THE TENTH OF DECEMBER UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 1945.

A SPEECH FROM THE ASYLUM SEEKERS IN THE STATE OF BRANDENBURG TO COMMEMORATE THE DAY.

Her Excellency the President of the International League for Human Rights,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Fellow Asylum seekers.

We wish to use this respectful day of today, to thank whole heartily the International League For Human Rights for haven recognised our struggle to overcome the legacy of racism and the use of psychological torture on the asylum seekers and the minorities in the German society. The asylum seekers in Germany and especialy those in the state of Brandenburg are living a drab, sordid, hollow and grim life.

We wish as well to congratulate the prolific journalist Frank Jansen of Der Tagesspiegel. Due to his hard work as journalist, he is here today honoured with this prestigieous medal of Carl-von-Ossietzky.

We also wish to congratulate the prestigieous Institution, Opferperspektive, for recieving this honour of Carl-von-Ossietzky as evidence of their hard work to assist humanity in every form positive.

The Carl-von-Ossietzky medal has more significance than this handing over ceremony.

It is a call to the German government to remember and respect the International Treaties she ratified, to respect and restore Human Dignity, eliminate cruelty, discrimination and xenophobia in her society.

In the German constitution, there is a beautiful phrase, "Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar.". To us asylum seekers, we see this constitutional article as a window dresser.

As asylum seekers in Germany, it is clearly stamped in our identity cards that we do not have the right to education of any kind.

As asylum seekers, we are bound to suffer from claustrophobia because of the peculiar law in Germany where the asylum seekers are bound to live in a district of less than 80 km2. We cannot go beyond this district without obtaining a "Pass Law" or permission from the immigration office. In most cases, these permissions are refused.

We do not have the right to work or carry on any activity that can fetch us money. We are bound to be inactive, dull and lazy.

As asylum seekers, we do not have the right to fiscal cash. We are being given the inhuman vouchers or smart cards per month to the tune of 310-DM and 80-DM cash as pocket money. We do not have the right to buy where we want, what we want and when we want. This is due to the fact that everything has been defined for us by the authorities.

We have no privacy. Four people are sharing a small air tight room. In this room, everybody is entitled to a small space of 6 sqm. Most of these asylum homes are found in forests isolated from the people. And most of these homes are in catastrophic state.

After this situation, no matter how long an asylum seeker is here, he or she is waiting for deportation. The government is unwilling to recognise people who have been here for very long time.

Our freedom is to eat, sleep and watch the days pass by. This inhuman situation goes on for an undetermined period from zero to eleven years and more. Christopher Nsoh, an asylum seeker in Rathenow looked at this situation and said: "Germany has the highest number of undeclared prisons, the asylum homes. If it is so in Europe, then Europe has the highest number of undeclared prisons. Where then are the Human Right Organisations?"

The question now is, where is our dignity as stated in the German constitution? We have been stripped off from our dignity and are considered as outcasts of the society.

Ladies and Gentlemen,our dream is to see justice and equality restored. Though we have been destroyed, we shall never feel destroyed to fight for our rights as human beings.

Your excellencies, respectful Ladies and Gentlemen, we believe that this inhuman asylum law is one of the fundamental causes of the skyrocketing rate of xenophobia in the German society. This law has exposed us to the right wing hooligans as pests in the society. Their responds is to brutally attack us on daily basis, wound us on monthly basis and kill us annually. It is rather unfortunate that foreigners who are not asylum seekers suffer the very fate. The reason being that on the streets, there is no sign on our bodies to prove us as asylum seekers. This racism is not only limited on the streets but very strong in most of the offices and institutions in Germany. Due to this hatred of man by man, Mr. Christopher Nsoh says: "A state without a stipulated law against racism is the main perpetrator of racism. Speeches and demonstrations against racism are acts of good faith but unfortunately have no legal bindings".

We are incriminated by the Police. When an asylum seeker is controlled out of his territorial jurisdiction without a permission, the Police will formulate a crime and put on the asylum seeker.They will take us to Courts where we are unfairly judged and condemned. At the end, they will be proud to say the asylum seekers are criminals of the society. We are calling on the Police and the Courts of Germany to threat us fairly. We are human beings as well.

It is also pathetic that the Police have developed a new strategy not to pay attention to the foreigners when a foreigner faces racial discrimination in any form and calls the Police. This is happening in Rathenow, in the State of Brandenburg. In Rathenow, when an asylum seeker calls the police or complains to the Police, their respond is, I do not understand you. We still feel so isolated and insecured.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, everyday on the media, we hear about crime against humanity. Physical torture is considered as an abuse to Human Rights and a crime against humanity because it can be visualised. We wish to use this opportunity to inform you that psychological torture that leads to people going mad, developing nerves problems, becoming frustrated, developing gastritis and people developing diseases that medical doctors are not able to diagnose is a Crime against Humanity. We are inviting the Human Rights Organisations and the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees to prop into asylum camps in Germany to see how many people are being destroyed.

Thank you.

The State of Brandenburg, 10. Dec. 2000