Call by Antirassistischen Gruppe Leipzig
:: Antiracist action and discussion? Camp02! ::
This summer, the antiracist bordercamp with the motto "no-one is illegal" will
take place for the fifth time. Like in previous years, it again focuses on the
German and European border regime, targeting it within the frame of a more
general and fundamental critique of society. After three camps directly on the
border to Poland and Czech Republic plus the camp at the Frankfurt Airport the
location we chose to go to this summer Thuringia. Taking up last year's focus
of "inner borders" the fifth bordercamp intends to intervene on a wide range of
levels in the debate on borders migrants and refugees have to face, like
residential restriction (the obligation for refugees to stay within the
boundaries of the administrative district assigned to them by the German
authorities), the Immigration Act and the "War on terrorism". We also want to
continue the discussions that started during the Frankfurt camp.
:: racism and capitalism ::
At this point we confine ourselves mostly to targeting the relation of racism
and anti-Semitism to capitalism because this is where we have to acknowledge a
deficit in theory within the antiracist movement. It is important for us to put
a greater emphasis on this subject for the discussion within the antiracist
left and for our own positioning during the actions of the antiracist
bordercamp.
By doing so, we do not question the important role nationalism and patriarchy
play in relation to capitalism and racism but we find that there has been done
a lot more analysis on this topic already. Most approaches to racism treat this
form of domination as if it was isolated from other aspects of society instead
of embedding it into a general analysis and critique of society. The problem is
not only the small number of theoretical positions but also their quality:
subordinating anti-Semitism as a mere form of racism or the idea that racism
was a form of domination which had existed before capitalism and was simply
being used by capitalism but in the future development would be abolished as an
obstacle to capital accumulation - are not just isolated positions but quite
common opinions in the antiracist discussion. A consistent leftist antiracism
absolutely needs a critical analysis of capitalism and of the functioning of
racism. Our hope is not only to start this discussion within the antiracist
movement but to have this discussion as part of a radical leftist movement.
Racism in its modern form developed parallel to the formation of capitalist
societies on the basis of already existing xenophobic stereotypes and patterns.
It is not just a continuation of those archaic images, it is an integral part
of capitalist society.
Capitalism at first sight seems incompatible with or at least indifferent to
constructions such as gender or race. The capitalist principle of utilisation
and the promise of formal equality in principle holds for all humans, being
citizens of a particular nation-state or foreigners - but only under the
condition that they create value. The ideology of universalism - which claims
equality of all humans only in their capacity as free subjects to exchange
values in their individual pursuit of happiness - is tailor-made for the
capitalist way of production and essential to the endless accumulation of
capital. This ideology facilitates the free movement of all goods in the form
of products, capital and labour according to the value only the market
attributes to them. All existing social differences are put down to different
performance and effectivity of the individuals. A society which is based on the
achievement principle and tries to give itself a universalist appearance is
less stable politically than earlier forms of society where social positions
were derived from religion or feudal tradition and firm convictions could be
granted. The present society is subjectively perceived as unjust because to the
eyes of the individual their personal achievements seem to be underrated and
the bourgeois subject, faced with the possibility of its own failure,
constantly needs to adjust itself and live up to the demands of the capitalist
society. A meritocracy cannot offer the belief in an eternal fixed order and
firm convictions anymore. This is the point where racism as an ideology of
inequality steps in: formal equality and the promise of happiness as a reward
for high performance is inconsistent with the really existing inequality within
capitalism that cannot be explained with different performance and effectivity.
Ideologies like sexism and racism are attempts to explain and rationalise
complex social interrelations by declaring them mere biological developments in
order to make them seemingly more transparent. They conceal the actual reasons
which are inherent in the capitalist system and stabilise the political order.
