Louna Sbou, the director of Berlin cultural space Oyoun, is one of over 500 civilians whom Israel illegally detained in international waters yesterday. It’s yet another moment highlighting the ongoing genocide. Here is my appeal to all my friends and colleagues across culture and creative technology in Germany, especially: will you do something?
The following calls to action were shared by Oyoun in their press release; 3000 people had signed the open letter as of early Friday afternoon:
Es reicht: Bundesregierung muss sofort handeln und ihre Bürger*innen schützen [open letter from the German cultural landscape to the German federal government; DE + EN]
Unterstützt die deutsche Delegation der Global Sumud Flotilla [contact cards for German government officials, DE only]
It may seem performative or like a distraction, but one way to think about the Global Sumud Flotilla is as a crucible. We have seen countless examples of Israel’s determination to starve Palestinians, to deny them shelter, health care, electricity, and even water, in this continuing multi-dimensional genocide aided and abetted by our governments. And we know that many voices in Gaza have said they welcomed the ongoing attempt to break Israel’s illegal blockade.
It bears saying: these civilians immediately have rights and international protections that the occupied people of Palestine do not, least of all in the killing fields of Gaza. (Oyoun even calls out the specific legal obligations Germany has to its citizens.) But all of these issues are connected: the same illegal activity that seized these boats has formed an ongoing blockade around Gaza. The attacks on this flotilla are connected to well-documented attacks on aid workers, on UNRWA, and on international NGOs. The abduction of these civilians is connected to the largely unreported abduction of Lebanese fishermen — so much so that they “fear the sea.” It is a denial of the right to live.
I am not an international human rights lawyer, even if I know some. If you want to hear the opinions of NGOs and lawyers, Amnesty International can explain why this is illegal.
Louna Sbou is a colleague. She’s a neighbor. She’s part of the tapestry of the cultural community of Berlin — despite all the repression, which infamously included a campaign to smear and defund Oyoun and eventually the forced eviction from their space. And she’s someone who has long worked on behalf of communities that live here, which ought to be what you care about wherever you live.
So Louna took a risk with other civilians to break an illegal blockade and bring aid, among 19 German citizens and some 500 doctors, lawyers, journalists, cultural workers, and human rights defenders from over 40 countries on board the 40 boats.
And those of us in Berlin and Germany need to do more — not just the ones out in the streets, which grew to 100,000 or so over the weekend, but across our communities. Every repression in Berlin, every media article that provides cover for the violence, every excuse for misguided policies, has a real and material impact on Palestinians. Our taxes go to cover weapons, and our institutions repeat lies that are just as deadly.
We can’t keep repeating the mythos of Berlin as a center for freedom, use that as the legend of how electronic music and music technology found a home here, and then ignore injustice in our backyard and a genocide of one of our biggest immigrant communities.
Here’s Oyoun’s statement today, from a press release this afternoon, including action links (DE/EN).
Oyoun requests the intervention of cultural and political institutions in Berlin and throughout Germany to immediately protect Louna Sbou, managing director and artistic director of Oyoun. Oyoun is an intersectional platform for diasporic and international art and culture based in Berlin. Louna Sbou is one of 19 German participants in the International Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza. She sailed on the boat Paola 1.
Yesterday, October 1st, 2025, the Global Sumud Flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli army (IDF) in international waters, and its participants were arrested and abducted. This is a violation of international law by the Israeli government and a direct threat to the life of German citizens. The German federal government must ensure that German citizens and international civilians participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla are protected from attacks, intimidation, and unlawful detention.
Our demands
German government and administration: Must take immediate diplomatic action to protect Louna Sbou and all German detainees. An emergency task force should be established without delay to ensure their safety.
Cultural institutions: We demand public solidarity; statements, declarations, and active support for the Flotilla. Please sign and share this petition.
Civil society: Mobilize locally, show solidarity, and create political pressure. Use your voice and contact your elected representatives now and share it with your communities.
Role of art and culture
The German cultural landscape bears special responsibility for the suppression of Palestinian voices and expressions of solidarity. In Berlin, pro-Palestinian voices continue to be suppressed and censored, events are banned, and venues are closed. Oyoun itself lost its funding in December 2023 because it resisted censorship. The climate of intimidation and complicity with repression within the cultural landscape undermines the credibility of the entire sector. Many artists and cultural workers are among those participating in protests against the genocide, which are subjected to extreme police violence. Yet the voices of cultural institutions, associations, and organizations remain largely silent. We call on cultural institutions to finally break their silence.
We can also keep an eye on German media and bias and hold them to account — something even many journalists are demanding.
(For up-to-date information, Oyoun is posting via their account and Louna’s emergency team is posting to hers at least until they can restore contact with her. They also have plenty of links on linktr.ee.)
I think it’s irresponsible to look at this without the larger context. Palestinian voices are also saying that they want an end to the genocide — but a real one, not normalized violence and occupation:
But whatever you do, whatever tactic you find, whatever message you find — silence is not a message, and inaction is not a tactic. Everything we do to protect people around the world depends on us fighting back against the normalization of this kind of violence. International law isn’t perfect, but international lawlessness is clearly becoming a nightmare, from Congo to Sudan, Palestine to Ukraine.
Music requires freedom, safety, and life. And if anyone is in the business of being loud, even sometimes uncomfortably loud, it’d be us. Don’t stop.