Written by Louise Lehmann
The European Border Action took place on November 19th 2022 at 12 o’clock. People in cities all over Europe joined the action from Amnesty Youth Europe on that day to raise awareness for the often inhumane and violent practices that take place at the European external Borders. To help secure the right to seek asylum, Amnesty Youth Europe demands that all European countries do their part.
Hassan, a young man from Iraq who spent five months at the Latvian border in the forest, reported: “They forced us to be completely naked, sometimes they beat us when naked and then they forced us to cross back to Belarus, sometimes having to cross a river which was very cold. They said they would shoot us if we didn’t cross.”(Amnesty Report Latvia)
On the 10th of August 2021, Latvia implemented a state of emergency, upheld until November 2022, that allows the authorities to carry out pushbacks in four areas on the border to Belarus. The policy is following Poland and Lithuania, that invoked a similar strategy as an answer to people trying to cross the border from Belarus to the EU in summer 2021. The report from Amnesty International Latvia: Return home or never leave the woods reveals the brutal treatment migrants and refugees endure. People were stuck in tents at the border for months, with temperatures of minus 20 degrees and authorities confiscating their phones, leaving them with no communication to the outside world. As the only way out, the Latvian border control coerced people to return “voluntarily” to their countries of origin.
Hassan’s story on the border of Latvia is an example among many others of people seeking asylum at the European external borders. Violence and human rights violations are a common experience and illegal pushbacks are increasingly normalized. Just to name a few numbers: since January 2017, 48.552 people were pushed back from the Greek islands into Turkish waters (Ageean Boat Report) and there are 25.277 missing migrants recorded in the Mediterranean since 2014 (Missing Migrants Project). People in search of safety and protection are met with barbed wire, armed border guards and inhumane treatment, the same reason that made them leave their countries of origin.
On November 19th, Amnesty Youth Europe stood up to raise awareness for this issue. At 12 o’clock, people in cities all over Europe joined the European Border Action to show solidarity with refugees, asylum seekers and the families of those who died at the border and to demand that Europe secures everyone’s right to seek asylum. In the Report from 2021/2022, Amnesty International recommends governments to expand the provisions on safe and regular pathways of migration, including humanitarian visas, resettlement, community sponsorship and humanitarian visas.
The Amnesty International Student Group Utrecht joined the action at the Domsquare in Utrecht with Banners, Posters and Flyers, giving a voice to the people that experienced the violence of European Borders by reading out their names and stories.
It is important that these stories are heard and that there is continued action to stop the practice. If you want to get active within the Netherlands, join the I Welcome Community of Amnesty International. It is a movement of people uniting to welcome refugees in their own way. Small things can do a lot to help people feeling welcome in their new communities, so we encourage you to start your own projects and raise awareness among your friends and families.