via: sansnom.
Translated by Act for freedom now!
Deportation vans go up in smoke
[During the night of Sunday/Monday March 17, three vans belonging to the administration responsible for deportations, which were parked in front of the Regional Coordination Center for the Refugee Payment Card, went up in smoke in Gießen (Hesse) at around 4am. The damage caused by this incendiary attack is estimated by the police at 300,000 euros (including the building’s facade and windows). The attack was claimed the very next day on de.indymedia.
The “payment card” in question relates to the payment of asylum-seekers’ allowances by this means, which were previously paid in cash. This special smart card was introduced throughout Germany in June 2024 to fully control the use of the allowance paid to asylum seekers, by limiting monthly cash withdrawals to 50 euros, or by not allowing transfers or electronic payments outside the territory].
Fire and flames for the payment card
On March 17, we attacked the payment card coordination center for the Hesse region with incendiary devices. Several vans and the building on Lilienthalstraße (Gießen) were damaged. It’s no coincidence that we’ve targeted this state institution. With its vehicles, the Gießen district council (Regierungspräsidium, RP) is involved in daily evictions from reception centers, which it coordinates across the whole of Hesse. For these reasons alone, it deserves to be attacked.
What’s more, some of the Gießen RP’s premises serve as the “operational coordination center” for the refugee payment card introduced last autumn. In principle, this means that the RP is responsible for the introduction and implementation of payment cards in the first reception centers, and serves as the contact point for all accommodation centers in the state of Hesse. The payment card is yet another insidious operation in which the German state demonstrates its racist and inhumane practices. It should be clear to us that the payment card is an attack on all those who seek refuge and shelter here, and a further step in the closure of Europe.
It’s not just this racist state practice that has inflamed our rage and hatred, but also the fact that this is yet another step by an authoritarian state to exercise surveillance and control. As a society, we should assume that the refugee payment card is a pilot project to test the extent to which the use of payment cards can be used in general in the future. It is to be assumed that, at some point in the future, such payment cards will also be available to recipients of social security benefits. After all, the German state likes to crush those at the bottom of the social ladder, to pick on the poor and those who have already been stigmatized for a long time.
In solidarity with all those who refuse to be deported and develop a collective practice against the authorities.
We salute our anarchist comrades in Bavaria who are currently facing state repression for their uncompromising political stance.
With our action, we send greetings of solidarity and hope to all those affected by racist politics. Another world is possible – let’s fight for it together.
Good luck and strength to all comrades on the run, and burning hatred against the walls that imprison our friends and comrades.