The imperialists' wall solution.
The main responsibility for the flight of millions of people lies with imperialist exploitation of the coun tries of the so-called third world. This is the cause of the gigantic indebtedness of the poor countries, of the social uprooting of millions, of the destruction of traditional modes of production for the benefit of a world market dominated by the trusts.
IN RECENT MONTHS, the rights of refugees in the relatively few
European countries that provide any sort of welcome and benefits have come under sharp attack - from the Netherlands to Denmark and finally to West Germany.
authorities sent up a piteous howl that East Germany was trying to bankrupt them by allowing third world refugees, in particular
Tamils, free transit to their territory through East Berlin. Harsh new measures have been introduced, such as a five-year waiting period before refugees are allowed to earn a living.
In particular the wave of Sri Lankan refugees have been used as a pretext for raising a cry of alarm. They are very visible, even in Chirac's
France, which is hardly a generous host country. Desperate and totally abandoned Tamils drift through the streets of Paris. They are certainly not fattening on the largesse of overly generous Western governments. (1)
In West Germany, in its August 28 issue, the Fourth Internationalist paper Was Tun made the following comment on the recent attacks on the rights of refugees.
FELIX VON DER SCHINSKY we have seen the
Just recently, authorities shedding a lot of anticommunist tears over the twentysixth anniversary of one wall [that is, the Berlin wall]. For some weeks, they have been energetically building another. The Berlin border has to be "sealed." The "Berlin gap" has to be plugged.
What has been achieved on the other border of the German Federal
Republic years ago must now be extended to West Berlin. The flood of refugees fleeing hunger, war, torpolitical, racial and religious ture, and seeking asylum and oppression decent treatment in the "free" Federal has to be
Republic of
Germany stopped.
Since the new rise of the refugee first half figures to 40,000 in the of 1986, after the number was cut down to 20,000 by strict but somewhat quieter policies in the last three years of the social democratic government (in 1980 it still was
"turn"
108,000), the Bonn goverment has come up with a new theme - the "deluge of refugees." (2)
Unfortunately, the government has had the good luck to come up with
Over the summer, West German a "turn theme" just before the elections that offers the best chances of success, because on this question it will get the support of a broad coalition. Likewise, the majority of the population seems to be accepting the anti-refugee hysteria uncritically. If we are to believe the polls, 70 per cent are in favor of restricting the right to asylum. And finally, the insecure refugees who are without rights and literally unable to speak for themselves can hardly be expected to put up much resistance.
Around the world, whole populations are in flight. The UN High Commission on Refugees estimates the number of "refugees within the guidelines of the Geneva Convention" at almost 18 million, equal to the total population of East Germany.
This does not include applicants for asylum or so-called unrecognized refugees, nor those not accepted as refugees but not expelled,- "tolerated" or "de facto refugees." Likewise left out of the picture are minorities oppressed in their own countries and the 2 million - Palestinians who are hounded from pillar to post. These are all fleeing from poverty, hunger, war
Moreover, it is also primarily the economic effects of subjugation to imperialism that makes religious, ethnic and national differences into powderkegs that explode into persecution and civil war.
the imperialist consecrate these "world economic through the price dictates the coercive measures of the International Monetary Fund.
A large part of the refugees therefore remain in the poor countries, crossing only the nearest borders.
In Somalia, there is one refugee for every three inhabitants; in Jordan, one for every five; in Djibouti, one in ten; in Lebanon, one in 14. In Pakistan, there are 2.9 million refugees; in Iran, 1.8 million; in Somalia, 700,000; and in Sudan, 690,000. These figures dwarf the numbers of refugees in any West European coun try or in the USA.
In the refugee camps in Sudan and Somalia, inconceivable conditions prevail. Every day several thousand children die of hunger. The predominant causes of death are malnutrition and epidemic diseases.
Only a small part of the refugees (about 5 per cent) travel to the imare only the better-off ones who can buy expensive tickets and pay for help from traffickers in human misery to smuggle greater part of them come from petty-bourgeois layers traders and artisans from Sri Lanka who have been displaced by the war people fleeing the "Islamization" of the Khomeini regime in Iran, better-off Kurds trying Turkey's genocide against the Kurdish
The figures that have been published by the Ministry of the Interior have been heavily doctored. The 700,000 refugees in West Germany
See report on Tamil refugees in Canada, page 26.
The "turn" is the motto of the Kohl government in West Germany. It means a return to strict capitalist management, and is the term used in the Germanspeaking world for capitalist offensive a la Reagan and Thatcher, - TV:
13
above all to veil the intolerable conwhich these people are fleeing, which are the real problems. Instead of looking at causes, the fact that they are seeking exile here and therefore want something from "us" is declared to be the main problem.
Such difficulties can then quickly
GRO CHAT/ be magnified into "a deluge of refuand similar catastrophes. less defamatory is the minting of the word "economic refugee." any more pressing grounds for flight economic plundering gone hand in hand with political oppression everywhere, from the racist oppression of the Jews in Nazi Germany
For West Germany, its definition of "refugees" is grounds enough to dump refugees in camps. Such people restrictions on their ability to leave the camps, they are not supposed to leave the district, and they cannot work or study.
The conditions in the camps have inevitably led to violence, and such also serve to breed hatred and misunderstanding in the German population. kick in the the terrorist attacks by radical rightists against the hostels and camps for refugees, such as happened on several occasions in recent weeks. supposed to be aware that they are not wanted here.
asylum does indeed exist but it must not be claimed.
A protest against the massacre of Tamils in Sri Lanka in the Indian town of Calcutta, 1983 (DR) Zimmerman [Minister of the Interior] referred to include the long integrated refugees from who came in the 1950s and 1960s and at the time were comed. Likewise, they include long tolerated "stateless foreigners.
these figures have been "because every refugee brings three zelatives along." This number of relatives is demonstratively false.
By a realistic count, West Germany
300,000 refugees, including the "boat people" from Vietnam, who were accepted without any hearing on More than a few of them go to other countries after a short time. Geneva Convention), there 126,600 refugees in West Germany at
But even the higher figure represents only five refugees for every thousand inhabitants, as much or less than in other West European
Zimmerman's figure of 700,000 refugees includes 270,000 so-called de facto refugees. This refers to persons whose application for asylum has been rejected but who have not 14 been deported. The greatest hysteria is being whipped up against them, and at the same time the government speakers pat themselves on the back because West Germany is supposedly gracious enough to tolerate these people here.
This is no big act of generosity. West Germany is a signer of the Geneva Convention of 1951, which is binding law here. In accordance with it, no one can be sent back whose life is in danger in his or her homeland. This leaves aside the fact that torture and pogroms against the Tamils in Sri Lanka are not recognized here as grounds for asylum. Intolerable conditions
For a long time, refugees have been rebaptised "asylum seekers" in the official language. have become applicants pure simple. Along with a cynical "clarification" of the refugee problems and a semantic closeness to slanderous descriptions (such as faker), this is
West Germany would certainly not go bankrupt if it accepted refugees and treated them decently, gave them work and education, even
2 billion mark figure Zimmermann conjured up were a real
The drastic austerity measures at the expense of the refugees are a visible, and quick "turn" simple, measure.
Since the Christian Democrats and the Liberals are planning sharp attacks on the wages, social benefits and working conditions of millions of Germans in their coming years in government they have to make an example out of the poorest of the poor.
The changes now in the works, whether they are new laws, abolition of the right of transit, restrictions on the right of asylum for certain groups of persons, or whatever, are closely related to the attacks of the government and the bosses on the living standards of the working people and the unemployed.
The trade unions and social protest movements should recognize this and join in the struggle to defend the full right of asylum.