The March for Freedom started yesterday in the morning in the german village Perl with a lot of support to cross the border to Luxemburg. Making photo together, with solibanners from the night before like most of the other days was our first political morning action. From the sleeping place, the gym of the village, the march started with a loud demonstration through the village.
The border in this area is the river Mosel. Schengen is an important symbolic place along the way of the march, because of the Schengen agreement. It gives the citizens of Europe the privilege to cross the borders of the member states without any control, but for non-citizens, refugees, sans-papiers and migrants, it means everything else than freedom of movement.
Before the crossing the bridge, there was a press conference. Some activists made clear why they participate in the March For Freedom. The restriction of movement, capitalism, racism and the deaths in the mediteranean sea, caused by fortress Europe, were the main topics.
To make visible the danger that a lot of people have to face to reach the coasts of europe, some of the refugee activists crossed the river by boat or jumped out of the boat and swam to the other side. Bloody they reached Schengen, at the point where the heads of the european states left the luxury boat after signing the agreement in 1990.
The three columns which inform about the history of the agreement got redecorated to show the brutal reality of its affects.
After a while the demonstration continued untill it reached the Schengen museum. A museum which also deals with the story of Frontex. The tunesian delegation, which is participating in the march for freedom, made an exibition with pictures and long lists of names of the ones who are missing and the ones who died in the sea or in the hands of the european authorities. A group which occupied the roof of the museum hang up a banner asking: „Frontex. Où sont nos enfans?“ (Frontex, where are our children?) and another banner stating „Frontex kills“.
On the way along the river an exibition showed the terrible situation for refugees in Greece.
The afternoon ended with food and a cultural programm, then the march continued for the last 4 km to the sleeping place in Remerschen.
The whole day the police was almost not visible and also didn‘t react repressively against any action. Until now the march didn‘t have any serious problems with border crossing, but still there is another border to cross on the way to Brussels. On the 6th of June the march will enter Belgium. Since the G7 summit takes place on the 4th and 5th of June in Brussels, Belgium has announced that they will make restrictive border controls from the 1st to 6th of June.
The leaders of the seven most dominant capitalist nations don‘t like to be disturbed when they make their dirty business.
As the biggest consumers of resources and energy in the world and leaders in production of weapons, they want to avoid seeing the victims of their policies.
„We are here, because you destroy our countries.“
The march will continue, and the goal is to reach Brussels. The fight will go on until it is impossible to ignore the voices of people who get victimised by capitalism, rulership, racism and wars.
anti – schengen – front2_merged
No border crossing is illegal!
March For Freedom