People adjust themselves into bourgeois subjects who function as thoroughly
rationalised labour within the capitalist- bourgeois order and subordinate
their own "instinctive nature" to a daily agenda planned down to the last
detail. This self-adjustment creates the ambivalent feelings of hatred and
fascination when confronted with the imagination of the 'stranger' who seems to
elude abstract, dependent work and appears to be dominated completely by their
instincts and needs. The 'stranger' is constructed as the reciprocal reflection
of the bourgeois subject and all characteristics the bourgeois subject fears,
despises or desires are ascribed to this reflection. Racism has a function of
creating community and identity and plays an important role in pushing through
the values and secondary virtues the capitalist working process and the
bourgeois society demand.
We see that capitalism legitimises and constitutes racism. But trying to derive
racism only economically from capitalism would be wrong: as an ideology of
inequality it tends to gain an independent momentum and continually reproduces
itself. But racism is as well constituent of capitalism. It plays an important
role in maintaining capitalism and conceals its inherent contradictions.
Fighting racism necessarily means fighting capitalism as its essential basis as
well.
Anti-Semitism contains racist elements, it argues with the constructed 'race'
of the 'Jew' and puts down social reality to biological reasons, too, but it
functions in a different manner. On the one hand, while racist ideology depicts
'foreign peoples' as inferior to one's own people, anti-Semites describe the
'Jew' as the alleged 'wire-puller behind the scenes' who has certain sinister
and frightening powers and the aspiration to gain control over the world. They
see the danger in the 'Jews'' alleged superiority. On the other hand, anti-
Semitic logic does not go along the lines of 'nation against nation', as racist
logic does, which implies a basic acceptance of this category and has a
constituent and strengthening effect on one's own identity. On the contrary,
the image of the 'Jew' represents a third position outside the dichotomy of
'own' and 'foreign' nations, it represents the 'non-nation'. The 'Jew' is seen
as equivalent to universalism and the possible abolition of the concept of
nationhood and is therefore mercilessly persecuted. Hatred and fight against
the 'Jews' unites even national enemies. The image of the 'Jew' - who does not
exist in reality and needs not even to be marked as such to make anti-Semitic
arguments work - is constructed in order to find an alleged culprit for the
incomprehensible circumstances in a capitalist society onto whom all uneasiness
can be projected. Thus anti-Semitism as a cut short criticism to capitalism
develops a false capacity to explain the course of history. Dividing capital
into honourable, 'creative' capital and 'greedy' capital defined as frightening
and devastating splits off the negative aspects of capitalism. Within this
logic, doing away with or at least taming financial capital implies the
solution of all problems: the things left over would be very pleasant to live
with.
:: Immigrant Country Germany: The deconstruction of a daydream ::
We are the witnesses of a current change in the migration regime. In spite of
their pioneer role in the partial aggravation of EU policies, Germany's rigid
standards in some areas of policies on foreigners are being adapted to EU norms
due to the pressure by industry and commerce and by the EU. Equally decisive is
the different political background of the social-democrat and green Federal
Government: their politics is determined by the model of Western democracy and
civil society as opposed to the specific form of German nationalism and racism.
An overly plump and inflexible racism, this obsolete product of German paranoia
which is immune to economic considerations and demands must give way to a
democratic, capitalist-rationalist form.
The 'Act on the regulation and restriction of immigration and on the regulation
of residence and integration of EU citizens and foreigners' ("Gesetz zur
Steuerung und Begrenzung der Zuwanderung und zur Regelung des Aufenthalts und
der Integration von Unionsbürgern und Ausländern") reflects this 'new spirit':
it facilitates immigration, but restricts it at the same time according to
flexible political and, above all, economic requirements. Linking residence
permits (which are only temporary anyway) to particular employers leads to
total dependence from employment and to legal insecurity of the migrants that
are perceived but in their capacity to work. At the same time, other forms of
stay are systematically dismantled: the total abolition of the legal instrument
"Duldung" (toleration of stay) illegalises hundreds of thousands of migrants.
'Re-emigration centres' are planned to account for the availability of these
people for deportation. Former regulations in the legislation affecting aliens
are aggravated.
