World Migration Feature Archive

The G8 2008 took place in Hokkaido, Japan, from July 7th to July 9th. As in the past years, people from all over the world protested against this summit and the capitalist system it represents [Pics] both in Japan and in many places around the globe.

On Saturday the 5th of July, the International Day of Action Against the G8, there were protests worldwide against this year's G8 Summit. In Japan, around 5000 people took to the streets in Sapporo despite ongoing police repression [Photos | Videos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4] whilst hundreds of people had previously taken to the streets in Tokyo and Kyoto. International solidarity actions also took place in several cities, including Bilbao, Stuttgart [Video], Dordrecht, Nijmegen, Paris, Singapore, Berlin, Reykjavik and Lisbon.

Closer to home, a picket outside the Japanese embassy in London took place on Friday the 4th, and for Saturday the 5th, and despite previous harassment by the Metropolitan police, a London Fete Against the G8 was called by London No Borders and other groups to demonstrate in solidarity with the protests in Japan, for the Freedom of Movement, and against Fortress Europe. The Day of Action around the UK Borders Agency started with a Critical Mass bike ride from Brixton to Croydon, the nerve centre of the Home Office's UK Border Agency, where several protests unfolded [Report | Photos 1 | 2 | Video]

From Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th, further days of action and blockades continued around the Summit location next to the Lake Toya in Hokkaido [Videos 1 | 2 | 3] A final statement by international activists was issued on Wednesday 9th after hundreds of activists joined a march called by the Hokkaido's Ainu indigenous communities. This was the concluding event of ten days of anti-G8 protests in Japan. The Japanese 'No! G8 Legal Team' issued an international call for further solidarity actions during the week of blockades [Second Call]. In London, a daily NO!G8 cafe was organised at the Bowl Court Social Centre to coincide with the G8 mobilisations, showing daily footage from Japan, screening films, presentations and discussions.

Check the Ticker, the G8MediaNetworkTV and IMC-Japan [Timeline (Eng)] for updates of worldwide actions and protests.

Related Newswire Posts: End G8 Domination! | Challenge to the G8 Governments | G8 summit marked by impotence and division | James Hansen's Appeal to the G8 on Climate Change | No! G8 Japan Info Tour Comes to UK | An update on Japan G8 repression - 40 people arrested! | Repression and Revolt in the run up to G8 Japan | Interview with Japanese anti-G8 activist | Preparation for the Japanese anti-G8 movements in 2008 | Japanese Government to Keep ‘Hooligans’ Away from Summit

Related Sites: No G8! Japan | G8 Action Network | Gipfelsoli.org | Debito.org | WATCH (Watch Human Rights on Summit) |

G8 2007 | G8 2006 | G8 2005 | UK IMC G8 2005 Topic

An international campaign to prevent the UK government deporting Pegah Emambakhsh to Iran, where she fears persecution, for being a lesbian, has so far succeeded in getting her deportation delayed.

Pegah sought asylum in the UK in 2005, her claim failed despite appeals, and she was arrested in Sheffield on Monday 13th August and is being detained in Yarlswood detention centre.

Her case has been taken up by the Iranian Queer Organization, who have said: "If she is going to be returned to Iran, there is much of possibility that she, due to her sexual orientation and her past life in Iran, will be sentenced to death, or, in a most optimistic view, be prosecuted and tortured in some of the ways that are all common among Iran's religious officials when having made the decision to chastise the so called 'corrupted' citizens.".

The global anti-deportation campaign, which has included approaches to the British ambassador in Rome and the Deputy Consul General in San Francisco has resulted in her case getting coverage in the local media, the Iranian media and the gay press [ 1 | 2 ] around the world. However there has been no coverage of her case in the mainstream media in the UK but it has made the TV news been in and la Repubblica in Italy.

Pegah now has excellent legal representation and support from Outrage!. Suggestions of ways to protest against her deportation include contacting the Home Office and signing a petition.

