1989-2019: from open Europe to fortress Europe
2019 marks the 30th anniversary of a historical year. However, the narrative about those events is out of tune with the current European context.
2019 marks the 30th anniversary of a historical year. However, the narrative about those events is out of tune with the current European context.
"On November 9th 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, marking what many hoped would be a new era of cooperation and openness across borders.
[...]
30 years later, the opposite seems to have happened."
Building walls: fear and securitization in the European Union
[...]
30 years later, the opposite seems to have happened."
Building walls: fear and securitization in the European Union
In Europe, 1989 is remembered as the year of freedoms. Freedom of movement, the victory of democracy, civil society as the protagonist of the great changes. All permeated by a strong feeling of solidarity.
It was practically a year zero for Europe: the events would pave the way for a new and united continent, which would overcome the divisions and would be diverse and inclusive. At least this was what many were dreaming of.
How can we celebrate those events in 2019?
Celebrating events which represented freedom of movement, new freedoms and solidarity cannot overlook the current European context, where these principles are being constantly challenged again.
The Hungarian case illustrated below is a fitting (though not unique) example that something went wrong in these 30 years and that this is not the Europe many were dreaming of.
It was practically a year zero for Europe: the events would pave the way for a new and united continent, which would overcome the divisions and would be diverse and inclusive. At least this was what many were dreaming of.
How can we celebrate those events in 2019?
Celebrating events which represented freedom of movement, new freedoms and solidarity cannot overlook the current European context, where these principles are being constantly challenged again.
The Hungarian case illustrated below is a fitting (though not unique) example that something went wrong in these 30 years and that this is not the Europe many were dreaming of.
Old and new walls in Hungary
On 19th August 2019, Hungary celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Pan-European picnic. This event, jointly organised by Austrian and Hungarian civil society groups, is often considered as the first breach in the Iron Curtain and a crucial event which led to the German reunification.
The event was organised in order to attract international attention on what was going on at the border between the two countries: Austrians and Hungarians could come and go freely, crossing the borders as they liked.
Indeed, the fence between the two countries had started being removed earlier in spring that year. On 27th June, Austria's Minister of foreign affairs Alois Mock and his counterpart Gyula Horn cut the fence at the Sopron border crossing during a symbolic ceremony.
However, this event did not cause the reaction that a part of the Hungarian opposition was expecting. Another event was needed to attract the international media.
Indeed, the fence between the two countries had started being removed earlier in spring that year. On 27th June, Austria's Minister of foreign affairs Alois Mock and his counterpart Gyula Horn cut the fence at the Sopron border crossing during a symbolic ceremony.
However, this event did not cause the reaction that a part of the Hungarian opposition was expecting. Another event was needed to attract the international media.
Alois Mock and Gyula Horn cutting the fence at the Austro-Hungarian border
Photograph: Bernhard J. Holzner/Associated Press
A flyer of the event, reprinted in occasion of the 30th anniversary.
"We just wanted to demonstrate that in Hungary they were demolishing the Iron Curtain and that this should be an issue" said Laszlo Nagy, one of the organisers of the Pan-European Picnic and today secretary of the Paneuropai Piknik foundation. "Why this could be possible at this border and not, for example, at Check Point Charlie?" adds Nagy.
A picnic across the border was organised on 19th August with the aim of causing international resonance and to call for a Europe without fences.
The event was sensational: thousands of people joined the picnic, sending a clear message to the Hungarian government.
However even more astonishing was a "collateral effect" of the picnic, which led to something that would have changed the fate of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
A picnic across the border was organised on 19th August with the aim of causing international resonance and to call for a Europe without fences.
The event was sensational: thousands of people joined the picnic, sending a clear message to the Hungarian government.
However even more astonishing was a "collateral effect" of the picnic, which led to something that would have changed the fate of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
Famous pictures by Tamás Lobenwein, portraying the most salient moments of the picnic, were exposed in the city of Sopron.