The immigration debate is meant to develop the future regulation of labour
migration along the criteria: foreigners are wanted only when useful according
to economic requirements. It's no longer nationalist racism and shutting
Germany to all foreigners that is the primary principle of politics but control
and regulation of migration. This big shift in the discourse, however, prepares
the ground for only minimal legal changes where the German nationalist
principle remains intact, and is then partially taken back.
This means that evidently racism is not even questioned. Migrants don't have
the right to free movement. Those of them who want to live in Germany have to
prove their usefulness to industry and commerce and even if they have done so
they have to integrate and to adapt without criticism to the norms of the 'host
Germany'. The supporters of multiculturalism advocate for an enrichment of
German mono-culture, while conservatives want to prevent the undermining of the
German 'Leitkultur'. All 'others' are primarily seen as a financial burden or
as a danger because - according to the respective point of view - they are
supposed to be either criminals or fundamentalists, and Germany is trying even
harder to cut itself off from this 'peril'. The new immigration act will
substantially improve the situation of a few but for the majority of migrants a
definite aggravation of their living conditions is to be expected. The social
effect of the shift in the immigration discourse, however, holds true for all:
it makes an essential difference for the migrants living in Germany whether
they are persecuted and beaten up by nazis for being 'perilous foreigners
taking advantage of the German welfare system' or they are regarded as
potentially 'useful experts'. It determines their social situation and their
survival under German conditions.
:: Terrorism, migration and West European bananas ::
In the debate on the "War on terrorism", the capitalist logic of utilisation
and racism once again complement each other.
The surveillance of migrants is intended to frighten them off, to stigmatise,
criminalize and discipline them. It is obvious that surveillance of migrants is
much more extensive than the surveillance of Germans. Institutions such as the
Central Aliens Register, the Schengen information system and European
fingerprint files primarily or exclusively target non - EU citizens. These
mechanisms of control and exclusion work according to a logic of dividing
humans into useful and useless ones. The data collected in the Central Aliens
Register as an information partnership of Foreigners Offices, the Border
Police, customs, judiciary, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution,
and the police are information on the migrant's state of the asylum procedure,
residence status, previous convictions, efforts of naturalisation up to the
size of the flat they live in. The extent of integration and the way in which
they earn their livings helps to complete this selection.
The monitoring of the individuals to enforce behaviour according to the norms
plays an equally important part. A constant rise in technical monitoring can be
observed as well as a progressive differentiation of actual repression. Where
the average German population keep themselves under surveillance by the means
of social self-control and borders within Europe disappear for them, marginal
groups regarded as endangering the system are subjected to more and more
repressive restrictions. Racism enters the game where the social group of
"foreigners" is constructed and people are considered non-conform, unwilling to
assimilate and, as such, "perilous", just because of their nationality. And
this was exactly the reason why the Central Aliens Register was built up in the
fifties: the Federal Ministry of the Interior had stated a "necessity of an
enhanced surveillance of foreigners on federal territory".
Germany's second anti-terror law (Terrorismusbekämpfungsgesetz) follows the
same logic. It mainly aggravates already existing regulations, expands
competencies and in general sounds like a declaration of suspicion against
refugees, migrants, and their supporters. The aim is obviously to deport people
who are denied asylum and illegal migrants as quick as possible and to make
"search work" easier. Another part is aimed at rendering work and function of
the Central Aliens Register more effective. Being a collection of personal data
on non-Germans, the Central Aliens Register is a perfect instrument for
computer-aided profiling and search measures. The latter, by its racist
profiling, enhances the stigmatisation of particular groups of the population
and enhance an according social climate which, paralleled by amendments in the
asylum and foreigners legislation and the new Immigration Law purposefully
tries to prevent migrants from political activity.
