Update from the Calais Camp
Approximately 20 members of No Borders North East are in Calais as part of the first transnational camp aimed at highlighting the situation of migrants stranded in Calais, most of whom are trying to reach the UK and claim asylum. The camp is made up of about 1000 people, some of them activists, some of them migrants, whilst others are simply local people concerned with the escalating humanitarian situation. Members of No Borders North East have been distributing food to local migrants, as well as protecting a squat used by a number of Eritrean migrants against police eviction. Although the squat eviction was successfully resisted, the police later tear gassed the premises preventing the migrants from getting back in.
Some of the migrants in Calais are as young as thirteen years old, and come from places such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Northern Africa. We have witnessed extensive police harassment of both migrants and activists, and have heard numerous reports of migrants being emotionally and physically abused and brutalized by the local police. The police response to the camp has been huge, with over 2000 officers drafted in to the city. The attitude of the police is quite intrusive and is often one of confrontation and intimidation. Last night the police unsuccessfully attempted to gain access to the site of the camp in order to make further arrests of migrants but they were prevented as people woke up. It appears that the police are trying to find ways to distort the message of the camp through stimulating aggression and confrontation.
In contrast to this, the response of many locals has been positive and supportive. This is especially true of the younger generation who helped with the construction of the camp and who have been a constant presence throughout the week, joining in with migrants and activists. Everyone is gathering momentum for the planned march tomorrow. Up to 2000 people are expected to attend to protest racist border controls, show solidarity with all migrants and to call for an end to the system that denies dignity to people who are fleeing some of the world’s worst violence and criminalises the whole process of migration.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT FOR ALL! NO BORDERS. NO NATIONS. NOBODY IS ILLEGAL!
Border Camp in Rafah!
Steadfastness and solidarity at the Rafah border
Under pressure from the Egyptian army and the police, the International Movement to Open the Rafah Border ( IMORB), is maintaining their camp at the Rafah Border. The group is growing; now 26 people from France, USA, Germany, Egypt, Belgium, and Sweden.
Yesterday, our Italian friend left us for his job in Italy, but a German woman, Alona, married to a Palestinian from Rafah, joined us with her six children, aged 2 to 12. She wants to return to live with her husband and other three children in Gaza. After Egyptian authorities denied her entrance, she said, “I am coming from Germany and I don’t wish to go back to sleep in El Arish. I come here and I only want one thing: to go to Gaza.” By phone, her husband asked his family to join the IMORB camp.
This morning we were joined by a Palestinian refugee, Mohammad, a PFLP (Palestinian Front for Liberation of Palestine) activist who spent 24 years in Israeli prison and has been living in Belgium. Mohammad’s daughter, a diabetic student in Gaza, is now in need of insulin. “Since June 8, the Egyptian authority has denied my exodus from Egypt. I heard about your camp and I decided to come and stay with you. The rumor says the border will be open Wednesday [6/17] so I will stay and wait.”
Nine Swedish Palestinians, including four children, have also joined the border camp.
Since we set up camp two days ago (6/13) Egyptian police and intelligence agents have been visiting us periodically. Each night Colonel Mohammad speaks to us, but allows us to stay, after first threatening to expel us by force.
When he came to us last night he showed more tolerance and ordered the toilets, adjoining the cafeteria, opened, which had been closed by General Khalil Harb to pressure us to leave.
This morning policemen came and asked us to put down the tents. We explained that we need the tents for the children to take their naps later. They pressured us no more on this issue.
After yesterday morning’s visit, General Harb, came after midnight and said, “this is a closed military zone, and your presence here is unacceptable. We will use any means necessary to remove you.”
In spite of all this pressure, the IMORB persists. They stated, “we will leave only when the border will be opened.”
Our presence is reinforced by support from the Egyptian population, some of whom have brought us blankets, mattresses and other supplies. This morning an unknown man brought us fresh bread. Then a child brought some fooul, a traditional breakfast meal, that was most delicious.
Yesterday evening a policeman came to us wearing a Palestinian kifeyeh around his neck and offered us some chai.
All these demonstrations of support help us to persist in spite of the precarious situation, what Alona calls a “five star hotel.”
