Women In Exile arrange Lager protest in Berlin and Brandenburg

Women in Exile have organised two rally on Wednesday 25th November.

The demos coincide with The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, taking place at 12:00-15:00 in front of the BAMF (Bundesallee 171, 10715 Berlin) and Eisenhüttenstadt Lager, (Poststra Straße 72, 15890 Eisenhüttenstadt).

Eisenhüttenstadt Lager is a detention facility which has been labelled a 'deportation jail', of which there are several around Germany. Hundreds of asylum seekers are incarcerated in these Lagers with widespread reports of poor conditions. The English translation of Lager is warehouse or storage facility. BAMF is the German Federal office for migration and refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge).

A statement on the Women in Exile social media page read, "Eisenhüttenstadt is not only a dangerous corona hot-spot but also a hot-spot for sexual assaults and harassment against vulnerable women, particularly lesbians. The number of unreported cases is very high. This summer there were two rapes and one attempted rape in the Brandenburg 'Reception Centers' - also in Eisenhüttenstadt. In addition there is sexual harassment and assault, bodily injury of all kinds, domestic violence, psychological violence and stalking. We cannot close our eyes to this violence, which is also caused by the racist asylum system."

Read a first hand account of life in Eisenhüttenstadt Lager here.