There is the quite common assumption that migrants serve as "guinea pigs" of
security policy in order to find out how much surveillance can later be imposed
on the whole of the German population. In the face of the special registration
of migrants that rather provides advantages to German citizens than they have
to be afraid to be subjected to the same treatment one day, this assumption
seems more and more questionable. Monitoring of migrants is done so that the
citizens of the Fortress Europe don't have to give up their privileges. There
is a progressive expansion of certain mechanisms of control and surveillance
concerning German respectively EU citizens, too. However, this repression only
targets socially marginalised groups or groups that are categorised as
"criminal" while all migrants are regarded as belonging to these groups only
because of their origins.
Since September 11, 2001, the premises of the public debate on immigration, the
following computer-aided profiling and search measures targeting male students
of Moslem faith, and the constant call for an aggravation of the legislation
affecting foreigners have changed. Now, the primary subject of the discussion
is not only whether and if yes, how many highly qualified or cheap workers
should be recruited in order to benefit the German economy, but how migration
and asylum policy can be linked with the combating of terrorism. The measures
introduced now follow exactly the logic of developments on a national as well
as European level that have characterised the 1990s. Of course, after
September11 it was much easier to finally push through the ideas of
intelligence services and security technocrats, with the whole liberal public
surrendering to the shock of the attacks, crying out for more safety measures
or simply staying silent. The alleged threat to Western society helped justify
a lot of measures which would have been much harder to put through otherwise.
Especially since they obviously do nothing to combat terrorism Examples are
voice recordings and analysis to "establish the identity [of refugees] by
determining what region they originate from" which, as the explanation of the
law says, is a measure designed to make deportation of persons obliged to leave
Germany easier.
And there is another aspect in the Terrorismusbekämpfungsgesetz that should not
be overlooked. The attacks of September11 seem to have shaken the belief of the
citizens of the prosperous Western states in maximal safety and freedom of
movement substantially. Perfect socially and economically integrated migrants
suddenly became terrorist sleepers. The call for more safety, surveillance and
exclusion has led to measures which within this context can hardly be the
product of the logic of the immigration debate but rather a reaction with
racist connotations to a threat perceived as real. Instruments such as handing
out visas or computer-aided profiling which particularly affect highly
qualified and hence potentially useful foreign students or scientists damage
the image of the industrial area Germany. Even government-sponsored anti-nazi
campaigns don't help when those very sought-after experts are confronted with a
state racism which before only affected the "useless" refugees - a fact sharply
criticised by the Federal Foreign Office as inconsistent with Germany's
economic interests. Such irrational measures probably will be applied to a
lesser extent after the turmoil caused by the electoral campaign has eased off.
But: who has access to which territory and which rights he or she will be
granted - this is the crucial question both seen from the rational economic and
from the supposedly irrational "safety first" point of view. And the answers of
both are rooted in racism.
:: let's get organised together ::
Antiracist politics in Germany should not be politics for refugees, but
primarily politics against Germans and their racism, against German authorities
and German policy on foreigners. We must do away with the myth that both
'German' leftists and refugees / migrants are equally affected by this racism:
white 'German' leftists are not exposed to racist repression and violence.
Racism, however, not only contains a pejorative ascription of qualities by the
racist, but also a restricting self-definition. Although a 'German' left within
the given social circumstances profits from racism it would be wrong to open up
a dichotomy of perpetrator and victim that can only paralyse ourselves. The
forcible adjustment of humans into racist categories alone should already be
motivation enough to strive for liberation from racist conditions.
