Justice for Aneeb Hafeez!

Aneeb Hafeez, a 38-year-old refugee from Kashmir, suffered a very serious workplace “accident” in August while operating a machine at a factory in Neochori, Thebes, without having received any training or being provided with the necessary protective equipment. When he was taken to hospital unconscious from his injuries, his boss provided false information, using the AMKA (Social Security Registration Number) of another migrant to avoid hospitalization costs and/or any other legal liability. Aneeb has already undergone three surgeries, and there is a possibility that he has suffered permanent damage to his hand.

Now, while he remains hospitalized, Aneeb faces the danger of deportation as soon as he is discharged. His case is a clear example of employer impunity and the systematic devaluation of workers’ lives and rights. The situation of migrants in the country continues to deteriorate, alongside the worsening working and living conditions faced by all workers, Greek and migrant alike. It is vital that the labor movement stands up in defense of Aneeb.

His case highlights a broader issue: the need for the greatest possible unity of the workers’ movement. Workers may have no control over governments’ migration policies, but they can choose whether to fight for the greatest possible unity of the working class or to succumb to the racist “divide and rule” strategy pursued by employers — a strategy that repeatedly leads all of us to defeat. The defense of Aneeb is directly linked to the defense of all workers against appalling working conditions, workplace “accidents” and the constant deaths occurring in workplaces. The two workers who recently lost their lives, as well the ones who were injured at the Motor Oil facilities, are yet another tragic example of this reality.

In defending Aneeb, we must use every means available to us, including resorting to the courts, without harboring any illusions about state institutions. We know that the “justice” system and the Labor Inspectorate are not neutral: they operate to protect and serve the capitalist class and constitute key instruments at its disposal for maintaining its power.

That is why we must take Aneeb’s defense into our own hands. Trade unions, left-wing and migrant organizations, collectives and other fighters must mobilize so that we can fight together as one.

With this goal in mind, we call for a united struggle for:

• Asylum for Aneeb! No deportation!
• A full investigation into the employer’s criminal liability for the accident and the fraud involving identity details.
• Full citizenship rights for Aneeb and all migrants, so that employers can no longer use the threat of deportation to undermine trade union organizing and other trade union struggles.
• The organization of all workers into trade unions including migrants, as well as those without papers. This is an integral part of the struggle to break down the divisions between Greek and migrant workers.
• Workplace safety and training to be controlled by workers and the trade unions, and not by the state, which serves the interests of the capitalists.
• Solidarity with all refugees and migrants in Greece!
• Down with the racist anti-immigrant policies. Stop deportations!
• No to racism! No to fascism!

Join us to fight for his defense and for working-class unity against employers and their state. An injury to one is an injury to all.