video: "deterred, but still around"

2011-01-30

[de] [it] [fr]
since january 2008, all rejected asylum-seekers in switzerland are only entitled to receive emergency aid ('nothilfe'). it is provided by the cantons in different ways. emergency aid however shouldn't be considered as an assistance, but as an instrument of a policy of deterrence within the framework of 'fighting migration'. the underlying idea is: the more the marginalisation and material deprivation of the illegalised people, the better chance they'll leave switzerland.
for different reasons however, many rejected asylum-seekers don't leave the country, but defy state control and go into hiding. others receive emergency aid and live on the fringe of society for years, while being systematically hassled and marginalized by the authorities. the emergency aid barely ensures the survival of the affected people. and most definitely it doesn't guarantee a dignified life.
with the help of three undocumented migrants, our 25-minute film documents what it concretely means to live under the emergency aid regime. the question why those people have come to switzerland is intentionally blanked out. in our opinion, the question isn't relevant, neither in general nor regarding the discussion of the emergency aid regime.

we thank solidarité sans frontières for supporting this film.

the short documentary can be downloaded here and watched here on youtube.

video: "undocumented occupation"

2010-06-28

[de] [es] [it] [fr]
on 26 june, about 300 migrants and solidarity activists occupied a park right besides the seat of the swiss government in bern. they've been protesting against switzerland's inhuman asylum and migration policy and demand the collective regularisation of the country's undocumented migrants.

unlike other european countries, switzerland has been refusing to regularize the approximately 100.00 to 200.000 undocumented migrants living in the country. through its extremely harsh and restrictive asylum and migration policy, switzerland aims at making itself 'as unattractive as possible' for asylum-seekers in order to 'protect' itself from immigrants.

the 8-minute clip provides a brief insight into the action. migrants and supporters tell about their problems and demands.

the short documentary can be downloaded here and watched here on youtube.

video: "learning german autonomously"

2010-05-20

[de] [es] [it] [fr]
on 19 april, a barrack on a plot belonging to the freight depot of zurich's railway station was squatted and revived. the barrack has been empty for more than a year. the canton of zurich plans to build a new police and justice center for 570 million swiss francs (US$ 500 million) on the plot.

as a result of a police raid and the destruction of the zurich autonomous school on the city's outskirts in january 2010, the grassroots association "education for all" was forced to relocate again. after several stops the association has now restarted to operate in the squatted barrack at the freight depot.

"eduaction for all" is part of zurich's right-to-stay collective. for more than a year it's been offering german courses for hundreds of illegalized refugees and migrants as well as asylum seekers whose applications are being processed. the association advocates the right to education, migration and asylum.

the 10-minute video provides an insight into the autonomous school, while students and teachers depict their points of view.
the short documentary can be downloaded here and watched here on youtube.

video: "checkpoints and more"

2010-03-15

[عر] [de] [es] [it] [fr]
nahr al-bared refugee camp has still not recovered from the devastating war in 2007 during which it was destroyed. the lebanese army has been keeping a tight grip on the camp and the 20.000 displaced palestinians that have returned so far. the army's siege seriously hampers the camp's economic recovery, as access is restricted and the area was declared a military zone. a recent survey found that the army's presence and measures are considered a difficulty by 98 per cent of nahr al-bared's business owners. the army meanwhile justifies its presence as necessary to the preservation of the safety of the people.

this 30-minute film documents various consequences of the siege on nahr al-bared. merchants and artisans explain their specific problems and the UNRWA project manager, a project coordinator of the palestinian-arab women league, the president of nahr al-bared's merchants' committee and a researcher provide their views and thoughts on the issue.

the short documentary can be downloaded here and watched here (part 1/2/3) on youtube.

