Demonstration against the shift to the right!

In view of the upcoming local elections, we demand: Solidarity instead of a shift to the right!

We firmly believe that we must think our struggles together: the fight against racist border and asylum policies, against structural and institutional racism, against queerophobia, anti-feminism and misogyny, stigmatization of poor people and against the climate crisis!

In Bochum, this means that we need a city policy that clearly positions itself against right-wing narratives, names racism and actively combats it - in the police, administration, education and everyday life.

Human rights have no upper limit - asylum is a fundamental right!

While people seeking protection are being disenfranchised and turned back at Europe's borders, CSU Interior Minister Dobrindt, driven by the secured far-right AfD, is setting new standards of inhumanity with his radical line. Family reunification is being suspended, even though it is vital for many refugees. Rulings by the highest courts and applicable EU law are being openly ignored - in favor of a political agenda that focuses on isolation, exclusion and populist applause. As a result, fleeing to Europe is becoming increasingly dangerous and risky.

We say: Not in our name! And not here in Bochum! Bochum has already declared itself a safe haven for refugees. But it must not stop there. Measures for the integration of refugees must finally be implemented - especially through humane accommodation, unbureaucratic access to healthcare and targeted educational support.

Bochum needs long-term funding and municipal support for psychosocial services such as medical refugee assistance, as well as a clear strategy against homelessness. We stand for humane accommodation in private homes. No accommodation in mass housing, no profit at the expense of people seeking protection through private providers such as European Homecare!

No human protection without climate protection! The CDU/CSU-led federal government is consistently putting the brakes on climate protection - despite record heat, forest fires and floods worldwide. While corporations continue to make profits at the expense of our planet, there is no consistent climate policy. One thing is clear: climate protection is not an option, but an obligation - including to those who are already losing their livelihoods as a result of the climate crisis.

Protecting people starts with courageous, fair environmental and climate policy. Put an end to blockade politics, which will be much more expensive in the medium term than all climate protection measures put together!

Bochum also has a responsibility: socially just climate policy must expand public transport, secure affordable energy and support those who are most affected by environmental impacts - for example by greening residential areas or heat-resistant infrastructure.

You don't fight poverty with defamation and cuts! The CDU/CSU-led federal government is unscrupulously pursuing its policies on the backs of those who have the least. Instead of effectively combating poverty, cuts are being made to citizens' benefits, social housing is being ignored and people who are dependent on support are being publicly defamed. People who are already affected by multiple discrimination (e.g. people with disabilities and people affected by racism) are particularly affected. Those in need are not supported, but stigmatized. And in the meantime, the SPD remains silent - or agrees.

We say: Dignity knows no conditions! For a social policy that takes all people into account.

Bochum needs an inner city based on solidarity that creates community spaces without consumerism - with district centers, free leisure activities and cultural participation for all. In addition, housing must be secured and poverty must be visibly combated politically.

Queer hostility is not a marginal phenomenon - it starts at the top! - Queer rights and feminism belong together

Queer people in Germany are increasingly facing hostility, exclusion and even physical violence. CSDs are also increasingly having to reckon with threats and attacks. This escalation is not happening in a vacuum. When Bundestag President Klöckner, among others, trivializes or deliberately defames queer life, she strengthens those forces that want to make discrimination socially acceptable.

We stand up against this - for a country in which everyone can live in dignity, freedom and safety, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

We also say: There is no space between queer rights and feminism! These struggles belong together. A federal government that takes the threat to FLINTA* seriously will finally do something about femicides and create protective structures instead of railing against trans* people.

In Bochum, this must mean: more funding for safe spaces for FLINTA*, financial support for projects such as FLUID, as well as the consistent expansion and maintenance of women's shelters. We also need queer-feminist education programs in schools and administration.