014

    The ILPS-Philippines joins migrant Filipinos in condemning before the European Union Office in the Philippines the on-going police operations launched by 26 European countries to detect, detain and deport what they brand as “irregular migrants”.

     This herding cracked by the whip of the incumbent Italian presidency of the Council of the EU is particularly vile. It coined the operations as “Mos Maiorum” (ancestral custom, way of the elders or social mores of ancient Rome). It harks back to Imperial Rome whose “legal citizens” are only those ruling inside the city walls and living by the sweat of slaves.  All others are “barbarians” and deserve to be expelled or conquered by the sword, this time by the Carabinieri and 20,000 troops.

     The current immigration problem in Europe comes not from discrimination alone but from the crisis itself of modern imperialism. The most recent influx of European immigrants came from the implosion of the Soviet Union and the Balkanization of Eastern Europe. The current surge of immigrants into Europe, and more particularly Italy, comes mainly from the conflict areas such as Syria and Eritrea – countries whose peoples have fallen prey to imperialist wars of intervention and aggression.

     Migrants are not questions of security and criminality. They are a consequence of wars and conflicts, especially in the Middle East and Africa. They grow with the inequalities and underdevelopment under imperialist rule from Latin America to Asia.

     According to the United Nations, there are 51 million refugees. In 2013 alone, there were 17 million people fleeing. “Fortress Europe” has not stemmed this stream of human beings even with costly walls.

     About two billion Euros were invested in the buffer zone around EU. Frontex received in 2013 as much as 85 million Euros. Europe launched Eurosur, in charge of the European border control, which will receive during the next six years approximately 250 million Euros.

     According to research, the amount of cameras and kilometers of fences on the European borders is an over-kill. Tens of thousands of border patrols were hired to be based at the borders, from Bulgaria to Spain. In countries as the UK, Hungary and Austria, refugees are locked up in jails. In Greece, Malta, Poland and Bulgaria, even non-accompanied minor asylum-seekers are locked up.

    To solve the “illegal” migrant problem with detect-detain-deport solutions will only repeat and compound the problem. The migrant problem, from outside Europe, and from within Europe itself, must be approached with full respect for refugee and migrants rights.

     

    When Jean-Claude Juncker won the backing of the European Parliament to become the new head of the EU Commission, he promised a complete restructuring of the financial supervision by the “Troika” – the EU, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank.  This is a step in the right direction. However, this should not be for their own “democracy” but for more democracy by the direct actions of migrants and the peoples of host nations in Europe.

     

  • Migrante International condemns criminalization of undocumented migrants in EU-wide crackdown

    14100_354173107474_809031_n MIGRANTE INTL LOGO

    October 20, 2014
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Reference: Sarah Katrina Maramag, Campaign Coordinator, 0921-7417469

    Global alliance of overseas Filipinos Migrante International condemns in strongest terms the ongoing crackdowns resulting in the criminalization of undocumented migrants and refugees being implemented by the European Union.

    The EU-wide crackdown called “MOS MAIORUM” has launched massive police operations to hunt down undocumented or irregular migrants and refugees in the region. Operations have started last October 13 and is set to end on October 26. MOS MAIORUM has been approved by the Council of the European Union last July 10, 2014 and is being implemented under Italy’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

    Overseas Filipino workers and Filipino migrants in Europe have expressed grave concern as more than 20,000 police officers have been deployed in massive operations ranging from increasing checks in airports, stations, trains, main roads and highways to house raids. The main objective of the operations is to actively hunt down undocumented migrants and arrest as many as possible within the time frame of its implementation.

    “We call on the European Union to call for a stop this inhumane operation. Under the guise of going after crime and trafficking syndicates, MOS MAIORUM is giving license to EU authorities and police to indiscriminately arrest and violate the rights of irregular migrants, and promote xenophobia and racial discrimination,” said Garry Martinez, Migrante International chairperson.

    Martinez said that MOS MAIORUM is in direct violation of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. These conventions do not discriminate against undocumented and irregular migrant workers, he said.

    “Being undocumented is never reason to be stripped of one’s fundamental human rights. Undocumented migrants and refugees, who inevitably provide solutions to labor shortages or the clamor for cheap labor in host countries, especially in times of economic crisis, should not be marginalized and exploited. They are already less able to assert their claims and are more vulnerable to abuses. MOS MAIORUM will only make them more susceptible to grave abuses and human rights violations.”

    Martinez said that while they fully support moves to prevent human trafficking, Migrante believes that MOS MAIORUM will not solve but rather further exacerbate the problem. Instead of arresting irregular migrants and treating them as criminals, their status should be rectified because it makes them more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by crime syndicates.

    Further, MOS MAIORUM is being implemented at a time when health epidemics, civil wars and conflicts in the Middle East-North Africa region and elsewhere in the world continue. Millions of people are on the run because of these. Such a situation makes it a tool for crime and trafficking syndicates to intensify their activities. Constricting borders and implementing stringent immigration policies will not only cost lives but will also worsen trafficking in persons in the region, Martinez said.

