KDO STOJI ZA “MIGRACIJSKIMI KRIZAMI”?

EVROPSKI IMPERIALIZEM!

(English below)

Ste pri novem valu medijskega poročanja o migracijah na poljsko-beloruski meji prepoznali kakšen ponavljajoč se vzorec? Mar ni vsakih nekaj let v medijih podobna “begunska kriza”, ki se seli iz enega konca Evrope na drugega in za nekaj tednov okupira domišljijo meščanske javnosti? Pred desetletjem smo imeli Ceuto in Melillo, nato Lampeduso, leta 2015 je prišla balkanska pot, zdaj je na vrsti Poljska. Vsakič imamo opravka z isto spektakularizacijo trplenja – prikazen biblijskih množic, ki so hkrati napadalci in žrtve. Vsakič nastopi ista moralna panika o uničenju Evrope, vsakič se najde v zgodbi kakšen hudoben lokalni samodržec, vsakič se mešajo isti nasprotujoči si izrazi: begunski val, kriza, pritisk na meje, človekove pravice, vojska, humanost… In med vsakim takim spektaklom v poročanju skrivnostno manjka kakršna koli omemba glavnega akterja dogajanja: imperialnih sil. Namesto, da bi v humanitarni krizi videli uveljavljanje evropskih interesov na njeni periferiji, je kriza načrtno depolitizirana – seveda, da gledalec v spektaklu trplenja ne more prepoznati pravega krivca.

Toda t.i. “migracijske krize” se ne zgodijo v političnem vakumu. Spektakel trpljenja, ki se seli iz ene periferne države v drugo, je posledica specifičnih političnih odločitev zahodnih velesil pri nadzorovanju globalnih resursov. Zagotovo ne moremo spregledati, da so žrtve/napadalci na evropskih mejah vedno in povsod prebivalci nekdanjih evropskih kolonij. Nekateri so iz držav, ki so ostale ekonomsko podvržene in zadolžene nekdanjim gospodarjem (Alžirija, Maroko, Tunizija, Nigerija, Kongo…), drugi pa iz držav, ki so se poskušale tudi ekonomsko osamosvojiti od imperialnih sil in so bile za to brutalno kaznovane z vojaškimi invazijami (Libija, Irak, Sirija, Afganistan, Palestina…). Kakšno povezavo imajo vsi ti ljudje z Evropo danes? Dejanko bi lahko bili državljani EU in ZDA, saj le-te obvladujejo večino njihovih resursov, jim določajo voditelje in se poganjajo z njihovo delovno silo.

Vprašanje dela je ključno – prebivalci bivših kolonij so nekoč lahko potovali na delo v Zahodno Evropo, kjer so poganjali čudežno povojno gospodarsko rast, v 90ih pa so evropske gospodarske sile našle nov bazen poceni delavcev v bivših socialističnih republikah, ki so jih preko šengenskega sporazuma strateško integrirale v imeprialni red. To je pomenilo, da je milijone delavcev in beguncev zunaj šengenskih meja ostalo odrezanih od virov preživetja, edini način vstopa v EU pa je postal azil. Tako smo v 90ih dobili prve “begunske krize”, prve spektakle trplenja, prve begunske ladje in mrtve v Mediteranu. Z uničenjem legalnih poti in mejne pretočnosti, je nastala “podzemna železnica” za skrito prehajanje meja. Ob tihotapski industriji je zrastlo tudi samoniklo migrantsko gibanje, množična mobilizacija ljudi za dostop do bogatih držav, ki so bogatele na njihov račun. In na drugi strani je zrastel militarizirani mejni režim z neštetimi podizvajalci: t.i. Trdnjava Evropa.

