Request: MKK to become a safe haven

The district council shall decide:           

1. The Main-Kinzig district declares itself a ‘safe haven’ and reaffirms its solidarity with people on the run.

2. The Main-Kinzig-Kreis is committed to implementing the eight demands of the Maritime Bridge – Creating Safe Ports initiative. To this end, the group is contacting the initiative to discuss ways to implement the demands.

Explanatory memorandum:

Recent events in Afghanistan show how important the reception of refugees is. While states such as the US have been able to evacuate many people, Germany has obstructed itself through its own bureaucracy and leaders have stressed ‘that 2015 must not be repeated’. They did not mean the humanitarian catastrophes, but the refugees who sought protection in Germany.

Foreclosure is not a legitimate political means in times of need. Therefore, the district must agree to voluntarily take in particularly vulnerable people and declare the district as a ‘safe haven’, as 267 municipalities and districts have already done before it (as of 25 August 2021).

The Main-Kinzig district already had the opportunity to become a ‘safe haven’ in 2019. A corresponding motion by the Left and Greens was rejected by the SPD and CDU and an amendment was adopted instead. In it, the circle is committed to its legal and humanitarian obligation to take in refugees. If the Grand Coalition feels bound by this amendment, due to the humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, they must now make a commitment to welcome vulnerable people and accordingly declare the Main-Kinzig district a safe haven.

The humanitarian catastrophe that is currently taking place in Afghanistan has also been taking place at the European external border for years. On the run from hunger and war, people often travel hundreds of kilometres on the Mediterranean in simple inflatable boats. In doing so, they often find themselves in distress at sea and are dependent on the rescue of private sea rescuers, because the European states do not save them. Since 2014, an estimated 21,800 people have drowned while fleeing the Mediterranean Sea.

If the escape nevertheless succeeds, many must live in detention camps under unreasonable hygienic conditions and without adequate basic care. Examples of this are the camps in Malta and Lesvos.

Although the EU member states have long been aware of the situation in the refugee camps at the external borders, the conditions in the camps continue to be catastrophic. There is a lack of electricity, running water and shelter suitable for the appropriate weather conditions. For the children who have to live in the camps, there is usually no way to go to school.

The figures last year and at the beginning of 2021 show that the residents of the refugee camps are also often exposed to the coronavirus, which is spreading strongly due to the spatial narrowness and poor hygienic conditions.

The Safe Harbours initiative stands in solidarity with people on the run, advocates safe escape routes and aims to ensure that refugees arrive and stay in Germany.

The accession of the circle to this initiative would be an important sign of solidarity. At the same time, the circle undertakes to implement the eight relevant demands of the initiative and to regularly update the progress on the initiative's website (https://seebruecke.org/sichere-haefen/haefen).

The demands of the initiative:

– Public declaration of solidarity

– Active support for sea rescue

– Inclusion in addition to quota

– Support reception programmes

– Ensuring local arrivals

– National and European networking

– Safe Havens Alliance

– Transparency

In order to achieve these goals, the circle contacts the initiative to discuss possibilities together.