    Migrante International supports the international campaign for the de-criminalization and legalization of undocumented migrants and refugees.

    According to December 2011 data of the Department of Foreign Affairs, there is an estimated 746,701 Filipinos in Europe, 138,088 are undocumented. ###

    Website: http://migranteinternational.org
    Office Address: #45 Cambridge St, Cubao, Quezon City
    Telefax: 9114910

  • “Mos Maiorum”: Yet another criminalization of people on the run

    “Mos Maiorum”: Yet another criminalization of people on the run

    On the 13th of October, a large-scale European police operation starts that targets undocumented migrants.

    It has become a tradition. Each time a country receives the presidency of the EU, it launches a large-scale action against migrants. Coincidence or not, with Latin or Old Greek names. Aerodromos, Aphrodite, Perkunas are the names of the actions of Greece, Cyprus and Lithuania respectively during their presidencies.

    On the 10th of July, not even two weeks after Italy got the presidency of the EU, a police operation was announced. This action will be led by the Italian Ministry of Interior Affairs in ‘close cooperation’ with Frontex, Europol and the Schengen member states. The action received the name Mos Maiorum, which literally means ‘custom of the ancestors’. It refers to the first centuries of the Roman Republic.

    In not one European media, mainstream or alternative, nor from any politician, have you heard about Mos Maiorum. In practice, between the 13th and 26th of October, approximately 20.000 police officers will be deployed in operations ranging from increasing checks in airports, stations, trains, highways to house searches. The main aim is to gain a better insight in the migration routes and to arrest as many undocumented migrants as possible.

    The operation is presented as prevention against organized crime and human trafficking, but we know from the past that this is just an excuse. During previous operations, practically no human traffickers were arrested; only undocumented migrants who ended up in detention centers and ultimately were deported. In addition, Europe wants to extend the databases of Frontex and Europol through these kinds of operations.

    Refugees are seen as a threat. The new migration streams are presented as questions of security and criminality while they are a consequence of wars and conflicts, especially in the Middle East and Africa.

    Since World War II, there has never been these many refugees. According to numbers of the United Nations, there are 51 million refugees. Only in 2013, 17 million people were on the run. In Europe, we are convinced that all refugees of the world are coming here. However, in 2013, there were only 435.385 applications for asylum in the 28 European member states. Not that big of a deal.

    On the other hand, Europe is the most dangerous destination for people on the run. According to research, since 2000 at least 40.000 migrants lost their lives on the way to Europe. The Mediterranean Sea has become a mass grave. This has to do with Fortress Europe. European countries and the EU have invested billions of Euros to protect their borders. In the buffer zone around the EU approximately 2 billion Euros were invested. Frontex received in 2013 as much as 85 million Euro. Europe launched last year Eurosur, in charge of the European border control, which will receive during the next 6 years approximately 250 million Euro. The number of cameras and kilometers of fences on the European borders is exaggerated. Tens of thousands of border patrols were hired to be based at the borders, from Bulgaria to Spain. In countries as the UK, Hungary and Austria, refugees are locked up in jails. In Greece, Malta, Poland and Bulgaria even non-accompanied minor asylum-seekers are locked up.

    The security and criminalization policies that Europe is executing and operations such as Mos Maiorum are a violation of the European Agreement to protect human rights, in particular the right to freedom and security. According to researchers and refugee organizations, human traffickers are the ones that take advantage of the current European policy. As soon as a route is closed, the smugglers are looking for new routes that are more dangerous and more expensive for migrants.

    It is evident that action should be taken against human traffickers. But to achieve this, operations such as Mos Maiorum are not necessary. There are sufficient laws at the level of states and at the European level to tackle crime. Police and justice need to be more effective. The top persons of human trafficking are still walking the streets and we know who they are.

    There are millions of people on the run because of wars, but since recently the amount of refugees is even greater because of natural disasters. The billions of Euros that are spent on the security of borders, could be used to establish legal trajectories to Europe. By enabling safe access routes, not only more lives will be saved, but it will also help to fight human trafficking.

    The current European policy considers migrants as a threat, but without them Europe would be in an even deeper crisis. Tens of recent reports and researchers demonstrate that migrants play a crucial role in the European economy. In the UK, for instance, migrants have contributed 32 billion Euros to the economy. In the new Swedish government, there are four ministers with a migration background. Aida Hadzialic arrived at the age of 5 as a refugee from Bosnia and at age 26 she is the youngest minister in the government. Migrants are people who want an opportunity, but today these opportunities are taken away by Europe, while it actually really needs these people.

    Bleri Lleshi is a political philosopher and author of various books.

    Translated to English from Dutch by Natalie Lefevre

    http://blerilleshi.wordpress.com
    https://www.facebook.com/Bleri.Lleshi
    @blerilleshi