Articles: Urgent help needed to save the life of Pegah Emambakhsh | Appeal for the life of Pegah Emambakhsh | Pegah Emambakhsh Must Stay | British Ambassador promises: "We will not deport Pegah Emambakhsh" | Who wants Pegah’s Blood? | Urgent! - Save Pegah From Death. Don't Alow That Pegah Goes Up On The Airplane | Lesbian facing Deportation to Iran needs your Support | URGENT: Don't Deport Pegah Emambakhsh

Over 250 Sub-Saharan Africans have been arrested by the Moroccan authorities in raids that took place in different quarters of Rabat on December 23rd, 2006. Among the arrested were women and children refugees and asylum seekers. Six buses, accompanied by the army, then carried them to Oujda on the Algerian borders. At about 11pm, the buses crossed the border at 3 different points and the migrants were left in the middle of nowhere [see below for details]. Blockades by the Special Police prevented supporters from Oujda to reach the deportees and their mobile phones did not work, so they could not be contacted. There are fears that these arrests are only the beginning of a mass deportation campaign to Algeria, or even into the desert, similar to what happened in September-October 2005.

On December 25, two more buses arrived in Oujda, at the police station, with Sub-Saharan Africans from Nador (another town in Morocco). This only confirms that the 'operation' was nation-wide and pre-planned by the authorities, during a time when most of the activists were on holiday.

Reports: en & fr | fr with en summary [pdf] | es | fr | de | it | Attac Morocco statement [fr] | CEAR statement [pdf] | press release by the president of EU Parliament's Human Rights Sub-Committee [fr, pdf]

Related: Worldwide Protests Against Migration Controls | EU/Morocco: Deportation to Death [de] | European Caravan Against the Fence | Stop the Mediterranean recolonization! | Week-long Actions Against the Greek-Bulgarian Border | Links: Estrecho Indymedia | No Racism

Harmondsworth, 8 April 2006. Around 300 people from London, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Brighton, Reading and Cardiff demonstrated at the Harmondsworth and Colnbrook detention centres near Heathrow to ensure that "those inside will hear our voices and know that they are not alone." The call out for the demonstration was made by London No Borders, the Campaign to Close Heathrow Detention Centres, London Against Detention, and The Square Occupied Social Centre in solidarity with the Noborder actions in Australia [see the NCADC report].

There was a large police presence and they prevented detainees and demonstrators from establishing a line of sight: the demo was not allowed to take place in the field where detainees could see it from their windows. Security guards also prevented detainees from accessing the centre's exercise yard and didn't even allow them to approach the windows. Some detainees were reportedly beaten up when they protested against these restrictions. In response, some 150 detainees in Colnbrook have gone on hunger strike [Read press release on updated situation in Colnbrook].

Many phone calls from detainees were passed on to the demonstrators via a small sound system. Former detainees also gave live testimonies of their own experience in detention [Sekindi's speech]. Meanwhile, about 40 people managed to make their way around the side of Colnbrook where detainees could see and hear them from the windows, and they spent a long time communicating with people inside, before being moved on by the police.

See the full timeline of events
Reports and Pics: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Audio reports
Videos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

In Glasgow, around 300 asylum seekers, refugees, sans-papiers, Unity activists, and their supporters marched from the Home Office Reporting Centre in Ibrox to a rally in the Carnival Arts Centre in town calling for the right to work and an end to deportations. On Monday, 10th April, the All African Women's Group and other organisations protested outside Communications House in London in solidarity with international actions for immigration and asylum rights, and against detention.

In Manchester, a demo and rally [more] were held on 15 April under the slogan "Manchester: city of detention, destitution and deportation". On the same day, the offices of Ethiopian Airlines in London were targetted by anti-deportation activists. Their locks were glued and anti-deportation slogans were painted over their office and in the surrounding area.

A 11.000 strong demonstration took place in Brussels on Feb 25, 2006, to demand the legalisation of the 150.000 illegal migrants living in Belgium, and an end to mass arrests, detentions, and deportations [More: 1|Photos: 1|2|3|4].

The demonstration is the climax of years of struggle (since 1970) and migrant self-organisation to reclaim their rights: in early 2005 the Church of Minimes was occupied, and in October 2005 started the occupation of the Church of St Boniface in Brussels, that continues today [More: 1, 2| Video: 1]. After months of failed negotiations with the Belgian state, and under the threat of imminent deportations, about 10 members of the occupation started a hunger strike to support their demands. In early February 3000 people demonstrated in Antwerpen for legalisation and 2500 in January demanded the end of children being in detention outside the Vottem detention center. In September 2005, about 2500 people gathered to commemorate the death of Semira Adamou, killed by police during her deportation.

