Seebrücke (Create safe havens) is a decentralized, international, civil society movement that was formed in 2018. It is directed against the European policy of isolationism and, in particular, against the criminalization of sea rescue in the Mediterranean. The members show solidarity with all

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s and call on politicians to create safe escape routes.

Emergence

The movement arose spontaneously after the rescue ship '' Lifeline'', with 234 rescued people on board, had been prevented from entering a port for days in June 2018. It was initially advertised via a satirical campaign by the Peng Collective, which claimed that the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community would accept all people in distress in Germany by 2019. The actor Jan Josef Liefers took part in the video, and the movement was advertised by the entertainer

Jan Böhmermann Jan Böhmermann () (born 23 February 1981) is a German satirist, journalist, and podcast and television host. He also worked as a writer, producer, radio host, and is best known for his activism through publicity stunts. Early life and educati ...

. The band as well as 'Mensch Mensch Mensch e.V.' were significantly involved in the development process of the alliance. Since the 2019/20 season, Seebrücke has been supported by the football club SV Babelsberg 03 who have drawn attention to the movement with print on their

Football shirt In association football, kit (also referred to as a strip or uniform) is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sport's rules specify the minimum kit which a player must use, and also prohibit the use of anything that is dangerou ...

Advancement

The movement calls for safe escape routes across Europe, a humane reception of refugees and a decriminalization of sea rescue. According to the organisers, more than 79,000 people have taken to the streets in over 30 cities in Germany since the beginning of July 2018. 12,000 people took part in the largest demonstrations to date, on July 7, 2018 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and as many as 16,400 people took part in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

on September 2, 2018, and thousands of people took to the streets in other large cities such as

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. The Seebrücke movement is supported by over two hundred organizations.

Orange vests

As a sign of solidarity with sea rescuers and

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

, orange clothes, scarves and balloons are worn at demonstrations as well as in everyday life, in reference to the colour of

life jacket A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suite that is worn by a ...

s. Orange life jackets have been attached to numerous churches so that they could be seen from the outside.

Safe haven

Many German cities and municipalities have declared themselves safe havens by means of a city council resolution. According to their own statements, they offer protection and reception to people rescued from distress at sea and actively support sea rescue. However, the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

must continue to assume the majority of the costs for the refugees admitted and the cities would only incur minimal additional costs. As of May 2019, 54 cities had joined the movement. By 1 March 2020, 138 cities had joined the movement. As of May 2021, there were 252 such areas.

Demonstrations

Action groups have formed or negotiations are ongoing in the city council, with particularly notable demonstrations in the following cities:

Nuremberg

On March 30, 2019, around 700 people demonstrated for the city of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

to pledge to be a "safe haven".Demo der Seebrücke: Auch Nürnberg zum sicheren Hafen machen
(''tr. "Seebrücke Demo: make Nuremberg a safe haven too"'') ''www.nordbayern.de''

Berlin

On March 30, 2019, several thousand people demonstrated for the city of

to pledge to be a "safe haven".

External links

Official Website
* Felix Keß, Helge Schwiertz:
Zivilgesellschaftliche Initiativen für sichere Fluchtwege – ein Überblick
("Safe escape route initiatives - an overview ")''. In: focus Migration 2019.

References

European migrant crisis Immigrant rights activism Humanitarian aid organizations in Europe Refugee aid organizations in Europe {{Germany-org-stub