Fortress Europe has never been so hostile to the freedom of movement. This has been illustrated by a recent case where the self-proclaimed Libyan coast guard delivered an unprecedented attack on an SOS Mediterranée vessel, directly targeting survivors and humanitarian workers in international waters.
Cases like this, however, are just the tip of the iceberg, with many other instances of detentions, boycotts of SAR (search and rescue) operations, and escalating violence towards people on the move and the people in their support. The current debate in politics and media is trying to mask the state violence of the racist and deadly border system by framing it as a humanitarian issue—which it is not. It’s a conscious political decision, and that’s why this time we go to the central Mediterranean not as humanitarian workers but in a political act.
In the system we live in, freedom of movement will never simply be granted to us—which is why we need to fight for it. And that is exactly what hundreds and thousands of people taught us 10 years ago in the summer of migration. Through direct action, they showed us in a grassroots movement how to defy borders. They showed us how to set fire to the racist and deadly system called an EU border. This is what we want to pay tribute to and get inspiration from. Some anniversaries should not go down in silence. The struggle for unconditional freedom of movement did not end in 2015; it continues today more urgently than ever—across the whole world and in the central Mediterranean Sea, the world’s deadliest migration route.
To resist the current status quo and to project a radically different political horizon, we will set off in a few days from Lampedusa with around 10 to 15 boats. We will sail 30 to 40 nautical miles southwest and form a solidarity chain to repoliticize the space that has become an open graveyard over the last years.
Each boat will be a flag-bearer of one campaign previously developed by a land group, connecting different local realities and struggles. They each have a different focus under the overarching message of freedom of movement, such as campaigns against the Libyan-Italian memorandum, for a free Palestine, against voluntary return programs, and the criminalization of those supporting people on the move. All campaigns can be found on our website.
Parallel to the main action south of Lampedusa, there will be protests all over Europe: f.Lottines. They will take place on land and sea and can take any form—a rally, an occupation, or a sit-in in front of the local deportation centre. For now, we have several protests in mid-September taking place in Italy, France, Cyprus, and Germany, such as in Berlin on the 13th of September. At around 4 pm, we will start from Lohmühleninsel and, after a quick stop at Oberbaumbrücke, we will go along the Landwehrkanal to spread f.Lotta’s message. There will be several pit-stops along the canalside, featuring brief interventions of our collectives. Currently, Chkoun, de:criminalize, WeSmellGas, Free Hanna solidarity group, FACQ, Klima4Palästina, and Abolish Frontex are involved. The groups carry the goals and demands of several interlinking causes, from Palestine in support of the Global Sumud Flotilla to decriminalization of migration and migration solidarity to freeing all antifas and more.
Our struggles for freedom of movement are one!
This decentralized organization helps us to amplify our message and connect our struggles all over Europe. Our message is: If Europe is building a fortress, then we will be there to put it under siege.
f.Lotta is spontaneous, horizontal, grassroots and self-organized. Our aim is to make Fortress Europe fall, as well as the ground it builds its walls on—racism, colonialism, capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy.
