This leaflet was published by antifa λευkoşa in December of 2014.
NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL!
The european/state laws alongside their media and political counterparts make certain people “illegal” and less important, highlighting them as a threat to the integrity of the nation-state. These people are usually refugees of war, political dissidents or poverty-stricken immigrants who rarely have the luxury of obtaining papers from their governments. The result of this immigration policy is the devaluation of their labor leading to exploitation by local bosses. This drives them to poverty and marginalises them, making them an easy target for fascist thugs.
The devaluation of immigrants’ labor is a problem for the entire working class. Their belittlement causes problems for every life that can be considered unnecessary or unwanted: political opponents, turkish cypriots, prostitutes etc. Also, the “unwanted” are used as the scapegoat and considered responsible for everything wrong with our society and economy. The strategy of “divide and conquer” between the oppressed and the creation of imaginery enemies helps spread fear of the “Other,” which leads to projecting the state and the fascists as protectors of some integral identity and security which is supposedly threatened.
Cyprus, as an entry point for Europe and a country with large migration flows, has adopted repressive strategies to handle the migrant population. One of these is the creation of a concentration camp at Menogeia, which is officially called an “immigrant detention center.” If an immigrant is deemed “illegal” from the state, then he/she is held for 6 months. Detainment can be renewed for another 6 months, and in certain occasions for an extra 6 months. When a court order or an order from the ministry of interior is issued, immigrants are either deported or set free. If the maximum limit of 18 months is exceeded, a temporary stay permit must be issued.
At the Menogeia concentration camp, with a capacity of 350 people, living conditions are awful. Immigrants face physical and psychological violence. They are deprived of fresh air (and if this is allowed it is only for 2.5 hours a day), medical care and communication with the outside world whenever those responsible decide. They are forced to live in mundane cells (8 people per 18sq.m. rooms which are locked at night) and face the cops’ arbitrariness.
There are various accounts from immigrants regarding the detainment conditions, such as that of the 6 Iranian hunter strikers from August 2014, whose detainment surpassed the maximum limit of 18 months. Also, there are accounts from women who were violently separated from their children. In 6 months, within 2014 there were 5 attempted suicides. A recent report of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture reports complaints of physical and verbal abuse from cops, use of tear gas and imprisonment of more than 2 people in cells smaller than 7 square meters. We stand by the struggles of the immigrants who fight for a better life, against concentration camps and Fortress-Europe. Our goal is not the improvement of living conditions for immigrants inside the camps but their permanent closure.
NO CONCENTRATION CAMPS!
AGAINST COPS, FASCISTS AND BOSSES!
antifa nicosia