Taking advantage of the opening and of the crowd, hundreds of Eastern Germans crossed the border. They finally found themselves in Austria, on the other side of the Iron Curtain.
At that time, thousands of GDR citizens were crowding refugee camps in Hungary. To what extent the Picnic was supposed to serve their getaway, or whether it was a completely spontaneous action, is still unknown.
When hundreds of people started moving in the direction of Austria, the guards at the border did not shoot. Hungarians were giving information to the Germans on which direction to take.
This way, the first migration wave of Eastern Germans to the West took place, paving the way to the mobilisation of the citizens in the GDR: there was not much time left for the Honecker's regime.
At that time, thousands of GDR citizens were crowding refugee camps in Hungary. To what extent the Picnic was supposed to serve their getaway, or whether it was a completely spontaneous action, is still unknown.
When hundreds of people started moving in the direction of Austria, the guards at the border did not shoot. Hungarians were giving information to the Germans on which direction to take.
This way, the first migration wave of Eastern Germans to the West took place, paving the way to the mobilisation of the citizens in the GDR: there was not much time left for the Honecker's regime.
30th anniversary's celebrations
The city of Sopron has celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Paneuropean Picnic with a series of events.
All over the city centre, exhibitions, installations and concerts reminded local citizens and visitors of the historic event.
The Ferenc Liszt centre has hosted a two-days conference, in the framework of a summer school for German and Hungarian young people, organised by the German-Hungarian Youth Organisation (Deutsch-Ungarisches Jugendwerk - Magyar-Német Ifjúságért Egyesület). In this occasion, the younger generation and the general public had the chance to listen to the witnesses of those days: GDR refugees, organisers of the picnic, a Hungarian border guard, and others.
The event was well attended and the voices of the speakers sounded in unison: this was a unique and memorable event, which led to a free and a united Europe.
All over the city centre, exhibitions, installations and concerts reminded local citizens and visitors of the historic event.
The Ferenc Liszt centre has hosted a two-days conference, in the framework of a summer school for German and Hungarian young people, organised by the German-Hungarian Youth Organisation (Deutsch-Ungarisches Jugendwerk - Magyar-Német Ifjúságért Egyesület). In this occasion, the younger generation and the general public had the chance to listen to the witnesses of those days: GDR refugees, organisers of the picnic, a Hungarian border guard, and others.
The event was well attended and the voices of the speakers sounded in unison: this was a unique and memorable event, which led to a free and a united Europe.
The picnic's site at Sopronkohida, right at the Austro-Hungarian border, today is a memorial park, which hosts sculptures and plaques in remembrance of the event.
The group of limestone-sculptured figures is a monument to the Pan-European Picnic and is named The Breakthrough - The Monument to European Freedom. The work of Miklós Melocco was unveiled in occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Picnic.
Another monument, representing a group of people behind a fence, remembers the opening of the Iron Curtain and the escape of hundreds of GDR citizens to the West.
All around the park, plaques recall the stages of the fall of both the Iron Curtain and the regime in Hungary.
The group of limestone-sculptured figures is a monument to the Pan-European Picnic and is named The Breakthrough - The Monument to European Freedom. The work of Miklós Melocco was unveiled in occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Picnic.
Another monument, representing a group of people behind a fence, remembers the opening of the Iron Curtain and the escape of hundreds of GDR citizens to the West.
All around the park, plaques recall the stages of the fall of both the Iron Curtain and the regime in Hungary.
Back to 2019
When fences are there, again
Photo: Délmagyarország/Schmidt Andrea
When fences are there, again
Photo: Délmagyarország/Schmidt Andrea
With the explosion of the so-called "migration crisis", in summer 2015, Hungary built a fence on its border with Serbia, with the aim of preventing asylum-seekers and immigrants from entering the country. The erection of the fence as a measure to stop the migration flow was accompanied by violence and unhuman behaviour by the Hungarian police and was internationally criticized by several human rights organisations. Still nowadays, in 2019, Hungarian authorities are accused of denying food to asylum seekers who are detained in the border transit zones.
