SATURDAY OCTOBER 15: PROTESTS IN FRONT OF ITALIAN EMBASSIES
IN BERLIN, BRUSSELS, MADRID…
Refugees in Libya started their protests 329 days ago in October 2021 – still the conditions for refugees in Libya remain the same. They are exposed to structural violence, arbitrary detention in inhumane conditions, torture, enslavement and murder. People are still drowning in the Mediterranean daily or being pulled back by both the so-called Libyan coast guard (LYCG) and the newly established Stability Support Apparatus (SSA). The European Union (EU) is contributing to these atrocities daily by funding and training the so-called LYCG and supporting structures, which are holding the current system in place.
Still, the echo of the protest of Refugees in Libya is ignored in the European public discourse.
Since 2017, when the Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding was signed, enough evidence, reports, statements have revealed the strong links between the so-called LYCG, Libyan migration authorities (DCIM), militias and smugglers. Enough reports denounced the crimes committed against refugees and migrants in Libya. The United Nations (UN) and International Criminal Court (ICC) are even denouncing crimes against humanity committed in the detention centers, which are sustained by the Memorandum.
On November 2, 2022 the Italy-Libya Memorandum is to be renewed – it is the backdoor of the cooperation of the EU with the militia-led Libyan coast guard, the hellish detention system, and the silent tragedies of thousands of invisible deaths in the Sahara at the southern border.
Join CAAT in saying NO to the renewal of the Italy-Libya Memorandum and remembering those who have lost their lives or freedom due to violent racist borders. Please bring flowers, candles and placards in remembrance.
We will be hearing from Migrant Rights, Campaign Against Arms Trade and the mic will be open to people with lived experience of migration.