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Vad händer med kvinnofrids- arbetet i Malmö?
Kvinnofridsarbetet ska stärkas så att det även omfattar papperslösa kvinnor. I förhandlingar med S och Mp när vi bildade majoritet i Malmö var detta en av de frågor som Vänsterpartiet drev igenom. Nu startar dialogen med...
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English
Many of the inhabitants in Malmö lack resident permits and therefore live lives that are deliniated by the fear of deportation and the lack of social rights. That people who haven’t gained a residence permit decide to stay and avoid deportation does not make their needs and dreams different from those of others. We want all the inhabitants of Malmö to have access to what the city has to offer. Therefore, we sign up to offer sanctuary for people without papers!
Malmö – Sanctuary for people without papers
Swedish asylum policies are often described as exceptionally open and generous. However, another picture appears if one takes a closer look at the way in which refugees are treated today. People from wars and conflict zones, from dictatorships, from countries where women and LGBT-persons are prosecuted and harassed, are denied protection. Restrictive Swedish migration and asylum policies force people to hide to avoid deportation and consequently have to live without social and political rights.
Many of us who live in Malmö and meet asylum seekers at schools or other welfare institutions, in organisations and sport clubs, or at home among neighbours and friends, have come across cases where we want to help our friends in their struggle. But what can we do? The laws are not written by us and decisions about legislation are not taken by us. The political context, the intricate jurisprudence and the routines at the Migration Board are all complicated. Even jurists who are familiar with the law and the difficult language often find themselves frustrated with the way in which the authorities argue in their assessments of asylum applications.
In order for us to resist this painful distance from the decisions we want to move the debate about migration policies to the local level in Malmö and to engage activist groups and organisations as well as politicians and welfare functionaries, in an attempt to include undocumented migrants and create a sanctuary for rejected asylum seekers living in fear of deportation and without social rights.
We see Malmö – Sanctuary for people without papers as a long-term project, one which will facilitate the growth of a movement based upon popular solidarity with undocumented migrants and rejected asylum seekers. The idea is that football clubs, community youth centres, schools, women’s shelters, district health care centres, and many more, can join the project, and proclaim their venue and the activities and services offered there as a sanctuary for people without papers.
Although someone might not have a resident permit, they can still be a resident of Malmö. Together we can make sure that the everyday lives of undocumented inhabitants can be a bit more like other Malmö lives!
The authorities forget that human beings continue to be human beings regardless of what the Migration Board and the state decides about residence permits and asylum rights. They forget that a rejected asylum claim does not make an asylum seeker less like other human beings, but that they continue to have needs and dreams despite these decisions. The authorities forget that their decisions do not draw boundaries for acts of solidarity. We can remind them about that.
Checklist for building sanctuaries
It is important to think about which obstacles and possibilities exist for undocumented migrants and rejected asylum seekers to access your activities and/or services. Here are some things that are important to think about:
- Avoid systems that ask for a personal identity number by default
Undocumented migrants and rejected asylum seekers often lack a Swedish personal identity number with the ’four last numbers’. If it is necessary to register people, please think about the possibility of creating separate registers that do not require the personal identity number to work.
- Protect anonymity
It is important to know if the police have the right to access information about your participants/clients. To be able to offer sanctuary for people without papers it is important to be sure that police and authorities cannot access information about the participants.
- Avoid expensive fees
Most people who live without papers also live without much money. Do you have fees or other costs for the participants? If so please consider discounts or free offers for undocumented migrants and rejected asylum seekers.
- Keep a record of results and information that might be important to the person in the future
If your activities generate certificates, grades or something similar that cannot be issued to undocumented migrants, please find a way to document these results or save the results in a way that makes it possible to formalise them; for example, official grades the day the person gets a residence permit.
- Make sure the ambition to be a sanctuary is rooted in the whole organisation
Make sure that all the employees, activists, volunteers, and members in your organisation know how to deal with the special situations that might occur. It is important to avoid a situation whereby people who are already socially vulnerable end up in further difficult or awkward situations.
- Question the rules and show moral courage
If the regulations surrounding your activities or services make it difficult or impossible to include undocumentet migrants, you can support each other within the work team to challenge these regulations and routines. You can also show moral courage through breaking the rules.
- Get support and advice from us
If you need help with ideas about how to overcome the obstacles you see, or other advice or tips about what one can do, please do not hesitate to contact us!
malmo.fristad@gmail.com
Malmö för alla
I Malmö lever många personer som saknar uppehållstillstånd och därför får sina liv begränsade på olika sätt i vardagen. Att personer som inte fått uppehållstillstånd väljer att stanna i Sverige istället för att låta sig utvisas gör inte att deras behov och drömmar skiljer sig från andras. Vi vill att alla Malmöbor ska ha tillgång till det som staden har att erbjuda. Därför är vi med och erbjuder en fristad för papperslösa!
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