(english below)
Na začetku tega tedna smo podali javno izjavo o nasilnem policijskem pretepu našega člana. S sodelavcem je odšel zvečer na pijačo, ko je v bar vstopila policija in ga napadla – hudo mu je poškodovala obraz ter ga za tri dni poslala v bolnišnico. Očitno so prejeli klic o domnevnem pretepu v baru, vendar tam ni bilo nobenega pretepa. Edini nasilneži so bili policisti sami.
Mnogi novinarji nas sprašujejo, zakaj ta primer prenašamo na ulice, zakaj organiziramo protest. Dovolite nam, da jim damo nekaj odgovorov.
Prvič: žrtev zelo dobro poznamo. Že vrsto let je pomemben član naše organizacije in je eden najbolj priljubljenih ljudi v naši skupnosti. Vemo, da v vseh teh letih ni nikoli začel nobenega prepira ali spora z nikomer. Trdo dela in lepo skrbi za ljudi okoli sebe. Ko torej slišimo, da ga policija obtožuje pretepa, zelo dobro vemo, da gre za veliko laž. Naša odgovornost je, da se postavimo v bran našemu tovarišu in članu, tako kot se je on vedno postavljal za nas.
Drugič: tudi policijo zelo dobro poznamo. Kot tujci smo vsi že doživeli njihovo diskriminacijo. Ustavljajo nas na poti v službo in domov. Preverjajo nas na avtobusu in v trgovinah. Za vsako kaznivo dejanje v mestu najprej okrivijo nas. Policisti v civilu nam skušajo podtakniti droge, da bi nas ujeli v past. Kjer koli se pojavi težava, bodo vedno najprej pogledali k migrantom. A ko nas kdo napade ali nam kaj ukrade, pogosto nočejo niti sprejeti naše izjave. Nikoli ne prejmemo zaščite pred nasiljem ali rasizmom, s katerim se soočamo vsak dan, dobimo le krivdo in sumničavost. Vsi zato vemo, kako hitro lahko nedolžen človek, kot je naš član, postane tarča napada brez razloga. Vsi smo imeli podobne izkušnje. Zato je naša odgovornost, da spregovorimo proti takšnemu ravnanju in rečemo: dovolj je!
Tretjič: vemo tudi, kje se je policija naučila takšnega vedenja. Vsak begunec, ki je prišel v Evropo iskat azil, je že doživel policijsko nasilje na evropskih mejah, še posebej na Hrvaškem, v Bolgariji in na Madžarskem. Pretepanje in poniževanje beguncev je eden od načinov, kako Evropa varuje svoje meje. To je postalo nekaj običajnega. Ko enkrat odločijo, da si »nezakonit migrant«, zate ne veljajo več nobena pravila in nobene človekove pravice. In za mnoge policiste, ki nas vidijo na avtobusu, v parku ali v klubu, smo prav to, »nezakoniti migranti«. Ne vidijo človeka, temveč nevarnost za družbo, s katero lahko ravnajo drugače. Vemo, kako ljudje trpijo in celo umirajo na mejah zaradi evropskega migracijskega režima, zato se seveda ne moremo molče sprijazniti, ko vidimo, da se iste taktike uporabljajo tudi nad nami znotraj Evrope.
Nazadnje: danes protestiramo, ker poznamo svojo vrednost. Nismo samo človeška bitja z dostojanstvom, temveč smo tudi delavci v tej državi. Smo del 16 % tuje delovne sile, ki pripravlja in dostavlja hrano, gradi in vzdržuje infrastrukturo, proizvaja in pošilja blago. Plačujemo davke in prispevamo v pokojninski sistem. Plačujemo najemnino in podpiramo gospodarstvo. Delamo v bolnišnicah in skrbimo za starejše državljane. Smo del skupnosti in lokalnih organizacij. Ta država je naš dom in trudimo se prispevati k njenemu dobremu. Kako je potem mogoče, da smo na koncu dneva obravnavani kot kriminalci samo zaradi barve naše kože? Zahtevamo dostojanstvo in enake pravice ter ne bomo tiho, dokler policija ne začne spoštljivo ravnati z vsemi ljudmi.
