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24 Feb
0

African/Black Community (ABC) Press Release – 17TH MEMORIAL MARCH IN HONOR OF AFRICAN /BLACK HEROES /HEROINES

by in Campaign, image, info, News, web

    17th MEMORIAL MARCH IN COMMEMORATION OF AFRICAN / BLACK HEROES / HEROINES AND VICTIMS OF THE MAAFA

[ENSLAVEMENT, COLONIALISM, NEOCOLONIALISM, NAZISM & RACISM]

Berlin (Wilhelm-Strasse 92), 25th February 2023, 11 am (CET)

#UnitedWeRise

 

PRESS RELEASE #01– Berlin, the 24.02.2023

 

For the 17th consecutive year, the “Committee for an African Monument in Berlin” (KADIB), represented by the “African / Black Community” (ABC), invites the general public to join us for our annual Memorial March in commemoration of the African / Black heroes / heroines and victims of the Maafa. “Maafa” (Kiswaheli) means “The Great Destruction” in Africa: Enslavement, Colonialism and Genocides, Neo-Colonialism and Ecocides, Nazism and Racism.

DATE TIME LOCATION
Saturday

25.02.2023

 11:00 am

    to

16:00 pm

 Wilhelm-Strasse 92, 10117 Berlin

As every year, the Memorial March begins here with wreath-laying ceremony and speeches. At the invitation of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the infamous “Berlin Africa Conference” began on 15 November, 1884 in Berlin (Reichskanzlerpalais, Wilhelm-Strasse 77) and ended there on 26 February, 1885. Berlin, as the capital of Germany, was therefore purposely chosen as the location for the Memorial March, because of its colonial legacies, but also because of its involvement in Africa’s current plights.

The Memorial March ends with a rally at the Humboldt Forum.

 

#AfrikaIsBleeding: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, to name but a few.

We call on all the general public, especially the African / Black / “BIPoC” communities, to participate in the Memorial March, to mobilise for it, to support our cause and demands as well to intensify pressure on the German Federal Government to at least expeditiously implement measures agreed upon in the coalition contract of the new German Federal Government dealing on Germany’s colonial legacy (see below).

The motto of this year’s Memorial March stays same as last year, “United We Rise!“, and thus our hashtag “#UnitedWeRise”.

Like every year, we will march to honour and pay tribute to our heroic Freedom Fighters who fought against the Maafa as well the victims of the Maafa. We emphatically declare our decades-old demand: the erection of a central monument in Berlin to serve as a place for commemoration and extracurricular learning about colonialism and neo-colonialism. We are also marching to protest against colonial continuities, against all facets and levels of racism, but also against Europe’s racist and deadly migration policy towards Africa.

We are taking to the streets once again to draw lines between the past and the present:

535 years after the dawn of the Maafa in Africa. More than 500 years after the launch of the Transatlantic Enslavement. 138 years after sealing the transformation from enslavement into colonisation of Africa (Berlin Conference). 118 years after the inexplicably gruesome genocides of the Germans against the peoples of Herero and Nama in present today Namibia. 78 years after the forced recruitment of African soldiers and the menace of economic exploitation of the continent for World War II and the detention and murder of Africans in Concentration Camps in Germany – suckered, racially segregated, exploited, abused and killed, undocumented and forgotten. 62 years after the murder of Patrice Lumumba in the Congo. More than 45 years after the Soweto Massacre in apartheid South Africa. 93 years after the historic anti-colonial and anti-racist Aba Women’s Revolt (also known as “Women’s War”) in South East of present-day Nigeria. 58 years after the murder of Malcolm X (USA) and 55 years after the assassination of Martin Luther King (USA). 32 years after the murder of Amadeu Antonio in Eberswalde (Germany). 28 years after the murder of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa (Nigeria) and eight other Ogoni activists. 18 years after the murder of Oury Jalloh in Dessau (Germany). 14 years after the murder of Marwa El-Sherbini in Dresden (Germany). 11 years after the murder of Rita Awour Ojungé in Hohenleipisch (Germany). 9 years after Lampedusa (Mediterranean / Italy). 4 years after the murder of Marielle Franco in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and the murder of the psychiatric patient William Tonou-Mbobda in Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany). More than two and a half years after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis (USA). Just to name but a few!

The initiator of the Committee for an African Monument in Berlin (KADIB), Prof. Kapet de Bana† (RIP), had constantly reiterated:

“While we march, remains of our Ancestors and artefacts that have preserved our cultures and cultural treasures are still been displayed in German / European museums. We demand the repatriation of everything stolen by Germany from Africa.” Prof. Kapet de Bana also persistently reminded the world of the right and duty to remember.

We demand not only the erection of a central Monument as a place for commemoration and extracurricular learning about colonialism and neo-colonialism, but also a comprehensive reappraisal of German colonial history and continuities as well as an earnest approach of confronting institutional and structural racism, as also stated in the Agenda 2025 of the Federal Conference of Migrant Organisations (BKMO) and as declared by UN’s International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024).

Colonial legacy remains a nightmare in Germany, critical in its relation to racism, explosive in terms of foreign policy and, above all, existentially important for those affected in Africa and other colonised regions of the so-called Global South. Therefore, we are pleased to note that parts of our demands have been included in the coalition contract of the new German Federal Government, which states:

“In order to advance the reappraisal of German colonial legacy, we also support the digitisation and Provenance Research of colonially contaminated collections and make them accessible on platforms. In dialogue with the societies of origin, we strive for restitution and deeper interdepartmental international cooperation. In particular, we support the return of objects from a colonial context. We are also developing a concept for a place for commemoration and extracurricular learning about colonialism.”

[Coalition Contract between the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), p. 125, Chapter VI, section “Colonial Legacy”]

We also welcome the German Federal Government’s long-overdue return of some of the looted (“sacred”) so-called Benin artefacts to Nigeria. These developments must be seen as “only a beginning” and we recognise them as partial victory which is a product of our vigorous and relentless decade-long anti-colonial / anti-racist resistance struggles in this country but also in Motherland Africa at large. Nevertheless, many of our sacred artefacts, treasures, statues and works of art that exhibit African traditional religious systems and beliefs, such as the Ngonso sculpture representing the origin and culture of the Nso People (Cameroon), are still stashed away in basements in Berlin and elsewhere in Germany.

Our ultimate goal remains unequivocal: The complete and unconditional decolonisation of all neo-colonial and imperial power constructs and systems in Motherland Africa.

We call on the German Federal Government to swiftly implement the above-mentioned agreement in the coalition contract. Going by more than 500 years of experience, we presume that such marginal actions like those of the new German Federal Government could at the end become just tranquilizers! We also demand a say and participation such in actions – Everything about us without us is against us!

We would be very pleased if you could announce and report on this historically important event (pre-event and post-event reporting). You are of course also cordially invited to the Memorial March. In addition, we are available for interviews as well as for general information on the Memorial March.

 

CONTACT:

Tel: 0152 159 286 58 / Mail: abcberlin19@gmail.com / Facebook, YouTube, Twitter & Instagram

Organiser: “Committee for an African Monument in Berlin” (KADiB), represented by the network “African / Black Community” (ABC). The following organisations and initiatives are considered here as co-organizers / supporters:

1)     Afrikanischer Dachverband Norddeutschland – ADV-Nord

2)     Afrika-Rat – Dachverband afrikanischer -Vereine und Initiativen Berlin Brandenburg

3)     PEACE Germany

4)     Bündnis „Völkermord verjährt nicht!“

5)     African / Black Community Networks

6)     EOTO Germany

7)     Africavenir International

8)     Global Afrikan Congress

9)     Afropolitan Berlin

10)   Initiative in Gedenken an Oury Jalloh

11)   AFROTAK TV cyberNomads

 12)   Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD-Bund)

13)   Arbeitskreis Panafrikanismus München

14)   Pan-African Women Liberation & Empowerment Organisation – PAWLO Germany

15)   Afrikabund Hamburg

16)   Berliner Entwicklungspolitischer Ratschlag BER

17)   The VOICE Refugee Forum Germany

18)   Berlin Global Village e.V.

