In the evening, I decided to go out and take a bit of fresh air, so I went to visit my friends at #Bornitzstr102 Lager. Is not too far, and what they are going through there deserves some company and everybody to know. That people are invisible in a country just because is not their country, to be threatened permanently, to feel voiceless because there is no-one around , is something that basic makes me feel embarrassed. How can we turn our heads and look to another place, how can it be ignored the abuse on refugees, on extreme their fragile circumstances, for the sake of money, of profit, how can a country as Germany be so hypocritical and talk about a welcoming culture, when almost one million people are suffering on their daily basis.
This week I’m reporting what’s going on at #Bornitzstr102 but is just one of thousand cases. But maybe looking closer at it, it can be understood what means the psychological abuse at what refugees are submitted. As said I went to visit, to chat, to know what was happening since in the morning several incidents had taken place, the main one related on how the security men from the Lager went to throw out the women of the women’s room. Also in the morning took place another incident, where security went inside of another room, and started throwing the things out of the room, but the people inside said they wouldn’t move, the security tried to provoke the people, with no luck, nobody reacted, so they stayed. It’s clear they are trying by all means, that people let themselves go a bit, to then accuse them of violence. When said by all the people I’ve talked to, there has been no violent incident between people living inside the Lager, at least the year+ they’ve been there.
Another meeting was about to take place, it starts to become quite hilarious the fact that the meetings are done between people that have no competence to change the current situation in the Lager, that is translators coming from Lageso, refugees and some person belonging to PeWoBe. They can talk as long as they want, the situation won’t be clarified, negotiations will not take place, is just to give the people the run around, tire them, lie to them, create confusion and fear.
The attitude of Lageso translators, is embarrassing, people who’s task is supposed to be only, to transmit messages, not to build them and manipulate them.
First they simulate that they hear people’s complaints, that is, people who got a paper from Lageso on Monday saying they could stay in Bornitzstr 102 for the next two months, two days later, they find themselves in the list of people to be transfered to another Lager. So PeWoBe accepts any new registration (that means get the money for one person) and then throws out the person, so where is the money ending? and the person? where are the person’s rights? being on the list means not getting food, although not even people who are not in the list get the food, since due to having to go to courses or the school, they don’t have their food when they come back, which means that most of the people are only getting 2 meals instead of 3 (saving money, where is the money ending?) where are the rights of the people to get what they already have assigned?
Other person stands up and says “we are just money for you“, as he shows a 1€ coin, then there is a general complain about the heating, the Lager is cold, in between the translator says, well they are going to cut the electricity of the first floor, so you have to leave. Then another person takes the turn and says but I’m not in Lageso, I’m in the job center. Of course, no answer. A girl, one of the ones that were to thrown out in the morning, stands up and says, “My mum is old, she cannot walk too much, how can she go to a Lager where the toilets are 10 minutes from the room? how can she go to a place where she has to walk 15 minutes to the first bus stop?“. No answer. The next one says, but I have my school 10 minutes from here, how I move to a place where it takes me more than an hour to come here? No answer. (a side note, many of them have got a school to learn German or do an Ausbildung after 4-5 months fighting it.) Another turn says, we don’t want to go to KopenickerAllee because there are nazis around and we know they are attacking refugees. No answer. One key point in not wanting to move, is that some people get the complete amount of money from Lageso (~360€) ,that is the food is not deduced, this enables families to survive in some other country, without it, it would mean starvation for women and children back at home.
Some other interventions went on. But after getting no answers. The translators just kept repeating, as a mantra, you have to leave, you have to leave, you have to leave. Leave to where and why?, if it was clear Lageso would not be sending people day after day to this Lager, if it was clear they would be able to issue a document specifying the transfer, if would not say to people that they are lying when they are telling that they are getting no food. As people continued asking, protesting and saying they won’t move from Bornitzstr102, the translaters attacked again by saying, if you don’t leave, it will affect you asylum process, it can mean that you will not be accepted to stay in Germany. Then it came to me the disgust, no comments. Another hand was raised, No that’s not true, what happens here has nothing to do with our asylum processes. Then the translator had to rephrase what she wanted to say. But will this trigger the fear of being punished just because they are just asking what is the reason of the transfer, why to certain people, why are people being cross out with no reason and others added with also no reason?
At the end of the session which seemed to be some kind of boss, that didn’t introduce himself, address to the people, and cynically, he said that he wanted that everything evolved with no violence, that they wanted a calm dialogue, and that for todays things would remain like that but tomorrow they will continue, probably he meant, they would continue harassing people.
Meeting at Bornitzstr102 with lageso translators, and PeWoBe staff from abriraqui on Vimeo.