It was in the middle of the eighties when the issue of racism was first
targeted by the West-German left. Most anti-imperialist or social-revolutionary
groups regarded refugees and migrants as the new revolutionary subject
succeeding the working class, as an extension of the liberation movements in
the Third World, and as victims of the capitalist world economy. Refugees were
seen as political subjects and partners but at the same time they were idolised
and misused. At the beginning of the nineties, against the background of the
racist pogroms and the factual elimination of the right to asylum, this view
was reversed: since then, an instrumentalising perception to refugees prevailed
within the mostly white, German antiracist movement, reducing them to mere
victims of racist policy on foreigners and national racism. Accordingly,
antiracist politics was done in the form of assistance to refugees and leftist
social work as well as politics against the racism of the state, but it hardly
ever targeted racism within the German population. Attempts of joint
organisation of refugees and German antiracists mainly failed due to the lack
of transparency of the different approaches and ideas and due to the 'German'
antiracists' paternalistic attitude. Migrants' groups accused them of
reproducing racist cognitive patterns and of insufficient confrontation with
their own racism while the German antiracists alternated between unconditional
solidarity and acceptance without criticism of refugees' and migrants'
political agendas, trying to avoid to force upon them any German points of view
marked by racist socialisation, on the one hand and, in the other extreme,
demanding identical political aims and methods without taking into account and
discussing the specific conditions and approaches on an equal political basis.
The solution to this conflict was mostly seen in tending one-sidedly to one of
these extremes instead of constantly exploring and enduring it. But neither
paternalism and pity nor the wishful imagination of a common suffering under
the given racist circumstances can provide a stable basis for antiracist
politics.
The antiracist bordercamp offers the opportunity of a joint political co-
operation between 'German' antiracists and refugees / migrants that goes beyond
a mere showing of solidarity and that is free of any paternalism. Self-
organised groups and individual refugees and migrants not only are present but
involved and actively participate in the preparation of the camp as well as
during the camp itself. So the camp will be an place to experiment with
political co-operation on an equal basis and to discuss and convey different
political ideas. The camp offers the opportunity to seriously take into account
and put into practice the claims formulated by both refugees / migrants and
antiracists and last but not least to undermine the political split between
'German' and 'migrants' groups, the criterion being no longer the social status
(e.g. 'refugee') but common political interests such as the fight against the
racist consensus and the policies of the German state. Beyond this, solidarity
with each other's struggles will be possible.
:: Grenzcamp goes Thüringen ::
Antiracism at the antiracist bordercamp does not just mean German antiracists
and refugees and migrants spending some time at the same place and German
antiracist groups unilaterally committing themselves to supporting the
interests of refugees. What is meant is a real co-operation with self-organised
migrants, the absolutely necessary discussion of each other's ideas and
approaches. Only from here a long-term co-operative political practice can
arouse that grows beyond the frame of a bordercamp on the basis of common
political aims. From the beginning, one aspiration of the bordercamps has been
to strengthen local, regional and German-wide organisational structures. This
applies to Thuringia as well. In Thuringia, there is a strong self-organisation
of refugee groups. The bordercamp can improve co-operation between them and
regional German leftist and radical leftist groups and can enhance networking
between refugees. We want to continue several internal debates that were
started during the Frankfurt bordercamp, e.g. about the interrelation of sexism
and racism, the interdependence of form of domination as seen in the example of
work or the shift in paradigms in immigration policy under the social-democrat
and green government. The living conditions of migrants in the homes of
refugees in- and outside of Thuringia will be emphasised, as well as the
struggle against Residential restriction. Our interventions will target the
ZAST in Jena-Forst and the related transit camp where about 400 people are
forced to live under prison-like conditions.
Residenzpflicht restricts migrants in their freedom of movement and thus in
their ability to political activity. As an inner border Residenzpflicht is part
of an institutionalised racism built around immigration acts, internal security
and "war on terrorism", and as such we want to make it a subject of our
discussions and actions. Other than in Frankfurt / M. where last year's
bordercamp took place, the camp in Thuringia will again be the place of a
stronger and badly needed confrontation with the local population. Instead of a
culturally racist population of which 20-30% live without a German passport,
the camp participants will find a racist consensus in Thuringia which, coupled
with the local fascist structures and right-wing hegemony, strongly determines
living conditions of the refugees there. The camp in Thuringia, although meant
as a 'back to the roots' of the bordercamp idea, is not supposed to remain
constricted to antiracism as a partial struggle. As in the years before, we
will single out and target racism as a form of domination in order to formulate
a radical social criticism and to explore the interrelation to other forms of
domination. This year, we will put a particular emphasis on the immigration
debate and the resulting discussion of the capitalist principle of utilisation.
