The strenghtening of controls and the hypothesis of the closure of all the Austrian Southern and Eastern borders represent a political pick up of the Austrian government that was long time foreseeable.
In this famework Austria plays a central role from the geographical point of view and even on the political management of migrations since it is the crossroads of two migratory routes. The first one is the Brenner axis that for more than an year it has been interested in the reinforcement of racial controls, especially on trains, in order to block and make the transit of migrants harder. The second one concerns the Balkan route that since the beginning of 2015 has seen a relevant increase of the coming of people who must inevitably pass through Austrian territory to reach central and northern Europe. So, Austria became a crucial point of Balkan route. The main point of landing and passage for the endless travel of men, women and childrens away from war and misery.
With the Solidarity Mission #Overthefortress we saw the warm situations on the different borders of the route, the change of directions actually imposed by the militarization of Balkan countries and by the raising of kilometers of barbed wire in Hungary and Bulgaria.
Only the strong determination of migrants have called into question the European unsuitable regulations, first of all the Dublin Regulation III and the impossibility to require the asylum status in countries different than those that don't touch Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. This forcing regulation has opened a breach on Fortress Europe showing both the best face of thousand of people that welcomed and supported this trip, and on the contrary the worst face of populist right wing that has been able to impose on the EU agenda an idea of citizenship based on ethnic elements and on exclusion.
Today, with the closure of Austrian border, we see the reproduction of the domino effect that we faced lot of times on the balkan route: Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia are pushing away migrants on every border because none of those countries want to take on the responsibility of the welcome.
The result of these historic changes make evident the fact that European policies on immigration have completely failed: there is no will of welcome migrants with dignity. Moreover, they signed agreements with Erdogan - the dictator of Turkey - for their repatriation and for reinforce external borders. NATO imposes a naval block on the sea of Libya and establish itself on Aegean sea with the aim of block departures directly on the sea. Hotspots have been opened in Italy and Greece in order to differ from those refugees called “economic migrants”, those who can have the right to require the asylum status and those who must be excluded. The hotspot approach of European policies have actually the goal of regulate from above a real factory of diversification of individuals, with the consequent increase of illegal migration and the problems linked to it.
All these events show clearly that global war is going to be declined as a war on human being by hitting thousand of bodies that desire freedom, peace and social justice. As social movements we must understand that is going to be opened a challenge for the construction of an Europe that pretend solidarity and that fight against the Europe of ethnical cages and austerity. The main question of this challenge, that concerns everyone, is the one of a new European citizenry, based on the right of free movement but especially on the need of get new social rights and a universal welfare.
We consider essential open on Sunday, 28 February, inside the meeting of Agire nella Crisi, a public discussion to organise a transnational mobilitation for the beginning of Springtime on Austrian Southern and Eastern borders.
At the meeting will partecipate different European movements with the goal of organise a radical mobilitation, praticable for the most, able to break the dynamic of the border regime and that intensifies the work of share and planning network in the areas more interested by the migratory pression.
Agire nella crisi
(trad. Carlo Geromel)