BTW: The petition has not ended yet. 42 days are remaining. So there is still time to sign and support #HumanityB4Nationality. The petition is available in English, German, Italian, French, and Spanish.
Letter sent on 18. June 2022
Online Petition #HumanityB4Nationality at www.openpetition.eu
Dear Missis Ursula Von der Leyen
I hope this letter finds you well. I know that you have many things going on right now, but I have started my online petition #HumanityB4Nationality (in German #MenschlichkeitVorNationalität) back in August 2021. Who would have thought that a year later when I’m sending you this letter, Europe would be in the middle of a third world war and another refugee crisis! I could never have imagined that 80 years after World War II one single insane man would once again be able to destroy so many lives and be responsible for countless innocent deaths. The world is once again witnessing a shameful human crime. Unfortunately, we haven’t learned anything from history.
I have to admit, that I was hoping to have much more petition supporters, especially now after the Ukraine crisis. But the truth is that people who I have spoken to personally or had zoom conversations, email communications back and forth and on social media simply don’t believe in governments and lawmakers anymore. They also don’t believe that an online petition can change anything! I guess they are right but I am and I will always be the Voice4refugees and it is my duty and responsibility as a former-war refugee to bring awareness and use my voice for the voiceless.
I don’t expect my online petition and this open letter to you (that will also be published on www.openpetiton.eu) will change anything because I’m very well aware that too many powerful and greedy people benefit from the suffering and struggling of helpless refugees worldwide.
Also, if the refugee crisis would be taken care of, what would all the big and no-name “Non-profit”-Organizations or charities do who are sitting in their fancy offices and working either “with” or “for” the refugees?
The previous months after the war
outbreak in Ukraine have shown the world, that if governments really want to
act fast and fair, it is possible to give humans in desperate need of safety
and a chance to start over without bureaucracy and discrimination. The European
countries have been exceptionally open, kind, loving, giving, supportive, and
welcoming to Ukraine’s victims of war. People have opened their hearts and
homes to complete strangers and that’s what I call humanity.
I wish Europe would treat refugees from outside of Europe the same way. Refugees do not choose their country of birth, nationality, skin color, gender, or religion. The way refugees from the Middle East have been treated in the previous decades is shameful. They are stuck in refugee camps or refugee shelters for years or even decades and nobody is doing anything! No one cares! They have become forgotten souls with no chance to escape from their misery. It has become normality to see these terrible images of tents with the UNHCR or UNICEF logo on it. BUT nothing about this living condition is normal! NOTHING!
The huge amount of money that European countries and their governments are donating to help the Ukrainian refugees is truly a miracle. The BIG question is where is all the money coming from? How come, those refugees from 2015 are still struggling and surviving in refugee camps under the most inhuman and disgusting living conditions with absolutely no sign of hope and support wide and bride?
How come no one was and is willing to help them to settle down and have a normal and safe life in dignity? Why didn’t governments donate this huge amount of money to help the millions of refugees coming from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and co? All they did to this date was putting them away and give them tents and blankets! That’s it! Why? Well, the shameful answer is simple, because even refugees are being discriminated against and differently treated based on their birthplace, nationality, BUT especially skin color and religion!
What the UK is doing right now with
its “Homes for Ukraine refugee scheme program” should have been the
solution for all the refugees from 2015. Instead, the Muslim refugees have been
treated like garbage, dirt, and disease and were forced to suffer in silence
for way too many years/decades!
We are witnessing another HUMAN FAILURE in this century and I am ashamed of
our incapable generation and corrupt governments who have failed in terms of
humanity, empathy, solidarity, compassion, and kindness.
Thanks to the
international media coverage and social media we are watching first-hand how billions
are available by rich countries and world leaders to sponsor wars and create and
develop new weapons to destroy innocent countries and their people's lives and
futures. BUT for the refugees stuck
in disgusting refugee camps or refugee shelters in European cities - for years or even decades - there is NO money
available to invest in their education and integration.
Why aren’t you giving these people who
have already lost everything at least a fair chance to start over and become
productive and taxpaying members of your society? WHY? Why are refugees being
recycled like trash or treated as a disease and left alone without a tiny chance
of improvement for integration? Why aren’t they getting the help and support
that they deserve? WHY? Every
single day that goes by is a human crime. Every single death is a disgrace to
humanity!
Matthew Wright, an English television presenter, and former tabloid journalist said something that really touched my heart. On 15 June 2022, he was on ITV's Good Morning show (THIS MORNING) and the TV hosts Phillip Schofield, Holly Willoughby, and Mister Wright were having a conversation about the Rwanda Flight last-minute intervention. He asked why can’t we take responsibility and give the refugees a place of safety when we are THE ONES WHO DROP THE BOMBS AND DESTROY COUNTRIES like Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and co?
That's a legitimate question, isn’t it? WHY? Why don’t rich countries, governments, politicians, and powerful lawmakers who sponsor wars also take responsibility for their actions?
Why can’t people who have already lost innocently everything overnight be treated with kindness? Why don’t you support them while they are settling down, starting a new and challenging life from zero, overshadowed by obstacles of bureaucracy and discrimination with an uncertain future in a foreign country? Why don’t you care to help the victims of war while they are recovering from mental and/or physical nightmares?
Instead, the refugee law is discriminating, rejecting, punishing, and bullying refugees with bureaucracy, racism, and rejection! Muslim refugees are being treated worse than animals.
History has shown us and it is crystal clear to everyone that when you destroy a country by dropping bombs, you have to make a place for refugees! But again, we all know that rich countries use every chance to treat the helpless refugees in need worse than animals!
Speaking of animals, my online petition #HumanityB4Nationality is all about integration and education. Dogs are trained to do something meaningful, why not humans? Why are refugee children and youth abandoned and ignored? They are deprived of every possible opportunity when it comes to education and living an independent life in dignity. Instead, they are either wasting precious years of their lives in refugee camps or being used for dirty or corrupt jobs in European cities. WHY?
It makes me sick to my stomach, whenever I hear people talking about their concern for the next generation. I keep asking myself, what about the generation of today? According to UNICEF right now almost 37 million children are on the run and this number is excluding the refugee children from Ukraine! 37 Million Innocent CHILDREN! What have they done to deserve such punishment?
Missis Von der Leyen, I appeal to your humanity as a wife and a mother of seven children before I appeal to you as the President of the European Commission. Don’t you agree that the corrupt system has done enough damage to humanity? Don’t you agree that enough generations have suffered and lost precious years of their lives? Enough is enough and it is time for a change!
Missis Von der Leyen, not everyone is as privileged as you have been all your life long when it comes to fulfilling your dreams. You had the chance to educate yourself. You studied archeology before switching to economics and political science and finally finished a medical study and got your state examination and license to practice medicine. Despite being a mother and having seven children you made an exceptional and exemplary career as Minister for Social Affairs, Women, Family and Health / Federal Minister for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth / Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs, and Federal Minister of Defence before you became the President of the European Commission. You lived in different countries and had all the privileges and benefits that most people only dream of.
Now imagine how it would feel like if laws would have stopped you from achieving all these incredible milestones? Imagine if your children would have been stopped from further education by law? Imagine how it would feel like when you are ambitious but constantly reduced to just a piece of paper and your nationality! Imagine how painful it is when you can’t live the life that you want to the fullest just because of a piece of paper as an asylum seeker or temporarily tolerated refugee with only limited possibilities and opportunities. Imagine what mental torture it is to be only good enough for dirty jobs instead of having further education, making work experiences, and having a decent job in your field of interest and strength. Trust me, it is a living nightmare!
No wonder refugees in refugee shelters (in Switzerland) commit suicide. They can’t handle and fight this horrible system and the inhuman punishment and mental harassment!
As
much as I appreciate every single person who supports the refugee cause, my
mission is different. I don’t just use my Voice4Refugees. I know exactly how
they feel and suffer because my mother and I suffered and struggled for ages. I
lost my childhood, my teenager hood, and my adulthood because of the corrupt
system and inhuman game with Muslim refugees. Only thanks to my mother’s
incredible strong character, optimistic personality, and faith, the two of us did
survive this horrible nightmare. But the cost was high because we lost so many
precious years and only a “forced and loveless marriage” made it possible for me
to overcome these horrible refugee obstacles. All I desperately wanted was to
live an independent life and have a decent education and employment. That’s all
I asked for. It took me 27 years to
become a Swiss citizen. 27 Years!!!!
Almost three decades. This is ridiculous! Who is taking responsibility for our
stolen years? My stolen childhood? My stolen teenagerhood? My stolen life? My stolen
dreams, desires, and goals? WHO? As if this was
not enough, we were also trapped as refugees with no right to travel outside of
Switzerland for 15 years! We couldn’t even make a day trip to Germany, one hour
away from the Swiss-German border! We couldn’t even move from one city to
another city in Switzerland.
Only thanks to my mother’s incredible support and belief in me, I managed to study web publishing, marketing, and public relations. I speak three languages and yet I was never good enough for a decent job employment. BUT all the rejections and humiliations by narrow-minded HRs working for condescending Swiss companies made me become who I am today. An independent writer, blogger, and Voice4Refugees.
I have written and published several books in English and German. This online petition even made me release two songs. “80 Million People!” and “Blood is always red!” The lyrics are powerful and a clear statement. And be assured that I will continue to be the Voice4refugees regardless of the outcome of this online petition, which is available in English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish.
My international supporters and I, deserve answers and solutions to end this corrupt refugee system. As you can see by the list of signatures, the #HumanityB4Nationality supporters are coming from all over the world (Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Sweden, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States), and I appreciate every single one of them.
I am open to a face-to-face conversation where we can discuss solutions! And this is what I demand with my online petition:
It is horrifying and
heartbreaking to witness the government's lack of will to find a solution that
is beneficial for everyone. Why is this issue causing headaches for these
highly educated and overpaid people in the governments, non-profit
organizations, and charities? Why is it so difficult to find a simple and
helpful solution that ends this broken integration system once and for all? Why
are people who have come to Europe to seek safety treated like outcasts?
Instead of taking care of these innocent people, they are sent to abandoned
buildings outside the city centers or punished like criminals in refugee camps.
Asylum seekers and Refugees are treated as if they are terrorists with a
disease who should be removed from society, punished, and given life sentences
like prisoners.
We have witnessed this
horrible humanitarian crisis for over a decade. It is time to make a
fundamental change and rescue the refugees from their life of misery. Refugees
deserve a life of dignity. Safety and privacy, housing and food, medical and
sociological care, and guidance for participating in the legal asylum-seeking
process.
When people claim
asylum, having left their homes and loved ones to escape conflict and
persecution, they are desperate to start their lives from zero again. But the
Refugee Law today makes it impossible for them in every possible way. Those who
end up in refugee camps suffer as well as those who make it to European
countries.
Tents and blankets are
not the long-term solutions. It is finally time to REALLY help the helpless.
Asylum seekers, refugees, and displaced humans have already lost everything.
They shouldn’t be punished. They shouldn’t suffer under horrifying and inhuman
conditions in refugee camps or abandoned buildings. Depression, serious health
and mental issues, and social isolation are the consequences.
Asylum seekers and
refugees are suffering in their adopted countries in European countries because
they have no right to proper education, employment, and integration.
Depression, serious health and mental issues, and social isolation are the
consequences.
Every human being who
seeks asylum should have the right to proper education, integration, and work
in their adopted country in Europe. Giving asylum seekers and refugees the
right to work will strengthen people’s chances of being able to integrate into
their new communities. It will allow them to live in dignity and to provide for
themselves and their families. It will allow them to use their skills and
make the most of their potential. It will improve the mental health of people
in the asylum system.
That’s why refugees should be treated with respect. Every single person deserves to experience life in safety and dignity. Every single person should live a safe life in a house and not in a tent or an abandoned asylum house. Every single refugee deserves to thrive and not just survive!
I demand the following for Refugees in Refugee Camps
Shut down the refugee camps.
Give the refugees a proper home.
Offer them legal advice in their asylum process.
Offer them health and mental care.
I demand the following for Refugees in European Countries
I demand more rights for asylum seekers and refugees in education, employment, residence, and integration. A regular income and a proper residence permit reduce crime, poverty, and sham/forced marriages.
Asylum seekers and refugees in European countries should get a faster and more transparent asylum process.
Please do not send us a standard letter! Also, please do not come up with the argument, that why should European countries and people take refugees from the middle-east? There are enough rich countries in the region that could take care of these help- and hopeless human beings. And yes, you are right. Filthy rich countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arabic Emirates, Oman and Yemen could and should act, BUT they aren’t the ones who dropped the bombs and destroyed the countries, families, and futures!
I hope you take the time to read my memoir THE STOLEN YEARS IN ZURICH, listen to my songs 80 MILLION PEOPLE! and BLOOD IS ALWAYS RED! and consider working on a solution that is beneficial for everyone and prove that change is possible if we treat humans with humanity and make #HUMANITYB4NATIONALITY the priority in the refugee law!
You are a very well-educated, intelligent, and powerful woman and mother and have all the possibilities to be THE ONE who rescues this innocent and helpless generation and their children from this misery!
Many thanks for your time. Looking forward to hearing back from you or
even speaking to you in person.
Warm regards,
Lily Amis
Writer, Blogger, Lyricist, Illustrator & Voice4Refugees
www.Lily4Refugees.com
UPDATE LETTER DELIVERED IN BRUSSELS!
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