26 years after gaining freedom of movement and offering solidarity to Eastern German refugees and 11 years after the accession to the EU, the Hungarian state has again imposed some restrictions on freedom of movement by building barriers. This time, these restrictions have been introduced on newcomers and extra-EU citizens and with the aim of allegedly protecting Hungarians from them.
26 years after gaining freedom of movement and offering solidarity to Eastern German refugees and 11 years after the accession to the EU, the Hungarian state has again imposed some restrictions on freedom of movement by building barriers. This time, these restrictions have been introduced on newcomers and extra-EU citizens and with the aim of allegedly protecting Hungarians from them.
Laszlo Nagy (Sopron, August 2019)
When I asked him whether he saw any contradiction in celebrating freedom, open borders and solidarity towards Eastern German refugees in 1989, while keeping out today's refugees with new walls, Laszlo Nagy commented that the situations "are two pairs of shoes".
"That time the wall was built against us Hungarian citizens, now the fence in the south of Hungary is protecting us" said Nagy, who added that "60-70% of the Hungarian people think so". According to him, the majority of people at the EU gates are not real refugees, nor are they fleeing a war. One could argue that neither were the Eastern Germans, when they fled the brutal Honecker's regime.
A day later, international journalists would ask the same question to Prime Minister Viktor Orban and he would answer with the same formula. The opening of the border with Austria was going to unite Europe, the fence at the border with Serbia is protecting the EU and the security of its citizens. Another way to say that Europe has to be once again thankful to Hungary for its role.
"That time the wall was built against us Hungarian citizens, now the fence in the south of Hungary is protecting us" said Nagy, who added that "60-70% of the Hungarian people think so". According to him, the majority of people at the EU gates are not real refugees, nor are they fleeing a war. One could argue that neither were the Eastern Germans, when they fled the brutal Honecker's regime.
A day later, international journalists would ask the same question to Prime Minister Viktor Orban and he would answer with the same formula. The opening of the border with Austria was going to unite Europe, the fence at the border with Serbia is protecting the EU and the security of its citizens. Another way to say that Europe has to be once again thankful to Hungary for its role.
Celebrating the fall of a fence, while erecting a new one is not a contradiction according to the dominant narrative in Hungary: both things, in fact, are about national sovereignty.
In 1989, Hungary was freeing itself from the Soviet yoke, nowadays it is asserting its sovereignty vis-a-vis the EU and the power to decide about its own territory.
The national interest, expression which is abused by several nationalist politicians, has to prevail on individual rights and has to be protected by external threats and bad influences.
The supremacy of the national interest is directly related to the Hungarian government's battle against NGOs. Several laws approved in the last years avow a protection of national interest, as they aim to disadvantage organizations that, to in Orbán's rhetoric, pursue foreign interests in the country.
In 1989, Hungary was freeing itself from the Soviet yoke, nowadays it is asserting its sovereignty vis-a-vis the EU and the power to decide about its own territory.
The national interest, expression which is abused by several nationalist politicians, has to prevail on individual rights and has to be protected by external threats and bad influences.
The supremacy of the national interest is directly related to the Hungarian government's battle against NGOs. Several laws approved in the last years avow a protection of national interest, as they aim to disadvantage organizations that, to in Orbán's rhetoric, pursue foreign interests in the country.
3 laws against NGOs
How the Hungarian government tries to stop organisations which help "illegal migration"
How the Hungarian government tries to stop organisations which help "illegal migration"
Law on "foreign agents"
The Law on the transparency of organizations funded from abroad forces NGOs receiving more than 24,000 EUR direct or indirect funding from abroad to re-register as "civic organization funded from abroad" and to put this pejorative label on every publication.
