Nach dem Tod des jungen Sudanesen Yasser bei einer versuchten Grenzpassage per Lastagen am 28. September 2021 (siehe hier) rufen Exilierte gemeinsam mit solidarischen Akteur_innen für den heutigen 8. Oktober zu einer Demonstration in der Calaiser Innenstadt auf. Ihr Aufruf lautet: „We were patient with the suffering and tragedies that we live until we ran out of patience, so have decided to have a demonstration. We will protest against injustice and the absence of mediatisation of our situation and wish to defend our rights, our lost rights, and the right of the pure soul that was killed without guilt in the past days.“ Außerdem veröffentlichten Geflüchtete in Calais eine Erklärung, in der sie ihre Situation darlegen und auf die Gewalt eingehen, die ihnen durch Polizei und Lkw-Fahrer widerfährt. Wir dokumentieren die Erklärung im Folgenden:
Erklärung von Exilierten in Calais
Day after day we call. But no one hears us. This is the language of our hearts here in Calais. Calais is a very beautiful city, but we are simply living behind a curtain of beauty. We cannot see the lights of truth, freedom and safety in Calais.
We came to this city because we have a small goal. We live in hope that tomorrow might be better. But we must ask, why will the universe not allow us to reach out future, our freedom, our safety?
Every morning in Calais there is a new hardship. We live knowing that our friends who with us today may not be with us tomorrow. Death is in our eyes, fear and anxiety do not leave our minds.
Our lives are full of stories, but they are very sad and painful.
Today, we lost the smile of our dear brother Yasser. Just yesterday he was playing with us.
We walk the roads during the day but fear does not leave us. Then we try to eat but we only taste sadness. We drink water but we do not quench our pain. When the night comes in Calais, it’s calm. Our eyes try to rest but we do not have a place to sleep. All of this because we have a small goal.
The police in Calais. We ask each other from time to time… Why all this cruelty from you? You know that we are not your enemies.
We live in the woods away from your eyes because we fear you. Yet you come early in the morning and take our simple belongings as if they were nothing to you, but you know very well that they are everything for us. Our homes. Without humanity, you leave us in the open with the cold pinching us and the rain over our heads as if we are not human beings.
Then if we try to leave while you destroy our belongings, we are beaten and gassed by some of your members. Then tomorrow you will force us onto a government bus going to far away places that we have not seen before, claiming that all this is for our „protection“. Why don’t you ask us for permission?
Truck drivers. During our attempts to cross the border on trucks, we are subjected to repeated injuries that lead to fractures, severe wounds, even death. We believe that every injury we have received had a deliberate intent on the part of the drivers.
It is clear, when you, the driver, notices that a migrant rides in your truck. You shake the truck and hit the beakes again and again until we lose control of the grip. You know we will fall and break a shoulder, hand, leg, or spine. But that isn’t enough for you. When we fall to the ground, we are seriously beaten by you. You walk away and continue your journey. When we open our eyes, we are in the hospital again. Why can’t we continue our journey?
Humanitarian organisations and medical aid in Calais. We take this opportunity to express our heartful thanks to those who wear the humanitarian aid jackets in Calais. Thank you for the great work you do over and over again. You are saving the lives of our indured brothers and sisters. We owe you so much. We also thank our brothers and sisters in humanitarian organisations who help us by providing food, water and bathrooms.
For Yasser.
From refugees in Calais, 2021.