Thousands march in Germany urging EU to take in refugees
‘I decided to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves. We can’t close our eyes and walk away from them. People are people, no mater where we come from,’ says Alan Kurdi’s aunt
Thousands of people demonstrated on Sunday in Berlin and other German cities, urging the European Union (EU) to take in migrants let without shelter ater a fire destroyed their biggest camp in Greece.
The mask-clad protesters armed with “leave no one behind” posters were joined in the German capital by the aunt of Alan Kurdi, the Syrian boy whose image became a tragic symbol of the 2015 refugee crisis ater his body was washed up on a Turkish beach.
“I decided to speak up and speak for those who can’t speak for themselves. If I can’t save my own family, then let’s save the others,” said Tima Kurdi, urging people to write to politicians to push for action.
“We can’t close our eyes and turn our backs and walk away from them. People are people, no mater where we come from,” she added.
The crowd marched through the capital to the landmark Victory Column carrying signs with slogans like “we have space” and “Seehofer, be a Christian” - a reference to Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.
A litle girl held a sign saying “let the people in” while a woman waved a placard saying “People are suffering, Fortress Europe looks on - and cuddles up to the right.” Sonya Bobrik of the activst group Seebruecke also stressed that “we have space” to take in more than the 1,500 refugees now in Greece that Germany has so far promised to welcome.
Police said around 5,000 people turned up at the Berlin rally.
Similar gatherings were seen in Cologne, Munich and Leipzig.
The weekend demonstrators demanded that Germany do more, and that the government not block independent state or municipal efforts to take in refugees themselves.
About 3,000 people had registered to take part in the march, but police told the dpa news agency the crowd numbered in the “mid four-digit range.” Some 12,700 people were let homeless ater a ferocious blaze laid waste to their Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos last week.
The fire was deliberately set by a small group of Afghan migrants to protest a virus lockdown at the Moria camp. Thousands have slept outdoors on a nearby roadside in the nights since the blazes.
Since then, roughly 9,000 have been resettled at a new temporary site.
Germany’s government said last week it would take in 1,553 migrants - 408 families with children - from various Greek islands who already have been granted protected status in Greece.
The move came on top of a decision to take in up to 150 unaccompanied children as part of a European effort.
But the destruction of Moria, a notoriously overcrowded and dirty camp, strengthened calls from locals and humanitarian organisations for the migrants to be moved off the island.
Meanwhile, rights activists on Sunday accused Italian authorities of blocking migrant rescue ship Sea-watch 4 from leaving port and resuming its emergency mission in the Mediterranean.
Ater an inspection on the safety of the vessel to operate in high seas, Italian authorities placed the ship under an administrative blockade, said the German activist groups Sea-Watch and United 4 rescue, as well as Doctors without Borders.
It is currently docked in Palermo in southern Italy.
Inspectors made their decision ater finding too many life jackets on board for a ship which has a sewage system that is unsuitable for the potential number of people rescued, said the groups.
“The flimsy justifications show once again that this was not an inspection serving the purpose of ship safety, but a systematic move to prevent civil sea rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean,” said Philipp Hahn, Head of Mission on Sea-watch 4.
“Even though the responsible authorities have asked us to assist in rescue operations, they are now blocking yet another rescue vessel.” Over the past five years, at least 19,164 migrants have died in the Mediterranean, the deadliest route for migrants attempting the perilous crossing from North Africa to Italy.