Pawschino Павшино

In December 2008 the detention-camp in Pavshino has been closed. But before, they built up new “resources”: In September 2008 a long-term detention-camp in oblast volyn (near the Polish-Ukrainian border / 180 places) opened, and already in July 2008 they built up a new camp in region Chernigiv (near the Russian-Belarus-Ukrainian border / 250 places). Both “projects” were mainly financed by the “Capacity Building in Migrantion Management (Phase I and II)“ which runs under the umbrella of IOM, supported with seven million Euro from the European Union. In addition, there is the ICMPD-project „GDISC Ukraine Projekt“ running, under which they are building up eight so called “screening centres”: These camps take place at the Russian-Ukrainian border, their function should be to separate between “illegal migrants” and “refugees” more than 1500 kilometres away from the European Union. Apart from that, European Union provides another 30 million Euro to establish five new detention-camps related to the readmission-agreement European Union/Ukraine which came into force the 1.1.2008.

So, there is not really the situation to be happy concerning the closing of Pavshino. Opposite is true: There will come more and more (EU financed) detention-camps in Ukraine in the future, against WE have to fight.

But there are also good news: Together with local partners, we managed to establish a border monitoring project in Transcarpatia and we are developing a wider, more actual website project concerning migration issues in eastern Europe in the moment. This means, that the Pavshino-website will not be actualised any more. But you will hear about our new website-project in the nearer future!

Thanks to all people, who sent stuff for the site! Hope to see you all again, soon!

And finally, a newspaper article concerning the closing of Pavshino:

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Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom (with support from ICMPD) have started a migration related project to “step up its management migration system”. Every involved country has his own job:
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by Amnesty International
10 July 2008

We fear for our children who are going to schools and kindergarten — they can be attacked or killed at any time.
Tomas Lukayi, Director of the African Association in Kyiv

(Kyiv) In a report published today, Amnesty International warns about an alarming rise in violent attacks against foreigners and members of ethnic and religious minorities in Ukraine and the lack of adequate response from the authorities. Four foreigners have been murdered in Kyiv since the beginning of 2008 because of the colour of their skin, according to the information received by the organization.
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“In Warsaw today (17.06), UNHCR and the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at External Borders (FRONTEX) are exchanging letters to strengthen their partnership. The agreement between the two agencies includes a number of areas of cooperation such as regular consultations, exchanges of information, expertise and experience, inputs into training (particularly on international human rights and refugee law), and other activities. A UNHCR liaison officer has been assigned to FRONTEX in Warsaw for the past year, and will be working closely with FRONTEX with the aim of ensuring that border management is fully compliant with Member States’ international obligations. The formal signing ceremony will take place during the first joint UNHCR – FRONTEX workshop attended by staff from both agencies.

The UN refugee agency has long been advocating for Europe to maintain its status as a continent of asylum, and for European asylum and law enforcement institutions to incorporate specific safeguards to guarantee that persons seeking international protection are identified and given access to EU territory, as well as to fair and effective asylum procedures. The agreement with FRONTEX is a positive step in that direction.”

sörderköping-process

Now it´s clear: The No-Border Camp in Dikili (Turkey) will take place from 3. to 7. September 2008.

More Info:
no-racism
Dikili-Blog

The call:
The holiday and skippers’ paradise of the Aegean Sea between Greek islands and the Turkish coast has made a name as a passage since the 1980ies. A lot of people escaped the repression of the Turkish military government during the 1980ies using this passage. As an outer border of the EU – sealing off the fortress Europe against unwanted migration, the area turns into a nightmare for people seeking to enter Europe. There are two main-routes for the people coming from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan or from Africa, especially from Somalia and Sudan: the route overland crosses the border between Turkey and Greece or Turkey and Bulgaria, the other one is the sea route, the Aegean coast.
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As you see in the publishing dates of the articles on this side, there was not so much activity during the last month. But this does not mean, that we have no more interest in fighting against the swinishnesses in the east, the EU has to take the responsibility for! Quite contrary, some people were on a really informative visit to Hungary and Ukraine. In Budapest, we met some people from the Helsinki Committee, we visited the refugee camp in Debrecen and we got in contact to really nice people in Uzgorod….A detailed report is in progress, you will find it at this place in a few weeks…

And here some short news:

An Austrian Journalist sent an article, concerning Ukraine and Pavshino.
You find it here (German). It was published in “Falter”, the city magazine of Vienna.

