Thursday April 18th 2013: Volkseten Vegazulu, Steun Choucha Vluchtelingen Benefiet, 19:00 pm.
Support Choucha refugees! 41 refugees in hunger strike in front of UNHCR office in Tunis since 29 March 2013. UNHCR camp near Libyan border to be closed in May 2013 leaving 200 plus refugees with nowhere to go. UNHCR, finish your job!
Two years ago NATO (-countries) declared war against the Gaddafi regime and bombed the country. Hundreds of thousands of people fled Libya, among them many migrant workers and refugees from Sub-Saharan Africa. More than 20.000 were placed in the UNHCR Choucha camp just over the Tunesian border. Most refugees left Tunisia. The majority returned to their countries of origin, not all of them voluntarily. Some returned to Libya, where the rights of migrants are still being violated. Others tried to reach Europe by boat, risking their lives. About 2600 people were accepted by European countries, the US and Australia (“resettlement program”).
More than 1300 people from 13 different countries, predominately from Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Chad and Nigeria, still languish in the Choucha camp, which the UNHCR wants to close in June 2013 at the latest. Most of them are waiting for resettlement, trapped in unbearable conditions. About 400 people have been recognized as refugees, but did not get access to the resettlement program because they arrived after the date when procedures were terminated. More than 200 people, who have been denied the status of refugees because of inappropriate interpreters and other flaws, are now deprived of food and medical aid in Choucha and separated from recognized refugees. The UNHCR declared itself not responsible for these people and puts pressure on them to leave the camp and to go to their countries of origin or Libya, where they are threatened by persecution.
Their demands are to reopen the asylum cases of all rejected asylum seekers, to grant international protection to all those who have fled the war in Libya and to resettle all the refugees in safe countries.
In january 150 of them held a week long sit-in in front of the office of the UNHCR and European Union in Tunis, now 41 of them are in hunger strike with 4 in hospital today 04.04.2013.
The Transnational Choucha Solidarity Group – Afrique-Europe-Interact, All Included (NL), ARCI (Italy), Article 13 (Tunesia), Borderline Europe, CeTuMA (Tunesia), FFM (Germany), Welcome to Europe – is organizing support. In the NLs the group ‘Support the Choucha refugees’ put pressure on the UNHCR in The Hague. We want now to put the demands forward to the dutch government. They need support now!
We call on the UNHCR and the European governments, especially those who intervened in the war in Libya, to take on their responsibilities and to provide protection and a life in dignity for all these refugees in Europe instead of externalizing refugee management to poor and unstable countries like Tunisia!
More information on: http://chouchaprotest.noblogs.org/
and http://www.allincluded.nl/index.php/actie/24/382
Donations: rek. 4864527 tnv ‘all included’ te Amsterdam ovv Choucha
Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchen, every monday and thursday, 19:00 PM, vegan food for 4€ or donation. All benefits go for social & political struggles. No reservation.
We’re always looking for cooks. Any help is welcome in the kitchen. Experience not required. Enjoying it is a must. If you want to know which days are still available in the schedule, send an email to joe[at]squat.net and book yourself the night. You can, of course, also participate by rolling up your sleeves and doing the dishes.
