General
currently the success of our project depends fully on you! Since we dont have any legal structure yet and we are still working on the set up of the project, we can not apply yet for fundings – but there are quite high costs (like the loan of lawyers, translators,….) that must be secured to already to start the project.
Call Out
Dear comrades, friends and all people caring about what is going on in this world,
In the past years and months the media presence regarding topics related to Turkish politics portrayed quite an extreme picture – detained journalists and opponents of the Government, growing repression of media and certain social, political and ethnical groups. All together these factors are indicative of a shift towards a non-pluralist Government. The current Government in Turkey hastily constructed a legal basis for its interference with the lives of people in Turkey through Emergency Decree No 676. The Government aims to bolster nationalist sentiment among Turks, and to spread mistrust and hatred of strangers and ‘the other’.
It is evident that such racist propaganda has a massive impact on the public opinion about refugees and migrants stuck in Turkey trying to reach Europe, and informs how people on the move are treated in Turkey. Discrimination and exclusion has become part of daily life and there is barely a follow-up on race related crimes.
In spite of a lack of monitoring groups due to the intense repression of the Turkish Government, reports have emerged about Turkish armed forces shooting at people on the Syrian border. Such reports indicate that the extent of Turkish violations of fundamental rights goes further than most of us currently understand. In 2013, Turkey adopted the EU-inspired Law on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIP) as the first legal framework for asylum.
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Taking together this infrastructural gap, the nationalist propaganda of the Government and the wide-spread racism, a picture emerges in which the daily life of refugees is full of challenges, and where enforcing ones’ rights is almost impossible. .
A person we met on a Greek Island in 2018 said even going back to Yemen (to which EU member states are prohibited to return any person), even dying would be better than being returned to Turkey. This answer is, unfortunately, commonplace. People are, in some cases, more afraid to go back to Turkey than to the countries they fled. This reality alone says more about the situation for refugees and migrants in Turkey than any report could convey.
We cannot abandon people to this fate, knowing that the main cause of these inhuman conditions is the isolationist and border-externalising policies of the EU, embodied most coherently in the EU-Turkey deal. We will, therefore, try to build a kind of free and independent law clinic. Having the freedom to build the project once we are there will enable us to actually work in a more supportive manner.In this chaotic situation, where supporting structures are rare (given the difficult, repressive setting/circumstances) but urgently needed, it is hard to know exactly what will come up day by day, what will be of highest importance to be done and what are possible solutions for the most urgent issues.
We therefore write to ask for your support! Unfortunately money is essential for being able to do something.
Of course we will try our best to keep you up to date about the recent situation, changes, happenings and our progress. However, as we cannot overview yet how the situation will be there, we will figure out the best way of informing you without putting the project and people in danger – either via mailing list, a blog, we will see and let you know! Let’s unite in the struggle against borders and against a world of racism and inequality. Let’s unite in mutual aid and solidarity to fight for freedom of movement for everyone.
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