Afghanistan

Just days after Taliban violently seized control of Afghanistan, the Greek Minister for Migration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis, has warned of a repeat of the situation in 2015 and announced that Greece will not be the “gateway to Europe for illegal Afghan migrants”.

This short sentence is all you need to understand why the German government committed an error of judgment concerning Afghanistan. An error of judgment that kills people every day – and democracy throughout the world as well, by the way.

What is needed now is a special programme to resettle people living in danger in Afghanistan and to give Afghan nationals already living in Germany the right to remain and prospects for their futures!

The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Thessaloniki office, together with the Goethe Institute Thessaloniki, organised a public screening of the movie “Citizen of Moria” and took our audience on a journey to Europe’s most notorious refugee camp. In a personal interview the film-maker and protagonist Ahmad Ebrahimi talks about the struggle of being forced to flee in search for protection.

Much has been achieved at international level in the critical field of women, peace and security in recent years. Yet women are still woefully underrepresented in the Afghan peace process. The basic rights for which they fought so hard are at stake in the country’s internal negotiations with the Taliban.

When the Taliban put a bounty on Afghan director Hassan Fazili’s head, he was forced to flee the country with his wife and two young daughters. He captured the family’s uncertain journey at first hand, documenting their harrowing trek across numerous borders.

Summary of the online debate „The peace process in Afghanistan: Perceptions of the people“ of 11 November 2020 with representatives of Afghan civil society, Afghan media, the Afghan government delegation to the peace negotiations in Doha and the German Foreign Office.

Omaid Sharifi is a pioneer Afghan activist and one of the co-founders of ArtLords, an artist association which has been attracting widespread international attention in recent years.