AUT: CROSS THE BORDER - faq

[Thomas Atzert <atzert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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FIRST FAQ on BORDER CAMP 99
- please complete! send questions to <grenze@xxxxxx>


> Where exactly is the camp?

The camp will be situated in L|ckendorf, a socalled climatic
health
resort some hundred meters from german-czech borderline and two
kilometers from german polish-borderline. The next bigger city is
Zittau, about 7 km away.


> How do I get there?  is it possible by public transport and how
much
> does it cost?

You can reach the camp from e.g. Berlin in about 3 hours by car
or 5
hours by train. If you will arrive on weekend 7./8. august it is
possible to get a special offer from german railways ("Schvnes
Wochenende-Ticket"), which costs only 35 marks for up to five
people.
For detail informations about arrivals and departures please
check
<http://www.bahn.de>. From Zittau it is only 5 km to campsite. By
train
it is only possible to get to Kurort Oybin, which takes about 50
minutes
and then half an hour walking. So we suggest you to come by train
and
take a bicycle with you. This costs 12 marks plus. It is possible
as
well to rent a bicycle at railway stations. Actually we try to
check out
prices and places. From Praha to Zittau it is about 8 hours by
train.


> Must I bring a tent?

Definetely, this would be the best solution. Of course you have
the
chance to share the night with a unpredictable number of people
in big
tents. Or you can stay in a small hotel in L|ckendorf some
hundred
meters from campsite.

> What other essentials will I need to bring?

Essentially you should bring a portable radio receiver and your
own
crockery. Food will be cooked by different groups in a special
mobile
kitchen and it will be provided for lowest prices. But the main
thing is
to bring your ideas and experiences, the will to exchange them
and a
certain affinity to spontaneous activities.

> What visas do I need?

It depends from where you are. Citizens of the EU do not need
visas.
People from neighboured countries such as Poland, Czech Republik,
Hungary, Slowenia or Croatia as well. All others, who cannot
enter
Germany without visa have to apply for a Schengen Visa.

> Is it possible to get an official letter of invitation?

Sure. To make visa procedure a little bit easier we can give you
an
invitation for cultural purpose. Please contact us as soon as
possible
and send to us your passport data and postal adress!


> How many people are you expecting at the camp?

This is very difficult to say actually. Last year there were
about 600
or 700 people, but most of them for half period. This year we
assume
that the amount of campers will increase and we guess there
should be
always about 400 or 500 people in camp.


> Which other organisations/events are already organised to be
there?

The camp is organised by very different people: antiracist groups
from
no one is illegal campaign, antifascists from the local area and
all
over germany, ecologists, media activists and artists, such as
the
former Wohlfahrtsaussch|sse (a germanwide assembly of dj's,
musicians,
writers) or the Teleportacia Crew. A lot of people we met at next
five
minutes conference announced to come. But who exactly will appear
and
how the people look like is somehow unforseeable.

> How will the activities in the camp be organised and scheduled?

The organising group tried to set up an infrastructure, which
allows all
participating groups ande individuals to use it for bigger or
smaller
events. This includes basics such as soundsystems, big tents for
meetings, a certain level of protection, kitchen, a kindergarten,
but
also some media capacities such as camp radio, press conferences,
camp
newspaper etc. Some activities are organised by several groups,
e.g. a
move with dj's from Germany and Poland on august 7, others are
prepared
by local groups or organisations. A first version of the program
will be
out soon. Anyway, there will be a lot of changes and spontaneous
or last
minute actions, which should be discussed in common meeetings
every
evening.


> Will any of the actions be technically illegal? What plans do
you
> have in the event of police intervention?

Last years experience was that neither we nor the authorities
have got
any interest in a police intervention on the campsite. We have no
reason
to assume, that this could change. Camping is not illegally, even
at
borderline, and the area there is a very touristic region, which
shouldn't have desire to get negative headlines.

But people, who do any kind of action outside the camp have to be
aware
of possible consequences, even if they are not very hard or
likely.
There is a consensus that no action should endanger others, who
maybe do
not agree or participate on it. Since a lot of people from abroad
and
refugees are invited to participate, planning and doing an action
means
a certain moral responsibility for all those who are not in
posession of
a german passport.


> How can i participate remotely on the camp?

Spreading the call, forwarding the camp reports, checking the
web-journal, sending messages to the campers, listening to the
camp-radio are very likely possibilities to participate remotely.
But
you can also plan actions in your city or along the next
borderline
during the time of the camp. Or even a camp in your country next
year!


--
hacking the borderline camp 7-15 aug 1999
http://www.contrast.org/borders/camp




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