Rome : #Freedom_of_Movement_Solidarity_Network for migrants launched
A new alliance between NGOs operating on the mainland and at sea to support migrants, called the Freedom of Movement Solidarity Network, was presented in Rome on May 15.
The Freedom of Movement Solidarity Network is a new alliance that includes groups operating along migration routes — on the road, in forests, at sea, and on mountain trails — to help people on the move.
Promoters of the network presented on May 15 in Rome at the Foreign Press Association included the following associations: Baobab Experience, Bozen Solidale, Collettivo Rotte Balcaniche Alto Vicentino, Como senza frontiere, Linea d’Ombra, No Name Kitchen, On Borders, Refugees In Lybia, ResQ - People saving people, Rete Milano, Sea-Watch, Small Axe, as well as individuals like Father Massimo Biancalami, Loredana Crivellari, Father Giusto Della Valle, Francesco Delli Santi, Filippo Lombardo Tiziano Rossetti and Tommaso Stella.
International gathering in June in Rebbio
“Today, a network for the freedom of movement sees the light after two years of meetings in Rebbio, between Como and the Swiss border, during which experiences, opinions and discussions were shared on how to bring solidarity to migrants,” said the president of Baobab Experience, Andrea Costa.
Costa added that this network will not lead to the dissolution of its members, but rather represents a “step forward towards joint action and a way to operate involving everyone, regardless of the group they belong to.”
The president of Baobab Experience stressed that the new network has been presented “after the approval of the EU pact on migration and before upcoming European elections that appear to design a Europe that is even less friendly towards migrant people.”
He also announced that an international assembly will be held on June 29-30 in Rebbio with Italian associations and their counterparts operating in other European countries.
“We are presenting the network in the name of a collective choice to stand with people on the move,” explained Piero Gorza, a member of On Borders.
EU questioned over ’securitarian policies’
All participants accused the EU of promoting “securitarian policies and rampant externalization, a model launched in 2017 with the memorandum of understanding between Italy and Libya by then-interior minister Marco Minniti,” denounced Luca Morelli, member of Sea-Watch, who joined the meeting via video link from Lampedusa.
“We have to create another model against that of deportations, create a common front to support the journey of people in movement,” he continued, highlighting a “protection system torn apart,” citing as examples Italy’s Cutro law including controversial restrictions to the country’s protection regime and the new EU pact on migration and asylum.
David Yambio, spokesman of Refugees in Libya, said “the situation in Tunisia and Libya is the direct consequence of European policies.”
“The accords scrap freedom of movement, Tunisia has become hell” after an agreement was forged between the Italian government of Premier Giorgia Meloni and Tunisian President Saied, he claimed.
Yambio said he is in contact with thousands of people in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco who don’t have access to information and are abandoned or treated like criminals.
Trafficking the product of borders and barriers - Baobab
Alice Basiglini, spokesperson of Baobab Experience, recalled that aid facilities on the mainland and rescue vessels at sea can also monitor the situation “constantly, safeguarding the security of people in movement.”
“We recognize freedom of movement as a universal right”, she said, citing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and called for grassroots action against the “current policies of the EU and member States forcing people to undertake increasingly dangerous journeys.”
According to Basiglini, “human trafficking is the product of present borders and barriers, thanks lately to the Migration pact. We are opposed to policies of flows, people are not goods and they cannot enter in relation to the needs of the labor market”.
She also expressed opposition to the “Libyan model created in 2017 and then replicated by Egypt, Tunisia and Albania”.
“We are in favour of safe passages under the light of the sun, which is why we are denouncing our action in support of people in movement”, she concluded.
▻https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/57150/rome-freedom-of-movement-solidarity-network-for-migrants-launched
#alliance #migrations #asile #réfugiés #solidarité #liberté_de_mouvement #Rebbio #Rete_Rebbio