The first Social Forum on African soil took place in January in Bamako, Mali [Photos | Video]. Around 10,000 activists from Africa and Europe mainly discussed issues of global trade justice, migration and neo-colonialism during the four-day get-together. A large-scale demonstration marked the opening the WSF. The Youth Camp and some media activists participated with a soundsystem bus. Slight troubles were caused by clashes between Moroccan and Western Saharian nationalists at the end of the ceremony [Video].

Before this the stadium witnessed the opening talks of Malian associations, remembering the quest of WSF to tackle the poverty in the world and create solidarity among the people.

"We have to talk about why our young people dreams are all about leaving Africa, why do they want to go to Europe and prefer the risk to die?"

Migration related workshops played a major role in the WSF and several statements were published about the pressing issue.

World Social Forum 2006 opens in Bamako, Mali | World Social Forum 2006: Bamako (Mali) | Caracas (Venezuela) | Karachi (Pakistan)

On Monday July 25th or Tuesday 26th, young failed asylum seekers from Afghanistan will be put on a charter plane at one of the London airports. The charter will then travel to Paris, pick up more young failed asylum seekers from Afghanistan in France for onward transit to Kabul. At least 60 Afghans are expected to be on board.

Reports by Lille Indymedia tell of widespread repression in the form of mass arrests and detention of Afghani refugees since July 14th ahead of the chartered flight. According to Lille Indymedia, a significant number of Afghani refugees have attempted to flee France to seek sanctuary in England. There are also reports of a hunger strike by 51 detained Afghanis that has since been broken up by the French authorities.

Expulsions to Kabul, be ashamed! | NCADC response and model letter | Deportation Alliance

In the wake of the Governments much hyped "Commission for Africa" came a reply - a conference not so much "for" Africa, as from Africans.

There were excellent presentations and speeches by the usual suspects - Patrick Harvie, Tommy Sheridan, Aamer Anwar, representatives from Oxfam and G8 alternatives - but the most succesful aspect to the conference, what made it really striking, was the African speakers.

The conference was held at Caledonian University - Glasgow - 23rd April 2005.

More than 80 "sans-papiers" from France are walking from Brussels, Belgium (headquarters of the European Union) to Matignon (residence of the French Prime Minister in Paris) to protest against the policies of Fortress Europe and to inform the people they meet on their way about the situation of sans-papiers in Europe.
More Info in French: Imc Lille [1 | 2] and Imc Paris [1

On Saturday 5th June, more than 2000 'sin papeles' (immigrants without papers) occupied Barcelona Cathedral and the church Santa Maria del Pie [pics]. They are calling for unconditional recognition and that the authorities take responsibility for their unstable situation [Manifesto es | en].
Although police violently evicted the Cathedral [reports] and 25 immigrants are facing certain deportation, the Assembly for Regulation Without Conditions is calling for further actions [1 | 2], supported by many civil society organisations and demonstrations all over Spain.
While Barcelona’s ‘Cultural Forum 2004’ (sponsored by multinationals) appears to celebrate culture, peace, and sustainability, it remains obvious that some are not welcome. Many immigrants living ‘illegally’ in squatted abandoned buildings have been evicted and the buildings demolished to make room for housing developments connected to the Cultural Forum [article].

Imc Barcelona [es | en] | Imc Estrecho [es]
Sin Papeles Updates | Plan Gotta [es] | Papeles Para Tod@s 2003
Barcelona Forum Parody Page

A caravan of artists, media activists, scientists and technicians from all over the world is presently gathering in Andalucia in the South of Spain. The Euro-African project will cross the Straits of Gibraltar in December, and move south along the west-coast of Africa [map], reclaiming the Straits as a bridge, not a boundary. The Caravan describes itself as "a sound system, a circus, a mobile cinema and a stage for theatre and performance". It is constantly open for everyone who wants to participate.

news about the tour | german version

On the 30. Juni 2003 a demonstration took place against borders, deportations and the new visa-regulations in Warsaw, Poland.
This noborder demo in Warsaw on June 30 ended with 16 arrests for a short time.
A website with templates for appeals to authorities and more info was prepared.

The demo ended a noborder conference and an International Anarchist Meeting preceding the Krynki bordercamp which started on June 2nd.

