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Sarah Harvard

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These German pilots stopped the deportation of over 200 asylum seekers on their flights.

Germany has become a focal point for the immigration debate in Europe.

The European nation has opened its doors to asylum-seekers and refugees looking for a safe haven. Recently, Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to accept 10,000 U.N. refugees into the country; between January and July 2017, Germany reportedly accepted approximately 117,000 asylum seekers.

What happens to asylum seekers who are turned away? Unfortunately, if they appeal the decision regarding their rejected asylum applications and are denied, they risk deportation. According to Germany's Office of Immigration and Refugees, the country has rejected 210,000 asylum seekers.

But several German pilots have been preventing asylum seekers from being deported in a truly "Hail Mary" fashion.

Throughout all of 2017, these pilots refused to fly planes set to deport 222 Afghan asylum seekers. The stand down from these flights comes from a controversial European Union decision to designate Afghanistan as a "safe country of origin." The designation resulted in many Afghan nationals losing their asylum status.

Out of all the flights that refused to take off, 85 were operated by Lufthansa (or its subsidiary Eurowing). Most of these flights were scheduled to take off in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf, where, according to Quartz, the #WelcomeUnited campaign often holds their pro-refugee protests.

Photo by Daniel Leal-Olivias/AFP/Getty Images.

These pilots risk being punished with disciplinary measures for refusing to fly on moral grounds. However, it should be noted that some had other reasons for refusing to take off. For instance, they could cite "security reasons" for not flying a plane. "If [a pilot] has the impression that flight safety could be affected, he must refuse the transport of a passenger," Lufthansa spokesperson Michael Lamberty said in a statement to the German press.

Unlike the U.S., Germany's federal government is barred from conducting and enforcing deportation, meaning that deportation is the responsibility of the local and state governments. Therefore, these protests add more obstacles to the successful deportation of asylum seekers.

Pilots refusing to fly deportation flights are just one example of activists and airline companies pushing back against deportations.

In July, Swedish activist Elin Errson made headlines for live-streaming her refusal to sit down because an Afghan man on the flight was about to be deported.

"I want him to get off the plane because he is not safe in Afghanistan," Errson said in her live-stream. "I am trying to change my country's rules. I don't like them. It is not right to send people to hell."

In 2013, immigration activists chained themselves to courthouses to prevent jail sentences for undocumented immigrants. More recently, others have chained themselves to tires to physically block buses from carrying out deportations.

Airline companies are also taking part. For example, in June 2018, Virgin Atlantic Airlines announced they will no longer help deport immigrants. American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and United Airlines have also publicly announced their refusal to deport immigrant children in response to President Trump's family separation policy. In addition to these, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Alaskan Airlines all have released public statements criticizing the U.S. immigration policy.

Let's hope other airlines take notice and join the good fight.

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Here's what back-to-school shopping looks like when we refuse to act on gun violence.

Back-to-school shopping has always been an annual rite of passage for most families — but it's starting look a little different.

In the past, back-to-school time meant buying some pencils, crayons, and notebooks. But now, bulletproof backpacks are an item appearing on many people's lists.

In summer 2018, back-to-school shopping shelves and ads have included bulletproof backpacks, inserts, and clipboards. Bulletproof backpacks are also increasingly showing up in kiosks at shopping malls.

Just earlier in 2018, bulletproof shields were given to eighth-graders at a Pennsylvania middle school. The shields were meant to be inserted into the students' backpacks — to better prepare them for high school.

The trend of bulletproof backpacks shouldn't be that surprising.

According to a national poll by Phi Delta Kappa International released in July, 1 in 3 parents in the United States express fears and concerns about their children's safety in schools, mainly stemming from repeated occurrences of school shootings.

The Washington Post reported that, since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, more than 215,000 students have experienced some form of gun violence at their school. So far, in 2018, there have been 23 reported school shootings.

Sales of bulletproof backpacks had a striking surge following the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida that killed 17 people. One manufacturer — Bullet Blocker — said orders of bulletproof backpacks had a 30% increase the day after the shooting. Another manufacturer, Guard Dog Security, reported a 150% increase in items shipped.

But here's the daunting reality: Bulletproof backpacks are not the answer.

While a lot of these bulletproof backpacks and inserts are marketed to provide security and convenience, the truth is far from it.

Bulletproof shields don't necessarily offer protection from assault weapons and rifles like that used in the Florida high school shooting. Safety consultants also have gone on the record to say that bulletproof products aren't very effective and are a real distraction from the actual solution: gun control reform.

School is meant to be a safe learning environment for children. It shouldn't be a war zone. Parents should not feel the need to send their children in bulletproof gear to school before some even learn how to read.

It's time for us to act. On Election Day November 2018, vote for candidates that fervently advocate for gun control. Until then, you can donate to gun control organizations, call your congressional representatives, and educate yourselves on state and federal gun laws.

Come on, America. We can do better.

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This woman stood up to stop a deportation. This is human rights activism done right.

Elin Errson heard a man was being deported back to Afghanistan from Sweden. She wasn't going to let that happen.  

On July 23, Errson did the only thing she thought she could do: She bought a ticket for his flight and protested.

The 21-year-old Swede knew the pilot could not take off without all passengers seated. So she refused to sit down on the plane to halt the man's deportation, even if it meant facing fines or jail time. Errson live-streamed her protest.

Standing Up Against Deportation

Because an Afghan was supposed to be deported on a flight to Istanbul, activist Elin Ersson refused to sit down. What happens in the next minutes shakes everyone on board…

Posted by DW Stories on Tuesday, July 24, 2018

"I want him to get off the plane because he is not safe in Afghanistan," she said in her live-stream. "I am trying to change my country's rules. I don't like them. It is not right to send people to hell."