19)   Zentralrat der afrikanischen Gemeinde in Deutschland

20)   Berlin Postkolonial

21)   Bündnis „Decolonize Berlin“

22)   United for Eritrea

 

 

22 Feb
0

17TH MEMORIAL MARCH IN HONOR OF AFRICAN /BLACK HEROES /HEROINES

by in Campaign, info, News, video, web

17TH MEMORIAL MARCH IN HONOR OF AFRICAN /BLACK HEROES /HEROINES

AND VICTIMS OF MAAFA (ENSLAVEMENT, COLONIALISM, NEOCOLONIALISM, NAZISM AND RACISM)

We call on all the general public, especially the African / Black / “BIPoC” communities, to participate in the Memorial March, to mobilise for it, to support our cause!

For the 17th consecutive year, the “Committee for an African Monument in Berlin” (KADIB), represented by the “African / Black Community” (ABC), invites the general public to join us for our annual Memorial March in commemoration of the African / Black heroes / heroines and victims of the Maafa. “Maafa” (Kiswaheli) means “The Great Destruction” in Africa: Enslavement, Colonialism and Genocides, Neo-Colonialism and Ecocides, Nazism and Racism.

“While we march, remains of our Ancestors and artefacts that have preserved our cultures and cultural treasures are still been displayed in German / European museums. We demand the repatriation of everything stolen by Germany from Africa.” Prof. Kapet de Bana also persistently reminded the world of the right and duty to remember.

LOCATION

Wilhelm-Strasse 92, 10117 Berlin

As every year, the Memorial March begins here with wreath-laying ceremony and speeches. At the invitation of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the infamous “Berlin Africa Conference” began on 15 November, 1884 in Berlin (Reichskanzlerpalais, Wilhelm-Strasse 77) and ended there on 26 February, 1885. Berlin, as the capital of Germany, was therefore purposely chosen as the location for the Memorial March, because of its colonial legacies, but also because of its involvement in Africa’s current plights.

The Memorial March ends with a rally at the Humboldt Forum.

CONTACT:

Tel: 0152 159 286 58 / Mail: abcberlin19@gmail.com / Facebook, YouTube, Twitter & Instagram

17. Gedenkmarsch zu Ehren der afrikanischen / Schwarzen Held*Innen und Opfer der Maafa*
25.02.2023, 11 am prompt.
Wilhelmstraße 92, 10117 Berlin, Germany!
https://fb.me/e/3kpWoupyw

 

13 Jan
0

Studying ABROAD: The Academic exploitations of African Students wishing to study abroad, especially in Europe

by in Publications, Articles, Campaign, image, info, News, Testimonies, web

Sometimes they ask for complete fees of the debuting semester, irrespective of whether it is a Bachelor program or a Master program.

How we are exploited after beginning the process of visa applications

How we are exploited after beginning the process of visa applications

But you have to follow up your students visa in their respective embassies alone and without assistance from the corresponding higher academic institutes, be it professional vocational institutes or Universities of higher learning.
When the application for your student visa is rejected, there is no way to get back complete refund even though you are not responsible for your own rejection.


At times, one is left wanting after many trials, to get even an appointment in their respective embassies or consulates.
The final casualty is when your admission expires without you getting a visa. If you were on study Leave in your home country, this might be detrimental to your profession. And if you just finished high school or any higher institute of learning, the budget you so well saved for your studies starts diminishing or is even depleted after many trials.

Prospective students, young and old are reaching us, complaining about this new form of neo-colonial exploitation.

Studying abroad

Studying abroad

Here is a testimony of a student who has twice experienced this form of exploitation and it is not the only case.

TESTIMONY

From a professional wishing to further studies in the UK:

The torture I have received from the UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration)
I am a Cameroonian who got admission into one of UK’s university to study MSc. in management, for September session in University of Bradford. I applied for my study visa on the 5/5/2022 and got rejected by a case worker who made an error by verifying my bank statement from another bank instead of verifying from the bank which I submitted my bank statement.

When I received the rejection email I was so touched because all my documents were correct but the case worker out of his or her own wickedness decided to refuse me the visa.
Not withstanding, I went in for an administrative review on the 07 /07/2022 and the administrative review was overturned on the 1st.  Sept 2022. From then till date I have not heard from the UKVI, meaning they just wanted to exploit my finances because I have paid for the visa fees and administrative review plus several paid emails (You pay them for reading emails that you write to them as response to their actions and requests).


A big nation of this magnitude keeps complaining of of world events, for reasons why they are unable to process students visas and/or even handle administrative reviews.

Holding my career for a 1 full year for their selfish reasons; can other nations treat British citizens this way? It’s a pity for us Africans/Black people getting this kind of treatment from so-called Western/civilised/European/Whites.

END of TESTIMONY.

Information compiled by PEACE Research Network (PRN)

Please send us your own experience or those of others for further documentation and exposure.
This could be done anonymously and we will not publish your personal and private data, unless you so wish.

10 Nov
0

PRESSEMITTEILUNG – SHELL – VERANTWORTLICH FÜR ANHALTENDE ÖL-VERSCHMUTZUNG – ÖKOZID – UND MORDE IN NIGERIA

by in Campaign, info, News, web

SHELL – VERANTWORTLICH FÜR ANHALTENDE ÖL-VERSCHMUTZUNG – ÖKOZID – UND MORDE IN NIGERIA

Proteste in Deutschland und der Schweiz zum 27. Jahrestag der Hinrichtung der “Ogoni Nine”

**Hamburg, Berlin, Lützerath, Köln, Bern (CH)** 10. November 2022**

 

Shell ist verantwortlich für massive Umweltkatastrophe (Ökozid) im Niger-Delta und soll verseuchte Gebiete sanieren und Opfer entschädigen – Ökozid soll strafbar werden – Shell ist mitverantwortlich für Ermordung von Umweltaktivist und Träger des Alternativen Nobelpreises Ken Saro-Wiwa und acht weiteren Ogoni-Aktivisten im ölreichen Niger-Delta – Aktivist*innen müssen weltweit geschützt werden!

 

– Öl-Milliardär Shell ist verantwortlich für schwere Umweltverbrechen (Ökozid)* sowie neo-koloniale Ausbeutungim Niger-Delta und hat die Lebensgrundlagen im Ogoniland und im gesamten Niger-Delta vernichtet

– Shell soll die Ölverschmutzung endlich beseitigen sowie angemessen und bedingungslos Kompensationen zahlen

– Schwere Umweltverbrechen – Ökozide – sollen strafrechtlich verfolgt werden können

– Gedenken an den ermordeten Ken Saro-Wiwa und acht weitere Aktivisten des Ogoni-Volkes (sog. “Ogoni Nine”): Für ihren mutigen und friedlichen Widerstand gegen Shells Ökozid mussten sie sterben.

 

Heute am 27. Jahrestag der Hinrichtung des nigerianischen Schriftstellers und Umweltaktivisten KEN SARO-WIWA und acht weiteren Aktivisten des Ogoni-Volkes gedenken Menschen weltweit dieser mutigen und wegweisenden Aktivisten aus dem ölreichen Nigeria. Auch hierzulande rufen “African / Black Community (ABC) Germany”, “Black Community Coalition for Justice and Self-Defence Hamburg”, Africans From Ukraine und “ARRiVATi – Community Care” zu Gedenken und friedlichen Protesten bzw. Aktionen auf.

Wir bitte um Berichterstattung!

