International Family Day: Who is celebrated, who is forgotten?

Migrated and refugee women for a humane family policy

On May 15, 1993, International Family Day was celebrated for the first time. Today, May 15, 2022, we receive daily images of families fleeing, saying goodbye to family members and not knowing when they will see each other again. We remember the dramatic scenes last summer at Kabul airport, where a mother handed her baby over to US soldiers out of sheer fear of the Taliban. We remember the images of women and children who have to leave their husbands, fathers and sons at the borders of Ukraine. These images remind us of what family can mean to us. But they also remind us of all the obstacles that migrant and refugee people and families experience in Germany and the world when it comes to issues such as family reunification and family reunification.

Today, DaMigra, as the mouthpiece for migrant and refugee women, draws attention to all the families who are being deprived of the right to be together. The legal requirements for family reunification are simply unattainable for many refugees.

DaMigra knows many of these stories from all over Germany. The story of Ethiopian Ayana* (name changed) from Hesse is an example of the decision-making power that countries in the global North have over the fate of refugees. It is those states that decide which war and which crisis region are recognized as such. Ayana fled South Sudan 9 years ago, since then she has been waiting to bring her children to Germany as part of family reunification. So far she has been fighting unsuccessfully: According to the authorities, it is not clear that these are actually her children because there are no passports. In war zones it often happens that passports are lost and/or people cannot be officially registered. It is the same with Ayana's children. Although the law stipulates that other documents can serve as proof of family descent in situations where a passport cannot be issued, the competent authority did not recognize them. To this day, Ayana's children are waiting in a UN refugee camp to see their mother again. "I want to work, I want to learn German, but my heart is crying every day. My body is in Germany, but my head is with my children,” says Ayana.

Meanwhile, politicians are open and unbureaucratic when it comes to taking in women and children who have fled Ukraine. This behavior is to be welcomed. At the same time, it reveals a double standard that supposedly not all refugees have the same rights. What we need today, on Family Day, and every other day, is an attitude that recognizes the human rights of all families and that works for them equally. ALL families, regardless of origin, sexuality and constellation, should enjoy the same opportunities and rights. As DaMigra eV, we demand the right to uncomplicated family reunification and a solidarity and fair migration policy worldwide.

DaMigra eV represents the interests of women migrant organizations and their concerns and advocates equal opportunities, equal participation and the equality of women with a history of migration and refugee experience in Germany. DaMigra follows the approach of anti-racist feminism.

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Contact: Lisa Rechenberg | rechenberg@damigra.de