Justice for Rita – International Women* Space https://iwspace.de Feminist, anti-racist political group in Berlin Mon, 29 Apr 2024 12:23:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://iwspace.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped-hand-purple-small-32x32.png Justice for Rita – International Women* Space https://iwspace.de 32 32 Sign the Petition/ Unterschreib die Petition: Justice for Rita Now! https://iwspace.de/2024/04/sign-the-petition-justice-for-rita-now/ Tue, 23 Apr 2024 10:48:48 +0000 https://iwspace.de/?p=77787 5 years after the murder of Rita Ojunge we still demand answers for this femicide: Rita’s death is one example of the systemic negligence, racism, and complete lack of action of the authorities in dealing with the violence against Black women*.

To sign the petition demanding that the Public Prosecutor General’s Office of the State of Brandenburg fully investigates the murder of Rita click here.

To read more about the case of Rita on our website click here.

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5 Jahre nach dem Mord an Rita Ojunge fordern wir immer noch Aufklärung für diesen Femizid: Ritas Tod ist ein Beispiel für die systemische Fahrlässigkeit, den Rassismus und die völlige Untätigkeit der Behörden im Umgang mit der Gewalt gegen Schwarze Frauen*.

Wir fordern die Generalstaatsanwaltschaft des Landes Brandenburgs auf, die Ermittlungen zur Tötung der Rita O. an sich zu ziehen und lückenlos aufzuklären.  Um die Petition zu unterschreiben klicke hier.

Um mehr über den Fall Rita auf unserer Website zu erfahren, hier klicken.

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Justice for Rita Now! https://iwspace.de/2024/04/justice-for-rita-now/ Tue, 09 Apr 2024 08:40:02 +0000 https://iwspace.de/?p=77736 On Sunday IW*S went to Potsdam to commemorate the murder of our friend Rita Awour Ojunge. On April 7th 2019, five years ago, our friend Rita Awour Ojunge disappeared from the Lager in Hohenleipsisch. It took the police three whole months to find her remains which were in the immediate vicinity of the Lager she was living– 200 meters. Despite the fact that friends and neighbors filed reports for her disappearance, the police did not react. 

Rita was 32 years old at the time of her murder and had lived in Germany for 7 years, , leaving behind a 2-and a 4-year old. Due to Germany’s racist asylum laws, she was forced to live in isolation in the Hohenleipisch refugee shelter, where she has been waiting for a decision on her asylum case for years. The negligence of the police, who only looked for her after two months, was met with silence even after her body was found. The mainstream media did not render Rita much attention– always staying quiet when it comes to Black women*.

Rita had already told the Hohenleipisch’s management some time ago that she felt threatened by a man who lived in the room opposite hers. But they simply shrugged it off. Lager are not safe places- they are lawless places. Protective rights fail to apply for refugees. The conditions of Lager create despair, depression, suicide, self-harm, aggression and intentionally isolate refugees. After Rita’s death, women* no longer dared to go out in the evening or travel back to the camp alone after dark because they had to walk long distances on the street or through the woods, with no protection. This applied to all the camps in remote areas.

We must not fall into the trap of seeing violence against women* as a social problem brought to Germany from outside. Research shows that femicide and violence towards (ex-)partners against women are high.  Every woman* in this society must be protected from femicide, regardless of their residence status. Violence against women* is a global problem, and misogyny is a global system that cannot be scapegoated to particular non-white groups. 

We remember our sister every day and keep fighting for justice. Justice for Rita Now! Alle Lager Abschaffen!

We continue to put pressure on the authorities to demand answers. Sign the petition that demands that the Public Prosecutor General’s Office of the State of Brandenburg fully investigates the killing of Rita O. here.

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Justice for Rita! https://iwspace.de/event/justice-for-rita/ https://iwspace.de/event/justice-for-rita/#respond Wed, 21 Aug 2019 17:02:09 +0000 http://iwspace.de/?post_type=mec-events&p=68864 Rally in front of the Brandenburg Ministry of Interior in Potsdam- Henning-von-Tresckow-Str. (10 Min. walking from Potsdam Hauptbahnhof) On 7th of […]]]> Rally in front of the Brandenburg Ministry of Interior in Potsdam-
Henning-von-Tresckow-Str. (10 Min. walking from Potsdam Hauptbahnhof)

On 7th of April 019, our sister Rita Awour Ojunge, disappeard leaving behind two small kids. She was 32 years old, from Kenya and had been living in Germany for more than 7 years in the Lager of Hohenleipisch. It took the police 3 months to discover her remains in the forest near the Lager. Even to start looking for her despite the reports of many of her friends and neighbors, it took a call from Berlin police to make the Brandenburg police to even start looking for her seriously. Up to date no details surrounding the circumstances of her death were released officially.

As refugee women* we are exposed to all kinds of violence from men both inside and outside the Lagers, from fellow refugees, from security personnel, from German citizens living in the area. Violence against women*, abuse, harassment are a global phenomenon in this sexist and racist world. But just imagine Rita would have been a white woman with a German passport.

We call for justice for Rita and also we need to know how she disappeared from her room in the Lager leaving the kids behind with a neighbor whose statements were very contradictory.

We will gather in front of the interior ministry to intensify the urgency of action against violence against women* and to demand better protection.

We would like all people, no matter of which race, gender or religion to join us in solidarity. Let’s stand up together!

We demand the government to take into serious consideration the women refugee complaints, for example concerning security and housing.

The Lagers in Brandenburg are not a safe place for Women* and children. The Lager of Hohenleipisch has to be closed immediately.

No Lager for Women and Children! Abolish all Lagers!

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