CommemorAction!

Global Day of Struggle against the regime of death at our borders, and to demand truth, justice and reparations for borders victims and their families

CommemorActions are actions that commemorate people who have died, gone missing or become victims of enforced disappearance on their journey across the world's borders.

They are born out of collaborations between friends and families of the disappeared, especially in the Mediterranean Sea, and activists who collect their testimonies and support their claims.

They are both commemorations and protests, mixing political messages and artistic performances, but above all, connecting grieving relatives with as many people as possible, and together creating platforms to share their stories and demands. CommemorActions are spaces to remember the victims and collectively build processes that can support families in their demands for truth and justice for their loved ones.

For many years, on 6 February the Tarajal massacre of 2014 is commemorated, where 15 people died and others disappeared while trying to reach the Spanish coast.

The migrants drowned in front of the Guardia Civil, who fired rubber bullets and used other riot gear on them. This event has become a shameful symbol of dehumanised migration policies.

We are relatives and friends of people who died, have gone missing and/or are victims of enforced disappearances along the land or sea borders of Europe, Africa and America. We are people who survived an attempt to cross borders in search of a better future. We are solidary citizens who support people during their journeys by providing medical aid, food and clothing and by supporting them in dangerous situations so that their journeys can be safer. We are activists who have listened to the voices of people before they disappeared, who try to identify the anonymous bodies in the border areas and who provide them with a dignified burial.

We are one big family without borders and nationalities, who struggle against the regimes of death imposed at all the borders of the world, and who fight for the right to migrate, for freedom of movement and for global justice for all.

In February 2020, activists and relatives came together in Oujda, Morocco, to organize the first major Commemor-Action. In this event, we chose the symbolic date of February 6th, date of the Tarajal massacre, to organize worldwide demonstrations against the militarization of borders, and in support of the freedom to migrate.

In September, 2022, we came together in Zarzis, Tunisia, for the second major Commemor-Action and reiterated our commitment to mark February 6th as a day to combine the voices of many organizations fighting every day to denounce deadly border regimes and to demand truth, justice, and reparations for borders victims and for their families.

This year, among other cities in Africa and in Europe, also in Lampedusa we want to commemorate people who died crossing borders and fight the violence of European policies