The new governing coalition in Germany has effectively stopped issuing humanitarian visas under § 22 (2) of the Residence Act — the very program that saved the lives of around three thousand anti-war and opposition activists from Russia and Belarus.
Now there is silence. New applications are no longer being processed, and already approved visas are not being issued.
What remains are only hypothetical loopholes for “exceptionally media-friendly” cases — those convenient to present as “examples of humanitarianism” or those who happen to be especially well-connected with the new political leadership.
Behind this policy lie hundreds of frozen lives: families who have given up everything in their home countries in the hope of safety, and people for whom every delay means a question of freedom or imprisonment.
We call things by their name: the German government cynically and hypocritically adopts the agenda of the far right to score cheap political points on the suffering of those in need of protection. This policy drives people not only into despair but back into the repressive arms of Putin, Lukashenko, or other authoritarian regimes — where they remain without status, without protection, and at constant risk of deportation, as in the case of Artyom Borodin.
And all this under the false pretext of a “no funds for integration” while unprecedented sums flow into arms corporations and support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza. While officials “count every single humanitarian visa,” billions are poured into war — instead of protecting those who resist it.
These policies show that activists from Russia and Belarus, who act in the interest of the majority of our societies, should have no illusions about Western governments. Our only allies can be anti-war, left, and grassroots movements of the same kind.
We also reject the racist logic of certain liberal politicians who try to pit Belarusians and Russians against Afghans, Syrians, or Iranians. Such divisions only serve the capitalist bosses, who constantly seek to split migrant workers into dozens of categories — to divide them, pit them against each other, keep them in fear and obedience, and fuel the basest human instincts.
We are not the “good white migrants.”
We are part of one movement — for the right to asylum, for peace, and for democracy — for everyone fleeing dictatorships and wars. We sincerely believe that we deserve protection and refuge no more and no less than anyone else.
That is why the Post-Soviet Left is initiating talks with Afghan, Iranian, Syrian, Sudanese and other diasporas affected by this decision, aiming to build a joint campaign for the full unfreezing and resumption of humanitarian visa programs.
We recall that the German government’s coalition agreement already included a clause about a “temporary suspension of voluntary admission programs” — and at that time, many claimed there was no reason for concern. Today, the opposite is true. That is why we state clearly: rights are not won through gratitude and polite appeals — but through pressure from below.
We demand equal rights and equal protection – for everyone.
