LAMPEDUSA IN HAMBURG

Hope in St.Pauli. Selforganized protest against the European politics concerning refugees. A three months visa for the Schengen – area and a few hundred Euros: this was the luggage of three hundred African men when they arrived in Hamburg having come from Italy at the beginning of the year. For months they lived on the streets and fortunately many of them were helped by Hamburg’s winter emergency programme. The German state didn`t see any necessity for humanitarian help. According to Dublin II Italy is responsible for the refugees being the country they stepped in first. Only the fact that local churches and mosks offered help by providing place of refuge aroused strong public and political attention. St. Pauli Church in Hamburg offered help for 80 Lybian refugees. Above that there was enomous solidarity in the neighborhood, and lots of voluntary helpers looked after the refugees day and night. A problem of course was medical care and the lack of any perspective.