Open letter on the living conditions in the Eisenhüttenstadt initial reception center
For more than half a year, collectives and individuals have been meeting with residents of the initial reception center in Eisenhüttenstadt every two weeks. During the winter, it became clear that the living conditions in the accommodation are unacceptable. More and more people reported poor access to clothing, unacceptable food, a lack of transparency and legal advice. But also of abuse of power and racism on the part of the facility’s staff. This is why this letter was written at the end of March, addressed to the management of the facility and the Central Foreigners’ Registration Office as an offer to talk.
Instead of responding to the willingness to engage in dialog, a ban on visits was imposed on all people in the initial reception – with a few special exceptions.
Furthermore, in an interview in the local press, the head of the facility publicly denies all the points made in the letter: “There has not been one incident with a racist background in the last five years” – that is an incredible distortion of reality.
We remain open to discussion and will not let a visiting ban stop us from reporting on the conditions in the facility.
Banning all residents from visiting in response to publicizing the living conditions in the shelter is an illegitimate collective punishment and a further attack on the dignity of the residents! As collectives that support people on the run, as neighbors and individuals, we demand: The visit ban is unacceptable and must be lifted immediately!
You can read the full letter from Eisenhüttenstadt here:
