On May 1st 1999 the 25 year old Marcus Omofuma (originally from Nigeria) was also being deported from Austria. He had come to Austria in September 1998, in order to seek asylum, as he was being persecuted and threatened in Nigeria. In December 1998 the answer he got on his asylum proposal was negative. On the same day Marcus was being put into deportation-prison, in order to be expelled some time later. Marcus' appeal on this decision was also being denied. The deportation plane with Marcus should have gone to Lagos in Nigeria, with a short interruption in Sofia (Bulgaria). As Marcus was protesting against his deportation, some passengers in the plane complained about his loud cries. So the cops, escorting Marcus to his unknown future in Nigeria, closed his mouth with some adhesive tape. They had already fixed his hands and feet before. Marcus was suffering of bronchitis, a disease of which you normally don't die. When the cops took of the adhesive tape in Sofia, they noticed that Marcus had died of asphyxiation. Unfortunately Marcus is not the first one to die because of such inhuman, extreme deportation practices. Last year in Belgium a women was killed by cops through a pillow, because she was screaming to loud too. And there have been similar cases in Germany, Italy, UK, USA, France etc. over the last years. Such practices, i.e. to close the mouths of people seems to be a normal way to deal with deported people.
Deportation is torture! Deportation is murder! It's just as simple as that. There is no need for a reform of the deportation laws and practices, but there is a need for a complete stop of expulsions of people. Who gives the states and cops the right to deport people just because they haven't got the right passport? The western, rich countries are guilty of lots of misery all over the world, either through their colonialist history, or their momentary capitalist, neo-liberal economy politics. But they don't want to share their wealth with other people, from which they have stolen it. The reasons why people leave their homes, their families, their friends, i.e. all their daily lives behind them are not included in all the discussions about the asylum politics. You only hear and read of people who want to overflowe "our rich countries", in order to have a good living here. But who would really accept all those problems that you have to face when coming to the rich countries, just in order to make some money here? Who would face such risks as being shot-wounded at the border, being put into prison, being deported or even being killed? The price for a small participation in the capitalist way of living is too high. No! People flee because they are tortured, repressed, threatened to death etc. (And personally I don't mind if someone wants to enter "our fortress" to have a better living standard...)
Here in Austria the bourgeois medias are completely supporting the government and its deportation politics. You only hear some people criticising the practices, but they nearly never criticise the deportation customs as such. It seems as it was normal and accepted that people are being deported and put into prisons. So it is most necessary to show our solidarity with all asylum seeking, deported, imprisoned and fleeing people. We also have to show the responsible people, i.e. the government, the capitalists, the cops etc. that we don't tolerate such practices any longer.
It is also important that the Austrian government notices that the whole world is looking on its racist and inhuman politics, concerning asylum and deportation. So please organise demonstrations and other protest actions in front of Austrian Embassies, send protest e-mails or letters, tell other people what's going on here... We mustn't leave the murderers of Marcus and all other refugees alone! NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL!
Article by Anarchist Black Cross - Innsbruck. Contact: LOM Postlagernd 6024 Innsbruck Austria
e-mail: abcibk at hotmail.com