afrique-europe-interact is a transnationally organized network that has existed since 2009. The main participants are grassroots activists – including many organized refugees, migrants and deportees – mainly in Mali, Togo, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
The two main objectives of afrique-europe-interact are:
- Supporting refugees and migrants in their struggles for freedom of movement and their rights.
- The struggle and the fight for a self-determined life in security and under dignified conditions in different countries of origin.
The initiative arose in the course of preparations for a three-week “Caravan for Freedom of Movement and Equitable Development”, which was carried out in 2011 at the initiative of the AME (Association of Deportees of Mali).
The activities of afrique-europe-interact now include at least six focal points:
- Participation in initiatives against the militarization of the EU’s external borders
- Contact with Tunisian groups, especially members of Tunisian harragas (Arabic for “border burners”) who have died or gone missing in boat crossings.
- Activities against neocolonial land theft or land grabbing
- Contacts with grassroots initiatives in Togo, especially the “Association of Deportees of Togo” (ATE)
- Intervening in social conflicts: Since 2012, the Malian section in particular has responded to the crisis that reigned in Mali following the occupation of the northern half of the country by Islamist militias and the subsequent French military intervention.
- Support self-organized protests of refugees and migrants in Europe.
Despite the diverse focuses of the members and initiatives at afrique-europe-interact, the initiative is united by the conviction that something can only be changed about the neocolonial relations of dominance and exploitation if grassroots social movements from Africa and Europe work together on an equal, binding and direct scale.