Unjust economic relations and arms exports cause many people in the Global South to flee their homelands. Germany and Europe play a part in this exodus. The time for change is ripe.nMany people in Germany are convinced that nobody leaves their country unless it\u2019s absolutely necessary. At the same time, there is a prevailing view that the root causes of flight and migration to Europe have nothing to do with our country and its policies.nHowever, the German arms industry makes millions every year with arms and warfare \u2013 and thus actively causes the escalation of conflicts in many countries. Armed conflicts are the root cause of flight in several countries and not just in Syria and Afghanistan. Wars and a lack of prospects have deeper and nearly always economic reasons. But the EU and Germany\u2019s current strategies on \u201celiminating the root causes of flight\u201d do not take this into consideration. Instead, there is talk of \u201cdefence from refugees themselves\u201d in debates that often evoke social racism, discrimination and animosity. But those who produce tools of violence reinforce unfair economic relations and will have to face refugees.nArms exports from Germany<\/b>nGermany ranks as the fourth biggest global arms exporter after the U.S., Russia and China,. In 2014, Germany approved arms\u2019 exports worth nearly EUR 4 billion, 60 per cent of which were to countries outside the EU and NATO. The German Foreign Trade and Payments Law requires an end-use certificate and bans the export of arms to conflict zones. Yet, German arms are repeatedly found in those same regions.nMainly existential threats and insecurity prompt people to leave their homelands. After World War II, thousands of Germans fled to other countries for those very reasons.nArguing that arms are delivered to the \u201cright hands\u201d does not legitimize arms exports. People in many countries are fleeing bloodshed wrought by well-armed terrorist groups who received military training from the West in the past. Terrorist groups like Boko Haram obtain their weapons from countries like Saudi Arabia and Libya.nThe export of weapons also goes towards the protection of African countries from economic exploitation by the Global North as many countries there rely on resources from the Global South. Many refugees originate from countries that are rich in resources. Industrialized countries abuse and uphold unjust economic structures in those countries and by force of arms if necessary.nLocal level activism<\/b>nTherefore, political and economic change must occur in Germany and Europe. From the struggles of the past years, we have learnt that many helpful and committed people see problems only in migrants\u2019 countries of origin. German civil society needs to be sensitized to the root causes of flight and migration and the role of violence in this equation. This applies to the arms trade, involvement in wars and conflicts, speculation in food commodities as well as the exploitation of natural resources. Companies and states that are responsible for the mass exodus of their fellow countrymen have to be fought rather than the migrants. German civil society must realise what is happening on their doorstep. Tax payers must be made aware that they are indirectly financing wars all over the world.nWe are not looking to politics for the power to change. This power lies with every individual human being \u2013 when they start showing solidarity that goes beyond shock and dismay. Refugees will continue to come to Europe and Germany is partly responsible for the instability in their homelands. The slogan, \u201cWe are here because you are destroying out countries\u201d, coined by The Voice and the Caravan for the rights of refugees and migrants1, embodies this responsibility. Everyone has a responsibility to seek and fight the root causes of flight on their own doorstep.nIn collaboration with Karenina Schr\u00f6dernRex Osa is a refugee activist living in Germany. He is a member of the refugee self-support group \u201cThe Voice Refugee Forum\u201d and the Germany-wide \u201cCaravane for the rights of refugees and migrants\u201d since 2006. In 2011, he founded the network \u201crefugees for refugees\u201d (https:\/\/refugees4refugees.wordpress.com).nContact: refugees4refugees@gmx.denTranslation by Mona Niemeyer and Pauline BuglernThis article was first published in German by AfricAvenir and S\u00fcdlink on March 7, 2016. It was written as part of the project \u201cWhy we are here \u2013 African perspectives on flight and migration\u201d conducted by AfricAvenir in 2015\/16.nWith the friendly support of the Landesstelle f\u00fcr Entwicklungszusammenarbeit and Engagement Global.n1 Both are refugee self-organisations active in Germany.nRead more<\/link>nPambazuka Homepage<\/link>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Unjust economic relations and arms exports cause many people in the Global South to flee their homelands. Germany and Europe play a part in this exodus. The time for change is ripe.nMany people in Germany are convinced that nobody leaves their country unless it\u2019s absolutely necessary. At the same time, there is a prevailing view…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95,107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-afrikanische-perspektiven","category-kolonialismus-und-dekolonisierung"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n