Source: Amnesty International
Source: Amnesty International
"Stop Soros" package
Under the law, officially called "Stop Soros", individuals or groups that help illegal migrants gain status to stay in Hungary will be liable to prison terms.
The law - which in practice criminalises solidarity actions - is intentionally vague, says Aron Demeter from the Hungarian office of Amnesty International, and so far has been serving as a warning for civil society organisations working in this field.
The law - which in practice criminalises solidarity actions - is intentionally vague, says Aron Demeter from the Hungarian office of Amnesty International, and so far has been serving as a warning for civil society organisations working in this field.
Immigration special tax
A number of NGOs that had been identified by Fidesz politicians as the main targets of the tax responded to media inquiries that the tax did not apply to them. In response, the National Tax and Customs Administration issued a press release on 17 September 2018 that said, "certain organisations speak openly about circumventing the laws and tax norms". The tax authority warned it would be strict in overseeing the tax law's implementation and emphasised that if an organization failed to pay the tax, it would also have to pay a fine.
Source: Amnesty International Hungary
Source: Amnesty International Hungary
An example of the state propaganda targeting immigrants.
Photograph: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters
Photograph: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters
In addition to strict border controls and to the criminalisation of solidarity actions towards asylum-seekers, the Hungarian government has been working on a powerful propaganda campaign targeting immigrants.
"The responsible organ is the cabinet office of the Prime Minister, but many refer to it as the propaganda ministry" is the comment of Aron Demeter, who works at the Hungarian office of Amnesty International.
"The responsible organ is the cabinet office of the Prime Minister, but many refer to it as the propaganda ministry" is the comment of Aron Demeter, who works at the Hungarian office of Amnesty International.
Photograph: Adam Berry/Getty Images
The hoarding on the left portrays George Soros, the government's fierce enemy and favourite target, together with some politicians of the opposition.
The slogan reads "They will demolish the fence together" and the poster seems like a clear attempt to discredit the opposition and to propagandise against migration at the same time.
It is hard not to see an intertextual reference to the historic picture portraying Alois Mock and Gyula Horn cutting the fence in 1989.
The slogan reads "They will demolish the fence together" and the poster seems like a clear attempt to discredit the opposition and to propagandise against migration at the same time.
It is hard not to see an intertextual reference to the historic picture portraying Alois Mock and Gyula Horn cutting the fence in 1989.
From the picnic to the fortress
How did Europe become complacent and an exclusive entity?
How did Europe become complacent and an exclusive entity?
"We Hungarians would like to keep Europe for the Europeans, and we also wish to keep Hungary as a Hungarian country"
Viktor Orbán, 2015
Viktor Orbán, 2015
What is the difference between the Eastern Germans, who were striving for freedom and a better life, and those who try to enter the gates of Fortress Europe today?
Arguments are usually cultural, says Gábor Egry from the Hungarian Institute of political history: "In 1989 it was about recovering freedoms for the people who essentially belonged to the same Europe, while today the fence on the Southern border of Hungary is defending from something which is alien to Europe". At least this is the perception of the majority of Hungarians.
"The reason why Hungarian people are not seeing any similarities with 1989 is simply based on race: these are not white people" agrees Aron Demeter, Amnesty International.
Furthermore, there is a sort of "moral hierarchy", as Egry calls it, between the two groups: back then, the others were oppressed, today these are just looking for an easier life.
However, reactions might be different, if propaganda hoardings did not only show masses of anonymous people, as if they were an army ready to attack.
Arguments are usually cultural, says Gábor Egry from the Hungarian Institute of political history: "In 1989 it was about recovering freedoms for the people who essentially belonged to the same Europe, while today the fence on the Southern border of Hungary is defending from something which is alien to Europe". At least this is the perception of the majority of Hungarians.
"The reason why Hungarian people are not seeing any similarities with 1989 is simply based on race: these are not white people" agrees Aron Demeter, Amnesty International.
