CONVOCATION 19 June 2016: June 20th 2016 “World Refugee Day” CROSSING BORDERS

Facing the painful and shameful situation that we are living through in Europe because of the response of our governments to the drama that refugees are experiencing,

The third Sunday of the month
19 June 2016
in the Plaza Mayor (next to the horse statue) at noon
Women in Black of Madrid
invite you
to a vigil in black and in silence

for a Europe without wire fencing, walls or encampments.

NOT IN OUR NAME

Women in Black of Madrid, Padua, Torino, Fano, Alba, Ravenna, Rome, Leuven, Copenhagen, Belgrade, Majorca, Santander, Sevilla and Valencia

Declare that:

♀ The WARS backed or provoked by Europe generate death, destruction and the obligation for thousands of people to flee.

♀ We do not know the INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF WOMEN WHO ARE REFUGEES, especially from Syria, but also from various countries in Africa. Often the women refugees come from a history of violence and mistreatment and on the way they confront more violence, harassment, blackmail, economic exploitation by other refugees, traffickers and the police without the possibility of recourse to justice or protection.

We remember here that on 19 June we celebrate the “International day for the elimination of violence against women in conflict situations” approved by the United Nations.


Let us expel war from history and from our lives

C/ San Cosme y San Damián, Nº 24, 2º
28012 – Madrid

...................................................................................

June 20th 2016
“World Refugee Day”

Established by the UN General Assembly since 2001 on the 50th anniversary for the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugee

CROSSING BORDERS
For a no barbed wire, no walls, no lager Europe

NOT IN OUR NAME:

♀ THE WARS SUPPORTED or FOUGHT by Europe and the West which produce death, destruction and force hundreds of thousands of people to escape;

♀ THE CLOSURE OF BORDERS, the inhuman treatment of people who seek safety and a future in our countries;

♀ THE EUROPEAN AND NATIONAL SHAMEFUL POLITICS, AGREEMENTS AND DECISIONS: the bilateral agreement with Turkey, then also with Libya and other African countries, forced repatriations , selections within refugees, use of repression, “humanitarian” business, tolerated mafias, in blatant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

♀ THE IGNORANCE and INDIFFERENCE as to the disparity of conditions and experiences of women and men in these situations, although care and support of the most vulnerable people are actually borne by women;

♀ THE DISTINCTIONS WITHIN REFUGEES, DISPLACED PERSONS FOR WARS and “ECONOMICAL” OR ENVIRONMENTAL MIGRANTS, a senseless forcing because wars, persecutions, global economical crisis and environmental disasters are now closely connected causes that make it impossible for entire populations to survive;


We also want to denounce the RESPONSIBILITY OF MEDIA and POLITICIANS in SPREADING DISINFORMATION, UNJUSTIFIED ALARMISM about a non-existent invasion and an increasing risk of terrorism. Actually the flows of people are manageable, but amplified and manipulated by the various “sellers” of fear, in front of the inability of the ruling class to find appropriate responses.

The ignored fact is the INCREASING NUMBER of WOMEN in the MIGRATORY FLOW in particular from Syria, but also from various African countries. Often refugee women come from experiences of violence and abuse and during their flight - and even after arriving in our countries - they have to confront with further violence, harassment, blackmails, economical exploitation by other refugees, traffickers, police, without the possibility of seeking justice and obtaining protection.

In this connection, we remember that the 19 of June was established as the “International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict” by the United Nations a year ago. The date 19 June commemorates the breakthrough adoption in 2008 of UN Security Council resolution 1820, which recognized sexual violence as a tactic of war and a threat to global peace and security, requiring an operational security, justice and service response. It further recognized that rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity and/or constitutive acts of genocide.

On the World Refugee Day,
we want to oppose
to a Europe of barbed wires, walls and lager, entrenched in the fear of the Other and the defense of its own interests,
a Europe of acceptance and hospitality, where borders can be crossed to promote the encounter between persons who identify themselves as sharing diversity as well as equality

WiB Italian Network
http://donneinnero.blogspot.it

Endorsements

Donne in Nero, Padova (Italy)
Donne in Nero, Torino (Italy)
Donne in Nero, Fano (Italy)
Donne in Nero, Alba (Italy)
Donne in Nero, Ravenna (Italy)
Donne in Nero, Roma (Italy)

Women in Black, Leuven (Belgium)
Women in Black, Copenhague (Denmark)
Women in Black, Belgrade (Serbia)
Mujeres de Negro, Santander (Spain)
Mujeres de Negro, Valencia (Spain)
Mujeres de Negro, Mallorca (Spain)
Mujeres de Negro contra la guerra, Madrid (Spain)