Hungry to be noticed

The European refugee crisis that was all over the front page a couple of weeks ago is now mysteriously absent from the media. Did it go away? Was there just nothing new to report? Or did our collective attention span run its course?

I won't answer that question, but there is a group of people in Hannover who don't want to be invisible. A few months ago, I wrote about the Sudanese migrants in Refugee Protest Camp Hannover. They are here without a status, not deported but not given a place to live or a right to work. They are squatting, basically, in a nice part of town, living in tents and trying to get refugee status from the state government. No one has arrested or deported them. No one has given them rights either.

This week they staged a hunger strike outside the Staatskanzlei, where the governor works. I knew this not because I am that connected with current events but because I ran right into it. The state government building is on my way to school and the Sudanese guys were all set up on the sidewalk Monday morning. They were there Tuesday also. On Wednesday, I stopped to talk with them. It was day three of the hunger strike and a few of the 45 men were looking, even for people used to living in the elements, pretty worn down.

I asked if they had talked to anyone from 'in there' (as I pointed to the Staatskanzlei). The man who seemed to be in charge said that some people from their group had gone in and delivered a letter explaining their case. Someone from inside was now supposed to come out and address them. I wished them luck and asked if I could take a picture. They wanted to make sure I got the government building in the background. I mentioned the blog and said I'd write about what they are doing.

According to a local news article, the Sudanese want to have the same status as people fleeing from Syria, who are classified as refugees. They have also pledged to continue the hunger strike until October 23rd, nourished only with water, tea and cigarettes. It baffles me to think how that is even possible.

And as I pedaled past on day four of the hunger strike, my belly full from breakfast at home, my heart sank a little. It was hard to believe that these people would be heard by the officials from 'in there'. They have no rights, no power, no money, no political clout. There is not a Sudanese community in Hannover pulling for them. Sleeping under tarps beside their protest signs, they are fighting to be noticed.

The Sudanese protesters do have a few friends in town, and a Facebook page, of course. A recent post mentioned that the protesters need: "water, tea, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, their rights."
As a foreigner myself, I don't think I can help with that last one, but I might drop off some tea on Monday. I wish the Sudanese guys, and the other refugees coming to Hannover, a roof and a full belly and a chance to be noticed.