International Migrants Day
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 17th December 2014, Nicosia
On the occasion of the International Migrants Day AKEL addresses a warm greeting to all migrants living and working in Cyprus. It addresses at the same time warm greetings to all the Cypriots who migrated abroad in search of a better life because of the dramatic consequences of the economic crisis on our country. The fact that Cyprus is now for a second time after 1974, a country attracting migrants due to the economic crisis, by itself answers all who those seeking to cultivate among our people the inhuman ideology of racism, presenting migrants as “those who steal our jobs and bread”. The right to work and to a dignified life is stolen by the anti-social policies and constant drive to maximise profits and not by the common people. Consequently, it is precisely these policies we must fight against in order to stop the exploitation and inequalities they continuously create.
Immigration is not an end in itself for any man or woman, for any people. It is the result of the imperialist aggressions, wars, social and political oppression, economic misery as experienced by millions of people throughout the world. This is what generates the phenomenon of migration, as it stems from the system in which we live in.
18th December was declared by the United Nations as International Migrants Day in an effort to strengthen the campaign for the implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and their families. On this occasion, AKEL reaffirms that it will continue to struggle to achieve social cohesion through the integration of immigrants in our society, for the labour rights and gains of all working people, for the unity and class brotherhood and friendship of working people, for stamping out racism and nationalism and combating human trafficking, either for sexual or labour exploitation.
Finally, AKEL demands the immediate planning and implementation of a comprehensive immigration policy that should cover the whole range of issues related to the entry, residence and access to employment and social rights firmly based on the respect for human rights and human dignity.
