| Date: | 22.07.2019 |
| Time: | 18:30 - 21:00 |
| Location: | Bosch Alumni Network Linienstraße 65a 10119 Berlin |
| Material: | invitation-monday-on-the-couch-1.pdf |
Doors open at 6.30 pm, the event starts at 7.00 pm. The event will be held in English language. Please register here.
Armed conflict is driving more and more people from their homes. People also flee to escape the lack of human security linked to structural violence, persecution and oppression. Three years after the increased arrivals of asylum seekers on European shores and border check-points in 2015, the actions of NGOs and individuals who rescue, assist and advocate on behalf of survivors have brought both public and political attention to the scenes of humanitarian and civic action around asylum seeking. By the end of 2018, several of these actions have been publicly attacked and declared illegal, while those who continue to engage in rescue, humanitarian assistance and advocacy in favour of asylum seekers are labelled criminals and are subsequently arrested for engaging in criminal activity.
A recent report by United Against Inhumanity (UAI) comes to the conclusion that the widespread and systematic use of criminal law and public defamation against NGOs and citizens who assist asylum seekers needs to be understood as an expansion and intensification of the wider criminalisation process against migration in the EU. Together with the report’s author Sarah Hammerl, the Bosch Alumni Network and the Centre for Humanitarian Action (CHA) we will discuss the implications of these developments for humanitarian access to and civic action around asylum seeking in Europe.
Speakers:
Muhammed al-Kashef, Consultation Researcher and advocate of WatchTheMed- Alarm Phone
Sarah Hammerl, United Against Inhumanity (UAI)
Moderation: Sonja Hövelmann, Centre for Humanitarian Action (CHA)
This event is co-hosted by the Robert Bosch Foundation, the International Alumni Center (iac) Berlin and the Centre for Humanitarian Action (CHA).