Subject: [Network Africa Sweden] Solidarity Message To Africans In Germany
Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2002 23:43:21 +0100

Greetings to the African community in Germany:

We leant about the January 19th murder of brother at the Metro station U-1 Langenhorner Markt in Northern Hamburg with great sorrow. The sad news arrived just as Africans here in Sweden, were emerging from a picket outside the Spanish Embassy in Stockholm to protest the brutal murder of Essa Marong, an African from the Gambia who was tortured to death by a gang of fascist Spanish police who have since not been arrested to face justice (see attached statement handed over to the Spanish Ambassador).

From your brief report, we can discern that the circumstances surrounding Sangare's murder clearly suggest that he was another victim
of marauding Neo nazi bone-heads in Germany. With sincere congratulations, relay our message of solidarity to Africans in Germany who are responding with courage to the killing and general attacks
against Africans by racists and fascists in Germany.

As Africans count their dead with every lethal racist attack against members of the community across Europe, we are left with no option but to co-ordinate the African struggle at a pan-European or global level.
For this reason, we would like to get in working contact with active African groups and individuals in Germany as a first step towards sharing strategy, given that racist attacks against us seem to be of a
permanent nature.

The crisis of Capitalism Internationally has led to moves by European governments to close their boarders to non Europeans especially Africans, arguing that Europe needs to take care of its population
first. Privatization of public enterprises in Europe, massive spending cuts on the public sector, high unemployment among Europeans, collapse of welfare states across the continent and reduced standards of living as a result of the economic crisis facing European governments have created anti-immigrant anti-African attitudes among a cross section of
the national white European population. Big industrial actions by theEuropean working class and the growing anti-globalization Movement across the continent underline the understanding of the advanced layers
of the European population about the extent of the crisis.

However, illusions that immigrants (especially Africans) are the source of the crisis in Europe, have found an echo within a cross section of
naive Europeans. The result is the growth of extreme right wing political parties which have managed to peddle racist programs to the European electorate, arguing that by keeping Africans and other
immigrants at bay, a solution to the crisis in Europe will be found.

The Freedom Party in Austria, NDP in Germany, The British National Party (BNP) in Britain, the National Front in France, People's Party in Denmark and the National Democratic Party in Sweden (formerly Swedish
Democrats) are just but a few examples of racist political parties that have, to some extent, won admiration and sympathy from frustrated
Europeans who have even voted for these parties at local and Parliamentary elections.

In Sweden, the racist Swedish Democrats are holding 8 seats in the local councils including two in Hanninge Kommune in Stockholm. As racist parties and Neo-nazi organisations try to gain more attention using the crisis in Europe as fodder for anti-immigrant
propaganda, the African will remain in great danger of organized racist attacks. This situation calls for action.

Unable to deal with the economic crisis, certain European States have institutionalized racism to divert attention from the crisis and to check the search for solutions by Europeans looking for a way out.
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Increased racism against Africans in the labour market, housing market, refugee politics, immigration politics and social life have found new
>justification in the name of the Schengen convention, a document which reads like the Constitution of a virtual Police state.

The situation is so serious that racist policemen and Security guards are escaping from justice after murdering or brutally attacking Africans. Neo nazi groups have found new inspiration to spill African blood without major consequences from their governments. The murder of both Essa Marong and Jallo were not unfortunate and isolated incidents but conscious deeds by forces of racism seeking to fulfill White supremacist agenda at different levels.

As the consciousness of Africans continue to rise on the question of coordinated responses to murder and attacks against the community, it goes without saying that we will have to develop a system of information exchange through which we can share experiences in struggle. We will have to build links with Africans and other Internationalists to address the serious threat facing us. We hope that you will pass this message to the wider African community in Germany. We send our heartfelt condolences to the family of brother Jallow. May his death at the hands
of German racists act as another link to advance the African struggle, now and in the future. Regards.