Activists in Frankfurt ask authorities to receive refugees

At a march on September 9, activists demanded that Frankfurt authorities allow the entry of refugees from camps such as the Moria facility in Greece which was devastated in a fire

September 13, 2020 by Peoples Dispatch
Activists from Seebrücke Frankfurt group and various organizations including Die Linke (The Left) and Socialist German Workers Youth (SDAJ) took part in a rally to demand that refugees be allowed into Frankfurt.

Progressive sections in the German city of Frankfurt organized a march on Wednesday, September 9, demanding that authorities immediately take in refugees, especially women and children, from overcrowded refugee shelters in the region. The march was organized in the aftermath of the fire in the overcrowded Moria refugee camp in the Greek island of Lesbos. Activists from Seebrücke Frankfurt group and various organizations including Die Linke (The Left), Socialist German Workers Youth (SDAJ) etc joined the march at Romerberg Square in the city.

Consecutive fire outbreaks on September 8 and 9 devastated the Moria camp, which has been sheltering more than 13,000 refugees who are trying to get to mainland Europe. The refugees were living in appalling conditions as the camp had been built to accommodate 3,000 people. Congested living spaces, inadequate sanitation facilities, frequent fires and clashes with the security forces and right-wing sections among the local inhabitants had already made their life a living hell. The COVID-19 outbreak and the fire which destroyed 70% of the tents were the last straw. Nearly 10,000 refugees were left without a roof in the aftermath of the fire.

Ahead of the march on Wednesday, the refugee rights group Seebrücke in Frankfurt said that “there’s hardly anything left of the camp and now thirteen thousand people are freaking out in fear on Lesvos to find at least a place to sleep. Let’s carry the anger to the road together. We demand the immediate evacuation and reception of all refugees from all camps.”

Martin Kliehm, from Die Linke said that “the fire is the sad climax of an ignorant and inhuman European migration policy. Not only the European Union and the federal and state governments, but the city of Frankfurt failed too.” Even though the leadership of the Frankfurt city council had agreed to receive more refugees from the overcrowded hotspots like Moria, certain members in the city council pushed to block this.

The Socialist German Workers Youth (SDAJ) demanded the German government immediately admit refugees and those in need. SDAJ also called for an immediate end to the imperialist wars against Syria and Afghanistan, which has made many millions homeless and suffer in the refugee camps in the periphery of Europe.