Kompass-newsletter No. 138 - 10/2025
14 to 18 October in Rome: Days of action with ‘Stage of Survivors’ against the deal between Italy and Libya +++ 17 to 21 October in Vienna: Conference and demonstration against ICMPD +++ 21 October: Trial begins in Ragusa, Sicily, against six members of Mediterranea +++ 31 October to 2 November in Albania: Protests against deportation prison +++ Videos on 10 years of the Summer of Migration +++ Interview from Pro Asyl: European Court of Human Rights stops Greek deportation plans +++ Report Migration Control: From Hell to Hell - Sudanese Youth Criminalised in Greek Prisons +++ Central Med: Libyan militia fires on rescue ship Sea-Watch 5 +++ medico: Reportage on solidarity at the Polish-Belarusian border +++ Reviews: Transnational Chain of Action: Kick-off on 4 September; S&R Camp; f.Lotta; UNFAIR 2.0 in Geneva; WCU Caravan +++ Outlook: 18 November 2025 in Frankfurt: Day conference – Municipalities as Safe Harbours; 3 December 2025 in Berlin: Day conference – From Palermo to Berlin: Solidarity and Resistance against Camps, Detention and the EU Migration Pact.
Dear friends,
The transnational chain of action is entering its second half. Towards 18 October in Rome with the refugees in Libya. On the same weekend in Vienna against ICMPD. On 21 October in Ragusa in solidarity with the defendants of Mediterranea. And at the end of October in Albania against externalized deportation prisons. More detailed information on all these mobilisations, as well as first documentation and videos on ten years of Summer of Migration, can be found at www.trans-border.net.
Strong voices and powerful images, but low numbers in participation. That sums up the first half, at least as far as the demonstration in front of the UNHCR and the We'll Come United parade are concerned. Less than 100 people in Geneva, just 1,000 in Berlin. While the self-organised voices are becoming stronger and louder and deserve mass mobilisation, we can currently mobilise a few hundred at best, but not the thousands that would be needed in these difficult times. Accordingly, mainstream media attention remains limited.
But whether it's f.Lotta around Lampedusa, UNFAIR 2.0 in Geneva or the caravan in eastern Germany: the internal mood is powerful and motivating, the transnational connections lively and inspiring. Accordingly, here are two reading recommendations: first, the Book of Shame, which was presented on 12 September in front of the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, simultaneously with a live broadcast of the refugees' protest in Agadez, see https://www.refugeesinlibya.org/book-of-shame. And secondly, the diary of a young Somali activist in the newspaper Tageszeitung (taz), in which she describes her experiences during the caravan from 20 to 27 September in nine episodes, see https://taz.de/Refugee-Karawane/!t6114589/.
We conclude the introduction with the opening remarks for the multi-voiced kick-off event for the transnational chain of actions, which took place online on 4 September.: „The Summer of Migration taught us a simple lesson: what may seem impossible, even unimaginable, may very suddenly become a powerful, unstoppable – if temporary – reality. Today, as we face dark times, at Europe’s borders, but also of course with the ongoing genocide in Gaza, these memories may appear to us as something from another time and world. It is our imagination itself that seems bordered by the violence of our dystopian present. In this context, it seems all the more important to recall the events of 2015 so as to reopen our imaginations and political horizons.“
In this spirit with solidarity greetings,
the Kompass-Crew