FRG President Calls on Europe to Solidarity on Refugees from Afghanistan | News from Germany about Europe

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on Europeans for solidarity in accepting refugees from Afghanistan. “We cannot accept all people who, for good reasons, are looking for a better life. But we must guarantee shelter to those who, according to our own laws, have the right to protection and asylum,” – said in an interview with the head of the Federal Republic of Germany, which he publishes on Wednesday, August 25 , Czech newspaper Pravo.

There will be other crises in the world that will increase the flow of refugees to Europe. Europeans need to show solidarity and not leave to their fate the countries along the borders of which the external border of the European Union runs – especially in southern Europe, Steinmeier emphasized.

After the seizure of power in Afghanistan by the radical Islamist Taliban movement, many states are evacuating their citizens from this country, as well as Afghans who collaborated with NATO troops and its allies, foreign and international human rights and humanitarian organizations, journalists and public activists. The United States and its allies, according to President Joseph Biden, have removed almost 76,000 people from Afghanistan since the end of July. In particular, the planes of the German Bundeswehr by the evening of August 24 evacuated more than 4,650 people from Kabul, including Afghans and citizens of third countries.

Russia began evacuating its citizens from Afghanistan

Russia has begun to carry out similar operations. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the dispatch of 4 military transport aircraft to Kabul for the export of more than 500 citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine from Afghanistan. There are teams of doctors on each aircraft, the department added.

US military facilities are involved in Germany to receive refugees

Meanwhile, in Germany, refugees from Afghanistan, taken out by American planes, began to be placed not only at the Ramstein Air Force Base, which became the primary center for their temporary reception. About 2 thousand people were sent to the US military facility in Kaiserslautern (Rhineland-Palatinate), the American side reported. If necessary, the polygons in Grafenwehr and Hohenfels (Bavaria) will be used, which can accommodate 3 and 2 thousand people, respectively.

Biden: Evacuation will be completed by August 31

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden does not intend to extend the deadline for the evacuation of foreigners and Afghans from Kabul, which is due to end on August 31. He announced this on Tuesday, August 24th. A few hours after this statement, unconfirmed reports appeared in the German media that, in this case, the Bundeswehr’s evacuation contingent would cease its operation in Kabul and leave Afghanistan by the end of this week.

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How artists draw attention to refugee issues
Installation “Apolide”, Locarno
In 2018, Swiss artist Oppy De Bernardo turned the central square of Locarno (Switzerland) into a huge and colorful island, symbolizing Europe’s readiness to save and accept people in need. It took several thousand children’s swimming circles to create the installation.

How artists draw attention to refugee issues
Sculpture in Memory of Ailan Kurdi, Rome
Pope Francis presented this symbolic reminder of the tragic death of a Syrian boy to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Ailan Kurdi is a three-year-old boy who died in September 2015 while his family tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Photos of his body carried off the coast of Turkey were published in the media and attracted widespread attention.

How artists draw attention to refugee issues
Action “Flüchtlinge fressen”, Berlin
Shareholders from the Political Beauty Center (Zentrum für Politische Schönheit) group installed a cage with tigers in the center of Berlin in 2016. The action was called “Eat Refugees”. Purpose: so that people ask themselves why refugees cannot fly to Europe, but are forced to drown in the sea? “Why torture people? Maybe it’s easier to feed them to predators?” The action caused a mixed reaction from the public.

How artists draw attention to refugee issues
Exhibition “New Citizens”, Frankfurt
In 2017, such large-format photographs of refugees appeared on several buildings in the center of Frankfurt. Photo artist Vitus Saloshanka decided to draw the attention of German residents through this exhibition in an open urban space to the fact that a not faceless mass of people arrived in the country.

How artists draw attention to refugee issues
In memory of the drowned, Berlin
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in his works has repeatedly raised the topic of the migration crisis in the world. In 2016, he wrapped the columns of the Berlin Concert Hall in orange life jackets in memory of those people who left their old home and could not get to their new one.

How artists draw attention to refugee issues
Opera “Nabucco”, Hamburg
Director Kirill Serebrennikov brought the action to our time. The famous choir “Va, pensiero” (originally a choir of Jewish exiles crying in Babylonian captivity) was performed by refugees from Syria, Egypt and Afghanistan living in Hamburg. It was important for the directors to bring to the stage people who, by personal example, know what it is like to live far from their ruined homeland. The premiere took place in March 2019.

How artists draw attention to refugee issues
Film “Futur Drei”, Berlin
The film “Futur Drei” (translated into Russian as “No Grievances”) was directed by a German director of Iranian origin Faraz Shariat. At the 2020 Berlinale, the film won the Teddy Award for Best LGBT + Film Screened at the Festival. It contains the story of different generations of refugee migrants, a drama about accepting oneself and finding one’s place in life.

How artists draw attention to refugee issues
Exhibition “The Vulnerability”, Hamburg
In 2017, an exhibition of paintings by the Syrian artist Abdullah Al Omari was held in Hamburg: world leaders are presented in the form of ordinary people – refugees forced to leave their homes because of the war. The moral of the exposition: no one is immune from the consequences of war, and everyone deserves sympathy and support. Al Omari was born and lived in Syria and was forced to flee because of the hostilities.

How artists draw attention to refugee issues
“When We Were Exhaling Images”, Кассель
This work by the Kurdish artist Khiva K. was presented at the international art exhibition Documenta in 2017 in Kassel. He himself was forced to leave Iraq in 1999 and now lives in Berlin. His installation is made up of 20 huge concrete pipes that mimic those used by refugees in Greece.

How artists draw attention to refugee issues
Project “Kein Haus für alle”, Karlsruhe
The name of the project can be translated as “Not a home for everyone”. It was built in 2017 in front of the former residence of the Margraves and Grand Dukes of Baden in Karlsruhe by local residents together with refugees as part of an integration project. Used scaffolding and other materials left over from the renovation work carried out in the palace. There seems to be a house, but it is still difficult to live in it …
Author: Daria Bryantseva