Depuis mon arrivée en Turquie, je suis engagée dans un groupe de militants, sur les questions de migrations dans ce pays. Voici notre premier texte, pour appeler à une grande rencontre autour de notre première campagne "Not Criminals but migrants".

We have a proposal. Prepare your bag instantly to embark on a journey this very night. You will be leaving behind your loved ones, relatives, home, and all that is familiar, perhaps once and for all. And the destination ? If you manage to stay alive, this will be a flight into an existence that does not welcome but scorns and excludes ; a dark journey that might not have a final stop. All over the world, there are currently millions of migrants, including children, who are risking this intimidating journey. Some take to the roads to escape wars, to flee state terror, or to stay alive. Others set off for the prospects of a better life or simply to leave… Some migrants struggle to reach countries which fortify and arm their borders, and wage war against migrants ; others are exiled in their very own countries. Turkey is one of those countries and is part of the long journey. For some migrants, Turkey is a transit point on the way to Europe ; for others it is a shelter from oppression ; yet for others, it is a place where they strive to start a new life. We find that whether they have commenced their journey from within or outside of national borders, migrants are discriminated against by the state and by the majority of the society. We do not accept the total disregard for migrants’ right to residence, work, health, education and travel ; nor do we consent to the treatment they face as if they were potential criminals. We insist that these rights should not be privileges accorded only to a few ; rather, we believe they are rights to which everyone is entitled regardless of citizenship, nationality, ethnicity, political opinion, religious belief, gender, sexual orientation and age, and regardless of whether a person is “documented” or not. We do not want to be complicit in the discrimination and persecution that insidiously carries on around us. We deem unacceptable the ghastly conditions into which migrants are forced. We refuse to condone the scorn and marginalization the migrants face ; the residence permit fees they have to pay ; their confinement in the so-called “guesthouses,” their exposure to hunger and illness, and deportation back to their countries— and perhaps even to death. We proclaim everyone’s right to unconditional freedom of movement and everyone’s right of abode where they desire. No one, neither child nor adult, ought to be detained for the exercise of these rights and freedoms. In the detention centers which the state euphemistically calls “Guesthouses for Foreigners,” thojusands of migrants are held captive under insanitary conditions and without explanation, justification or access to legal help. We denounce the ways in which migrants are deprived of work permits and banished to ghettoes. We have come together to work towards shutting down the guesthouses and to halt the execution of illegitimate measures against migrants. We stand by all migrants, who, in Turkey or elsewhere, are marginalized, detained, or forced into illegality. *

JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN—“Not Criminals but Migrants” !

Our initiative has been formed by people who share these thoughts and sensibilities, coming together as a network organization based on the principles of transparency and equality. We have gathered to proclaim that it is not human beings who are unlawful ; it is only borders and institutions that establish and maintain those borders that are illegitimate. We believe that each and everyone has the right to unconditional freedom of movement and the right to dwell wherever they choose. No one may be imprisoned, excluded or despised for exercising these rights. We have thus decided to organize a campaign to render visible the predicament of migrants in Turkey. As a first step towards halting state violence against migrants, we aim to expose the so-called “guesthouses” where migrants are held against their will, and to work towards shutting down these inhuman detention centers. We invite you to take part in this campaign so that we can raise our voices together and louder. We plan on launching our campaign with a visit to the Kumkapı Immigrant “Guesthouse” so as to witness what these sinister guest rooms really look like and to disclose the conditions under which our forcefully detained “guests” live. We invite everyone interested in discussing this visit in particular and our campaign in general to attend our meeting on February 13, 2010.

We believe that by drawing inspiration from and joining forces with NGOs, occupational associations and trade unions under the rubric of this campaign, we will be able to collectively formulate tangible solutions to the burning issues immigrants face. We also hope that the movement will gain momentum through the development of similar campaigns in cities besides Istanbul and, most importantly, through the self-organizing of the migrants themselves.