STATEMENT of IWL(FI)
Written by IWL-FI – International Secretariat
Thursday, 17 September 2015 19:20
Europe is one of the scenarios of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in 60 years. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 2015 is the year of the highest numbers of people, 69 million, fleeing from colonial wars undertaken by American and European imperialism or from starvation and poverty which are the outcome of imperialist exploitation and oppression.
The scenes of barbarism we witness on European soil, perpetrated by European governments, are not in the least different from what these governments commit against these people in the countries where they come from. This does not make them any less shocking.
The events that are taking place in Hungary, Greece, Austria and Italy, with thousands of mothers crawling with their children crossing the fences of blades put up by the governments and fleeing from the police; the image of the little Aylan, the Syrian child found lifeless on the Turkish coast; the Hungarian “journalist” kicking a man with a child in his arms,  in the most cowardly manner; these are the more cruel expression of the events; it is also Merkel’s attitude when she quite ruthlessly told a Palestinian girl “go back to your country.” This is the true face of the imperialist European Union.
Standing in sharp contrast to this, there are the massive demonstrations of solidarity cropping out spontaneously in different countries, in spite of the European governments, that point out the path to follow. The governments have had to react due to peoples’ reaction. Thousands of families opened their homes while others gave money, food and clothes. Assemblies, rallies and demonstrations are being organised not only in European cities but in the whole world and on the last 12th September thousands of people took part in demonstrations in the whole world.
A small part of this catastrophe has reached Europe. So far this year, 137,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean. Over 50,000 have crossed from Turkey to Greece, 30,000 of whom are Syrians fleeing from bombs and chemical weapons used by Bashar al-Assad, the Islamic State and the imperialist countries that bomb the region. All of them are enemies of the peoples.
The EU humiliates refugees and the far right takes advantage
European imperialist powers (Germany, England and France) use the EU as an amplification of their frontiers in order to avoid and control the flow of people to their countries. They use the excuse of the struggle against terrorism of the IS to further hinder the admittance of refugees. In Hungary, for example, the registry of new arrivals is getting increasingly slow and people are marked with numbers on their skins, the way the Nazi regime used to do with their prisoners.
It is worthwhile to remember that at the beginning of the wave of boats on the Mediterranean, ministers of foreign affairs posed bombing the coasts of Libya in order to “save these poor people from the mafias.” Faced with the reaction of the people, they changed their speech to suit the press. A totally different speech from what they are actually doing: increasing their repression in order to “organise” the admittance of the refugees. Separated as cattle, those who have a craft that interests governments can survive and those “left behind” can be returned to their countries.
Several mayors have stated that they would receive Christians only. Denmark has published some notices in four Lebanese papers informing readers that the conditions for being granted asylum have become more difficult. They have also announced that railways and highways would be closed due to the “humanitarian crisis.” In the Spanish State, “hot returns” [1] have been carried on. In short: Europe builds walls and increases repression.
The European far right takes advantage of the situation in order to radicalise the xenophobic speech against immigrants. In Germany, there have been over 200 attacks against shelters receiving refugees. A man has urinated on a Syrian boy in the middle of the street. The European far right has links with the political regimes. In Germany, the parties PEGIDA, Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the NPD are not punished for their criminal acts; they are indeed funded by politicians, entrepreneurs and judges. In Italy, the Lega Nord takes advantage of human suffering to strengthen its xenophobic propaganda and Grillo supports the far-right Hungarian Prime Minister, the builder of fencing blades.
The United States and the EU are responsible for the current crisis
The EU leaders deliver speeches as if this situation were no their business. The United States and the EU are responsible for the current crisis. They talk of wars and catastrophes as they were natural phenomena not caused by their policies. That is sheer hypocrisy. EU and USA exert political, economic and military domination over the remaining countries of the world. They impose neoliberal policies. They keep commercial relations with dictators; they sell them weapons and use bombs whenever it suits them. Previous colonial domination has turned into the current economic and military domination. Imperialism is the veritable culprit for humanitarian catastrophes.
Meanwhile, Assad’s genocide is rampant. The Syrian dictator, directly supported by Russia and Iran, praised by Chavez as a “humanist” and even today supported by Maduro keeps on murdering his own people with barrel bombs and chemical weapons. He spares no effort to stay in power and does not care to continue exterminating his people, for he has the veiled support of the EU and the US that, while arming the IS, impose an arms embargo for real organizations fighting the regime.
Those unaware of the imperialist character of the EU and their own states will hesitate to respond to the hypocrisy of the EU, or will directly take the path of capitulation. From formal criticism of the EU to the vote for racist laws [2] and support for the construction of the CIE’s (Centers for Foreigners). All this comes together with statements on “control measures” at the borderlines. Answering Rajoy, who said “In Spain, we fit who we fit”, Barcelona and Madrid have been declared “Refuge cities” by their respective mayors. So that the status of “refuge city” becomes effective and doesn’t turn into a mere advertisement, it can’t be wait for the “goodwill” of the PP and the state institutions that take six years to recognize a simple asylum request. In the meantime, families are forced to live in the streets. Without ignoring the conditions imposed by the Spanish State regarding the rules for admitting refugees, all measures will be ordinary “ads”.
Rights for all refugees
The EU asserts that they will receive approximately 160,000 refugees this year. In order to hamper the inflow of people, they skip their own laws and international treaties. It should suffice if they complied with the Refugee Convention of 1951 that guarantees the inalienable right of refuge to whoever may demand it. They object that this totally insignificant number is due to the lack of funds. But when it was all about bailing out failed banks due to parasitism, funds were abundant. The truth is that resources are still plentiful: there are 11 million empty houses in the EU; there is infrastructure to admit many people more. And as if this were not enough, the ECB should provide whatever is lacking. But the most humane of all measures that can be taken these days is to stop paying the public debt to a handful of bankers. That is where the resources are to be found.
The same ones who mistreat the refugees and deny them their rights are those who impose on Greece a plan of starvation and looting. The same indignation with which we repudiate the EU policy towards refugees and expose the imperialist dictate on Greece should spur us to fight against each one of our governments that in our own countries keeps on attacking the working class. Let our indignation make us better fighters!
All solidarity with the refugees!
Let us strengthen our rallies and demonstrations to demand from the EU a decent treatment for the refugees.
No to minimum quotas! Immediate asylum for all applicants at the border lines!
All refugees have a right to health, education and jobs!
Expropriate empty houses held by banks and speculators!
That the European Central Bank provides the resources for decent care!
End the border agency Frontex! Down with repression!
Class solidarity among the native and foreign workers against the austerity administrations!    
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Notes:
[1] – Hot return: It consists of handing the foreign citizens who have been intercepted by the authorities in the area under Spanish sovereignty over to the origin country authorities without carrying out the legally established procedures or meeting the internationally acknowledged guarantees.
[2] – It’s the case of Rifondazione Comunista (Communist Refoundation) and Sinistra Ecologia Libertà – SEL (Left Ecology Freedom) in Italy.