Naš tovariš ni prvi, ki ga je policija zlorabila in lažno obtožila, a storili bomo vse, da bo zadnji. Ne bomo se borili le za pravico v njegovem primeru in sprožili pravnih postopkovproti odgovornim policistom, ampak bomo storili enako v vsakem primeru policijskega nasilja nad našimi člani. Pozivamo vse, ki nas poslušate, da storite enako: če vidite policista, ki nekoga zlorablja, snemajte, prijavite in pričajte proti njim. Edini način, da premagamo rasizem, je, da sodelujemo in si med seboj pomagamo kot tovariši, kot prijatelji, kot sosedje, kot delavci in kot ljudje.
Tukaj smo!
***
At the beginning of this week, we made a public statement about the violent police beating of one of our members. He was out with his coworker for a drink, when the police entered the bar and attacked him, severely injuring his face and sending him to the hospital for three days. Apparently, they received a call about a fight taking place in the bar, but in fact there was no fight at all – the only violent people were the police themselves.
Many journalists are asking us why we are taking this issue to the streets, why are we making a protest? Let us give them some answers.
First: we all know the victim very well. He has been an important member of our organization for many years, and one of the most beloved people in our community. So we know that in all these years, he has never started a fight or a conflict with anyone. He works hard and takes good care of the people around him. So when we heard that the police accused him of fighting, we knew very well that it was a big fat lie. And it is our responsibility to stand up for our friend and member, just as he has always stood up for us.
Secondly: we also know the police very well. As foreigners, we have all experienced their discrimination. They stop us on our way to work and on our way home. They check us on the bus and in supermarkets. They blame us for every crime in the city. Undercover police try to offer us drugs to entrap us. Wherever there is a problem, they always look to the migrantsfirst. But when someone attacks us or steals from us, they won’t even take our statement. We can never receive any protection from the violence or racism we face every day, we only receive blame and suspicion. So we all know how easy it is for an innocent person like our member to be attacked for no reason, we’ve all had similar experiences. Again, it is our responsibility to speak out against such treatment and say: enough is enough!
Thirdly: we know where the police learned to behave like this. Every refugee who has come to Europe seeking asylum has experienced police violence on the European borders, especially in Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary… The beating and humiliation of refugees is one of the ways Europe guards its borders. It has been made normal. Once they decide that you are an “illegal migrant”, there are no more rules or human rights. And for many police officers who see us on the bus, in the park or in the club, we are just “illegal migrants” – they don’t see a human being, but a danger to society, someone they believe they are allowed to treat differently. We know how people suffer and even die on the borders because of the European migration regime, and of course we cannot stay silent when we see the same kind of tactics used on us even inside Europe.
Finally: we are protesting today because we know our value. We are not only human beings with a right to dignity, we are also workers in this country. We are a part of the 16% of foreign workforce who prepare and deliver the food, build and maintain the infrastructure, produce and ship the goods in this country. We pay our taxes and support the pension system. We pay rent and support the economy. We work in the hospitals and care for the elderly. We are a part of the community and local organizations. This country is our home, and we do our best to contribute to its wellbeing. So how is it possible that at the end of the day, we are treated like criminals because of the colour of our skin? We demand dignity and equal rights, and we will not be quiet until the police begin to treat all people with respect.
Our comrade is not the first to be mistreated and falsely accused by the police, but we will do our best to make him the last. Not only will we fight for justice in his case and launch legal action against the responsible officers, but we will do the same in every case of police violence against our members. We urge everybody who is listening to do the same: if you see the police mistreating someone, record them, report them and testify against them. The only way we can overcome racism is if we work together and support each other – as comrades, as friends, as neighbours, as workers, and as human beings.
Tukaj smo!
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