Timelines

Following the suicide of the Iranian refugee Mohammad Rahseparin in Würzburg in January 2012, other refugees from the city went on hunger strike. Months later, they marched with refugees from other cities from Würzburg to Berlin to protest against compulsory residence, accommodation in shared accommodation and the allocation of food parcels, and to demand a stop to deportation, the right to work, easier family reunification and access to German courses. Upon reaching Berlin, they established a permanent protest camp at Oranienplatz in Berlin Kreuzberg, which faced eviction in early 2014. Simultaneously, the occupation of the nearby Gerhart Hauptmann School led to the formation of the International Women Space group. Similar protest collectives and camps arose in cities like Hamburg, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Calais. These actions followed the long-standing tradition of self-organised struggles by refugees since the 1990s, led by groups such as Women In Exile, Voice Refugee Forum and the Caravan for Refugee and Migrant Rights.