Antiauthoritarians have squatted the Law School of the Faculty of Legal and Financial Studies at the University of Thessaloniki, and set up an Independent Media Center and a medical centre inside. The Faculty of Philosophy has been squatted by anarchists. A group of women took over the stage briefly during a concert in front of the theology faculty to demand an end to sexism within social movements.[report, anarcha-feminist workshop]

Anarchist techs have installed their radio broadcast software on Law Faculty computers and are currently broadcasting Ozzy Osbourne tunes and news updates in 4 languages including English. You can listen to the broadcast in MP3 software such as WinAmp, iTunes, or XMMS - just open the stream at http://dimitra.law.auth.gr:8000. The US consulate is closed although everything remains peaceful at this point. There are nearly 20,000 security personnel including a division of the Greek army around the Summit.

Time lines of events:
Wed-Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun

After a demonstration for freedom of movement was attacked with pepper spray, baton charges and tear gas on the Bordercamp's third day, all actions and demonstrations relating to the bordercamp in Strasbourg were declared illegal. The denial of the right to protest was confirmed when media activists of the Publix Theatre Caravan and Indymedia were removed from the Strasbourg city centre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Despite the ban protests continued with prisoner solidarity and street theatre. The last action of the camp was marked by leaving in a mass exodus convoy on Sunday.

This first Europe-wide noborder camp was initiated by the Noborder network and organized by activist groups from a number of European countries. The camp consisted of 10 days of actions, workshops and discussions around the central demand of 'Freedom of Movement and Settlement for Everyone', bringing together activists, migrants and artists from across Europe in a laboratory of creative resistance and civil disobedience.

Strasbourg was chosen because it is home to the central headquarters of the Schengen Information Systems [SIS], the database being used to store details of immigrants (legal or otherwise) the details of terrorists and political protestors (even only suspected ones!) and especially 'anti-globalisation' protestors. From here the project d.sec was born,which attempts to mix the cyber-activism with the activist movements of Europe.

Radio Noborder Bus:
http://noisebase.t0.or.at:4000/noborder

Radio SIS [offline now]
http://freeteam.nl:8000/sis32
http://paranoia.autistici.org:8000/noborder

More radio info at www.noborder.org/strasbourg/radio

Reports:
July 28th: Sunday report
July 27th: Saturday timeline
July 26th: Friday round-up | Virtual border action | Court case
July 25th: Media activists removed from city centre | Days events | Street Theatre pics | Pics and article
July 24th: Pics of the day | Press Release from the NoBorder Collective | Noborder Protests Declared Illegal In Strasbourg | Latest + witness reports
July 23rd: Pink-Silver and Black Block
July 22nd: Noborder Demo at Euro Court of Human Rights - Photos

Previous reports:
1 | 2 | 3 | pics
Resources:
noborder.org | d'sec | Statewatch

Seville hosted the EU summit of 20-21 June, marking the end of Spain 's EU presidency. The main subjects of the Seville summit were the strengthening of "fortress Europe" and the toughening of immigration laws. Meanwhile, the Seville Social Forum, unions, disobedients and many groups within Spanish civil society called for two days of action against the Europe of Capital and War that concluded with a 200.000 strong demonstration in the streets of Seville.

- Saturday 22nd, Day of solidarity with immigrants: The focuss of the day's actions, workshops, debates and demonstrations was to highlight issues related to emmigration, social exclusion and the casualisation of labour.
See IMC UK Breaking News for more detailed information and the day's timeline of events. Photo gallery and photos 1 | 2 | 3.

- Friday 21st, Day of Disobedience: Although people gathering in Seville were consistenly searched, identifyed and prevented from moving freely around the city by police, actions still took place all over Seville.
See IMC UK Breaking News for more detailed information and the day's timeline of events. Photo gallery and photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5.

Trade unions across Spain also called for a General Strike on Thursday 20th in protest at the Popular Party government's reform of unemployment and workers' rights laws. The strike was widely followed all over the Spanish State with reports of up to 85% stoppages in some areas, affecting the manufacturing, transport, private and public sectors.
See IMC UK Breaking News for more detailed information and the day's timeline of events. Photo gallery and photos 1 | 2 | 3

See the extended major report for full coverage of the EU-Summit and the General Strike.