 

Hintergrund zu Shell´s Erdölförderung im Niger-Delta und zum Widerstand dagegen

Vor genau 27 Jahren wurde Ken Saro-Wiwa zusammen mit acht weiteren Aktivisten (BARINEM KIOBEL, SATURDAY DOBEE, PAUL LEVURA, NORDU EAWO, FELIX NUATE, DANIEL GBOKOO, JOHN KPUINEN UND BURIBOR BERA) in Port Harcourt (Nigeria) hingerichtet. Sie haben gegen die jahrzehntelange Zerstörung ihrer Umwelt und somit die Vernichtung ihrer Lebensgrundlagen durch die rücksichtslose Ölförderung des Shell-Konzerns friedlich protestiert und wurden deshalb ermordet. Obwohl Shell behauptet, die massive Ölverschmutzung in Ogoniland beseitigt zu haben, ist die Verseuchung katastrophaler als jemals zuvor. Das Delta gilt mittlerweile als schlimmster Ökozid-Hotspot weltweit: Umwelt verwüstet, Lebensgrundlagen vernichtet, Gesundheit zerrüttet! Soziale Basisinfrastrukturen, wie sauberes Trinkwasser, Schulen, Elektrizität, Gesundheitsversorgung etc., fehlen in den meisten Gebieten des Niger-Delta – und das obwohl große Ölkonzerne wie Shell dort Milliardengewinne erwirtschaften.

„Während die Öl-Multis Milliarden-Dollar Geschäfte machen, leidet die lokale Bevölkerung weiter an Katastrophen wie der Öl- und Luftverschmutzung in der gesamten Region“,sagt Ezekiel Gara-Ioo, erster Vorsitzende der Gemeinschaft im Nigerdelta

Der Ökozid, der sich in Nigeria abspielt, nimmt kein Ende. „Shell hat nie für irgendetwas Verantwortung übernommen“, sagt Patience Osaroejiji, Leiterin der Koalition der Ogoni Frauen. “Wenn man zu den Orten geht, die sie angeblich gesäubert haben, sieht man, dass dort immer noch Öl austritt. Es kann dort nichts angepflanzt werden, nicht einmal Gras wächst dort“, fügt sie hinzu. Ein aktueller UN-Bericht belegt, dass die Verschmutzung dort sogar noch schlimmer wurde, nachdem Shell mit Reinigungsmaßnahmen begonnen hat.

Peter Emorinken-Donatus, langjähriger Shell-Kritiker, Mitbegründer des Bündnis Ökozidgesetz und ein Sprecher der African / Black Community (ABC) betont: „Wir fordern, dass Shell endlich zur Verantwortung für den Ökozid im Ogoniland und im gesamten Niger-Delta gezogen wird, dass Ökozide strafrechtlich geahndet und neokolonialen Extraktivismus bzw. koloniale Kontinuitäten beendet werden. Konzerne des Globalen Nordens machen Profite auf Kosten des Globalen Südens. Das muss ein Ende haben! Des Weiteren fordern wir, dass Ökozide und der Klimawandel als Fluchtgründe volkerrechtlich anerkannt werden, und dass afrikanische / BIPoC-Geflüchtete aus der Ukraine Beliberecht bekommen – Schluss mit der rassistische Selektivität!”

Das kleine Ogoni-Land im Nigerdelta liegt im Südosten Nigerias und ist ein der wichtigstenErdölzentren des Vielvölkerstaates Nigerias, Afrikas bevölkerungsreichsten Land (aktuell über 200 Mio.). Auf einer Fläche von mehr als 1.000 km2leben rund 500.000 Menschen, überwiegend Fischer*innen und Bauer*innen. Dort nahm der Shell-Konzern 1958 die Ölförderung auf, woraufhin bis zum Anfang der 1990er Jahre der Ölriesen schätzungsweise rund US$ 30 Milliarden erwirtschaftete.

Gegen Ende der 1990er Jahre begann Saro-Wiwa damit, hunderttausende Ogoni für friedlichen Proteste zu mobilisieren, u. a. gegen die massive Umweltzerstörung dort durch den Shell-Konzern. Die Mobilisierung gipfelte in der Unterzeichnung der “Ogoni Bill of Rights” im August 1990 durch den Ältestenrat der Ogoni. Darin forderten sie ein Ende der schweren Umweltverbrechen im Ogoniland, das Recht auf saubere Umwelt,die Kontrolle über die natürlichen Ressourcen sowie umfassende Minderheitenrechte. Hierzulande setzen die nigerianische Opposition und diverse Umwelt-und Menschenrechtsverbände bzw. Initiativen den Ölmulti Shell durch Boykottaufrufe unter massiven Druck. Doch der Konzern weiß sich zu helfen und versuchte stets die deutsche Öffentlichkeit mittels massivem “Asbach-Journalismus” medial zu manipulieren, verunsichern und Stimmen von Kritiker*innen zu verstummen. Um einer Verurteilung durch ein US Gericht wegen Menschenrechtsverletzung und somit eine riesige Blamage zu entgehen, einigte sich der Konzern mit den Angehörigen von Ken Saro-Wiwa außergerichtlich auf eine Entschädigungszahlung inHöhe von US$15 Millionen-ein unverkennbares Schuldbekenntnis.

Das Niger-Delta ist jedoch weiterhin fast vollkommen verseucht. Aufgrund der mangelnden Instandhaltung der und Schutzmaßnahmen für die Pipelines durch Shell versickern jährlich Millionen Tonnen Rohöl in Nigeria. Obwohl das United Nations Environment Programm (UNEP) bereits 2011 mit einer aufsehenerregenden Studie auf die Umweltkatastrophe hinwies, unternimmt Shell auch heute noch keine deutlichen Schritte, um für die von ihnen angerichteten Schäden aufzukommen und das Ogoniland und das gesamte Niger-Delta zu sanieren.

Shell ist seit 1956 das dominierende Ölunternehmen in Nigeria, als es erstmals im Nigerdelta auf Öl gestoßen ist. Das Unternehmen hat mehr als 6.000 Kilometer Pipelines gebaut, mehr als 1.000 Ölquellen erbohrt und fördert 39% des nigerianischen Erdöls. Shell förderte von den späten 1950er Jahren bis 1993 Öl in Ogoniland bis es das Gebiet aufgrund von Massenprotesten verlassen musste. Die Massenproteste wurde von dem Schriftsteller Ken Saro-Wiwa angeführt, der das Unternehmen beschuldigte, Ackerland und Fischgründe zu verschmutzen und die Luft zu verseuchen. Das Militärregime ging brutal gegen die Proteste vor und ließ Saro-Wiwa sowie acht weitere Ogoni-Aktivisten 1995 hinrichten.

 

Hintergrund zu Ken Saro-Wiwa

Ken Saro-Wiwa (bürgerlicher Name: Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa), geboren im Jahr 1941 in Bori (Nigeria), war ein Aktivist im gewaltfreien Kampf gegen die massive Umweltzerstörung und Vernichtung der Lebensgrundlagen im Niger-Delta durch den Shell-Konzern.Er war Träger des alternativen Nobelpreises, Poet, Menschenrechtler, Schriftsteller und Fernsehproduzent. 1989 begannen die Ogoni, die einen Teil des Niger-Deltas bewohnen, sich gegen die Zerstörung ihrer Umwelt und Lebensgrundlagen zu wehren. Unter der Leitung von Ken Saro-Wiwa gründete sich die „Bewegung für das Überleben des Ogoni-Volkes“ (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP). Ziele der Bewegung sind die politische und kulturelle Autonomie für die Ogoni innerhalb des nigerianischen Staates, die Sanierung der durch die Erdölförderung geschädigten Gebiete und die Beteiligung der Bevölkerung an den Einnahmen aus der Erdölförderung.

