During the “long summer of migration”,
thousands of people crossed the borders of Fortress Europe.
Pressured by the right,
it didn’t take long for European governments take defensive measures.
Their aim: to cut the number of people arriving.
The new magic formula for this:
return and fighting the causes of forced migration.
But tackling the causes of forced migration
does not always equate to remedying the conditions that force people to flee worldwide.
Instead the new label allows the EU
to channel funds for development cooperation or economic investments
to countries willing to block migration routes to Europe.
So in addition to poverty reduction or education,
development aid will also be used to train police and armies in dictatorial regimes.
The German programs for “voluntary return” and “reintegration”
also adopt this interpretation of tackling the causes of forced migration.
They urge people seeking protection to return to their country of origin
as soon as they arrive in Europe,
promising extra bonuses for early departure,
payment of housing costs or help in finding work in the country of origin.
In exchange, people have to forgo their protection status, asylum procedure and other legal remedies.
Many refugees in Germany have no legal assistance and prospects in the asylum procedure.
This is also because independent residence advice services’ funding has been massively cut.
Often, all that is left is one-sided advice from the return programs.
Many people feel pressured as a result.
Hopelessness and despair or the fear of brutal deportation
are then often why people submit to “voluntary return”.
For those returning,
the political and economic situation is usually difficult,
sometimes even life-threatening.
The Federal Government’s nice-sounding promise are often not kept.
Or the money is not enough to build a dignified and safe life.
Many regret their decision to return.
Some find themselves forced to flee again.
The Federal Government’s return program is an attempt to buy the right to asylum
even from people who actually have good prospects of being granted asylum
or who come from countries to which deportation is banned.
And every “voluntary return”
serves as an argument for the purported safety of that country,
legitimizing deportations to unsafe countries too.
This is not what we call voluntary!
This is not what we call tackling the causes of forced migration!