From jo at xs4all.nl Fri Dec 23 00:13:11 2011 From: jo at xs4all.nl (Jo van der Spek M2M) Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:13:11 +0100 Subject: X-mas Message-ID: M2M says X-mas for All we wish you better and best in the times ahead Jo van der Spek, Papa Sakho and Ben Duivenvoorden. From jo at xs4all.nl Fri Dec 30 14:47:56 2011 From: jo at xs4all.nl (Jo van der Spek M2M) Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:47:56 +0100 Subject: Walk like a Somali Message-ID: dear friends, together with our best wishes to all M2M people, we salute the great Occupy-action by (mostly) Somalian refugees that camped again for a week in the face of Uitzetcentrum Ter Apel. They finished their action after 56 people made an agreement with the IND. The political struggle to include ALL refugees with no papers or shelter to be included in this deal. Below you can read their Press Statement Message for all our supporters, all refugees on the street and the press Friday 30 december - Refugees on the street Amsterdam Rotterdam Utrecht Vught 56 Somalians Ter Apel made a deal and got shelter in an AZC Other Somalians still want a real solution for all 56 Ter Apel people accepted the new offer for shelter in an AZC and after that a (more) serious new asylumprocedure, monitored by lawyers and refugeesupportorganisations and all the national and international press. This, according to the negotiators, will give them a serious new chance. We are very glad that the people in Ter Apel were not frozen to death and are warm and safe now! But... Somalian refugees on the street outside ter Apel and in Vught are discussing their next steps because we are not in the deal ! We also would like the same treatment and shelter in an AZC. Only just at 2 o clock in the night we, the refugees on the street outside Ter Apel fully understood what had happened yesterdayevening in Ter Apel. All telephones were out of batteries so Ter Apel was not to reach. As we understood from the spokesmen/refugees inside, the lawyer and Marianne Bathoorn, to accept the offer was the best thing to do and only possibility. The refugees and others were freezing to death, it was very very cold, they were wet and sick, and some allready 'onderkoeld'. They could not have lasted there much longer. The 56 people now are warm and safe. Also there were allready racist people supposed to have been visiting the place. For us it is not clear yet what this result will bring us/them finally. First they get 4 weeks rest. After that they have the chance for a new and 'more carefully handled' ('zorgvuldiger) asylumprocedure. No guarantees or promises were given for that black on white but the refugees who were there trusted the negotiators on this. The lawyer(s), Somalian- and refugee-organisations are going to monitor the procedure. They see this as a solution for this group and want to go on looking for solutions for the whole group. What about the others? We can say that all refugees in Vught and outside ter Apel are very much disappointed and worried about that this deal is not including them. Some (at least three that we personally know) were for example too sick to come to Ter Apel or too vulnerable. Are they now not in the deal? One woman had after months and months sleeping in the homeless-shelterplaces or even outside, with a lot of medical problems, finally got two weeks shelter to get rest and just at that moment the Ter Apel camp started. She decided not to come because she needed rest. We cannot accept someone like her to be outside the deal !! We however are very proud and have great respect for the people in the camp in ter Apel and for all the help of people in Emmen, Ter Apel and everywere we are VERY greatfull ! THANK YOU ALL! We don't agree with the IND who says in the media that this action was not a necesary one. We got the most attention on this problem, even reaching out to international media. That means we can hold the minister on his promise to let the lawyers and others watch the procedures and to treat them very 'zorgvuldig' and better then usually. Also we still have the tents and blankets in case anything happens that we don't like. We strongly request to also let the Vught people and people outside Ter Apel in the shelter. We just heard they are going to a real AZC so not a VBL as the first group. Yasin: 06 855 11130 Nuuradiin: 06 41 444 048 Vluchtelingenopstraat at gmail.com, vluchtelingenopstraat.blogspot.com