On June 22, 2013, more than seventy (70) asylum-seekers went on a hunger strike in Munich, Germany protesting against the continuous violence imposed on them through deportations, detention and Residenzpflicht. After almost a year of demonstrations, protests and hunger strikes that were pacified with false promises by the German authorities, migrants from all over Bavaria stood up firmly and declared: “We will rise!” The core demand of their protest is clear: status for all! In a politically charged letter addressed to the chancellor Angela Merkel, the non-citizens declared that their demands must be met within three days. As the German authorities bluntly disregarded their demands once again, a press conference was called for June 25, during which the migrants declared that they are going on a dry strike. When dehydrated, it takes three to four days for someone to enter into a dangerous, sometimes fatal, state. Thus, Chancellor Merkel has less than two days to respond to the demands of the protestors in Munich. One person is already in a critical condition and three more have been hospitalized. With the spread of migrants’ hunger strikes all over Europe – Bulgaria, Greece, Poland, Ukraine, to name a few – we want to ask: How many “border deaths” does Europe need to witness at its doorway in order for the bourgeoisie to become fearful? The goal of a hunger strike is not death. On the contrary, hunger strikers want to achieve life instead. The Munich 70 are striking in the heart of Europe, which pumps out the policies that sustain the European apartheid, shaping class hierarchies and reinforce the production of categories such as “legal” and “illegal,” all under the banners of contemporary global capitalism. Those who have chosen to bring the lines between life and death even closer are fighting for more than papers. Their struggle questions the adequacy of the institution of citizenship, an issue which concerns all of us. Their struggle brings us closer to universal emancipation and as such, we stand in solidarity with the protestors in Munich. We, the signed below, demand from Chancellor Merkel and the German authorities responsible for migration policies in the country to give status to all!

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