Linz collects for the Balkan route again!
SOS Balkanroute Upper Austria: Clothing collection for refugees in Bosnia-Herzegovina in Linz.
Linz shows how cross-border solidarity works: people in the steel city have been collecting clothes for refugees on the Balkan route since 2019. Once again, a large alliance - from Volkshilfe to Radio FRO to servus.at - is calling for the SOS Balkanroute Upper Austria collection campaign:
On Sunday 14 and Monday 15 January from 3pm to 8pm, winter clothing and equipment will be accepted at the Stadtwerkstatt (Kirchengasse 4, 4040 Linz). The collection is in aid of refugees in Bosnia-Herzegovina who have to endure homelessness and inhumane conditions in winter. Every hat, every scarf, every pair of socks saves lives.
For the fourth year in a row, SOS Balkanroute in Upper Austria is collecting for refugees who, due to the attempted closure of the Balkan route in 2016, a route that is vital for survival, are often stuck there for months and years, unjustly and without any chance of protection. People who are forced to leave their homes for a variety of reasons such as war, political or religious persecution, climate change, poverty and hunger as a result of exploitation are often stranded on the EU's external Croatian-Bosnian border.
Local SOS Balkanroute volunteer Baba Asim has been distributing the donations collected there for years to the often young refugees - including numerous minors in search of a future in peace. "Thanks to the donated winter jackets, blankets and jumpers, I can not only save the people, most of whom have to spend the night outdoors, from freezing to death, but also give them back a bit of human dignity," summarises Asim. He not only reports on a further steady increase in the number of refugees in Bosnia-Herzegovina due to numerous global crises, but also on the massive increase in brutal violence and human rights violations against young refugees. The number of deaths on the run is also increasing again.
Petar Rosandic, founder of SOS Balkanroute, who tirelessly campaigns for a policy of empathy, warns of the consequences of the growing fortress Europe: "The increasing dismantling of the rights of people on the run, the habituation to suffering and systematic injustice goes hand in hand with a dismantling of democracy in Europe and jeopardises it." Rosandic alias Kid Pex explains the principle of SOS Balkanroute: "From person to person for people and humanity! All it takes is a little empathy and the clothes you no longer need to do so much good - decency and attitude instead of fortress!"
Before Christmas, SOS Balkanroute sent its 67th aid transport to the EU's external borders. Christine Franz and Manuel Schwaiger in Linz, who have been organising the collection of donations in kind for years, explain what motivates them to volunteer for SOS Balkanroute as follows: "The Upper Austrian black-blue state government is directly involved in the EU border regime at the Bosnian-Croatian border with political and financial backing. As SOS Balkanroute Upper Austria, we are showing with a diverse cooperation of cultural associations, aid organisations, political parties, religious communities and committed individuals that not everyone in Upper Austria agrees with this racist policy. Most of our supporters are not rich people themselves. But with every scarf, every pair of socks and every warm winter jacket, we show humanity!
Further information: https://fb.me/e/1qyx9T0nX
Upcoming clothing collections of SOS Balkanroute in Upper Austria:
Linz:
Sunday, 14 January, 15-20:00
Monday, 15 January, 15-20:00
@servus.at clubraum c/o
Stadtwerkstatt (Kirchengasse 4, 4040 Linz)
Vöcklabruck:
Sunday 28 January, 10-13:00
OKH Vöcklabruck, Hans Hatschek-Straße 24, 4840 Vöcklabruck
Steyr:
Sunday 18 February, time tba
KV Röda, Gaswerkgasse 2, 4400 Steyr
What will be collected?
- Sleeping bags
- sleeping mats
- tents
- Blankets (thin)
- rucksacks
- Men's winter jackets up to size L
- Jumpers up to size L
- Trousers up to size L
- Long-sleeved shirts up to size L
- Thermal tops and bottoms
- Bonnets, scarves, gloves
- socks
- Men's shoes (up to size 43), preferably warm winter shoes
- Boxer shorts
- Headlamps and torches
- Thermos flasks
- Old working smartphones
- Powerbanks
DONATIONS:
IBAN: AT20 2011 1842 8097 8400
BIC: GIBAATWWXXX
Account holder SOS Balkanroute
PAYPAL donations to team@sos-balkanroute.at
Further enquiries:
Manuel Schwaiger: +436604861001 (SOS Balkanroute Upper Austria)
Petar Rosandic: +436607390819 (SOS Balkanroute)