Every day, up to a hundred refugees arrive in Eisenhüttenstadt from the Polish border. We know what this means for the already overcrowded accommodation spaces in the initial reception facilities. We are also aware that these are people who have made a hard and dangerous journey to get to Germany. They were chased and attacked by racist groups on the way, women experienced sexual violence. Border police from different European countries have beaten them up and unleashed dogs on them to push them back. Despite all this, they managed to overcome these hardships and we are glad that they arrived.

The purpose of this press release is to remind the authorities that we expect the new arrivals to be treated with dignity, that their rights are respected and that they have learned from 2015. When camps are overcrowded, there is more conflict between residents* and sexual violence/harassment against women and LGTB. We call for the protection of these vulnerable groups and for their cases to be processed quickly so that they can move out of the camps.

We ask civil society to welcome them without hostility and prejudice. It is the beginning of winter and the way here is even more dangerous. We have heard that the fascist group III. Weg is building a militia against us refugees around Guben. We call on the police to take action against the fascists. We need a civil society that welcomes the arriving refugees with open arms and allows them to arrive and participate.

Women in Exile and Friends are currently supporting a family in one of the Berlin reception centers and trying to empower them to stand up for themselves. This family is very vulnerable, even though they are participating in resettlement programs and have access to social services. The camp staff is also very supportive of them, but of course they have other people to accompany. For this reason, we are calling on organizations and individuals in Berlin and Brandenburg to support the arriving refugees.