Especially in Jena the splitting of migrants according to their utility for the
industrial area Germany is very obvious. On the one hand, refugees are being
terrorised, stigmatised and rendered invisible, on the other hand a spoonful of
antifascism is supposed to save the town's image damaged by the attacks on
visiting professors at the Jena University. With regard to the attacks on the
World Trade Center and the War on Terrorism that was proclaimed subsequently,
another issue dealt with the bordercamp 2002 will be war. In Thuringia, our
antimilitarist actions will particularly target Jenoptik as the example of an
enterprise that, among other things, produces military equipment. Our intention
is to link the tactical demand for an improvement of the living conditions of
refugees with a radical criticism to society. The factual situation in
Thuringia leaves the orientation of the camp open to various options. In the
end, the fifth antiracist bordercamp will be fuelled by the wide range of
political approaches and ideas within the left and left-wing radical spectrum.
Strawberry champagne for ever!
Für eine radikale Linke!
For free movement – smash capitalism!
Ninguna persona es ilegal!
Détruyez la societé bourgeoise !
Antirassistische Gruppe Leipzig
:: Invisible curtain district boundary - The "Pass obligation law" strikes again ::
The pass obligation law is not more than a few sections of the Asylum Procedure
Act but still an evident symbol of institutionalised racism. Officially
designed to regulate the stay of refugees during their asylum procedure, it in
fact denies them the freedom of movement. It prohibits them to leave the
district assigned to them as their place of residence and obliges them to live
in special refugee homes or camps. The refugees may leave the district only
with a permission they have to apply for to the German authorities. It is up to
the arbitrary decision of the respective official to give or deny this
permission for which, moreover, the refugees are charged a fee. By forcing
asylum seekers to live in refugee homes and subjecting them to the restrictions
of the pass obligation law, they are stigmatised as a social fringe group.
Freedom of movement is generally regarded a civil right. According to racist
principles, this right is being withheld from refugees in Germany. Thus,
immigrants are stripped in an inhuman manner of the basis to lead a self-
determined life. Until now no other EU country has any such legislation but it
might become a standard in foreigners policy throughout the EU. It's obvious
that the Pass obligation law, primarily restricting the freedom of movement, in
effect also restricts freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. So migrants
are completely prevented from political activity, they become invisible and
silenced. In order to enforce the Pass obligation law, a violation of this law
can result in a series of further discriminations. Refugees that don't obey to
this law can be fined up to 2,500 Euro, an amount which has to be seen in
relation to the 40 Euro refugees receive per month. A repeated violation of the
Pass obligation law can result in a prison sentence of up to one year. The Pass
obligation law gives a legal foundation to racist selective police controls
based on exterior physical criteria. The ID treatment in case of a violation of
the law makes the stigmatisation of refugees as criminals perfect and converts
them into suspects per se to the eyes of the public. It aggravates the state of
pressure and uncertainty under which refugees are forced to live.
We are fully aware of the fact that the struggle against residential
restriction is not at all a radical issue because it is a demand on the state
to grant a civil right. Nevertheless it will be given a high importance during
the camp, not as a radical demand but as a demand for a legal status which no
longer prevents refugees from engaging in political activity. In the struggle
against residential restriction we should not only scandalise this inhuman
condition imposed on migrants but also analyse it within a wider social
context. Since on the one hand it is a form of institutionalised state racism.
And on the other hand it categorises refugees as useless alongside the
capitalist logic of utilisation and excludes them from the related privileges.
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:: summer:camp:action yesterday & today ::
The antiracist bordercamp was initiated by the campaign "no one is illegal"
that includes more than 30 union, church and autonomous organisations and was
founded in 1997. It was young, old and ex-"autonomous" activists, antifascists,
campaign activists as well as cultural leftists who have participated in the
camps and their number has grown continuously over the years. We have tried out
to live collectively, tested new forms of actions and created autonomous
spaces.