More information:
IMC-Barcelona | IMC-Madrid | La Haine

WOOMERA, AUSTRALIA: BORDER CAMP Mar 27 - Apr 2 2002

On March 29th protesters at the Woomera border camp broke through the outer two fences guarding the refugee detention centre while detained refugees dismantled other fences from the inside. More then 40 detainees managed to escape, although most of them were recaptured later. Full story | BBC pictures

Over the whole Easter weekend, people have protested the imprisonment of refugees from all over the world at the Woomera detention centre in Southern Australia and have demanded the freedom of movement and freedom from arbitrary imprisonment for everyone. The border camp outside the detention centre had started on Wednesday March 27th with a large demonstration, following massive protests against the restrictive Australian asylum policy in Melbourne and other cities the weekend before. Pictures and videos from the first day of the camp.

Woomera is located in the middle of the desert, 500 kms from the nearest city of Adelaide. Conditions of imprisonment are unbearable and have repeatedly triggered uprisings by imprisoned refugees. Last December, several buildings were set on fire by prisoners. There have been hunger strikes, many prisoners injured themselves or comitted suicide.

Read more about Woomera and the border camp | Woomera 2002 campaign website | Indymedia Melbourne | Indymedia Adelaide | Fence Foto

Jan 24 2002
Hunger Strike at Woomera Detention Centre

Asylum seekers at the Woomera detention centre in South Australia are protesting against the Liberal government's draconian asylum policies. Many detainees have sewn their lips together and are refusing food, several drank shampoo and 15 have attempted suicide. This comes after 3 days of rioting last December and the death of a woman at the Villawood detention centre in Sydney. More than 30 detainees at the Maribyrnong detention centre in Melbourne are also on a hunger strike in solidarity with those at Woomera.
Read more | Foto

Activists blockade Malaga's Detention Centre

Since Thursday 26th activists from 'Ninguna Persona es Ilegal" are indefinitely camping in front of an immigration detention center near Malaga (southern Spain). Their action is to stop the deportation of 8 out the 31 immigrants who were beaten and arrested in Almer when they were demostrating against their ilegal situation.
Read more.
LATEST NEWS 29th Jan: Police have violently evicted the camp outside the detention centre in Malaga. Two protesters have been seriously beaten. Read more.
Diary of events from Malaga.

Disobedienti occupy Bologna's Detention Centre

Bologna (Italy)- In the morning of January 25th a group of 100 Disobedients occupied and dismantled a deportation centre that was to detain more than a hundred migrants under the new Italian immigration law promoted by the current fascist government. The activists were brutally charged when they were voluntarily leaving the building and a dozen of them were arrested despite the peaceful atmosphere of the protest.
Read more: Report 1 | Report 2 | Photos
Timeline of events from Radio Sherwood (Italian)

For more info, news and campaigns:No Border network

NO-MAN'S ISLAND IN TUVALU

The small island of Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean has become the first victim of climate change. The island's 11,000 inhabitants are being forced to abandon their homes as rising sea levels have caused coastal erosion, increased storms and salination of their drinking water. New Zealand has agreed to accept all of the island's residents, although serious concerns have arisen about the cultural and social implications of displacing the entire Tuvalu nation from the land their ancestors have lived on for thousands of years. Tuvaluans are laying the blame on climate change, and especially on the US for their refusal to implement policies to prevent further global warming. Full story

Current estimates reckon that sea levels could rise up to one metre during this century. At the present rate of global warming, sea levels will rise enough to inundate not only several islands in the South Pacific, but also large parts of countries such as Bangladesh, which could create millions of climate refugees.

More info and climate campaigns:
Indymedia-Climate | Rising Tide Coalition | Photo

BORDERCAMP FRANKFURT/GERMANY Jul 30 - Aug 5 2001


The series of border camps highlighting the racist and violent European border regime has been concluded with a camp near Frankfurt airport. Almost 2,000 people met there to make "internal borders" visible. Frankfurt airport is both a major place of arrival for refugees coming to Europe, and a channel through which many of them are deported.

In addition to a large number of meetings and talks highlighting racist aspects in society, the camp provided a base for creative actions both at the airport and in the city of Frankfurt. These included, amongst many others, actions against racist politicians, mock border controls at post code borders, an action "no peanuts for former forced labourers" at the stock exchange, theatrical performances in the airport terminals, and a large demonstration calling for the shut-down of the deportation prison at the airport. For three days, the airport was partly closed and everyday-business was restricted.

For an overview of the series of border camps go to our Summer of Resistance section. For information on the Frankfurt border camp check the border camp web magazine.

Thousands converge in Sweden's second largest city to protest at the European Union summit. Migration, corporate Europe and militarisation are among the many issues raised by protesters.