how2 radically overcome EU borders

Outline

(0) Introduction

(1) Brief explanation of the terms used on our tour

(2) Group identification/structure

(3) Action preparation

3.1 Meeting, language and safe communication

3.2 Laws, legal consequences, lawyers

3.3 Finances

3.4 Vehicles and route

3.5 Packing list

(4) Action Implementation

4.1 Meetings, language and safe communication

4.2 Laws, legal consequences, lawyers

4.3 Finances

4.4 Vehicles and route

4.5 Flight is a health risk

(5) Action follow-up

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Introduction

We are a group of people who came together at the beginning of 2021 to support people on the move to Europe in direct action. The goal was and is to provide logistical and financial support to speed up and facilitate to move. Throughout the process, we have been able to network with other people working on this issue and have gained knowledge and experience. The goal of this document is to share this information and help people with the same action planning. We wish for a world where people can freely and safely choose where they want to live.

 

1. Brief explanation of the terms used on our tour

Phase 1: Tour from the first PickUp to the Safe House (already in the Schengen area)

Phase 2: Tour from the Safe House to Germany

PickUp: Meeting and entry point

Drop Off: Exit point

[Basically, borders were crossed in such a way that the hikers crossed the green border on foot and the drivers crossed the border in their cars].

hiker: people on the move

driver: supporting people with cars

transport car: car to PickUp hikers

scout car: car that drives in front of the transport car in order to observe the route and react accordingly, for example to police checks

Back-up team: people who provide logistical, financial, legal, communicational, emotional stabilizing, and possibly language supporting during the action

Safe House: refers to the safe stopover where driver and hiker can relax

 

2. Group identification/structure

• We recommend acting in a group.
  • Two drivers (driver + passenger) per car. The co-driver can take over the communication and navigation.
  • [Tip: Here it is recommended to make sure that there are not two in one car who are recognized as male. This makes for less suspicious driving, as police tend to treat two people recognized as male restrictively].
  • In addition to the transport cars, a back-up car
  • A back-up team
  • Individuals with move experience and speak the hikers language.
• Finding new group members?
  • Scan groups and contexts in which you are active. Who is politically clear about this cause, who do you give credit with having the motivation to participate? Talk to them.

 

3. Action preparation

3.1 Meeting, language and secure communication

• Find a common consensus for action and clarify personal capacities (time management and personal resources and constraints, willingness to take risks, …).
• Pay attention to inclusive language (choice of words, language communication, …).
• Think about secure communication:
  • Encrypted messengers like Signal; encrypted pads like Cryptpad.
  • Internet research with Tails stick and Tor browser
  • physical meetings without cell phones
  • latest in action: use non-registered SIM cards and use clean phones (means: without history, no data and contacts stored, at best Lineage as operating system)
  • [Tip: Talk to people who have experience with secure communication and can prepare the phones for you. Or do your own research on the Internet on how to get clean phones. Regarding SIM cards: people on the move often know where to get unregistered SIM cards].
  • Ask hikers to use an encrypted messenger like Signal.
  • in the action: do not take private cell phones with you

3.2 Laws, legal consequences, lawyers

• Depending on your route plan, get information about the penal norms in the countries regarding “smuggling of foreigners” or “trafficking”.
• [Tip: In the appendix you will find our research on the legal situation in different countries, as of 1st quarter 2021].
• Take care of potential lawyers in advance, ideally one for each state you are passing through. Attorneys do not necessarily need to be briefed in advance. It is sufficient to have their contact details ready in case of an emergency.
• [Tip: In the appendix you will find a checklist with questions for the BackUp-Team, in case of an arrest of the driver].
• The lawyer can work towards a dismissal of the case or an acquittal.
• Your car will be confiscated in case of arrest.
• In pre-trial detention, you may be able to post bail and be released for the time being. This can cost several thousand euros. A public, anonymous fundraiser is one way to collect the money. Anti-repression structures can provide advice in advance.
• Legal consequences for hikers in case of apprehension are often a pushback. Demanding asylum can be a way to prevent the PushBack. However, this is up to the hiker to decide if he/she really wants to start an asylum process in the respective country.
• The drivers should give action cards to the BackUp team (see appendix). Which includes contacts that are necessary in case of detention as well as all data that a lawyer can work with.