All diese Ziele sollen friedlich erreicht werden. Zu einer Demonstration im Januar 1993 mobilisierte die Bewegung etwa 300.000 Menschen, also mehr als die Hälfte der Ogoni-Bevölkerung. Um die auflammenden friedlichen Proteste zu unterdrücken, da dem Shell-Konzern riesige Imageschaden drohten, bat der Konzern das Militärregime um Hilfe. Das Militär richtete dieszufolge Unheil im Ogoni-Land an: mehr als 1000 Ogonis wurden getötet, Zehntausende vertrieben, unzählige inhaftiert, darunter auch der Anführer der Bewegung, Saro-Wiwa. In einem Schauprozess verurteilte ein Militärtribunal Ken Saro-Wiwa und acht weitere Aktivisten wegen angeblichem Mord zu Tode. Am 10. November 1995 wurden sie hingerichtet, trotz internationaler Proteste und Sanktionsandrohungen.

Ken Saro-Wiwa selbst erhielt während seiner Haft den Right Livelihood Award(1994) und den Goldman Environmental Prize (1995): „The struggle itself is about hope, if I did not think there was hope in the future, I would not be fighting“.

 

Deutschlandweite Aktivitäten und Mahnwache in der Schweiz:

HAMBURG (zentrale Mahnwache): 16 Uhr, Bahnhof Dammtor / 11 Uhr Shellzentrale, Suhrenkamp 71

BERLIN (Mahnwache): 18 Uhr, an der Shell-Tankstelle, Skalitzer Strasse 48

KÖLN: (Demonstration & Mahnwache) 15:30 Uhr, Auftaktkundgebung am Albertus-Magnus-Platz, Abschlusskundgebung und Mahnwache an der Shell-Tankstelle, Venloerstraße 166

LÜTZERATH (Mahnwache): 16 Uhr

BERN (Mahnwache und Infoabend): ab 16:30 Uhr auf Bahnhofplatz Baldachin Bern

 

Spenden für Opfer der Flutkatastrophe in Nigeria:

Nigeria erlebt gerade eine einzigartige Flutkatastrophe als Folge des Klimawandels. Über 700 Tote, mehr als zwei Millionen Menschen haben Häuser und Ackerland verloren. Bitte spenden Sie hier:

 

https://gofund.me/25cc9d70

*Ökozid-Definition: Rechtswidrige oder mutwillige Handlungen, begangen im Bewusstsein, dass diese mit substantieller Wahrscheinlichkeit schwerwiegende und entweder großflächige oder langfristige Schäden an der Umwelt verursachen.

http://www.buendnis-oekozidgesetz.de/

 

 

KONTAKT (Media)

Tel.: 015770771048 (Peter Emorinken-Donatus) / 01779099385 (Janine Korduan)

Mail: ogoni9@blackcommunitycoaltion.de

Homepage: www.peace-int.org / www.blackcommunityhamburg.blackblogs.de

10 Nov
0

PRESS RELEASE – SHELL – RESPONSIBLE FOR INCESSANT OIL POLLUTION – ECOCIDE – MURDERS IN NIGERIA

by in Campaign, info, News, web

SHELL – RESPONSIBLE FOR INCESSANT OIL POLLUTION – ECOCIDE – MURDERS IN NIGERIA

Protest actions in Germany and Switzerland commemorating the 27th anniversary of the execution of the “Ogoni Nine”.

**Hamburg, Berlin, Lützerath, Cologne, Berne (CH) November 10th, 2022**

 

Shell is responsible for the massive environmental disaster (Ecocide) in the Niger Delta and should clean up polluted areas and compensate victims – Ecocide should be punishable under international law – Shell is complicit in the murder of environmental activist and winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists in the oil-rich Niger Delta of Nigeria – Activists must be protected worldwide!

 

– Oil billionaire Shell is responsible for henious environmental crimes (Ecocide)* as well as for neo-colonial exploitations in the Niger Delta, and has thus destroyed livelihoods in Ogoniland and the entire Niger Delta

– Shell should finally clean up its oil pollution as well as adequately und unconditionally pay compensations

– Serious environmental crimes – Ecocides – should be subject to criminal prosecution under international law

– Commemorating the murdered Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists of the (so-called “Ogoni Nine”): They had to die for their courageous and peaceful resistance against Shell’s Ecocide.

 

Today, on the 27th anniversary of the execution of the Nigerian writer and environmental activist KEN SARO-WIWA and eight other Ogoni activists, people around the world remember these courageous and pioneering activists from oil-rich Nigeria. Also here in Germany and Switzerland,  the “African / Black Community (ABC) Germany”, “Black Community Coalition for Justice and Self-Defense Hamburg”, Africans From Ukraine and “ARRiVATi – Community Care” are calling out for peaceful protests and actions to commemorate this day.

Activities of this year’s Memorial are planned and executed by a broad alliance of various movements, organizations and initiatives in Germany and Switzerland, in collaboration with the above-mentioned organizations of the Black Community: Ende Gelände, Bündnis Ökozidgesetz (Alliance for Ecocide Law), Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future (local groups), Fridays for Future Switzerland, Initiative Schwarzer Menschen in Deutschland (ISD), glokal, Care & Repair – Decolonial Think-Tank for Enviromental Justice, Students for Future (Cologne), Lutzi Bleibt!, Debt for Climate, End Fossil: Occupy, Pan-African Women’s Empowerment and Liberation Organisation (PAWLO), Decolonize Berlin.

Exactly 27 years ago, Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed along with eight other activists (BARINEM KIOBEL, SATURDAY DOBEE, PAUL LEVURA, NORDU EAWO, FELIX NUATE, DANIEL GBOKOO, JOHN KPUINEN, and BURIBOR BERA) in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. They peacefully protested against decades-long degradation of their environment by Shell’s reckless oil extraction, and thus the destruction of their livelihoods, and were murdered as a result. Although Shell claims to have cleaned up the massive oil spills in Ogoniland, the pollution is more catastrophic than ever. The Delta is now considered the worst Ecocide hotspot in the world: Environment devastated, livelihoods destroyed, health shattered! Basic social infrastructures, such as clean drinking water, schools, electricity, health care, etc., are lacking in most areas of the Niger Delta – despite the fact that big oil companies like Shell are making billions in profits there.

“While the oil multinationals are making billions of dollars, the local population continues to suffer from disasters such as oil and air pollution throughout the region,” says Ezekiel Gara-Ioo, Chair of the Niger Delta Community.

There is no end in sight to Ecocide in Nigeria. “Shell has never taken responsibility for anything,” says Patience Osaroejiji, head of the Coalition of Ogoni Women. “If you go to the places they say they cleaned up, you see that oil is still leaking there. Nothing can be planted there, not even grass grows there,” she adds. A recent UN report shows that the pollution there got even worse after Shell started cleanup efforts.

Peter Emorinken-Donatus, a long-time Shell critic, co-founder of the Ecocide Law Alliance, and a spokesperson for the African / Black Community (ABC) emphasizes, “We demand that Shell finally be held accountable for Ecocide in Ogoniland and the entire Niger Delta; that Ecocides are prosecuted under international law; and that neocolonial extractivism and colonial continuities be put to end. Corporations of the Global North make profits at the expense of the Global South. This must come to an end! Furthermore, we demand that victims of Ecocides and climate change be granted Refugee protection; and that African / BIPoC Refugees from Ukraine get the right of residence in Germany- End the racist selectivity!”

 

Background information on Shell’s oil extraktivism in the Niger Delta and the resistance against it

The small indigenous Ogoniland in the Niger Delta is located in the Southeast of Nigeria and is one of the most important oil hubs of the multi-ethnic state of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country (currently over 200 million). Around 500,000 people, mainly fishermen and farmers, live on an area of more than 1,000 square kilometers. Shell began oil production there in 1958, and by the early 1990s, the oil giant had generated an estimated US$30 billion.