The agreement concerning “small border-crossings” between Poland and Ukraine is in power since the 28.3.2008: This is one of the awards, the Ukraine got from EU-side for the signature of the readmission-agreement. With a special approval, Ukrainian people have the possibility for border-crossings to Poland, without asking the polish embassy for a visa. But to get this approval, they have to live in a 50 kilometre-corridor away from the border for more than three years.

The actual “UNHCR Position on the Situation of Asylum in Ukraine in the Context of Return of Asylum-Seekers” (English) is available here.

sorry, only in German:

NoBorder-Camp lässt Osteuropa links liegen

Die Unterschiede hätten kaum größer sein können: Während in Rostock und Heiligendamm Duschcontainer, Internetzelte oder multiflexible Volksküchen zum allenthalben begrüßten Campstandard gehörten, ging es beim NoBorder-Camp in der Ukraine vergangenen August ungleich bescheidener zu. Die rund 350 TeilnehmerInnen aus über 15 Ländern verpassten allerdings, den gesellschaftlichen Ursachen dieses Gefälles auf den Grund zu gehen. Konkreter: Die imperiale Degradierung Mittelosteuropas zur kapitalistischen Peripherie blieb einmal mehr unbesprochen. Im Mittelpunkt standen stattdessen die Situation von TransitmigrantInnen vor den Toren der EU sowie Fragen anarchistischer bzw. (sub-)kultureller Selbstorganisierung.
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On sunday, the 17 of January a refugee from Congo was killed by nazis in Kiew. The refugees in Kiew need our support:

“I WRITTE YOU TODAY AGAIN BECAUSE THE SITUATION OF REFUGERS NOW IS VERY CRITICAL. I WROTE YOU FEW DAYS AGO TO EXPLAIN YOU THAT (…). AND NOW 2 DAYS AGO, ON SUNDAY IN 17H THEY KILLED ONE REFUGER FROM CONGO, A VERY YOUNG BOY WHO JUST RUN AWAY FROM HIS CONTRY TO SAVE HIS LIFE. NOW HE IS DEaD, THEY KILLED HIM ATROCLY WITH KNIFE, 18 BLESSURES OF KNIFE ON HIS BODY…., IT IS INCROYABLE!!!!!!!!! PLEASE SAVE US REFUGERS IN THIS COUNTRY, UKRAINE, I CAN NOT GO OUT SINCE THIS DAY, I DON’T HAVE FOOD, I DONT HAVE MONNEY AND I HAVE SOME BAD DREAM IN NIGHT…. I NEED HELP. PLEASE HELP ME! I PRAY GOD FOR YOU TO ANSWER ME PLEASE!!!!! WHAT TO DO?” (refugee from Ivory Coast)

“Here in Kiev,yesterday,a colleague refugee,a Congolese was killed by skinheads.Please help table our predicaments to the UNO in NEW YORK. We are living in fear. We need resettlement urgently to other countries” (refugee from Cameroon).

Everyday, refugees are attacked by nazi-skinheads, every three month one of them is murdered. Only in October, a young Bengali man was stabbed to death and three Chinese students seriously injured. Refugees in Kiev are terrorised and terrified. Neither police nor politics seem to respond and so far they are without protection.

This documentary was produced after the noborder-camp near ushgorod in ukraine last august (English).

