World Migration

Migration and NoBorder news.

G4S guards accused of killing deportee

23-10-2010 15:23 | Anti-racism | Migration | Repression | World

Three G4S security guards are accused of causing the death of Jimmy Mubenga, who died during his forcible deportation on a British Airways flight to Angola on 12th October. Eye witnesses told the Guardian how the 46-year-old man was being "heavily restrained by security guards and had complained of breathing problems before he collapsed." The three men have since been questioned by police and bailed until December pending further inquires.

In response to the government's deafening silence, on 15th October activists from South London plastered the area from Elephant and Castle to Peckham with posters holding witness statements and other info about Jimmy's murder.

From the Newswire: Group 4 murder Angolan migrant during deportation | Unacceptable death of Jimmy Mubenga | Jimmy Mubenga posters in South London | Dover detainees demand 'proper investigation' | The Angolan death on BA77 at Heathrow

SchNEWS 743: Leicester Is More

A thousand EDL supporters rampaged through the streets of Leicester on Saturday (9th), attacking locals, anti-fascists and police.

On the Newswire: 1

SchNEWS 742: ITT's Hammertime

Brighton's Smash EDO campaign are holding a mass demo at EDO/ITT on Wednesday 13th October. Anti arms trade campaigners plan to lay seige to EDO/ITT and shut them down for the day.

Info for the Day:: The meeting place for the demo is Wild Park Cafe (directions here) at 10am on Wednesday, but people are being asked to arrive on the evening of the 12th. Convergence space will be available. There will be a meeting about the demo at 7pm at the Cowley Club on Tuesday 12th. There will be a timeline on Indymedia and a twitter feed: @smash_edo

Local contacts for ITT's Hammertime: Birmingham - hammertime-brum [at] riseup.net | Bristol - bristolagainstarmstrade [at] gmail.com | Cambridge - hammertime-cambridge [at] riseup.net | Cardiff - val.swain [at] yahoo.co.uk | Cornwall - kernowaction [at] gmail.com | London - hammertimelondon [at] dsei.org | Manchester - info [at] targetbrimar.org.uk | Notts - alex.dable [at] ntlworld.com | Swansea - d [at] undercurrents.org

Links: ITT's Hammertime demo page| Smash EDO |Target Brimar| Decommisioners

SchNEWS 740: No Borders Camp, Brussels

No Borders Camp 2010 in Brussels kicks off this Saturday (25th) til the 3rd October, so get yourself to the continent to make a start on creating a world where no one is illegal. Among the objectives of the camp are the denouncing of European migration policy; showing the links between this policy and the structures of capitalism and repression; the blocking of Brussels' deportation system and the organisation of an autonomous safe space for the voices of migrants and activists to be heard.

On the Newswire: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

In SchNEWS:1

Links:www.noborderbxl.eu.org

SchNEWS: Calais - Out of Africa

The Africa House squat in Calais is to be evicted next Wednesday (9th). After a herd of 20 CRS vans circled the squat scoping the site on Wednesday morning (2nd), they deposited an eviction notice with those present, informing the migrants they had a week to hit the streets. The building - home to Eritrean, Sudanese and Ethiopian migrants, many of whom had already seen previous squats and camps destroyed - has been marked for demolition.

SchNEWS: Squaring Up To 'Em

This Saturday (15th) people will be protesting at various places around central London to give the new 'stable, national interest' coalition a warm welcome.

SchNEWS gives a round-up of all the events taking place over the weekend to get your action-hungry teeth stuck into.

Calais: Repression and Resistance

10-02-2010 12:12 | Migration | World

On Sunday, 7th February, French Police attacked the Kronstadt Hangar as part of an ongoing campaign of repression against migrants, which included the destruction of many migrant camps and squats in July 2009. The Hangar had been hired by the No Border Network and the French organisation SôS Soutien aux Sans Papiers as an autonomous space for migrants and activists struggling for the right to freedom of movement. Before the Hangar was opened, migrants had been meeting up outside the night shelter during the day, but the night shelter had finally closed at about the time the hangar opened its doors on 6th February.