For all those who haven’t direct contact with those at the Border, we will try to set up a discussion for daily updates from the growing members there. <3
–
In Solidarity
from all
International Movement to Open Rafah Border
No Borders Network Scotland – Next Meeting
1pm, Sunday 14 June, Phoenix Centre, 201 St. James Rd, Glasgow, G4 0NT
People from No Borders North East recently travelled to a dayschool on borders, migration and freedom of movement, supported by the Unity Centre, No Borders Network, and the Anarchist Federation, which saw over 50 people attending workshops including asylum and destitution, the UK border regime, immigration profiteers and much more. Several working groups formed around particular issues, including setting up a voucher exchange scheme, working against deportations, solidarity with migrant workers, and action on Angel housing, who profit from housing people seeking asylum in substandard accommodation. It was also an opportunity for people from across Scotland to get together and discuss developing a No Borders Network in Scotland, and there was enthusiasm for meeting again to develop this network further.
The next meeting of the network, 1pm, Sunday 14 June, at the Phoenix Centre, 201 St. James Rd, Glasgow, G4 0NT, will look at logistics like communication and structure, and will be an opportunity to join in with and hear news from working groups. Also on the agenda will be discussion of the forthcoming No Border Camp in Calais 23-29 June. Come along to find out more about what will be happening at the camp, the reasons why a camp is being organised, and how to get involved! More info on the camp at http://calaisnoborder.eu.org/
There is also an email list for the Scotland network. You can subscribe to this list to receive updates on No Borders news, actions, meetings, campaigns etc. scotlandnoborders@lists.riseup.net
Background:
Recent wildcat strikes earlier this year by construction workers against the divide-and-rule tactics of unscrupulous European firms, and the rolling out of ID cards to foreign nationals in the UK are reminders that we are increasingly living in a heavily controlled ‘Fortress Europe’. At the same time, you don’t need a crystal ball to see that the economic recession will be used by the far right to scapegoat immigrant workers and other migrants.
In Scotland, in recent years, there have been major successes in defeating efforts by the Home Office to escalate their barbaric dawn raids on asylum seekers. As a direct result of this success, over eight hundred families in Glasgow have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK. Crucially, direct action and community resistance played a central role in this campaign.
At the same time, the Unity Centre has continued to play a unique and crucial role in supporting asylum seekers at risk of being deported without warning. Since it opened three years ago, over 1,800 families have registered with the Centre and on average thirty asylum seekers come into the centre everyday.
The Unity Centre initiative grew directly out of No Borders activity around the 2005 G8 summit and the formation of a Glasgow-based No Borders group. The Unity Centre collective is supportive of the development of the UK-wide No Borders Network and hosted an early gathering in Glasgow, sent supporters to the Gatwick camp as well as distributing practical information and regularly sending a delegate to UK No Borders Gatherings. More recently, people in Edinburgh have also become active agitating against border controls and against companies profiting from the border regime.
No Borders is a network of people committed to practical solidarity, mutual aid and direct action in resistance to migration controls and the persecution of refugees and other migrants. No Borders calls for the freedom of movement for all, an end to borders and to all migration controls. We call for a radical movement against the systems of control, dividing us into citizens and non-citizens, into the documented and the undocumented.
http://www.noborders.org.uk
Call out for Calais Demo, 27th June
TRANSNATIONAL DEMO FOR FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT & THE ABOLITION OF MIGRATION CONTROLS
Calais, Saturday 27th June 2009
In Calais there are around 800-1000 migrants at any one time that are trying to cross the Channel, under constant harassment from the police.
These migrants are harassed because they do not have the right papers, or in many cases no papers at all – they are ’sans-papier’.
These ’sans-papier’ in Calais are only the tip of the iceberg: it is estimated that there are over 200,000 sans-papier in France, 1 million in the UK, and up to 7 million in Europe as a whole.
All sans-papier face the same battle – to live and work without exploitation, harassment and fear of arrest and deportation.
NoBorders calls for a world without papers, where everyone lives where they choose.
The route of the demo is the reverse of the walk that many migrants in Calais make on a daily basis – from Coquelles, where they are detained, to the lighthouse, where there is a daily food distribution.
We call on all individuals and groups that struggle for the rights of migrants to sign this call and mobilise for the demo.