At first, other passengers and crew members were aggravated with her refusal to sit down. Some attempted to take her phone away, but she didn't let that deter her. She kept standing and kept live-streaming.

Other passengers joined her in protest after their initial hesitation. And soon enough, Errson and the asylum-seeker were removed from the plane, with passengers — and the world — applauding.

Errson's act of defiance illustrates just one of the many radical ways ordinary people can engage in human rights activism.

There's often this misconception that direct action with issues like immigration or international conflict requires a mass movement of people. But sometimes, you only need a handful of people — or even one person — to make a significant impact for good. Errson's plane protest is a great example.

In the past few years, we've seen more examples of smaller-scale direct actions against deportation proceedings. There's been an effective trend of activists blocking ICE buses filled with undocumented immigrants facing deportation.

In 2013, a group of activists chained themselves to the tires of a bus — but they didn't stop there. Some went to the courthouse and chained themselves to the entrance. Why? They wanted to prevent authorities from processing deportation orders and jail sentences for undocumented immigrants.

In June, another group of protesters fighting President Donald Trump's family separation policy attempted to block a bus full of migrant kids from crossing the border.

This summer, IfNotNow — a progressive Jewish American group — are asking Birthright Israel participants to speak up on during their tours and question the organization's erasure of Palestinians. One did so successfully. Some are even heading to airports to meet with Birthright Israel participants and give them educational materials about Israel's occupation of Palestine.

Now more than ever, it's imperative for people to take a stand.

Direct action might seem daunting. It's easier to go with the flow and ignore the harsh realities others face around us. Nobody wants to be uncomfortable, but sometimes discomfort is needed to bring about positive social change.

But Errson's words in her live-stream ring true: "What is more important, a life or your time?"

Sure, preventing a plane from taking off or blocking people from entering a courthouse can be an inconvenience for both activists and bystanders, but that shouldn't matter. In lot of these situations, like this one, it could be a matter of life or death for a vulnerable person.

It's up to each of us to decide which side we want to be on.

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He ditched a tour of Israel after spotting a very flawed map. The story went viral.

Elon Glickman knew something wasn't right while on his tour of Israel.

On July 18, Glickman and a handful of young Jewish Americans were participating in a guided heritage tour sponsored by an organization called Birthright Israel. As part of the tour, they were given maps — but those maps were alarming to Glickman: They had erased Palestine completely.

Glickman asked the guide why Gaza and the West Bank — both Palestinian territories — were missing from the map. The guide said the state of Israel believes those areas are part of Israel.

But that didn't sit right with Glickman.

"It’s not fair," Glickman said to the guide, as shown in a video of the encounter. "The people who live [in Palestine] can’t vote, they’re under military occupation, their water is being controlled by someone else, and they can’t get access to it. And their lives are like a living hell because they can’t even see their families in Jerusalem … the roads are constantly controlled, they have to go through all these checkpoints."

As Glickman and the others found out, Birthright Israel doesn't allow participants to visit Palestinian land or openly discuss their occupation. This refusal to acknowledge or expose the harsh realities of Palestinians living under occupation is a problem Glickman felt he had to give voice to: "It feels like the equivalent of going to the Jim Crow South during segregation and not talking about segregation."

After speaking out, he and seven others chose to walk off their tour and instead meet and learn from Palestinian families facing eviction.

There's no getting around it: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a polarizing issue.

While the Holy Land is significant to the three Abrahamic faiths (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism), thousands of years of violent conflict has raised the question of who is the rightful owner of the land. In 1967, Israel gained control and occupied Palestinian land. Since then, Israel has built more than 500,000 illegal settlements and forced 7 million Palestinians to flee their homes.

In order to strengthen the connection between the Jewish identity and Israel, Birthright Israel offers free trips to young Jewish people worldwide. But a sizable portion of Birthright Israel's funding comes from the Israeli government with substantial donations coming from private donors, like Sheldon Adelson, an American casino magnate and an influential right-wing financier.

But as young Jewish people are discovering, these Birthright tours aren't painting a complete picture. Essentially, they're erasing Palestinians altogether.

Glickman's group in July is not the only example of young Jewish people taking a stand on the occupation of Palestine.

On June 28, five Birthright participants walked off their trips to meet with Breaking the Silence, an anti-occupation group of former IDF soldiers, and then they went to Hebron to meet with Palestinian families living under occupation. They live-streamed their encounters.

Birthright has refused to show us the truth about the occupation’s impact on Palestinians, instead asking us to visit a site operated by a far-right settlement organization. We’ve decided instead to go meet with the Sumarin family, a family that has lived in East Jerusalem under threat of eviction for years to learn from them and hear their story.

Posted by Hal Rose on Sunday, July 15, 2018

IfNotNow, an American Jewish progressive group, launched a campaign this summer called #NotJustAFreeTrip. The campaign encourages young Jewish Americans on their Birthright Israel tours to demand that the group educate participants on the occupation of Palestine. In addition to having participants walk off the tours, IfNotNow activists hand out educational materials about the occupation to people heading on Birthright Israel trips.

"Our generation will no longer allow ourselves to be manipulated by right-wing donors and the radical Israeli government who tell us a story about Israel and Judaism that legitimizes, justifies, or simply ignores the Occupation," the campaign website read. "We demand the truth."

But walking off trips and speaking out against occupation does come at a cost — quite literally.

Participants who protested have reported that they lost their deposits for the trip and had their flights back home canceled.

In response, IfNotNow has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help finance these costs. Some of the proceeds will also go to help Palestinian families in the West Bank and Jerusalem. At the time of this post, they'd raised over $15,000.

And while the money certainly helps, the most impactful thing these Jewish Americans have done is set a powerful example: We must stand against any forms injustice, even if we're its benefactors.

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