Towards the end of the 1990s, Saro-Wiwa began mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Ogoni for peaceful protests, one of which was against the massive environmental destruction there by  Shell. The mobilization culminated in the signing of the “Ogoni Bill of Rights” in August 1990 by the  Council of Elders of the Ogonis; in it, they demanded an end to the serious environmental crimes in Ogoniland, the right to a clean environment, control over their natural resources, and extensive minority rights.

Following these developments, the Nigerian opposition in Germany as well as various environmental and human rights organizations and initiatives started a boycott campaign in aimed at exarting massive pressure on Shell. But the company knows how to help itself and begann a process to massively manipulate media and public opinions by means of “Kickback Journalism”, all in attempt to silence critics. In order to evade a conviction by a US court for human rights violations and thus a huge embarrassment, the company reached an out-of-court agreement with the relatives of Ken Saro-Wiwa on a compensation payment of US$15 million – an unmistakable admission of guilt!

However, the Niger Delta remains almost completely polluted. Due to Shell’s failure to maintain and protect its pipelines, millions of tons of crude oil seep into the soil in Nigeria every year. Although the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) highlighted the environmental disaster with a spectacular report as early as 2011, Shell is still not taking clear steps to pay for damages caused as well as to clean up Ogoniland and the entire Niger Delta.

Shell has been the dominant oil prospecting company in Nigeria since 1956, when it first discovered oil in the Niger Delta. The company has built more than 6,000 kilometers of pipelines, drilled more than 1,000 oil wells, and presently extracts 39% of Nigeria’s oil. Shell extracted oil in Ogoniland from the late 1950s until 1993, when it was forced to leave the area due to mass protests. The mass protests were led by Ken Saro-Wiwa, who accused the company of polluting farmlands and waters and contaminating the air. The military regime brutally cracked down on the protests and had Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists executed in 1995.

 

Background on Ken Saro-Wiwa

Ken Saro-Wiwa (Full name: Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa), born in 1941 in Bori (Nigeria), was an activist in the non-violent struggle against the massive destruction of the environment and means of livelihoods in the Niger Delta by the Shell. He was a recipient of the Alternative Nobel Prize, poet, human rights activist, writer and television producer. In 1989, the Ogoni people who inhabit part of the Niger Delta began to resist against the destruction of their environment and livelihoods. Under the leadership of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) was formed. The goals of the movement are political and cultural autonomy for the Ogonis within the framework of the Nigerian state, cleanup of areas damaged by oil extraction, and a share of the revenues accruing from oil extraction.

All these goals were to be achieved peacefully.

In January 1993, the movement mobilized about 300,000 people, more than half of the Ogoni population for protests. In order to suppress these erupting peaceful protests, because Shell’s image was at high risk, the corporation asked the military regime for help. Subsequently, the military wreaked havoc in the Ogoniland: more than 1,000 Ogonis were killed, tens of thousands displaced, and countless imprisoned, including the movement’s leader, Saro-Wiwa. In a staged trial, a military tribunal sentenced Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists to death for alleged murder. They were executed on November 10, 1995, despite international protests and threats of sanctions.

Ken Saro-Wiwa himself was awarded the Right Livelihood Award (1994) and the Goldman Environmental Prize (1995) while in prison: “The struggle itself is about hope, if I did not think there was hope in the future, I would not be fighting”.

 

Nation-wide activities and vigil in Germany and Switzerland:

HAMBURG (vigil): 4 p.m., Dammtor train station / 11 a.m. Shell headquarters, Suhrenkamp 71.

BERLIN (vigil): 6 p.m., at Shell gas station, Skalitzer Strasse 48.

COLOGNE: (demonstration & vigil) 3:30 p.m., opening rally at Albertus-Magnus-Platz, closing rally and vigil at Shell gas station, Venloerstraße 166

LÜTZERATH (vigil): 4 p.m.

BERN (vigil and information evening): from 4:30 p.m. at Bahnhofplatz Baldachin Bern

 

 

Donations for victims of the flood disaster in Nigeria:

Nigeria is currently experiencing an unprecedented flood disaster as a result of climate change. Over 700 dead, more than two million people have lost their homes and farmlands. Please donate here:

 

https://gofund.me/25cc9d70

*Ecocide definition: Unlawful or deliberate acts committed with the knowledge that they are substantially likely to cause serious and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment.

http://www.buendnis-oekozidgesetz.de/

 

 

CONTACT (Media)

Tel.: 015770771048 (Peter Emorinken-Donatus) / 01779099385 (Janine Korduan)

Mail: ogoni9@blackcommunitycoaltion.de

Homepage: www.peace-int.org / www.blackcommunityhamburg.blackblogs.de

 

09 Nov
0

Campaign in German and English: SHELL – VERANTWORTLICH FÜR ANHALTENDE ÖL-VERSCHMUTZUNG – ÖKOZID – UND MORDE IN NIGERIA/ SHELL – RESPONSIBLE FOR ONGOING OIL POLLUTION – ECOCIDE – AND MURDERS IN NIGERIA

by in Campaign, info, News, web

Scroll down for the English text:

SHELL – VERANTWORTLICH FÜR ANHALTENDE ÖL-VERSCHMUTZUNG – ÖKOZID – UND MORDE IN NIGERIA

– 10. November 2022: Proteste in Deutschland und der Schweiz zum 27. Jahrestag der Hinrichtung der “Ogoni Nine” –
**Hamburg, Berlin, Lützerath, Köln, Bern (CH)** 1

Shell ist verantwortlich für massive Umweltkatastrophe (Ökozid) im Niger-Delta und soll verseuchte Gebiete sanieren und Opfer entschädigen – Ökozid soll strafbar werden – Shell ist mitverantwortlich für Ermordung von Umweltaktivist und Träger des Alternativen Nobelpreises Ken Saro-Wiwa und acht weiteren Ogoni-Aktivisten im ölreichen Niger-Delta – Aktivist*innen müssen weltweit geschützt werden!

– Öl-Milliardär Shell ist verantwortlich für schwere Umweltverbrechen (Ökozid)* sowie neo-koloniale Ausbeutung im Niger-Delta und hat die Lebensgrundlagen im Ogoniland und im gesamten Niger-Delta vernichtet
– Shell soll die Ölverschmutzung endlich beseitigen sowie angemessen und bedingungslos Kompensationen zahlen
– Schwere Umweltverbrechen – Ökozide – sollen strafrechtlich verfolgt werden können
– Gedenken an den ermordeten Ken Saro-Wiwa und acht weitere Aktivisten des Ogoni-Volkes (sog. “Ogoni 9”): Für ihren mutigen und friedlichen Widerstand gegen Shells Ökozid mussten sie sterben.

English

SHELL – RESPONSIBLE FOR ONGOING OIL POLLUTION – ECOCIDE – AND MURDERS IN NIGERIA

– 10 November 2022: Protests in Germany and Switzerland to mark the 27th anniversary of the execution of the “Ogoni Nine” -.
**Hamburg, Berlin, Lützerath, Cologne, Bern (CH)** 1

Shell is responsible for massive environmental catastrophe (ecocide) in the Niger Delta and should clean up contaminated areas and compensate victims – Ecocide should become a punishable offence – Shell is partly responsible for the murder of environmental activist and winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists in the oil-rich Niger Delta – Activists must be protected worldwide!

