ΑΚΕΛ
ΠΕΟ
ΕΔΟΝ
Εφημερίδα ΧΑΡΑΥΓΗ
Παγκόσμια Δημοκρατική Ομοσπονδία Γυναικών
The Mediterranean Sea is being converted into an aquatic cemetery. The recent tragedy with the death of hundreds of immigrants in the Mediterranean is only a small part of the largest refugee crisis facing humanity since the Second World War.
The tragedy is a result of the European Union’s policy that has turned Europe into a fortress, inaccessible for thousands of refugees fleeing their homelands. Military patrols of the EU, the policy of refoulement of refugees and asylum seekers to war-zones and dangerous areas, the inadequate funding of international humanitarian aid is part of the European policy that causes tragedies.
This EU-US-NATO stance towards the humanitarian and refugee crises highlights their enormous hypocrisy. These are the same forces that unleashed and launch military raids and military interventions in Asia and North Africa, causing namely refugees and the expulsion of thousands of people. They are the very same forces that bloodshed Iraq and Afghanistan, that bombed and spread chaos in Libya, equipped the Syrian opposition and the ISIS, sent their deadly drones to indiscriminately kill civilians in Pakistan and Yemen, provided support to the murderous Israeli policy against the Palestinians. At the same time, the colonial remnants and neo-colonial policies of the international financial centers such as the IMF and the World Bank are the ones that keep dozens of countries in sub-Saharan Africa to the vicious circle of underdevelopment and poverty.
The Women’s International Democratic Federation demands from the international community instead of continuing the arms race to allocate sufficient funds to effectively respond to the enormous needs for humanitarian assistance, hospitality for refugees and practical support to the countries accommodating refugee flows. We must also implement resettlement and humanitarian host programs, flexible visa policies, expansion of family reunification, so that there is a humane response to the refugee crisis. At the same time, we urge the countries of the EU and of the the Gulf to create safer gateways so that refugees can seek asylum, protection and shelter.
It becomes imperative today to strengthen the anti-war and anti-imperialist struggle of the peoples of the world, against the interventions and the redrawing of borders in the Middle East and North Africa. We invite our member organisations to actively participate in the protests announced by labour movements and organisations outside the European Union’s offices in each country.