Imperialne sile so na iregularne migracije reagirale z eksternalizacijo meja – oborožile in financirale so kolaborantske vlade na periferiji EU, da pri njih zadržujejo migrante. Te so vzele evropski denar in orožje, ter zgradile nehumana taborišča za zadrževanje obubožanih množic. Toda ta strategija EU v vojni proti migracijam je imela eno veliko pomanjklivost: ustvarila je velike koncentracije ljudi, ki na periferiji EU živijo v skrajno težkih razmerah, ti pa lahko postanejo pogajalsko orodje držav z imperialnim središčem. Ko se je Gaddafi znašel pod napadom koalicije ZDA/VB, se je zatekel h grožnjam o množičnih migracijah Afričanov v Evropo. Erdogan je v sporazumih z EU izsilil milijarde evrov izplačil, da zadržuje migrante na turških tleh. Leta 2015 je na vrhuncu evropske dolžniške krize vlada grške Syrize imela bolj malo razlogov, da bi za Nemčijo še naprej izvajala mejno represijo. Grčiji je sledil tudi Orban, ki je postavil Angelo Merkel pred hudo preizkušnjo in jo prisilil, da odpre meje za begunce. Tej pogajalski strategiji se reče “weapons of mass migration” in je bila zgodovinsko večkrat koristna za polperiferne države v podrejenih položajih. Nenazadnje je tudi Slovenija ena izmed držav, ki strateško uporablja svoj položaj šengenske države v pogajanjih z Brusljem (in se tudi krčevito bori, da ji tega lukrativnega položaja z vstopom v Šengen ne bi odnesla Hrvaška). EU pa nasprotno grozi državam, ki nočejo sprejemati deportirancev, z gospodarskimi in vizumskimi sankcijami.

Tako imamo tri akterje: imperialno središče, ki želi obvladovati resurse in pretok delovne sile, polperiferne države, ki so vpete v vzdrževanje imperija, ter migrante z globalne periferije, ki so odrezani od sredstev za preživetje in lahko preživijo le s fizično selitvijo v imperialni center. Spor med prvima dvema tako odpre vrata priložnosti migrantskemu gibanju. To se je zgodilo leta 2015, ko se je na Balkanu zakuhal “popoln vihar” množične koncentracije beguncev iz Sirije in sporov bogatih evropskih držav z evropsko periferijo. Begunci so izkoristili priložnost in z velikimi žrtvami uspeli izsiliti zgodovinski humanitarni koridor. Takrat vlogo imperialnih varuhov meja namesto Grčije in Turčije prevzela tudi kolaboranstka vlada Slovenije, ki je igrala ključno vlogo pri zaprtju humanitarnega koridorja – Cerar je bil celo prvi predlagatelj strategije zapiranja, ki sta se ji potem pridružila Makedonija in kasneje Hrvaška (ne pozabimo, da je bila Hrvaška v slovenskih medijih najprej hudobna država, ki je “potiskala migrante čez slovensko mejo”, na kar je Cerar “moral odgovoriti” z rezilno žico na meji – zdaj, ko Hrvaška z brutalnim nasiljem potiska migrante nazaj v BiH pa ni več tako hudobna).

Kaj se torej danes dogaja na poljsko-beloruski meji? Kontekst je več kot jasen: imperialna koalicija ZDA in EU že desetletja izvajata ekonomsko in vojaško ekspanzijo v vzhodno evropske države, ki spadajo pod vplivno območje Rusije. Belorusija, ki jo pretresa notranja politična kriza, se je izkazala za šibek člen in je zato pristala v središču evropskih pritiskov. Lukašenko je v boju proti evropskim sankcijam morda res uporabil tudi strategijo “weapons of mass migration”, toda Belorusija nima velike koncentracije beguncev in ne leži na prehodnem območju. Temu primerno majhna je tudi sama mobilizacija beguncev v gibanju. Število tistih, ki so se odločili za let ali kopensko pot v oddaljeno Belorusijo je zgolj nekaj tisoč – manj, kot se jih že nekaj let nahaja v enako grozljivih razmerah v BiH. Retorika o zlobnemu diktatorju, ki “sili begunce čez mejo” je povsem zavržna. Lukašenku lahko očitamo marsikaj, a na udaru se je znašel prav zato, ker ne igra vloge poslušnega podizvajalca evropskega mejnega režima. Begunci so se za tvegano pot skozi Belorusijo odločili sami – vedo, da se razpoka te vrste v Trdnjavi Evrope pojavi le na vsakih nekaj let in jo je potrebno izkoristiti. In ne pozabimo, kdo je preusmeril migrantsko pot iz Balkana v oddaljeno Belorusijo: to sta slovenska in hrvaška policija, ki sta zaprla južno pot s sistematičnimi nasilnimi pushbacki in mučenjem migrantov.

