05/29/2008 -
In a Recent article released by Reuters we read that "and Fears That Would hordes of illegal Immigrants pour Into the European Union border controls for nine eleven Eastern Mostly European Nations to Abolish Were month ago appear, at least for now, to have been unfounded." [1] According to the German Interior Minstry, some 6,000 police operate in mobile patrols in a 30-km (18-mile) wide strip at the German frontier, randomly checking one in 2,000 vehicles.
What they mean by "random checking" is nothing more than racial profiling. There is nothing "random" in it; people who are light skinned and "European looking" go through the borders without ID check. It is enough to look at ones face, hair and clothes. If one speaks a strange language, is dark-skinned, or for women in dressed in modest clothing typical for practicing Muslims or has a number of children with her, it is a clear signal for the police that a "random check" should be made.
In this way, among the many many people caught trying to freely move through the Schengen zone, there have been hundreds of reported cases of Chechen refugees from Poland being stopped and sent back to this country. According to the German Interior Ministry, 564 people, most from Chechnya, were caught in German border regions or on the border between Dec. 21 and Jan. 13. and sent back to Poland. [2]
Refugees are not the only victims of Fortress Europe's immigration polices. Their attempts to move freely have been hindered by state governments for a long time and the expansion of the Schengen zone has lead to more policing of the border, especially the Eastern borders which have been increasingly monitored for some years now. Many others have had their lives greatly complicated by the visa regimes imposed on them by the EU countries.
The introduction of visas to countries like Poland for citizens of many other countries was a precondition for joining the Schengen zone. This hit Poland's eastern, non-EU neighbours especially hard, but the damage was mitigated by special discounts or even cost-free visas offered to citizens of countries in which Poland has a geopolitical interests, or whose citizens make up a large part of the cheap immigrant workforce in this country. The recent introduction of high fees for visas for Ukrainian cities led to numerous protest actions, both in front of the Polish consulate in Lvov, where 700 people turned out, and at different border crossings where people took direct action, blocking roads.
Some protests demanded that Europarliament discuss the issue and warned that continued protest actions will occur if nothing is done. [3]
In what is probably not a coincidence, Polish border guards from Karczowa, one of the border points that was hit by blockades last week, have themselves staged a protest about their poor working conditions. The pressure has been tremendous on them, with not only the blockades, but not enough people working to handle the long queues of cars and trucks travelling through the borders.
The situation is so bad, that queues are in some places over 40 kms. long. On Jan.24, a driver from Radom, who had been waiting in the queue since Jan. 21, died. Other medical problems had been reported earlier. Truck drivers decided to organize a blockade of Warsaw for Jan.25th, and only called off the action because the president declared it a day of national mourning after 20 people were killed in an air tragedy. Staging such actions would break a deeply-ingrained Polish tabu.
With growing chaos on the Polish borders, and growing numbers of refugees trying to get out of this place which treats refugees with more resentment than care and understanding, the officials of Frontex, based in Warsaw, are generally happy to provide glowing accounts of their successes in keeping poor and desperate refugees and other foreigners out of the Promised Lands. Among its accomplishments has been to force migrants into ever more desperate and dangerous attempts to get into the Fortress, leading to more and more immigration related deaths.
Instead of blocking traffic and causing headaches for thousands of commuters trying to get to work, the troubled truck drivers should consider a blockade of Frontex headquarters. Frontex itself may not be responsible for all its problems but it is the most representative institution of the EU's border regime located in Poland. Other appropriate targets might include any EU representative office in the capital.
Surely the truck drivers, and perhaps even the border guards themselves, are becoming more and more aware that the border regime is nothing but a needless load of crap that we'd all be better off without.
Laure Akai
Footnotes
[1] "All Quiet on EU Front One Month After Schengen". Reuters, Jan. 20, 2008
[2] "Einen Monat offene Grenzen". Magazin.de, John. 18, 2008.
[3] "Protesters picketing Krakovets border checkpoint demand urgent session of the EU parliament." ZIK, John. 15, 2008
What they mean by "random checking" is nothing more than racial profiling. There is nothing "random" in it; people who are light skinned and "European looking" go through the borders without ID check. It is enough to look at ones face, hair and clothes. If one speaks a strange language, is dark-skinned, or for women in dressed in modest clothing typical for practicing Muslims or has a number of children with her, it is a clear signal for the police that a "random check" should be made.
In this way, among the many many people caught trying to freely move through the Schengen zone, there have been hundreds of reported cases of Chechen refugees from Poland being stopped and sent back to this country. According to the German Interior Ministry, 564 people, most from Chechnya, were caught in German border regions or on the border between Dec. 21 and Jan. 13. and sent back to Poland. [2]
Refugees are not the only victims of Fortress Europe's immigration polices. Their attempts to move freely have been hindered by state governments for a long time and the expansion of the Schengen zone has lead to more policing of the border, especially the Eastern borders which have been increasingly monitored for some years now. Many others have had their lives greatly complicated by the visa regimes imposed on them by the EU countries.
The introduction of visas to countries like Poland for citizens of many other countries was a precondition for joining the Schengen zone. This hit Poland's eastern, non-EU neighbours especially hard, but the damage was mitigated by special discounts or even cost-free visas offered to citizens of countries in which Poland has a geopolitical interests, or whose citizens make up a large part of the cheap immigrant workforce in this country. The recent introduction of high fees for visas for Ukrainian cities led to numerous protest actions, both in front of the Polish consulate in Lvov, where 700 people turned out, and at different border crossings where people took direct action, blocking roads.
Some protests demanded that Europarliament discuss the issue and warned that continued protest actions will occur if nothing is done. [3]
In what is probably not a coincidence, Polish border guards from Karczowa, one of the border points that was hit by blockades last week, have themselves staged a protest about their poor working conditions. The pressure has been tremendous on them, with not only the blockades, but not enough people working to handle the long queues of cars and trucks travelling through the borders.
The situation is so bad, that queues are in some places over 40 kms. long. On Jan.24, a driver from Radom, who had been waiting in the queue since Jan. 21, died. Other medical problems had been reported earlier. Truck drivers decided to organize a blockade of Warsaw for Jan.25th, and only called off the action because the president declared it a day of national mourning after 20 people were killed in an air tragedy. Staging such actions would break a deeply-ingrained Polish tabu.
With growing chaos on the Polish borders, and growing numbers of refugees trying to get out of this place which treats refugees with more resentment than care and understanding, the officials of Frontex, based in Warsaw, are generally happy to provide glowing accounts of their successes in keeping poor and desperate refugees and other foreigners out of the Promised Lands. Among its accomplishments has been to force migrants into ever more desperate and dangerous attempts to get into the Fortress, leading to more and more immigration related deaths.
Instead of blocking traffic and causing headaches for thousands of commuters trying to get to work, the troubled truck drivers should consider a blockade of Frontex headquarters. Frontex itself may not be responsible for all its problems but it is the most representative institution of the EU's border regime located in Poland. Other appropriate targets might include any EU representative office in the capital.
Surely the truck drivers, and perhaps even the border guards themselves, are becoming more and more aware that the border regime is nothing but a needless load of crap that we'd all be better off without.
Laure Akai
Footnotes
[1] "All Quiet on EU Front One Month After Schengen". Reuters, Jan. 20, 2008
[2] "Einen Monat offene Grenzen". Magazin.de, John. 18, 2008.
[3] "Protesters picketing Krakovets border checkpoint demand urgent session of the EU parliament." ZIK, John. 15, 2008
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