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video: "rapping against post-war misery"

2009-12-17

[عر] [de] [it] [fr] [tr]
mc tamarrod is the first and only rapper in nahr al-bared refugee camp in lebanon. since the destruction of the camp in a war in 2007, mc tamarrod is among 30.000 displaced palestinians. almost 20.000 refugees have returned to the outskirts of the destroyed camp, awaiting its reconstruction and suffering from the lebanese army's siege of the camp.

displacement, temporary housing, checkpoints, humiliation, discrimination... these are the topics that mc tamarrod angrily raps about. inspired by the hip-hop crews katibe 5 and i-voice in beirut's bourj al-barajneh refugee camp and rap groups in palestine such as ramallah underground or DAM, he decided to take up the microphone and let the world beyond the checkpoints know about the situation in nahr al-bared.

this 5 minutes clip features mc tamarrod's latest song and a short interview with the rapper. it can be downloaded here and watched here on youtube or below.

video: "two years under siege"

2009-06-24

[عر] [de] [it] [fr]
two years after the outbreak of the war in nahr al-bared, the camp's fate remains unclear. the reconstruction of the official camp might start soon, but the army keeps its tight grip on the camp. several checkpoints, barbed wire and military posts cut nahr al-bared off from its surroundings.

nahr al-bared camp used to be a thriving marketplace in the northern lebanese region of akkar and about half its costumers were lebanese. during the war, the lebanese army has not only defeated the militant group fatah al-islam, but also completely destroyed the refugee camp. its businesses were looted, smashed and burnt, even after the war had ended. the camp's once flourishing economy was physically eliminated.

two years later, about half the camp's population has returned to its adjacent area. hundreds of businesses have re-opened, but economic recovery is seriously hampered by the tight siege imposed by the lebanese army. thus, suspicions have risen that the war's actual target wasn't fatah al-islam, but nahr al-bared's economic life.

in this 10-minute film, the co-owner of an ice cream factory, the president of the local trader's committee and the imam of the al-quds mosque speak out on the siege and its economic consequences.

the film can be downloaded here (.mpeg/316mb) and here (.mov/124mb) in good quality. it can be watched here on youtube or below.

video: "a sip of coffee"

2009-06-11

[عر] [de] [it] [fr] [tr]
in may 2007, the battle between fatah al-islam and the lebanese army broke out in nahr al-bared refugee camp in northern lebanon. amidst heavy fighting, the lebanese army had systematically destroyed the entire camp by september 2007. two years later, nearly all the rubble has been cleared from the "old camp", the core of nahr al-bared. however, though the displaced residents grow increasingly desperate, reconstruction has yet to begin.

not only does the lebanese army keep people away from the old camp, but it also controls movement in and out of the surrounding area known as the "new camp.” anyone entering the new camp requires a valid permit issued by the army. refugees and NGOs working to revitalize the once robust economy of the camp face crippling isolation, as the marketplace of nahr al-bared is totally cut off from the surrounding villages. a flailing economy and soaring unemployment are only a few of the consequences of the destruction and ongoing siege of the camp.

this 26-minute film follows a father and his son as they attempt to deal with their unemployment. the two have been living in metal barracks for more than a year, waiting to return to their camp. by documenting issues of reconstruction, temporary housing, economy, unemployment and despair, the film touches on the daily experience of life in nahr al-bared camp.

the film can be downloaded here (.mpeg/804mb) and here (.mov/313mb) in good quality. it can be watched here (part 1/2/3) on youtube or below.

part 1:


part 2:


part 3:

video: "protest against barracks"

2009-05-18

[عر] [de] [es] [fr]
on 15 may 2009, several hundred residents of the destroyed nahr al-bared refugee camp in north lebanon gathered at the al-quds mosque to march along the army posts to a construction site in the south of the camp. there, yet another piece of land was flattened and the building of the fifth unit of temporary shelters for displaced families is being prepared.

in their chants, the protesters demanded the return to the old camp and the end of the siege on nahr al-bared and the abolishment of the permit system respectively. abu tayyeb of the residents' committee demanded the immediate stop of the building of the new barracks as long as the reconstruction in the old camp wouldn't start. he further criticized corruption and nepotism in the reconstruction process and asked why the rebuilding of the old camp is constantly being delayed. he hinted at intentions to actually not rebuild the camp and told the crowd: „the laying of the foundation stone on 9 march was nothing but a lie!“

the 2-minute video can currently only be watched here on youtube or below.

video: "sans-papiers protest for identity papers"

2009-04-08

[de]
on tuesday, 7 april 2009, more than 100 undocumented migrants and supporters marched from the refugee café "refugees welcome" to the department of social affairs and the department of migration of the canton of zurich. they demanded valid identity papers and protested against their identity cards being taken away.