The demo is part of a NoBorder camp that is taking place in Calais from 23rd to 29th June
calaisnoborder.eu.org
The demo will start at 10am from the lighthouse on Boulevard des Alliés.
NoBorder Calais
Gdale-CGA
UK No Borders Network
Contact: calais@riseup.net
Newcastle NO BORDERS TOUR 2009
The UK No Borders Tour 2009 is visiting Newcastle from 30/04 to 04/05 and invites you to a series of events that aim to encourage discussion and build awareness of the injustices of the UK and EU Border Regime, as well as to call for action against them. The Tour will terminate in the French border town of Calais on 23-29th of June, an outpost of the UK border system, where it will meet activists and organizations from France and Europe to create a No Borders Camp that aims to highlight the brutal situation for migrants stuck at the UK-French Border.
EVENTS in Newcastle
- 30th April, from 7.30pm, @ the Star& Shadow Cinema: Screening of NO COMMENT, a powerful film about migrants living in limbo between the UK & French Borders; discussions about the No Border Camp in Calais; and the opening of an exhibition of striking photographs from Calais by French photographer Julie Rebouillat. Followed by music from The Casual Terrorist and No Fit State!
- 3rd May, No Borders stall @ the Star & Shadow Market! Come and chat, find out more about NB and the camp at Calais, watch films about migration for free! We will also have some of Julie’s pictures for sale!
To see Julie Rebouillat’s pictures from Calais online check out: contre-faits.org!
- 6th May, at 6pm @ Newcastle University, Bedson Teaching Centre: The Case for Open Borders - a presentation by Teressa Hayter, writer and activist on migration and anti-racism. Followed by discussion and No Borders workshop
Look out for more events announced soon and do get in touch with NB noth east if you want to host the UK NB Tour in a place near you!
The UK immigration system is designed to criminalise and persecute migrants. An unjust and complicated asylum-seeking process, migrant detention centres that detain people indefinitely and without right to bail, managed migration schemes that divide workers and people, destitution by being made ‘illegal’, and forced deportations. Calais is no different.
As part of agreement between the French and British governments, migrants trying to reach Britain (many to seek asylum from war-torn countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea, Somalia, Palestine), are being persecuted by the French police; beaten, harassed, driven out of the town, forced to sleep rough in nearby woods, attacked during the night. People and organisations trying to support them also face prosecution, loss of funding and general harassment.
No Borders is a network of people who are fighting for the freedom of movement for all and to an end to all borders & migration controls. We call for a radical movement against the systems of control that divide us into citizens and non-citizens, into the documented and the undocumented. Join us at these events and at the No Borders Camp in Calais in June this year. For more info, get in touch:
nobordersnortheast@ucrony.net
Borders, Migration and Freedom of Movement Dayschool
The Forest Café
3 Bristo Place
Edinburgh EH1 1EY
Saturday 9 May 10.30am til 6pm
plus evening social
and music from Newcastle band No Fit State!
People from No Borders North East will be supporting this opportunity for people to get together to share info and ideas on the border regime and the growing movement for freedom of movement for all! Workshops, updates and films on current struggles against borders, and discussion on setting up a Scottish No Borders network. Plus No Borders UK Info Tour 2009 – an exhibition of striking photographs from Calais by French photographer Julie Rebouillat, along with info on the European border regime and the forthcoming Calais No Border Camp, 23-29 June 09.
Supported by: Unity Centre Glasgow, Anarchist Federation, No Borders
www.noborders.org.uk
unitycentreglasgow.org/
flag.blackened.net/af/alba/
Workshop programme online at www.indymediascotland.org/node/15325
*CALAIS NO BORDER CAMP 23-29 JUNE*
No Borders Northeast is currently co-preparing an activist camp in Northern France
in the upcoming June 2009. Calais might seem far away from the Northeast, but…
The Calais border is an important focal point for the struggle between
those who would see an end to all migration into the EU (by enforcing ever crueler
borders control regimes) and those trying
to break down the barriers between peoples, the borders that prevent the
freedom of movement for all, not just the privileged few.
The Calais No Border camp is an exciting joint venture between French
activists and migrant support groups and the UK No Borders Network. It
aims to highlight the realities of the situation in Calais and Northern
France; to build links with the migrant communities; to help build links
between migrants support groups and lastly, but not least, to challenge
the authorities on the ground, to protest against increased repression
of migrants and local activists alike.
