European border policies do not stop at the EU’s external borders.
To discuss the deals with North and West African states and their disastrous consequences, the people dying on the roads of the Sahara, the mass deportations and pushbacks from Algeria and other Maghreb countries, and the border violence and human rights violations—but also the solidarity practices between the Sahel and the Sahara— Alarme Phone Sahara visited 14 locations in Switzerland and Germany as part of its info-tour in April 2026.
Azizou Chéhou, coordinator of Alarme Phone Sahara in Agadez, and Moctar Nalossou, co-coordinator and project accountant, spoke about their daily work and discussed the evolution of migration policies in Niger and the region.
Right up until the last day of preparations, the visa application process for the speakers posed a major obstacle—a tangible expression of the fact that the European border and visa regime is becoming increasingly restrictive, requiring responses based on solidarity.
Starting in Geneva, the info-tour first traversed Switzerland: from Neuchâtel to Bremgarten, Zurich, Undervelier, Bern, Lucerne, and Basel.
Alarme Phone Sahara in Neuchâtel...
...in Zurich...
...in Undervelier...
...in Lucerne...
...in Basel...
On April 18, Alarme Phone Sahara participated in a demonstration in Basel at the Switzerland-Germany-France tri-border area to denounce the dramatic tightening of the European asylum system as part of the so-called reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), which will come into effect on June 12, 2026.
Preparing a giant bird for...
...the tri-border-demonstration in Basel ©20min/Céline Trachsel
This demonstration gave the strength to continue the journey to Germany. There, APS made stops in Frankfurt am Main, Marburg, Halle (Saale), Erlangen, and Munich to meet with partner organizations and give further public presentations.
Alarme Phone Sahara in Halle...
...in Erlangen...
...and in Munich, here with moderator Hamado Dipama.
In Hanau, Azizou Chéhou and Moctar Nalossou, accompanied by German comrades from the Alarmphone network, visited the memorial dedicated to 9 citizens of Hanau murdered on February 19, 2020, by a German racist.
Hanau: Moctar Nalossou lighting a candle at the memorial for Gökhan Gültekin, Sedat Gürbüz, Said Nesar Hashemi, Mercedes Kierpacz, Hamza Kurtović, Vili Viorel Păun, Fatih Saraçoğlu, Ferhat Unvar and Kaloyan Velkov murdered in the racist attack on February 19, 2020. Note: Ibrahim Akkuş, not mentioned yet on the memorial, died on January 10, 2026, from complications resulting from his gunshot wounds.
On the one hand, the members of Alarmphone Sahara learned a great deal during their trip, thanks to discussions and meetings with solidarity organizations and local structures in various locations in Switzerland and Germany. This gave them the energy and motivation needed to continue.
On the other hand, the info-tour was a very important opportunity to provide an overview of the consequences of the externalization of European borders in the Sahel-Saharan countries and of the daily work of Alarme Phone Sahara: From rescuing people in distress in the desert to supporting those who have been deported and stranded in towns across Niger, to documenting pushbacks, deportations, and border violence.
The members of Alarme Phone Sahara hope that the info-tour will help strengthen the prospects for transnational solidarity in defense of freedom of movement and the human rights of people on the move and everyone else.
Alarme Phone Sahara thanks all those who contributed in organizing and hosting the info-tour:
