More than 5,500 signatures have been gathered among European filmmakers since Nathalie Borgers and Ursula Wolschlager have initiated a few weeks ago an appeal for action to the European Union in the face of the current refugee situation. European Film professionals are raising a common voice to urge the necessary political move. It’s still time to join in.
For a Thousand Lives: Be Human.
Sign the appeal at: www.for-a-1000-lives.eu
An Appeal from European Filmmakers and Other Film Professionals to our
Governments and to the E.U.
Emmanuelle Béart, Marco Bellochio, Susanne Bier, Dany Boon, Laurent Cantet,
Constantin Costa-Gavras, Daniel Craig, Alfonso Cuarón, Jean Pierre & Luc
Dardenne, Bruno Ganz, Michael Haneke, Michel Hazanavicius, Agnieszka
Holland, Isabelle Huppert, Aki Kaurismäki, Claude Lanzmann, Mike Leigh, Ken
Loach, Sophie Marceau, Jiří Menzel, Kornel Mundruczo, Cristian Mungiu,
Joshua Oppenheimer, Pawel Pawlikowski, Corneliu Porumboiu, Jonathan
Pryce, Isabella Rossellini, Marjane Satrapi, Lone Scherfig, Volker Schlöndorff,
Barbet Schröder, Til Schweiger, Hanna Schygulla, Ulrich Seidl, Léa Seydoux,
Danis Tanović, Bertrand Tavernier, Béla Tarr, Thomas Vinterberg, Peter
Webber and many more…
appeal to their national governments and the European Commission to handle the humanitarian crisis in accordance with the basic values of the European Union, which stipulate respect
for human dignity and human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. (Article 2, Treaty on E.U. 2008)
Every day, people fleeing war, terror, political persecution and misery are drowning in the
sea, suffocating in the back of a truck or tumbling to their death in ports or train stations in
their desperate attempts to reach Europe. According to Amnesty International, more than
23.000 people have lost their lives that way since 2000. These deaths are a direct
consequence of E.U. immigration policies. The guilt doesn’t just lie with the traffickers;
Europe cannot deny its share of responsibility.
To make matters worse, those who reach Europe often find themselves in degrading living
conditions and are subjected to inhumane treatment. The E.U. is spending up to twenty times
more money on border control, than on welcoming centres for refugees.
The past tragedies have already led to a change in attitude for many people as can be
witnessed in countless acts of personal compassion as well as public demonstrations of
solidarity. Sadly, most official politicians seem to be all too slow in accepting the existence of
a humanitarian crisis and finding life-sustaining solutions.
We, the undersigned professionals of the European film industry want these deaths to stop.
We want to remind you that the European Union was founded “on the values of respect for
human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights,
including the rights of persons belonging to minorities (...) in a society in which pluralism,
non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men
prevail." (Article 2, Treaty on European Union 2008)
We appeal to our governments and the E.U. to take immediate action to place these values
at the core of their asylum politics:
• The European Union must offer legal ways for people fleeing war, terror, or political
persecution to seek protection in the E.U. by setting up infrastructures in their
countries of origin, and in third party countries, where they can apply for asylum. This
will stop forcing them to take illegal routes and risk their lives.
• European nations must act in solidarity as we are facing the biggest refugee crisis
since WWII. The Dublin convention has obviously led to absurd and unjust burdens
for the bordering countries of the E.U. Consequently, immediately repealing the
Dublin convention and enforcing a better division of refugees across the various E.U.
states is a must.
• The European nations must stop to hinder those individuals, groups and
organisations that try to contribute to help and support refugees on arrival and
throughout their stay. They should instead embrace them as a valuable resource
which can support and leverage their activities. These people are doing YOUR job.
• The European Countries must create living conditions for refugees that embrace
human rights, personal freedom, dignity and physical safety without restriction, and
devote the necessary means to ensure that refugees can work legally, get access to
education and build a new life.
Europe must act now. Let’s not risk another life.
Sign the appeal at: www.for-a-1000-lives.eu