BBC-report about the Slovakian-Ukrainian border (English).

kanalB documentary (German – English subtitle)

It seems, that for a lot of people the Ukrainian noborder-camp and the “new” eastern eu-borders in general are still really interesting and in their minds. This is what was published recently in the issue:

Crossing Borders – Transnational Newsletter, 4th Issue, October 2007 (English, French, Italian, Turkish, Spanish, Greek, German)

“Hinterland”-Article about the camp (German)

Articles in “Abolishing The Borders From Below” (English)

frontex presentation

Here some news from the other side. CIRAM, the so called “Common Integrated Risk Analysis Model” is part of Frontex an tries to develop prognoses about upcoming undocumented border crossings. For them, it seems clear that the route over the Mediterranean Sea will be used by fewer and fewer migrants. Instead, they predict that the route crossing the new European east borders will become more important. In their words: “This is easier, cheaper and less dangerous”.
So, in their view it is only consequent that they try concentrate more on the eastern borders, especially on the borders to the Ukraine. In August, a delegation of Frontex visited Kiev, to make the collaboration more efficient. During the first week of September, there was a joint practice in Zakarpatya, in which Frontex and Ukrainian border guards took part. Probably, Polish and Slovakian authorities were involved, too.

This is what they say about their meeting in Kiev:
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Because of visa problems the seminar in Berlin will take place ONE WEEK LATER as planed

(Neues) Datum: Donnerstag, 15. November 2007, 19:30 Uhr

Ort: Bildungswerk Berlin
der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
Kottbusser Damm 72
10967 Berlin

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The no border camp is over for more than one month now. The people who are still interested in the issue, can find more documentation here:

Photos of the camp and the actions

Audio-report, produced by free speech radio news (English)

The call for the no border Camp Ukraine 2007 (English)

Article about the camp, written by participant(German)

Article “Das lange Warten an der Grenze”(German)

Audio-report about the Slovakian-Ukrainian border (German)

Another article about the upcoming entry of Solvakia in the schengen-area (German)

Friday, the 14th of September, the bodies of three Chechen girls (ages 6, 10 and 13) were found in Poland (Ustrzyki Dolne), near the Ukrainian-Polish border.
After Polish border guards picked up their mother, carrying her 2 year-old daughter, she told them were to find her three dead children. They died because of the cold and rainy weather in the mountains, in witch they were in transit for four days.

These three children are not the victims of a tragic accident! They were killed by European migration policy!!!

read more: Harald Tribune (English), Polish TV (Polish)

The German magazine “Jungle World” wrote an article about the noborder-camp. You find it here.

Our friends in Kiev are actively involved in struggle to stop deportation of 25-year-old ethnic Chechen refugee Lema Susarov to the Russian Federation

You may subscribe an appeal.

Dear friends,

My name is (name supplied), I’m a refugee from Palestine seeking asylum from persecution in my country. I was detained in the Pawschino Camp in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine.

On behalf of my fellows, I’d like to share with you my experience and circumstances in the camp.

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The Ukraine is part of the so called “European neighborhood policy”. Countries around
the EU can become “privileged partners” when they meet the demands of the European
Union. A main part of this policy is the control of migration.

Read the article in German or in English

Link to an article about

Actions at the No Border Camp

Call out for No Border Camp in Ukraine 2007

• english version
• greek translation
• german
• No Border Camp Ukraine – ein Rückblick
• Nederlands: No Border Camp Ukraine (nog 4 dagen)

English

• Report from the border camp
• Report from participants of the camp
• Photos of the demonstration in uzgorod
• Translation of german article “No Border Camp Ukraine – a retrospect”

This is the leaflet which was distributed in Uzgorod during the demonstration on Friday, the 17.8.2007. The demonstration started at the migration office and ended, after a short vist at the regional government building, in the center of uzgorod.

English and Russian version.

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Refugees in Pawschino

Stephan Dünnwald (bavarian refugee counsel) visited the camp in Pawschino in spring 2007. Here you can find his report in English and in German.

Ferenc Köszeg, a Hungarian Human Rights activist, also wrote an article concerning the situation in Pawschino. You find it here. (sorry, only in German)

2004 an international traveling group went along the new Eu-East-borders. Frank John, a participant of this group, describes in his article the new Ukrainian migration policy. (sorry, only in German)

The Human-Rights-Watch report “Ukraine: On the Margins” describes detailed the Ukrainian asylum policy, agreements with the neighborhood countries concerning migration, situation in the camps, …
For this report more than 150 refugees were interviewed. It is available in English and in Ukrainian.

This Report (English) is from Thomas Hammarberg, commissioner for Human Rights (of the council of Europe). It´s about the human rights situation in the Ukraine. It depends on his visit in December 2006.