As we join feminist voices around the world raising awareness of gender-based violence, our focus is on all women* on the move who experience feminicide, sexual and physical violence on a daily basis.
In particular, we want to raise awareness of the living conditions of refugee women* living in camps in Germany, in the countries bordering the EU, and in camps all over the world. How they are exposed to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence; highlighting that the scale and true nature of the problem is often not acknowledged.
Closer to home, we invite you to join our upcoming rally demanding full investigation and justice for Rita. A refugee woman who was killed while living in a camp and supposedly under state protection. More information on the facts of Rita’s case and our efforts to seek justice can be found in our newsletters and webblog.
Below are the latest updates on our quest for Rita’s justice:
„On a cold day in April 2019, Rita O ‘disappeared’ from the camp in Hohenleipisch, without papers or money. Her child reported a man who had used violence. Nevertheless, the police only searched for her months later – and found burnt parts of her body. The police and the public prosecutor’s office have been sitting on the case to this day, even making racist statements.
Even after more than five years, we still don’t know who murdered our sister. We ask: What value is placed on the life of a refugee woman*? Our trust in the police and the public prosecutor’s office is exhausted. We have asked Florence Kasumba to take up the case and have also written to the XY programme. Florence Kasumba is not only a ‘crime scene’ investigator, she also solves murders of women*, cold cases, in real life”.
The solidarity bus will leave Oranienplatz at 10:15am. The first stop at 11.30 is a rally in front of the state parliament in Potsdam. We want to remind the authorities that we will not rest until the murder of Rita O. is solved. From 14:30 we will be in front of the Ministry of the Interior in Berlin to draw attention to the need to make the work of the police free of racism and to take the initiative to solve Rita O.’s murder.
At 16:00 Women in Exile & Friends will take part in the demonstration ‘Implement the Istanbul Convention’ in front of the Berlin House of Representatives.