– Oil billionaire Shell is responsible for serious environmental crimes (ecocide)* and neo-colonial exploitation in the Niger Delta and has destroyed livelihoods in Ogoniland and the entire Niger Delta.
– Shell should finally clean up the oil pollution and pay adequate and unconditional compensation
– Serious environmental crimes – ecocides – should be punishable under criminal law
– Commemorate the murdered Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists of the Ogoni people (so-called “Ogoni 9”): They had to die for their courageous and peaceful resistance against Shell’s ecocide.

 

 

06 Oct
0

PRESS RELEASE of the ABC Germany – Return of the Benin bronzes

by in Publications, Articles, Campaign, image, info, News, video, web

PRESS RELEASE– Return of the Benin bronzes – 

Berlin, 6 October 2022

The Benin bronzes are FINALLY returning home after 125 years. A very welcome development through many years of protracted struggle.

The British Queen is dead, but the monarchy that murdered our ancestors and stole the Benin bronzes lives on in our past, present and future. Her death brings back traumatising memories for us Africans/Blacks. When British soldiers invaded the Kingdom of Benin in 1897, they ransacked the royal palace and captured more than 5000 brass and ivory objects, including the head of a king. It was a German consul and businessman who bought this piece in Lagos a few weeks later. With him, the bronze made its way to Europe and landed in Berlin.

The news went around the world on 1 July 2022. Germany “releases” part of its “art treasure” from the stock of stolen so-called artefacts. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Nigeria and Germany on the return of the so-called Benin Bronzes of the Kingdom of Benin, stolen in 1897 during the colonial era. With this declaration, Germany undertakes to transfer the ownership of these sacred objects to their rightful owner, the Kingdom of Benin, represented by the State of Nigeria.

“What was stolen must be returned. It is as if a car belongs to me, but someone else is driving it,” Peju Layiwola (Nigerian art historian) said recently.

We, African / Black Community (ABC) Germany / Committee for an African Monument in Berlin (KADiB), welcome and are very happy about this long overdue decision. However, we cannot wait another day for this dream to become a reality. Put an end to the business plan of robbery and receiving stolen goods!

We are also aware of a planned return of the so-called Ngonnso sculpture. The Ngonnso sculpture represents the origin, spirituality and culture of the Nso people of Cameroon.

Almost three months ago (09.07.2022), the King of Fontem / Bangwa (Cameroon), H. M. Asabaton Fontem Njifua, was a guest at the Cologne Rauthenstrauch-Joest-Museum.

Led by the King himself, the Cameroonian delegation is demanding the immediate return of, among other things, a sacred sculpture – the “Lefem” shrine – of the Bangwa People, which the German colonialists stole during the cruel German colonial rule in Cameroon.

As much as we are happy about these developments, we can only see them as a beginning. They are unmistakable stage results of our tireless and relentless decades-long anti-colonial / anti-racist resistance struggles to decolonise society, both in this country and in motherland Africa.

Our ultimate goal therefore remains unequivocally:

  • the unconditional return of all looted objects from the colonial era,
  • the immediate return of countless bones of our ancestors that are still stashed away in cellars of German museums and research institutions,
  • the complete and unconditional decolonisation of all neo-colonial and imperial power constructs or power systems in the motherland Africa.

We do not need tranquillisers! To ensure that these new welcome developments do not remain mere lip service in the end, the federal government of Germany must follow up with serious deeds in a recognisable manner. Therefore, we emphasise here once again our demands to the German Federal Government and German society as a whole:

  • The swift and inclusive implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 1 July 2022 between Germany and Nigeria on the return of the stolen Benin bronze – inclusive because: Everything about us without us is against us!
  • The immediate return of all already identified colonially encumbered collection items, such as the Ngonnso sculpture of the Nso people as well as the sanctuary of the Bangwa People, “Lefem”, etc.
  • The immediate and unconditional return of the bones of our ancestors – victims of German genocides in Africa – which were unlawfully confiscated in German museums and research institutions.
  • The transfer of provenance research of unidentified stolen African collection items from colonial contexts to Africa, under the supervision of the African Union (AU). It is infuriating and highly unacceptable that these shrines are still in the possession of the perpetrators, legally.
  • The establishment of a central memorial as a place of remembrance and learning about colonialism and neo-colonialism, as stated in the coalition agreement of the current German government. We also call for a comprehensive reappraisal of German colonial history and its continuities at all levels.
  • The payment of compensation to all victims of German colonialism or genocide in Africa. This process should start with assessments monitored by the African Union through negotiations with civil society in Africa, the African Diaspora and representatives of the respective African governments.

We are already calling on everyone to participate in the 17th commemorative march in honour of the African/Black heroines and victims of Maafa (“The Great Destruction” in Africa).

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FVDNvhzBbL4

This commemorative march will take place on Saturday, 25 February 2023 in Berlin (Wilhelmstraße 92), as always on the last Saturday of February, in commemoration of the end of the ominous Berlin Africa Conference of 1884/85.

Furthermore, we call on all African / Black organisations, initiatives and activists in Germany to actively participate in the design and implementation of the commemoration March and the accompanying programme.

#UnitedWeRise 

CONTACT: Tel: 0152 159 286 58 / Mail: abcberlin19@gmail.com / Facebook, YouTube, Twitter & Instagram 

06 Oct
0

PRESSEMITTEILUNG der ABC Deutschland – Rückgabe der Benin-Bronzen

by in Publications, Articles, Campaign, info, News, video, web

PRESSEMITTEILUNG

– Rückgabe der Benin-Bronzen – Berlin, 6. Oktober 2022

Die Benin-Bronzen kehren nach 125 Jahren ENDLICH heim. Eine sehr erfreuliche Entwicklung durch langjährigen und langwierigen Kampf.

Die britische Königin ist tot, aber die Monarchie, die unsere Vorfahren ermordete und die Benin-Bronzen gestohlen haben, lebt in unserer Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft weiter. Ihr Tod weckt bei uns Afrikaner*Innen / Schwarzen traumatisierende Erinnerungen. Als britische Soldaten 1897 in das Königreich Benin einmarschierten, plünderten sie den Königspalast und erbeuteten mehr als 5000 Gegenstände aus Messing und Elfenbein, darunter auch den Kopf eines Königs. Es war ein deutscher Konsul und Geschäftsmann, der dieses Stück einige Wochen später in Lagos kaufte. Mit ihm machte sich die Bronze auf den Weg nach Europa und landete in Berlin.Benin Bronzkopf

Die Nachricht ging am 1. Juli 2022 um die ganze Welt. Deutschland gibt einen Teil seines “Kunstschatzes” aus dem Bestand gestohlener sog. Artefakte “frei“. Eine Absichtserklärung zwischen Nigeria und Deutschland über die Rückgabe der 1897 in der Kolonialzeit gestohlenen sog. Benin-Bronzen des Königreichs Benin wurde unterzeichnet. Mit dieser Erklärung verpflichtet sich Deutschland das Eigentumsrecht dieser Heiligtümer an seinen rechtmäßigen Besitzer, das Königsreich Benin, vertreten durch den Staat Nigeria, zu übertragen.

“Was gestohlen wurde, muss zurückgegeben werden. Es ist, als gehöre mir ein Auto, aber ein anderer fährt es”, sagt kürzlich Peju Layiwola (nigerianische Kunsthistorikerin).

Wir, African / Black Community (ABC) Germany / Komitee für ein Afrikanisches Denkmal in Berlin (KADiB), begrüßen und freuen uns sehr über diese längst fällige Entscheidung. Wir können jedoch nicht noch einen weiteren Tag warten, bis dieser Traum Realität wird. Schluss mit dem Businessplan Raub und Hehlerei!

Uns ist auch eine geplante Rückgabe der sog. Ngonnso-Skulptur bekannt. Die Ngonnso-Skulptur stellt den Ursprung, die Spiritualität und die Kultur des Nso-Volkes in Kamerun dar.