Za humanitarno krizo in smrti v Belorusiji je torej potrebno pogledati na evropsko stran meje. Poljska policija je namreč tista, ki brutalizirata begunce, kot bi dobesedno posnemala taktike, ki so jih nedavno razvili naši policisti na Balkanu. In humanitarna kriza na meji se je zgodila zato, ker to zahteva EU, ta zahteva pa ustreza notranje-političnim interesom konzervativne Poljske vlade. Ta bi lahko preprosto rekla, da bo pustila prosilcem za azil prestopiti državo in uveljavljati svojo pravico v ciljni državi Nemčiji. Toda poljska vlada prav tako v tem trenutku potrebuje svoj spektakel, da preusmeri pozornost domačih volilcev od lastnih škandalov in se pozicionira kot braniteljica naroda.

Velika ironija spopadov na meji je v tem, da Poljska ne brani meje zase, saj si niti en begunec ne želi ostati tam – brani jo za svoje domnevne “sovražnice”, bogate “vladavine prava” na zahodu EU. Odtod tudi zmedeno poročanje evropskega medijskega establišmenta, ki ne ve, kako naj obravnava nepriljubljeno poljsko vlado: na eni strani jo obravnava kot žrtev “Lukašenkovega napada” in predstavlja migrante kot gverilsko vojsko, na drugi strani pa pretaka krokodilje solze nad ubogimi migranti, obtožuje Poljsko kršitev človekovih pravic in jo kara, ker noče sprejeti na svoje meje evropske mejne policije Frontex – ki je, mimogrede, bistveno bolj koruptivna in nasilna kršiteljica človekovih pravic, kot je poljska policija!

Vso to spektakularizacijo in medijske spine moramo najostreje zavrniti. Begunci niso nemočne žrtve diktatorskega lutkarja, ampak se aktivno borijo za svojo svobodo in pravico do boljšega življenja. Bogate države EU niso braniteljice njihovih človekovih pravic, ampak so okupatorke in izkoriščevalke njihovih dežel, ki jim zdaj s pomočjo skrajno desne poljske vlade z najbolj odurnimi metodami preprečujejo dostop do azila. In kar je ključno: številni ljudje na Poljskem in širom Evrope vidijo onkraj teh geopolitičnih igric in se povezujejo v solidarnosti do migrantskega gibanja – izvajajo proteste in prihajajo pomagati na teren. Pridružujemo se jim v brezpogojni solidarnosti z migranti, zahtevi po koncu pushbackov, koncu eksternalizacije mejnega režima, koncu vojaških avantur NATA in ekonomskemu podjarmljanju tujih držav. Tako na Poljskem kot v Sloveniji si ne želimo biti podizvajalci imperialnih politik! Naj bo trenutna vojna na poljski meji udarec Trdnjavi Evrope, ne pa spodbuda za njeno krepitev.

Kdor pa je tiho o imperializmu, naj molči tudi o humanitarni krizi na meji!

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Begunce na poti lahko direktno podprete tudi z donacijami – obrnite se na stran “Support refugees in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania”
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English:

Who is behind the “migrant crisis?”

European Imperialism!

Did you recognize any familiar themes with the new wave of media reports about migrations on the Polish-Belarusian border? Isn’t there another new “refugee crisis” in the media every few years, which moves from one end of Europe to the other, and for a few weeks occupies the imagination of the bourgeois public? A decade ago we had Ceuta and Melilla, then Lampedusa, in 2015 there was the Balkan route, and now it is Poland’s turn. Every time we have the same spectacle of suffering – the display of the biblical hordes, which are simultaneously aggressors and victims. Every time we have the same moral panic about the destruction of Europe, in every story appears some evil local autocrat, and every time the same contradictory terms appear: wave of refugees, crisis, pressure on the border, human rights, the military, humanity… And between every reported spectacle, there is a concealed omission of any mention of the main cause of these events: imperialist force. Instead of seeing, in the humanitarian crisis, the realization of European interests on its periphery, the crisis is deliberately depoliticized – of course, so that the viewer of the spectacle of suffering can’t recognize who is actually responsible.