3.3 Finances

• Expenses:
  • Think about what expenses you will have, depending on the distance to be driven and the cost of gas.
  • Other expenses:
    • Tolls and vignettes
    • cell phone if necessary
    • SIM cards and credit if necessary
    • Food
    • if necessary financial support (incl. transaction fees) of the hikers to e.g. get to the first PickUp point
  • Income:
    • Ask people in your environment for donations. With them you can talk abstractly about the project.
  • Organize one credit card per car. Cash can complicate a possible criminal charge.
  • Plan and calculate with a financial buffer. There are always costs that are not anticipated in advance.
  • Plan and anticipate additional support for the hiker beyond the action. Agree beforehand how much you can and want to support the hikers afterwards.

3.4 Vehicles and route

• Make sure that your cars are roadworthy incl. first aid kit and warning triangle, TÜV and insurance.
• [Tip: We have had good experience with low and/ or upper class cars].
• Plan the route and breaks incl. buffer times due to traffic jams or border controls.
• [Tip: There can also be delays due to PushBacks, emotions, language barriers or re-orientation, plan enough buffer days].
• Test your navigation app on your clean action phone beforehand.
• Plan PickUp and DropOff locations and times. Avoid high visibility locations, proximity to police stations/barracks, military roads, etc. Use satellite imagery and look at the terrain beforehand.
• Hiker and driver should plan pickup, dropoff, and route together.
• [Tip: If possible, use the knowledge of local activists for route planning].
• Be sure to avoid routes with increased police checkpoints and designate good observation points for the late car during the PickUp and DropOff.
• [Tip: Dusk can protect you, but in darkness car headlights can be treacherous].
• Remember that PickUp and DropOff should proceed as quickly as possible and the coordinates should be known to all drifters as well as hikers.
• Plan possibly with a SafeHouse where drivers and hikers can regenerate.
• To find a SafeHaouse, use your own contacts in states on your route or research leftist activist groups on the Internet and ask them.

3.5 Packing List

• Clothes, food, drink, hygiene items for the hikers.
• Medication for the hikers if needed
• power banks for hikers
• clean cell phones with prepaid SIM cards for drivers
• …and other things that are needed on a trip, if necessary also during a pandemic.

 

4. Action implementation

4.1 Meetings, language and secure communication

• Uses messenger groups for driver, late car and backup.
• [Tip: Make sure your messenger is always available during the action].
• Figure out a system or codes to alert you to police stops and traffic situations.
• Write down the number of your back-up team on your body.

4.2 Laws, legal consequences, lawyers

• In case of an apprehension:
  • Stay calm. Do not say anything. Do not sign anything. If possible, turn off the cell phone.
  • The BackUp should only act after the arrested driver has been called. Before that, a lawyer* cannot take action.
  • The hiker can either be pushed back or ask for asylum. Depending on the situation, support is not possible until the situation is clear.

4.3 Finances

• Pay by credit card only.
• Typical costs are gasoline, food, toll/vignette, in the safe house if necessary new cell phones and SIM cards for the hikers.

4.4 Vehicles and route

• Be aware that there is often no cell phone reception near the border. This prevents communication during PickUp and DropOff. No cell phone reception does not mean there is no GPS signal. Navigation in the border area is still possible with an app.
• [Tip: The hikers can lie on the back seat under blankets in the border area. Away from the border area, they can sit upright].
• If you use a scout car, the distance between the scout car and the transport car should only be a few minutes for PickUp and DropOff, since there is a lot of patrolling near the border. Away from the border areas, the distance between the two cars can be lager (up to 20 minutes), in order to react better to exits and traffic controls, for example.
• Apps with offline maps can be used for navigation. It is also recommended to use a physical map.
• [Tip: For distraction and camouflage in critical situations, a large folding map can serve the scout car].

4.5 Escape is a health risk

• What physical and mental condition the hikers are in is unpredictable. Be prepared to give trauma and associated consequences such as aggression, introversion or extroversion, etc. the appropriate space.

 

5. Action follow-up

• Take enough time for reflection and processing after the action.
• As a group, plan a joint reflection and evaluation.
• Take stock of the situation.
• What is the next step for the hiker:
  • Provide asylum counseling.
  • Discuss possible onward travel with the hikers (public transportation may be available).
• What is the next step for the drivers and the backup:
  • Think about further actions!