Vor fast drei Monaten (09.07.2022) war der König von Fontem / Bangwa (Kamerun), S. M. Asabaton Fontem Njifua, beim Kölner Rauthenstrauch-Joest-Museum zu Gast.

Angeführt vom König höchstpersönlich, fordert die kamerunische Delegation die unverzügliche Rückgabe, u. a. einer sakralen Skulptur – des Heiligtums “Lefem” – der Bangwa, die die deutschen Kolonialisten während der grausamen deutschen Kolonialherrschaft in Kamerun gestohlen haben.

 

So sehr wir uns über diese Entwicklungen freuen, umso mehr können wir sie nur als einen Anfang betrachten. Es sind unverkennbare Etappenergebnisse unserer unermüdlichen und unnachgiebigen, jahrzehntelangen antikolonialen / antirassistischen Widerstandskämpfe zur Dekolonisierung der Gesellschaft, sowohl hierzulande als auch im Mutterland Afrika.

Unser Endziel bleibt daher unmissverständlich weiterhin:

  • die bedingungslose Rückgabe aller geraubten Gegenstände aus der Kolonialzeit,
  • die unverzügliche Rückführung unzähliger Gebeine unserer Vorfahren, die immer noch in Kellern deutscher Museen und Forschungseinrichtungen gebunkert sind,
  • die vollständige und bedingungslose Dekolonialisierung aller neokolonialen und imperialen Machtkonstrukte bzw. Machtsystematiken im Mutterland Afrika.

Wir brauchen keine Beruhigungspillen! Damit diese neuen erfreulichen Entwicklungen nicht am Ende nur Lippenbekenntnisse bleiben, muss die Bundesregierung der BRD ernsthafte Taten erkennbar folgen lassen. Daher betonen wir hier nochmal unsere Forderungen an die deutsche Bundesregierung und die deutsche Gesellschaft als Ganze:

  • Die rasche und inklusive Umsetzung der am 1. Juli 2022 unterzeichneten Absichtserklärung zwischen Deutschland und Nigeria über die Rückgabe der gestohlenen Benin-Bronze – inklusiv, weil: Alles über uns ohne uns ist gegen uns!
  • Die unverzügliche Rückgabe aller bereits identifizierten kolonial belasteten Sammlungsgüter, wie die Ngonnso-Skulptur des Nso-Volkes sowie das Heiligtum der Bangwa, “Lefem” etc.
  • Die unverzügliche und bedingungslose Rückführung der Gebeine unserer Vorfahren – Opfer deutscher Genozide in Afrika – die in deutschen Museen und Forschungseinrichtungen unrechtmäßig konfisziert wurden.
  • Die Verlegung der Provenienzforschung der unidentifizierten gestohlenen afrikanischen Sammlungsgüter aus kolonialem Kontext nach Afrika, unter Aufsicht der Afrikanischen Union (AU). Es macht wütend und ist äußerst inakzeptabel, dass sich diese Heiligtürmer immer noch im Besitz der Täter befinden, und zwar ganz legal.
  • Die Errichtung eines zentralen Denkmals als Erinnerungs- und Lernort zum Kolonialismus und Neokolonialismus, wie es im Koalitionsvertrag der aktuellen deutschen Bundesregierung steht. Ebenso fordern wir die umfassende Aufarbeitung deutscher Kolonialgeschichte und ihrer Kontinuitäten auf allen Ebenen.
  • Die Zahlung von Entschädigungen an alle Opfer des deutschen Kolonialismus bzw. Völkermords in Afrika. Dieser Prozess sollte mit Bewertungen beginnen, die von der Afrikanischen Union durch Verhandlungen mit der Zivilgesellschaft in Afrika, der afrikanischen Diaspora und Vertreter*innen der jeweiligen afrikanischen Regierungen überwacht werden.

Bereits jetzt rufen wir alle zum 17. Gedenkmarsch zu Ehren der afrikanischen / Schwarzen Held*Innen und Opfer der Maafa („Die Große Zerstörung“ in Afrika) auf.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FVDNvhzBbL4

Dieser Gedenkmarsch findet am Samstag, 25. Febraur 2023 in Berlin (Wilhelmstraße) statt, wie immer am letzten Samstag des Monats Febraur, in Anlehnung an das Ende der ominösen Berliner Afrika-Konferenz von 1884/85.

Des Weiteren rufen wir alle afrikanische / Schwarze Organisationen, Initiativen und Aktiv*innen in Deutschland auf, bei der Gestaltung und Durchführung des Gedenkmarschs und des dazugehörigen Begleitprogramms aktiv mitzuwirken.

#UnitedWeRise

KONTAKT:

Tel: 0152 159 286 58 / Mail: abcberlin19@gmail.com / / Facebook, YouTube, Twitter & Instagram 

 

09 Mar
0

The African/Black Community (ABC) – Network of Africans /Black people in Germany

by in Campaign, image, info, News, Testimonies, web

The ABC is a German-wide Afrocentric and Pan-African network of Organisations and individual activists. It is run under the auspices of exclusively African and/or Blacks people with African genealogical roots (hence, the name African/Black Community) whose objectives are stipulated in its Code of Conduct (CoC) and Policy Paper (PP).

Aims/Objectives

Although the main idea of an ABC sprang up at the Black Community Congress held from the 18th  to 20th  October 2002 in Löhne-Gohfeld and subsequent meetings in 2004 in Berlin, the first practical consultation meeting called for by African activists within „The VOICE Refugee Forum” however took place in 2005 in Göttingen. The objective was to bring together again diverse African/Black activists from different Organisations, with the aims of networking and of a collective development of activities, galvanized and inspired by our Struggle for JUSTICE for Oury Jalloh and all other Sisters and Brothers killed by the German State terror, through structural and institutional racism, in short Systemic Racism.

The main objective of these meetings and other consultative engagements that later continued until 2011 was to breach the conflictual understanding of “Identity representation, class and privileges” within the Community. From 2013, the impulse was reignited by new activists and networks from within the Community, with help from those who followed up the previous processes since 2005. And here we are today.

How did the name ABC come about and is it the same as BC (Black Community)?

The name came about after a long deliberation about our objectives, which were to bring together again diverse African/Black activists from different Organisations, with the aims of networking and of a collective development of activities that would strengthen our independence (or reduce our dependence on) from the White majority society in which we find ourselves. It is the same as the Black Community (BC) in many levels and ways, but some of the differences are expressed in our conviction that uplifting Africa (through different liberation struggles, engagements and achievements) is at the centre of all our engagements. We follow the principle of self-organisation and intra-supportive community mechanisms and processes.

That said, it would not be a genuine process to talk about the history of the ABC just by recounting our experiences and Community engagements since the first Black Community Congress in 2001. While acknowledging the roles played by individual activists and Networks in the process of establishing and recording this rich history, a rather legitimate appraisal would be to formulate questions that can be used to express the background and documentation of the process of founding the ABC, the African / Black Community in Germany. This would enable the participation of many, in documenting our history of the foundation of the network.

Contact us and be part of our struggles and empowerment processes.

Tel: 0152 159 286 58  

Email: abcberlin19@gmail.com 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/africanblackcommunity/

18 Feb
0

PRESS RELEASE #01 of the ABC – KADIB – 16th MEMORIAL MARCH IN COMMEMORATION OF AFRICAN / BLACK HEROES / HEROINES AND VICTIMS OF THE MAAFA

by in Publications, Articles, Campaign, image, info, News, web

PRESS RELEASE #01:
Hashtag: #UnitedWeRise

For the 16th consecutive year, the “Committee for an African Monument in Berlin” (KADIB), represented by the “African / Black Community” (ABC), invites the general public to join us for our annual Memorial March in commemoration of the African / Black (S)heroes / Heroines and victims of the Maafa. “Maafa” (Kiswaheli) means “The Great Destruction” in Africa: Enslavement, Colonialism and Genocides, Neo-Colonialism and Ecocides, Nazism and Racism.