Likewise, these “migrant crises” don’t happen in a political vacuum. The spectacle of suffering, which moves from one peripheral country to another, is a direct consequence of specific political decisions made by Western superpowers for the sake of securing global resources. We certainly cannot overlook that the ‘victim/aggressors’ on the European borders are everywhere, and in every case, residents of former European colonies. Some are from countries which remained defacto economic dependencies to their former occupiers (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, Congo, etc.), while others are from countries which attempted to liberate themselves economically from imperialist forces, and were for this reason victims of military retribution and invasion (Libya, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine, etc.) What connection do these people have to Europe today? Frankly, they could be citizens of the EU and the United States, given that these control the majority of their nation’s resources, dictate their political leadership, and profit from their workforce.

The question of work is crucial – the residents of former colonies were once able to travel to work in Western Europe, where they contributed to an incredible post-war economic expansion, before these European economic forces found a new reservoir of cheap labour in the former socialist republics, which they integrated into the imperialist order through Schengen agreement. This meant that millions of workers and refugees outside of the Schengen border were cut off from means of survival, and the only means of entry into the EU became doing so through asylum. This is how, in the 90s, we got our first ‘refugee crises’, the first spectacles of suffering, the first refugee boats and accompanying deaths in the Mediterranean. Through the destruction of the legal means for crossing the border, an ‘underground railroad’ for the covert crossing of borders came into existence. Along with the smuggling industry grew spontaneous migratory movement, a vast mobilization of people for entry into the wealthy countries which enriched themselves at their expense. On the other side, there grew an entire border regime with countless collaborators: ie. Fortress Europe.

The imperialist forces reacted to the extraordinary migrations through an externalization of borders – they armed and financed collaborationist regimes on the periphery of Europe, so that they would halt migrant movement. These regimes took European money and weapons, and built inhuman camps for the detaining of the impoverished multitudes. This EU strategy in their war against migration had a significant flaw: it created large concentrations of people who live on the periphery of Europe in extremely difficult conditions, whose situation becomes a negotiating tool for countries against the imperialist core. When Gaddafi found himself under attack by the USA/GB coalition, he resorted to threats about mass migrations of Africans into Europe. Erdogan, in his agreements with the EU, extorted millions of euros in exchange for detaining migrants in Turkish territory. In the year 2015, at the height of the European debt crisis, the Greek Syriza government had little reason that it would, for Germany’s sake, continue to enforce repression of migration at the border. Orban followed Greece, when he forced Angela Merkel’s hand to open the borders for refugees. The name for this negotiating strategy is “weapons of mass migration,” and it has historically proved effective for semi-peripheral countries in tough circumstances. Slovenia also belongs among the countries which strategically uses its position as a Schengen state in negotiations with Brussels (leading to bitter conflicts with Croatia to keep the latter from usurping this lucrative position through entering into Schengen.) EU, on the other hand, threatens countries which refuse to accept deportations with economic sanctions and sanctions against mobility.

So we have three forces: the imperialist core which seeks to dominate resources and the movement of labor forces, the semi-peripheral countries which are committed to the maintenance of empire, and finally the migrants and global periphery, who are cut off from any means of survival, and who can survive only through physical relocation into the imperial centers. The conflict between the first two groups creates the possibility for migrant movements. This happened in 2015, when there developed a ‘perfect storm’ of massive concentrations of refugees from Syria, and simultaneous conflicts between the wealthy European nations and the European periphery. Refugees took advantage of the opportunity, and with great casualties managed to create a historical humanitarian corridor. At that time, the role of imperialist border watchdog, along with Greece and Turkey, was taken up by the collaborationist government of Slovenia, which played a key role in the closing of this humanitarian corridor – Cerar was even among the first to recommend the closure, before being joined by Macedonia and, later, Croatia (let’s not forget, that Croatia was first portrayed as a villain in the Slovenian media for its role in “forcing migrants through the Slovenian border”, to which Cerar “had to respond” with barbed wire fences along the border – now, that Croatia, with equally brutal force, pushes migrants back into Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is seen in a more positive light.)