Furthermore, there is a sort of "moral hierarchy", as Egry calls it, between the two groups: back then, the others were oppressed, today these are just looking for an easier life.
However, reactions might be different, if propaganda hoardings did not only show masses of anonymous people, as if they were an army ready to attack.
Pictures on the left, by the Hungarian photographer Tamás Lobenwein, show Eastern German refugees crossing the border in Sopron, in August 1989.
The photographs on the right, taken by the Italian photographer Luigi Ottani, are much more recent and show groups of people walking the so-called "Balkan route" in summer 2015.
The photographs on the right, taken by the Italian photographer Luigi Ottani, are much more recent and show groups of people walking the so-called "Balkan route" in summer 2015.
If there is a clear difference between these two groups of pictures, it is in the emotions they evoke. Lobenwein's shots, on the left, captured moments of joy, of rediscovered freedoms.
In Ottani's pictures, the pain and the hope in people's eyes are palpable just as much.
In Ottani's pictures, the pain and the hope in people's eyes are palpable just as much.
Juxtaposing these pictures should make us realise at least two things.
The first is that all of these pictures portray human beings, equals, having the right to freedom and a dignitous life.
The second is that, in the current situation, some human beings, to say it with Orwell's words, "are more equal than others".
30 years later, there is a gulf between our reality and the heritage that 1989 left us in terms of values.
The first is that all of these pictures portray human beings, equals, having the right to freedom and a dignitous life.
The second is that, in the current situation, some human beings, to say it with Orwell's words, "are more equal than others".
30 years later, there is a gulf between our reality and the heritage that 1989 left us in terms of values.
"Fortress Europe" cartoon on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Le Monde, 11/09/2009
Credit: Jean Plantureux (Plantu)
Credit: Jean Plantureux (Plantu)
As already mentioned, the Hungarian case is just an example of a more general and widespread trend: according to a recent report, the whole Europe has built over 1,000 km of walls since the nineties.
A total of 13 walls have been built on EU borders or inside the Schengen area and immigration was the main cause for the construction of the majority of them.
However, physical walls are not the only ones: there are also so-called mental walls, represented by fears and prejudices which are even more difficult to dismantle. Far-right parties and their narrative criminalise the movement of refugees and migrants, instilling feelings like xenophobia which eventually end up justifying physical walls, violence and a further securitisation of the Fortress.
All this is accompanied by a contradictory rhetoric and narrative by the EU. While apparently rejecting a policy of walls, at the same it adopts discourses and security practices that criminalise the movement of people who migrate, conceiving them as a threat. The recent creation of EU Commission's portfolio for the "Protection of our European way of life" does not bode well for a change in this narrative. If would be nice if it was meant to protect the funding values of the EU, freedom, equality, diversity, democracy. In fact, it will deal with migration issues.
A total of 13 walls have been built on EU borders or inside the Schengen area and immigration was the main cause for the construction of the majority of them.
However, physical walls are not the only ones: there are also so-called mental walls, represented by fears and prejudices which are even more difficult to dismantle. Far-right parties and their narrative criminalise the movement of refugees and migrants, instilling feelings like xenophobia which eventually end up justifying physical walls, violence and a further securitisation of the Fortress.
All this is accompanied by a contradictory rhetoric and narrative by the EU. While apparently rejecting a policy of walls, at the same it adopts discourses and security practices that criminalise the movement of people who migrate, conceiving them as a threat. The recent creation of EU Commission's portfolio for the "Protection of our European way of life" does not bode well for a change in this narrative. If would be nice if it was meant to protect the funding values of the EU, freedom, equality, diversity, democracy. In fact, it will deal with migration issues.
Tearing down the walls, again
In occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Pan-European Picnic, German chancellor Angela Merkel mentioned that the events at the picnic "reflected the values of solidarity, freedom and a humane Europe" and that "Sopron is an example of how much we Europeans can achieve, if we courageously stand up for our indivisible values".