This camp is not just about Calais: we are calling for the freedom of
movement for all, an end to borders and to all migration controls. We
call for a radical movement against the systems of control which divide us
into citizens and non-citizens, into the documented and the undocumented.
But why a protest camp in Calais?
While Europe is tightening its border controls to the outside of
Europe, and especially to Northern Africa, one of its internal borders
is often overseen. Many migrants who come to Europe aim to reach the
United Kingdom, but after the closing down of the centre in
Sangatte/Calais, people are forced to sleep rough in the woods around
the harbour, getting pushed around and often finally sent back to Paris
where they are forced to sleep rough in their hundreds.
Furthermore the UK Border serves as a mechanism of internal control and filtering in Europe. By pushing the UK border onto French territory, the British government has made it impossible for many people to claim asylum in the UK and forced those that do try into the hands of people smugglers. This situation can only be changed when we start a public discourse about the UK Border regime and the humanitarian situation of the people who try to reach the UK from France.
The Border regime can be only understood in its political and economic context, i.e. the exploitation of cheap work from migrants. Therefore we think that the struggle for equal rights for migrant workers and the struggle against the European detention and asylum system are closely connected. We also believe that we need to intensify the transnational cooperation between initiatives made by people on both sides of the border who find the current situation unbearable.
no one is illegal. freedom of movement for all!
act against british and european borders and inhuman border controls.
Come to the Calais protest camp 23-29 June.
There will also be a transnational demonstration on Saturday 27th of June in Calais.
Photo report : : Pennine house protest : : 21st of March
More than 70 people including No Borders activists from Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle took a successful action against the Immigration prison at the Manchester airport.
Protest demanding the closure of Pennine house, an asylum prison located at Manchester airport started with a rally in Albert square, Manchester.
The protest continued to the airport. Half of the No Borders activists cycled to the airport and the others travelled by train.
A huge police presence accompanied the Critical mass all the way to the airport. GMP mobilised a helicopter and motorbikes.
When the both groups arrived to the Pennine house, the police officers and FIT team constructed a protest pen inside the detention prison car park. The protesters refused to enter the protest pen.
After the vibrant protest and speeches taken in front of the detention centre the group decided to move to the airport departure zone.
The way back to the train station was dramatic as additional TAU, Police dogs nd horses were called in but not deployed. During this period, Terminal 2 was closed.
For more information see the BBC report here
One week to go! Joint protests and actions in Bedfordshire, Manchester and Edinburgh
G4S - Profiting from human suffering
Saturday 21 March is a day of action against immigration prisons. Thousands of asylum-seekers are currently being kept in immigration prisons throughout the UK. They haven’t committed a crime, but they can be imprisoned indefinitely. Many of the people detained have experienced torture, and their trauma is exacerbated by being detained. Detention centres are operated for profit by private companies.
Protests are being held at Pennine House in Manchester, and Yarl’s Wood immigration prison in Bedfordshire, called by Manchester No Borders, London No Borders, and other groups.
In Edinburgh there will be a picket of G4S (Group 4 Securicor), who hold and transport immigrants in shamefully poor conditions, and make massive profits in the process.
These events follow actions earlier this week, when activists from Manchester No Borders ‘detained’ Phil Woolas, immigration minister and MP for Oldham and Saddleworth, at his constituency office! They said “Pennine House is just one of many shameful facilities where immigrants are held without charge, trial or sentence.”
2,500 people are currently locked up in 13 British immigration prisons. Phil Woolas is seeking the expansion of the detention estate to 4,000. 30,000 people pass through one of those prisons every year, including 2,000 children. All are held for indefinite periods without trial or sentence. Mostly the only ‘crime’ they have committed is not possessing the right papers.
“Behind such statistics are real human stories and the UK Border Agency and Phil Woolas are directly responsible for the misery inflicted on these individuals”.
North East No Borders will be supporting the Manchester protests. No one should be imprisoned for trying to seek a better life for themselves and their families. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it is shocking that the circumstances under which people are held are scandalously poor, and that private companies like G4S are profit from human suffering.
More info at:
http://nobordersmanchester.blogspot.com/
http://www.indymediascotland.org/node/15058
http://london.noborders.org.uk/