The camp also has tried to combine antifascist with antiracist politics with
only limited success. Fortress Europe, the shifting of borders both in- and
outwards, the privatisation of surveillance, flight support, denouncement,
deportation, the new immigration law and the relation between world economy and
migration are issues that have been dealt with on the camp.
The camp has always tried to intervene with various creative means. Actions
have not been the only focus of the camp, however: debates on sexism and
racism, strategic discussions on antifascism and antiracism and later on on
(anti)globalisation as well as immigration policies have played an equally
important role.
It was in the summer of 1998, when the Kohl administration was still in power,
that the first actioncamp took place at the German border to Poland near
Goerlitz. That the camp was actually taking place in the area was a provocation
already, increased by spontaneous actions that we did not have an official
permit for. The main actions were those against inhumane refugee camps, against
the criminalization of taxi drivers and regional (neo-)fascist structures.
One year later those who had hoped for changes in the German refugee and
immigration policies after the new government had taken power were
disappointed. It is not only for that reason that there were three times as
many participants in Zittau than the year before. Barracks of the Federal
Border Police (BGS) were blocked, Nazi-officials were brought to light and
supporting refugees in their flight was a big issue.
After the camp some people were disappointed about the political discussions on
the camp. For the future networking between German and foreign groups as well
as wide discussions on antiracist topics was to become of central concern,
especially during the camp in Forst in 2000. Apart from actions against
residential restrictions, the ZAST, Nazi structures and racist everyday life
there were workshops on different topics, for example on sexism and anti-
Semitism. A problem for this camp was that the German government in the summer
of 2000 began to implement anti-fascist and anti-racist policies themselves
trying to portray the camp as the "better side of Germany".
After three years directly on the German border to Poland and the Czech
Republic the camp in 2001 took place in the Rhein-Main area near the Frankfurt
airport. The "inner borders" of the national border regime became the major
issue. More that 1000 participants did actions at places like the stock
market, the airport and the main train station addressing issues like the
shortened asylum application procedure and the detention centre at the airport,
deportation, forced labour in Nazi Germany and Nazi structures.
Despite all good intentions the fourth camp was again a mainly White and German
camp. So that in the preparation of this year's camp for the first time self-
organised refugees, migrants and Germans really co-operate.
The antiracist bordercamps have been really successful at internationalisation.
After camps in different countries, like Spain, Slovenia, Poland and Mexico
last year, there is going to be one European-wide antiracist and anti-capitalist bordercamp in Strasbourg from July 19-28 this year. A caravan will
combine the camp in Thuringia and the one in France. The camp in Strasbourg is
being organised by the European noborder network and wants to address issues
like inner security, migration and asylum policies that only take the needs of
the economy into account and the contrast between freedom of movement and
borders. One important target will be the Schengen Information System (SIS)
with which all unwanted migrants in Europe are being registered. For July27 a
demonstration against the SIS not just for the camp participants is being
planned.
An important question for the fifth antiracist camp was how it could continue
last year's success. The decision of the German-wide preparatory group was to
go to Jena. Doubts about the unconditional co-operation with refugee
organisations who are not necessarily radically left and the alleged focus on
antiracism led critics to organise their own camp in Hamburg from August 16
onwards. This is not only to be an antiracist event but also a fight for a
happy and liberated society. With Schill as an example they want to address
right-wing extremism that is disguised as anti-criminality discourse.
On the camps we always also discuss theoretically and politically. The need for
intensifying the discussion could, however, partly not be fulfilled. As a
continuation of the crossover conferences in Berlin and Bremen those
discussion, especially on the relations between different forms of oppression
are to be continued. Groups from different countries therefore organise the
crossover summer camp near Cottbus from August 3-10. The program includes
political actions, performances, discussions and theoretical workshops...
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