Refugees strike for dignified living conditions in Austria
Refugee activists from Austrian shelters marched to Vienna on 24 November 2012, to demand improved living conditions for asylum seekers and refugees.
Activists set up an open and public refugee protest camp in Vienna to raise awareness about the poor living conditions of refugees and asylum seekers in Austria and to demand respect and fulfilment of their basic human rights.
Some asylum seekers and refugees, who had decided to seek shelter in a church, began a hunger strike. As of 21 January, 45 of the protesters had been on hunger strike for as long as 30 days.
Interrupted on 22 January, the refugees in Votivkirche announced that they will take up the hunger strike again on 1 February if the government will not have reacted to their demands by then.
FIAN has issued an Open Letter on the situation of the regufees, requesting the Government of Austria to, among others, take immediate steps to respect and protect the human rights of refugees and asylum seekers and provide basic social support according to human rights standards. FIAN Austria is in touch with the refugee group and monitors the situation.
Read the Open Letter below
See also a video of the visit of Jean Ziegler to the refugees in the Votivkirche