Chania Migrants on Hunger Strike

greece / turkey / cyprus | migration / racism | press release Saturday November 22, 2008 11:53 by Forum of Immigrants of Crete

the first 10 days

On Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 15 immigrants from North African Countries (Algeria, Morocco etc.), active members of the Forum of Immigrants of Crete, began a hunger strike. The hunger strikers are all residents of Chania and they demand residence permits, which will allow them to continue living in Greece legally.

On Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 15 immigrants from North African Countries (Algeria, Morocco etc.), active members of the Forum of Immigrants of Crete, went on a hunger strike.   The hunger strikers are all residents of Chania and they demand residence permits, which will allow them to continue living in Greece legally.  This text is a summary of their first ten days of struggle.   

Before that, a lenghty quotation from the first public statement of the hunger strikers:

“We are migrants, members of Crete Forum of Immigrants, living in Greece. We entered the country illegally, as the majority of immigrants do, since the political and institutional regime in Greece does not allow people seeking a better life in Greece to stay legally in the country where they themselves live, work, and raise their children. Since we were eligible to do so, we applied for residence permits in compliance with the law currently in effect; however, residence permits were denied to us, on the pretext that our passport had been issued after 2004, although we had applied for it at the embassies of our countries of origin in Athens long before 2004. We then followed the legal process of applying for the cancellation of this reject decision in the Greek courts, but our demand was rejected all the same.  Each one of us paid thousands of Euros along this process. Many cases  are yet to stand a trial, and this delay forces us into “clandestine” status.  For the police authorities, none of our documents has any validity, so that the prospect of us finding ourselves in detention rooms or deported is extremely likely, since this has already happened to people like us.  Existing migration policies and laws clearly aim at our marginalization, promoting ignorance not only of the problems we deal with, but also of our social existence as a whole.  Faced with that, we decided to embark on a drastic course of action and raise awareness around our issues and difficulties. 

We claim the right to live and work under decent conditions. 

For a migration policy that will guarantee the legalization of all migrants living in Greece and their meaningful integration into the Greek society: 

    * it is vital that the injustice of us being held hostages of an unfair legal status, ends.  The current regime either excludes us from legalization processes, or threatens us with “legalization” in the terms of Fortress Europe.

    * It is vital that the renewal of residence permits is disconnected from the possession of a certain number of revenue stamps.  This is extremely unfair for migrant workers, for whom informal labor, with no insurance whatsoever, is the rule and the only option.  This regulation forces us into buying extra revenue stamps with their cost burdening exclusively the migrant worker.

    * It is vital that the right to family unification is disconnected from proving a certain – high – annual income, since this requirement forces us into vouching virtual incomes from rural jobs – and into paying high taxation.

    * It is vital that the cost for the residence permit issue fees is lowered, and that it corresponds to the real cost of the bureaucratic process.

    * It is vital that municipalities employ more people for work in the issuing and renewal of residence permits.  Furthermore, it is unacceptable that the essential information for applying is not available in the migrants’ own languages.  The Forum of Migrants of Crete has already pledged to assist Municipalities in making this possible.

    * It is vital that the detention and deportation of minors ceases.

    * It is vital that all children born in Greece are allowed to be registered in municipality tolls, obtain certificates of birth, and be granted Greek citizenship – as it happens in the rest EU states.

    * It is vital that international human rights conventions and treaties are respected in Greece. 
 

Appeal to all organizations and political parties, municipalities and prefectures, labour union centers, trade unions and scientific associations. We ask for the support of political and cultural collectives and societies in Chania, the rest of the country and abroad.  To all democratic and aware citizens.  

We are appealing for active and daily support and solidarity to all migrants living in Chania and the rest of Greece, to all democratic and aware Greek fellow-citizens. We want all society to be on our side. We need it. We expect support from political parties and members of parliament, municipalities and prefectures, Labour Union Centers and any trade union and scientific association. We ask for the support of political and cultural collectives and societies in Chania, the rest of the country and abroad, because we know that our struggle concerns everyone.  

Because we know that what threatens the society at large is racism, oppression, exclusion and discrimination, it is not us.”