But where is solidarity and where is the human Europe, in times when thousands of people in need are drowning in the Mediterranean sea, are brutally beaten in the forests between Bosnia Erzegovina and Croatia, are starved in the transit zones at the Hungarian/Serbian border? And who will courageously stand up for our "indivisible values", if solidarity actions are criminalised?
But where is solidarity and where is the human Europe, in times when thousands of people in need are drowning in the Mediterranean sea, are brutally beaten in the forests between Bosnia Erzegovina and Croatia, are starved in the transit zones at the Hungarian/Serbian border? And who will courageously stand up for our "indivisible values", if solidarity actions are criminalised?
"In every ethnic community one needs to bring to the fore those people and forces that are capable of self-critique with regards to their own community: real traitors of ethnic compactness"
Alexander Langer, 1994
Alexander Langer, 1994
In his Tentative decalogue for the art of inter-ethnic togetherness, Italian politician and intellectual Alexander Langer wrote about the importance of mediators, bridge builders, wall vaulters and frontier crossers: "This is an activity which in times of tension and conflict may seem like contraband, but which is decisive to soften rigidity, make borders relative, and favour inter-action".
Langer, who was deeply concerned about the conflict in Bosnia Erzegovina and engaged in pacifist demonstrations, wrote this in 1994, but his words still apply today.
In 1995, only one week before committing suicide, Langer wrote that "Europe will indeed either die or be reborn in Sarajevo".
Langer, who was deeply concerned about the conflict in Bosnia Erzegovina and engaged in pacifist demonstrations, wrote this in 1994, but his words still apply today.
In 1995, only one week before committing suicide, Langer wrote that "Europe will indeed either die or be reborn in Sarajevo".
The reference to Sarajevo and the war in the Balkans are not here by chance.
The war in the Balkans showed a newly born European Union incapable of reacting and taking a stand to solve the conflict. The Balkan wars also showed us the terrible consequences of a propaganda based on ethnic and religious fanaticism.
The rhetoric of the defenders of a "Christian Europe of traditional values" is not a good premise for the peaceful coexistence of our societies, but is rather a very dangerous propaganda tool.
Although Europe did not die in Sarajevo, the fundamental principles on which the European Union was founded are under attack every single day.
The war in the Balkans showed a newly born European Union incapable of reacting and taking a stand to solve the conflict. The Balkan wars also showed us the terrible consequences of a propaganda based on ethnic and religious fanaticism.
The rhetoric of the defenders of a "Christian Europe of traditional values" is not a good premise for the peaceful coexistence of our societies, but is rather a very dangerous propaganda tool.
Although Europe did not die in Sarajevo, the fundamental principles on which the European Union was founded are under attack every single day.
Fort Europe - Only for Christians by the Czech artist Tomáš Roubal
"The impetus for creation of this statue was the motto: Europe is only for Christians. Europe as a symbolic impregnable fortress. Christians unwilling to help their neighbors."
Source: tomasroubal.com
Source: tomasroubal.com
"The time has come to take sides and work together to replace the seeds of hate with those of respect"
Dunja Mijatović
Dunja Mijatović
In 2019, while commemorating the Srebrenica's genocide, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović wrote that "we must defend the values and principles of equality, respect, diversity and inclusiveness on which Europe is based".
Celebrating 1989 in a honest, consistent way is not possible without these values, without these premises, without taking sides.
It is high time for the EU to drop contradictory narratives, stop being complacent and praising itself for the successes of the past: something is going wrong inside and outside the fortress.
Celebrating 1989 in a honest, consistent way is not possible without these values, without these premises, without taking sides.
It is high time for the EU to drop contradictory narratives, stop being complacent and praising itself for the successes of the past: something is going wrong inside and outside the fortress.
© Maria Baldovin
All site content is mine, except where otherwise noted