DATE: Saturday, 26.02.2022
TIME: 11:00 am to 16:00 pm
LOCATION: WilhelmStrasse 92, 10117 Berlin

As every year, the Memorial March begins here with wreath-laying ceremony and speeches. At the invitation of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the infamous “Berlin Africa Conference” began on 15 November, 1884 in Berlin (Reichskanzlerpalais, Wilhelm-Strasse 77) and ended there on 26 February, 1885. Berlin, as the capital of Germany, was therefore purposely chosen as the location for the Memorial March, because of its colonial legacies, but also because of its involvement in Africa’s current plights.
The Memorial March ends with a rally at the Humboldt Forum.

#AfrikaIsBleeding: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, to name but a few.

We call on the general public, especially the African / Black / “BIPoC” Communities, to participate in the Memorial March, to mobilise for it, to support our cause and demands as well as to intensify pressure on the German Federal Government to at least expeditiously implement measures agreed upon in the coalition contract of the new German Federal Government dealing on Germany’s colonial legacy (see below).
The motto of this year’s Memorial March is “United We Rise! “, and thus, our hashtag “#UnitedWeRise”.

The Memorial March will definitely take place as an outdoor physical activity. Due to the Corona pandemic, all planned supporting events have already been cancelled. All Corona-related safety and hygiene regulations will be observed during the Memorial March!
We would be very pleased if you could announce and report on this historically important event (pre-event and post-event reporting). You are of course also cordially invited to the Memorial March. In addition, we are available for interviews as well as for general information on the Memorial March.

Also this year, we are marching to honour and pay tribute to our heroic Freedom Fighters who fought against the Maafa as well as the victims of the Maafa. We emphatically declare our decades-old demand: the erection of a central monument in Berlin to serve as a place for commemoration and extracurricular learning about colonialism and neo-colonialism. We are also marching to protest against colonial continuities, against all facets and levels of racism, but also against Europe’s racist and deadly migration policy towards Africa.

We are taking to the streets once again to draw lines between the past and the present:
534 years after the dawn of the Maafa in Africa. 500 years after the launch of the Transatlantic Enslavement. 137 years after sealing the transformation from enslavement into colonisation of Africa (Berlin Conference). 117 years after the inexplicably gruesome genocides of the Germans against the peoples of Herero and Nama in present today Namibia. 77 years after the forced recruitment of African soldiers and the menace of economic exploitation of the continent for World War II and the detention and murder of Blacks in Concentration Camps in Germany – suckered, racially segregated, exploited, abused and killed, undocumented and forgotten. 60 years after the murder of Patrice Lumumba in the Congo. More than 45 years after the Soweto Massacre in apartheid South Africa. 92 years after the historic anti-colonial and anti-racist Aba Women’s Revolt (also known as “Women’s War”) in South East of present-day Nigeria. 57 years after the murder of Malcolm X (USA) and 54 years after the assassination of Martin Luther King (USA). 31 years after the murder of Amadeu Antonio in Eberswalde (Germany). 21 years after the murder of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa (Nigeria) and eight other Ogoni activists. 17 years after the murder of Oury Jalloh in Dessau (Germany). 13 years after the murder of Marwa El-Sherbini in Dresden (Germany). 11 years after the murder of Christy Schwundeck at the Job Centre in Frankfurt-am-Main. Eight years after Lampedusa (Mediterranean / Italy). Three years after the murder of Marielle Franco in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rita Awour Ojungé in Hohenleipisch (Germany) and the psychiatric patient William Tonou-Mbobda in Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany). More than one and a half years after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis (USA). Just to name but a few!

The initiator of the Committee for an African Monument in Berlin (KADIB), Prof. Kapet de Bana† (RIP), had constantly reiterated:
“While we march, remains of our Ancestors and artefacts that have preserved our cultures and cultural treasures are still been displayed in German / European museums. We demand the repatriation of everything stolen by Germany from Africa.” Prof. Kapet de Bana also persistently reminded the world of the right and duty to remember.

The campaigning organisations and initiatives have long demanded (also this year) not only the erection of a central Monument as a place for commemoration and extracurricular learning about colonialism and neo-colonialism, they are also demanding a comprehensive reappraisal of German colonial history and continuities as well as an earnest approach of confronting institutional and structural racism, as also stated in the Agenda 2025 of the Federal Conference of Migrant Organisations (BKMO) and as declared by UN’s International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024).

Colonial legacy remains topical in Germany, critical in its relation to racism, explosive in terms of foreign policy and, above all, existentially important for those affected in Africa and other colonised regions of the so-called Global South. Therefore, we are pleased to note that parts of our demands have been included in the coalition contract of the new German Federal Government, which states:

“In order to advance the reappraisal of German colonial legacy, we also support the digitisation and Provenance Research of colonially strained collections and make them accessible on platforms. In dialogue with the societies of origin, we strive for restitution and deeper interdepartmental international cooperation. In particular, we support the return of objects from a colonial context. We are also developing a concept for a place for commemoration and extracurricular learning about colonialism.”
[Coalition Contract between the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), p. 125, Chapter VI, section “Colonial Legacy”]

We also welcome the announcement by the German Federal Government about the long-overdue return of looted (“sacred”) so-called Benin artefacts to Nigeria. These developments must be seen as “only a beginning” and we recognise them as partial victory which is a product of our vigorous and relentless decade-long anti-colonial / anti-racist resistance struggles in this country but also in Motherland Africa at large. Nevertheless, many of our sacred artefacts, treasures, statues and works of art that exhibit African traditional religious and belief systems, such as the Ngonso sculpture representing the origin and culture of the Nso People (Cameroon), are still stashed away in basements in Berlin and elsewhere in Germany.

Nevertheless, our ultimate goal remains unequivocal, which is the complete and unconditional decolonisation of all neo-colonial and imperial power constructs and systems in Motherland Africa.

We call on the German Federal Government to at least swiftly and inclusively implement the above-mentioned agreement in the coalition contract. Going by more than 500 years of experience, we presume that such announcements like those of the new German Federal Government could at the end remain only lip service. But we do not need any tranquilizers! These announcements by the new German Federal Government must be followed up with earnest and visible actions – Everything about us without us is against us!

CONTACT:
Tel: 0152 159 286 58 / Mail: abcberlin19@gmail.com / Facebook, YouTube, Twitter & Instagram

Organiser: “Committee for an African Monument in Berlin” (KADiB), represented by the network “African / Black Community” (ABC). The following organisations and initiatives are considered here as co-organizers / supporters:

1) Afrikanischer Dachverband Norddeutschland – ADV-Nord
2) Afrika-Rat – Dachverband afrikanischer -Vereine und Initiativen Berlin Brandenburg
3) African / Black Community Networks
4) Africavenir International
5) Afropolitan Berlin
6) AFROTAK TV cyberNomads
7) Arbeitskreis Panafrikanismus Muenchen
8) Afrikabund Hamburg
9) Berliner Entwicklungspolitischer Ratschlag BER
10) Berlin Global Village e.V.
11) Berlin Postkolonial
12) Black Nation Germany
13) Buendnis „Decolonize Berlin“
14) Buendnis „Voelkermord verjaehrt nicht!“
15) EOTO (Each One Teach One)
16) Global Afrikan Congress
17) Initiative in Gedenken an Oury Jalloh
18) Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD-Bund)
19) Pan-African Women Liberation & Empowerment Organisation – PAWLO Germany
20) P.E.A.C.E (Peer Exchange of African Communities for Empowerment) Germany
21) The VOICE Refugee Forum Germany
22) Zentralrat der afrikanischen Gemeinde in Deutschland

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