Previous articles: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Links: Calais Migrant Solidarity | No Borders London |

No to Deportations and Destitution

In March 2007 the Home Office published "Enforcing the Rules": stating that its purpose was to ensure that for people seeking asylum, life "becomes ever more uncomfortable and constrained until they leave or are removed." From October this year they have stepped their efforts to make life hard for asylum seekers (and perhaps win some votes from the most ignorant and racist parts of the electorate). In particular: cutting asylum benefits to £5 a day for asylum seekers over 25; attempting (disastrously) to deport people to Baghdad, claiming that it is "safe" (one of the people on the demo had lost a friend to car bomb in Baghdad weeks before); making the process of claiming asylum even more of maze that it already is and announcing their intention to forcibly deport people to Zimbabwe by claiming there were "positive changes" there.

Sheffield's Zimbabwean community felt this attack on them should be resisted. They fled Zimbabwe to find safety here and there is no less danger in Zimbabwe now than before the latest "Unity" Government. Initiated by them and backed by the South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG) we decided to speak out against this latest stepping up of the Government's war against asylum seekers. So 100-120 people demonstrated outside the Town Hall: asylum seekers from Zimbabwe, Uganda, Iraq, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Chechnia, Uzbekistan and Sudan joined SYMAAG, Sheffield and Barnsley Trades Councils, ASSIST, No Borders, CDAS, Sheffield Green Party, the Bishop of Sheffield and council leader Paul Scriven to show our opposition. As well as speeches there was dancing from members of the Zimbabwean group. The demonstration received coverage from Radio Sheffield, Sheffield Live and The Star and passers-by took 200 leaflets explaining why we were protesting. We left, cold but proud that we stood up for asylum rights in our city.

Next SYMAAG meeting: Monday 7th December 7pm at Scotia Works, Leadmill Road, Sheffield S1 4SE

Links: Protest Notice | Protest Photos

Resisting Deportations to Bagdad

16-10-2009 18:24 | Iraq | Migration | Terror War | World

Around fifty people protested on 14th October against the deportation of more than forty people to Baghdad. The demonstration was called to stop the first mass deportation flight to Baghdad, and demanded that "the first mass deportation flight to southern Iraq, expected to leave on Wednesday, is suspended and the detainees threatened with forcible removal are released immediately." Activists from International Federation of Iraqi refugees and Stop Deportation Network spoke and called for an end to all deportations to Iraq and to free the detainees. Also on 14th October an early day motion was tabled by 4 MPs in the House of Commons which "calls for the deportation of Iraqi refugees to Iraq to be halted and for the Iraqi detainees threatened with forcible removal to be released immediately". Despite this the first deportation to Baghdad took place, 39 people were flown out early on Thursday the 15th October on a specially chartered plane provided by Air Italy. Sadly UKBA were able to deport the first ten people to Baghdad. The other detainees were not accepted by the Iraqi government and were flown back to detention in the UK. Update: the returned Iraqi detainees have announced a hunger strike from 19th October 2009 and have said that they and will strike until they are released. In addition a French / UK deportation flight to Afghanistan was due to leave Lille-Lesquin on the 20th October but was cancelled at the last moment.

A model letter has been produced by NCADC for people to use as part of their campaign against Air Italy over this issue. A further demonstration, was held on Saturday October 17th in Parliament Square and it was addressed by two deportees, who had been returned to Brook House detention centre, they spoke on the phone and told protesters, via a megaphone, of the violence and mistreatment they had experienced during the deportation at the hands of immigration officers and private security guards.

A protest has called, No Deportations to Iraq - Release the hunger strikers now! for Monday, 26th Oct, 4:30-6:30pm at the Home Office: 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF

Articles: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 ]

Links: [ Stop Deportation Network | Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq ]

Destruction of Calais migrant camps planned next week

18-07-2009 22:39 | Migration | World

Following the announcement of a £15million plan to 'strengthen their borders', the British and French governments are planning to destroy the Calais 'Jungle' in northern France and mass-deport hundreds of refugees stranded there. Reports from Calais say the French authorities are preparing for the destruction of the make-shift camps next Tuesday, 21st July, with a mass deportation flight to Afghanistan planned on Friday, 24th July.

Calais refugees and their supporters are calling upon activists, independent journalists and legal observers to go down to Calais and help prevent this tragedy. A protest outside the French embassy in London has been called by No Borders on Monday [more action ideas]. A group calling itself 'Calais Witnesses' has prepared a statement and is asking groups and individuals to sign it. Two UK Green MEPs have also issued a joint statement condemning the 'inhumane' plan.

Links: Calais Migrant Solidarity | Calais No Border | No Borders UK