By LUIS G. JALANDONI
NDFP Chief International Representative
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) honors Francis Kwame, steadfast fighter for the rights of refugees. He died in Hamburg on 20 March 2014.
We convey our heartfelt condolences to his fellow refugees especially in “Lampedusa Hamburg”, valiant supporters from different militant organizations supporting the refugees, and many other fellow refugees around the world who struggle for asylum and the right to a life of dignity they deserve.
Francis Kwame lived peacefully in Libya for 20 years. He worked for a German firm, Bifinger, for the last ten years. Then came the NATO war of aggression against Libya which forced him and other workers out of Libya. Risking the waters of the Miditerranean, he landed in Lampedusa in Italy. He could not get any protection from Italy, he was sent to Northern Europe. So, he finally ended up in Hamburg, where for the last three years he has joined the collective struggle to acquire asylum, work and a dignified life in Germany. These, however, have been denied him by the German authorities.
The militant struggle that he and his fellow refugees in “Lampedusa in Hamburg” launched, strongly supported by solidarity organizations, blazes the path towards justice and freedom. It gives inspiration and strength to all others who fight and strive for national and social liberation.
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines, which represents a people waging a long struggle for freedom and independence against US imperialism and domestic exploiters and oppressors, stands in firm solidarity with the refugees of “Lampedusa in Hamburg” and other refugees around the world, and renders honor to Francis Kwame, valiant fighter for the rights of refugees.
In the end, imperialism will be defeated, and the people will prevail.