So what exactly is happening today on the Polish-Belarusian border? The context is much clearer: the imperialist coalition of the USA and EU has for decades enacted an economic and military expansion into Eastern European countries, which otherwise fall under the influence of Russian foreign policy. Belarus, which is experiencing an internal political crisis, was perceived as a weak link, and for this reason came into the crosshairs of European pressure. Lukashenko may well have used the strategy of “weapons of mass migration” in the conflict against European sanctions, but Belarus has a negligible concentration of refugees, and does not occupy a significant geographic position for migration. The mobilization of refugee movement is, in itself, also lacking. The number of those who attempted flights or land routes to distant Belarus is only in the few thousands – fewer than have been taking equally dangerous routes to Bosnia and Herzegovina for years. The rhetoric of the evil dictator who is “forcing refugees over the border” is completely dishonest. Criticisms can be levelled at Lukashenko, but the current demonization is a direct consequence of his not playing the role of puppet for the primary European regime. The refugees decided to attempt the risky path through Belarus themselves – knowing that these kinds of cracks in Fortress Europe appear only once every few years, and have to be taken advantage of. And lets not forget who redirected the path of refugees from the Balkans to distant Belarus: Slovenian and Croatian policies which closed the Southern route through systematic violent repression and torture of migrants.

For the humanitarian crisis and deaths in Belarus, therefore, it is important to look on the European side of the border. The Polish policy is the one which brutalizes refugees, as though it were directly imitating the recent tactics of our officers in the Balkans. The humanitarian crisis on the border happened because this was what EU policy sought, and this coincided with the internal-political interests of the conservative Polish government. This government could honestly say it will let asylum seekers pass through the country and try to exercise their rights in their final destination of Germany. But the Polish government, at this moment, needs its own spectacle, to redirect the attention of domestic voters from the recent scandals, and to present themselves as the defenders of the country.

A significant irony of the conflict over borders is that Poland isn’t defending the border for its own sake, since no refugees have any intention of staying there – it is defending it on behalf of its past ‘enemies’, the ‘wealthy ruling powers’ in Western Europe. As a direct consequence we get the confused reporting of the European media establishment, which doesn’t know how to present the maligned Polish government: on the one hand, they are presented as the victim of “Lukeshensko’s assault” and the migrants are presented as a defacto guerilla force, and on the other hand with crocodile tears for the poor migrants, criticizing the Polish violation of human rights and their refusal to accept the European border police Frontex on its own borders – which, for the record, is an even more corrupt and aggressive violator of human rights than the Polish police force!

This entire spectacle-ization and media spin has to be rejected outright. Refugees aren’t weak victims of dictator puppet masters, but are actively struggling for their freedom and right to a better life. The wealthy EU countries aren’t defenders of refugees’ human rights, but are occupiers and exploiters of their countries, and which with the assistance of the right wing Polish government are stopping refugees with the most repulsive methods at their disposal. And what is key: many people in Poland, and in Europe generally, see through these geopolitical games and are connecting in solidarity with the migrant movements – carrying out protests and offering help on the ground. We join them in unconditional solidarity with migrants, in demanding an end to repression, an end to the externalizing of border regimes, an end to the military overtures of NATO in the economic destruction of foreign countries. In Poland and in Slovenia, we refuse to be collaborators to imperialist politics! Let the imminent conflict on the Polish border be a strike against Fortress Europe, and not an excuse for its reinforcement.

Whoever is silent about imperialism, should also remain silent about the humanitarian crisis on the border!

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For direct support of refugees please look to “Support refugees in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania”