#OsaivbieBleibt – Public statement

Every year, thousands of people are deported to their countries of origin or other EU countries – regardless of what awaits them there. People are torn from their familiar living environment against their will and often unlawfully, and families are separated. German authorities do not shy away from violent deportations, neither of people who have lived in Germany for years or were even born here, nor of people in vulnerable or precarious living situations. This policy completely disregards the fact that behind all these decisions lie human fates. People who have and had their very own reasons for leaving their home countries.

Osaivbie Ekogiawe – also known as “Kelvin” – is still severely threatened with deportation to Nigeria. After four years of residence in Germany, Osaivbie applied in June 2022 for a residence permit under § 25a AufenthG (“Aufenthaltsgewährung bei gut integrierten Jugendlichen und Heranwachsenden” [Granting residence for well-integraded youngsters and adolescents]), for which he still meets all necessary requirements. While Osaivbie was fulfilling his obligations to cooperate within the deadline given to him and submitted his passport to the Central Foreigners Authority [Zentrale Ausländerbehörde (ZAB)] of Lower Franconia, the authority ordered his deportation. Soon after, Kelvin was handcuffed like a criminal, taken into police custody and was to be deported in October 2022. After large parts of Würzburg’s civil society opposed the deportation in the form of a loud protest, the Würzburg Administrative Court ruled that Osaivbie should once again be issued a so-called “tolerated stay” [“Duldung”] (§ 60a AufenthG). However, the ZAB considered the decision that Kelvin would be allowed to remain in Würzburg and pursue his training as a social care worker unacceptable and filed an appeal. On February 20, 2023, the Munich Administrative Court ruled in favor of the ZAB and confirmed the initial deportation order. This was despite the fact that Osaivbie is demonstrably threatened with massive violence as well as concrete dangers to life in Nigeria.

While we must continue to fight for Kelvin’s right to stay under the name of the campaign “#OsaivbieBleibt” [Osaivbie Stays], we must not forget that this is not an isolated case. This situation is neither an oversight nor has it come about through sloppy behavior or a sole effort by the ZAB of Lower Franconia. This perfidious and devious procedure reflects a system. A system that serves the criminalization of freedom of movement and provides exceptions only for those whose presence is considered economically and politically useful. Whether it is the foreigners’ authority, the police, the initial reception facilities or the BAMF [Federal Office for Migration and Refugees] –  they all contribute significantly to the conscious maintenance of prevailing power structures and colonial relations of domination and thus translate a racist worldview that is deeply rooted in our society into violent reality.

Accordingly, it would be wrong to think that a case like Kelvin’s has never happened before or will never happen again. Collective deportations, which deprive people of their livelihood and often send them to certain death, take place on a weekly basis. The fact that Osaivbie’s case made it to the public eye is more by chance and only thanks to his large social network and the commitment of parts of Würzburg’s civil society. After all, most struggles against deportations take place far away from the general public and remain invisible in isolated camps.

We refuse to accept the prevailing policy of deportations and exclusion and demand that people may decide freely where they can and want to live. We want to live in a city of solidarity that works to ensure that human rights apply to all people without exception or condition. We demand equality, self-determination and justice. We resolutely oppose all forms of racist discrimination and the arbitrariness of authorities and offices. Wherever necessary, we, in a joint act of civil disobedience and lived solidarity, want to put a spanner in the works of the deportation machinery and contribute to making this inhumane practice impossible.

Against this background, we call upon those responsible at the Central Foreigners Authority of Lower Franconia to process Osaivbie Ekogiawe’s previously submitted application for the residence permit to which he is legally entitled according to § 25a AufenthG immediately and without any further delay. Furthermore, we demand from the ZAB of Lower Franconia as well as from all other foreigners authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany, –

• to recognize and lawfully implement existing regulations of the right to stay,
• to comprehensively inform about rights and possibilities of achieving a permanent residence permit,
• to ensure and guarantee fair and transparent procedures,
• to refrain from any arbitrariness and attempts at deception,
• to facilitate and actively promote the transition from tolerated status to long-term residence permits,
• to facilitate access to employment, training, and voluntary integration opportunities, especially for people from so-called safe countries of origin,
• to recognize and respect individual reasons for migration with regard to the granting of residence permits,
• to acknowledge obstacles to deportation due to illness and to not consider alleged or only partial availability of medical care in third countries as grounds for deportation.

Let’s be loud together against deportations and for an unconditional right to stay for all!

Contact: osaivbiebleibt(at)riseup(dot)net
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