Ordinary Heroes
a two-voice Poem on contested memories in the making- At the Border and Beyond -
Governance
Welcome to the Frontex headquarters We control illegal passage and cross-border crime That means everything from intercepting stolen cars at the border To stopping human trafficking
The border is not peripheral, it is not marginal The border is at the center, a configuration, a social institution There are no lines, there are minds
Member states dispatch experts in the field Interviewing irregular migrants to gain the latest intelligence
The Irregular Migrant is the product of laws, a bureaucratic category It sticks to your skin, it seizes you body Just like the border you carry with you from now on
By interviewing willing migrants Frontex debriefing-teams help collect intelligence about People-smuggling networks and modus operandi
And traveling across the Sahara became a crime
The airport in Vienna, a chartered plane is about to fly to Africa It's time for the next return operation by Frontex
An extra layer of “protection”, Thick and dense From Schengenland to borderland
An operation that always requires very precise
Very careful
And very sensitive planning
Finely tuned instruments, that manage and calibrate global passage of People, Money and Things
The sensor scan detects the heartbeat of a person
Nothing more than a heartbeat in the governance machine
The European Union Satellite-Center uses radars mounted on satellites The Vessel-Detection-Service can spot large vessels at sea That may be overloaded with migrants Precise weather-forecasts help model the boats likely location
Life has been penetrated by the rational of Risk Analysis Death has been codified by numbers
The service also collects historical data To have a better idea which areas of the sea to scan It's called situational awareness
Deaths and disappearance
A liquid border subject to streams and drifts
The rushing sea is loud, the silence is louder
We have to keep in mind that behind each of these green dots there is a boat Carrying over hundred people
In the absence of action, Themis will bring law and order We err the founding myth of Europe
We are strictly obliged within the agency to comply with all fundamental human rights That's why the agency has a special code of conduct
We Read.
The Council recalls that the Frontex mandate Is limited to coordinating Member States’ actions In the management of external borders And that Frontex is not responsible for human rights violations and Detention-conditions for migrants
The Hotspot is an area or a specific defined entering point of external borders of the EU It is a specific place identified by the authorities Where all the the migrants rescued at sea will be taken and disembarked
“Placed on the side of a mountain, just above the town of Vathy The camp occupies a former military base designed to hold a mere 648 beds And is surrounded by concrete walls and hurricane fences Crowned with coils of razor wire”
The European Union is building a migratory policy Based on openness and fairness, but of course In order for our migratory policy to be credible
We also have to be firm.
Firm and fair mean Human Rights
For those who return “voluntarily”
Frontex helps connect member States to ensure that
Europe's borders remain open and secure
No matter how busy they become
"While we are confronted with a lot of despair, We have also been inspired uncountable times By the willingness to overcome the sea and to move on To desired places throughout Europe."
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency
Collects information from all around Europe
To create the most up-to-date picture of the external borders and
Beyond
The border is not marginal, the border is not peripheral
It is at the center It becomes elastic, in constant formation, re-imagined, re-made A founding myth, a modern myth, a memory, a present, a future
- A Tale of Ordinary Heroes -
Story telling
My name is Neville
My name is…
My name is Mari
My name is…
My name is Orlando
My name is…
My name is Marco
My name is…
My name is Tim
My name is…
My name is Alessandro
My name is…
My name is Lars
My name is…
These People and hundreds more are part of Frontex
They work together to make Europe a safer place
A story of Defenders, a modern European tale
We are making the European Union a reality and
We also are making it a better place to live
"To a great man, grateful homeland"
We believe in tales, in heroic stories
"Crisis at the border"
A plot of fear, a historical event, a schoolbook page We have learned NOTHING from history
Frontex assists member states when they return foreign-nationals staying illegally
You simply have to be hailed as hero to win permission to stay
Protecting the public from cross-border crime terrorism and other threats is our priority
We have forgotten how to tell apart the Fictional from the Real
Smugglers use social media to advertise their services almost like travel agencies
Reversed Balkan Route on a Youtube Channel, thanks to Frontex agency
The smugglers offer a variety of services at different prices.
Or a Vilain's act of solidarity in a destroyed ecosystem of free movement
We can distinguish who are those in need of international protection and
Who are those which are simply economic migrants
The distinction does not uphold the reality
We have created elusive categories
That fit OUR minds and economies
To enable EU border guards to study and work together
We develop the Sectoral Qualifications Framework for border guarding or SQF
The SQF acts as a lighthouse giving guidance for all border guards
Civil Disobedience forced on the few of us, splendid fools That uprise when dignity is ripped off from existence While most of us spend our days wondering if this happens Lives are neglected by those employed to protect them
The quality of border guarding can only be as good
As the quality of training an officer receives
It can be a matter of life and death
What are the use of our radios
Our telescopes and satellites, if they only can do so little If we chose to acknowledge only what our eyes want to see Safeguarding the public order, rather than human beings
We cannot disregard the role of the border guards
Because they bring the human factor to the border checks
Enforce the Border—Humanely
I see that the agency was able to deliver and I see that we will have more responsibilities
More budget, more staff
The Borders we build become the Prisons of our minds A 1.3 billion euros worth-story of Defenders
A Modern European Tale