at both offices, the refugees left a letter of protest, in which they demanded official identity cards. some of the sans-papiers only have a small paper issued by their emergency centers. however, these papers won't protect them from police repression. also, they can't get certain items at the post office or borrow books in libraries with this paper.

the protesters pointed out that since the occupation of a church in winter 2008/09, systematic police controls in and around emergency centers have increased. after the occupation, the department of migration of zurich forbid the emergency centers to issue provisional identity papers. especially refugees, who have to move from one center to another every week were stripped of their identity papers.

the undocumented migrants argued, that this way they're deliberately subjected to repression. they protested against their attrition and criminalization by the authorities. neither at the department of social affairs nor at the department of migration, the responsible officials appeared to receive the letter.

the 10-minute film documents the demonstration and refugees explain the context of their protest.
it can be downloaded here (.mpeg/329mb) and here (.mov/121mb). also, it can be watched here on youtube or below.

video: "right to stay now!"

2009-03-10

[de] [es] [it] [fr]
on 19 december 2008, around 150 undocumented migrants and solidarity activists occupied the prediger church in zurich (switzerland) for more than two weeks. the squatters demanded a just implementation of the hardship provision, the abolition of the prohibition of work and the legalization of the status of all undocumented migrants.

in 2007 and 2008, several stricter laws regarding asylum and foreigners have been implemented in switzerland. there's no social aid for rejected asylum seekers anymore and the concerned persons are only entitled to receive emergency assistance. its procedure, quantity and form is up to the cantons. the canton of zurich forces people to live on only 60 swiss francs (us$ 52) per week in coupons for the supermarket chain migros. some migrants are even forced to change their accommodation (emergency shelters) weekly.

zurich is also very strict in the implementation of the so-called hardship policy. the provision for cases of hardship allows undocumented migrants, who have lived in switzerland for at least five years and have "integrated very well" to file a request for a residency permit. after checking these requests, cantonal migration authorities forward them to the federal office for migration (FOM). the canton of zurich, however, puts extremely difficult conditions and hasn't forwarded a single request to the FOM in 2008.

activists of the bleiberecht (right to stay for all) campaign have already occupied a church in zurich in 2007. during the last year, further protests and activities were organized. however, zurich's asylum policy hasn't improved and in winter 2008, many people regarded a determined action as necessary in order to push their demands forward.

the film documents the occupation of the church. undocumented migrants and activists of the bleiberecht collective explain the current problems, their demands and further aspects of the occupation in detail. they tell about the talks with the department of migration of zurich and evaluate the political results.

the 30-minute film was produced by several video activists with a-films, bleiberecht bern, bleiberecht zürich and solidarité sans frontières.
it can be downloaded here (.mpeg/706mb) and here (.mov/356mb). also, it can be watched (part 1/2/3) on youtube or below.

part 1:


part 2:


part 3:

video: "press conference at the squatted church"

2009-01-11

[de] [fr]
on 29 december 2008, the squatters of the "prediger" church in zurich, switzerland, invited the media to a press conference. several delegates of the sans-papiers talked about their precarious situation in the canton zurich and explained their political demands.

the 9-minute film contains selections of the press conference. it can be downloaded here (.mpeg/302mb) and here (.mov/111mb). also, it can be watched here on youtube or below.

more information about the squatted church can be found on the website of the bleiberecht-kollektiv zürich.

video: "voices from the church st. jakob"

2009-01-07

[de] [fr]
on sunday, 4 january, the squatters left the "prediger" church in zurich and accepted an invitation by the church "st. jakob". by moving to this church, the preconditions for a talk set by the government official hollenstein were fulfilled. on monday, 5 january, mr. hollenstein received a delegation of sans-papiers for a talk.

in the short film, two migrants share their disappointment about the poor outcomes of the talk, once again explain their problematic situation and talk about what should happen next.

the 8-minute film can be downloaded here (.mpeg/249mb) and here (.mov/93mb). also, it can be watched here on youtube or below.

more information about the squatted church can be found on the website of the bleiberecht-kollektiv zürich.