On 3 and 4 December, an action conference took place in Hamburg to plan protests against the G20 summit in July 2017. A working group on refugees and migration was formed, which is considering how to use this opportunity to collectively organize massive protests against border regimes, deportations, racism, (neo)colonialism, and nationalism.
We want to specifically invite you to participate in the next action conference for the planning of the protests against the G20 and to share with us your experiences and suggestions for how to organize in solidarity with each other and take political action. We hope the protests against the G20 will be organized by different groups and a diversity of perspectives and demands will be made visible. In particular, we want to create a platform for the struggles of migrants and refugees and to facilitate networking between a wide variety of groups.
At the G20 Summit in July 2017 in Hamburg, government leaders from 20 countries will meet to discuss worldwide economic and military 'cooperation'. A key issue will be refugees and migration, with chancellor Merkel particularly pushing for a so-called 'Pact for Africa', through which, among other things, investments in Africa should be increased. The needs and demands of those affected by the decisions of the G20 are rarely taken into account. Instead, the point will be to more strongly to control migratory movements and put stronger pressure on the governments of countries of transit and origin to prevent undesired migration to European countries. In other words, the freedom of movement of people from countries in the global south will be reduced even further.
Global inequality, climate change, and the escalating fight for resources and power all lead to migration. The system of capitalist exploitation of certain regions of the world and the destruction of people's basic resources force people to become displaced and create major migratory movements. Simultaneously, the countries in which people seek refuge are building up more and more walls to keep people out.
Borders are increasingly militarized and deals are being made with dictators and ultra-authoritarian regimes, including Turkey and the Sudan, to prevent people moving freely and to facilitate deportations to so-called safe third countries and countries of origin. A new Dublin-IV Convention is now in discussion in the EU, which will make it easier to deport people to countries of entry at the borders of the EU and will further restrict freedom of movement, even for officially recognized refugees. The living conditions of migrants and refugees in Germany are characterized by racist laws, detainment in camps, and everyday racism.
Independent life is obstructed by sanctions, 'Residenzpflicht', and 'Wohnsitzauflage', which bar people from moving freely outside of assigned areas or from choosing where they want to live. With limited rights and no specific papers, many people are forced into exploitative labor conditions. At the same time, across the world there are anti-colonial and anti-racist migrant-led struggles and counter-utopias to the logic of capitalist exploitation. We want to make visible and strengthen these struggles.
