World Migration Newswire Archive

"Why are they imprisoning me here for so long? I am a victim of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I fought against their injustices for the rights of people in Iran and had to leave because they tried to arrest me. I came to the UK and they have locked me up without rights. It is inhumane. I have been forced to take this drastic action. I haven't been outside or seen any part of Britain since the day I arrived. They have put me in the detention centre like a criminal." Fariat Mohammadi

Anarchists from Greece marched in solidarity with repressed immigrants and clashed with cops and fascists while setting streets and ATMs on fire.

“Like many IRCs, Dover is dealing with a more challenging and varied population, including a high proportion of ex-prisoners. It was nevertheless disappointing that there had been slippage in a number of areas and that the regime and approach was tending to revert to that of a prison, rather than an IRC.

“We had some concerns about the robustness of the procedures to support safety and there had been a significant deterioration in welfare support for detainees about to leave the centre. These are matters that managers need to address if the centre is to retain its positive ethos and ensure a safe environment.”  Anne Owers

Ethnic Charter Flight on Thursday 9th July 2009 - flight number PVT 007 to Cameroon.

Don't deport : Charles Takem, Djantou Gilbert - Mbakop Charlotte and their two kids (8 years & 6 years) , Patrick Youmbi, Flobert Simplice Sindjui, Alice Ebot Ojong, Pascal Landry Kegne, Amougou Atangana Benoit, Eric Tcheujoue, Roger Anyong and all the other names who are being herded onto this flight as if they are not human beings.

Mahmoud Abu Rideh, a Palestinian refugee, detained in Belmarsh and now under a control order for the past nearly 8 years (4 yrs Belmarsh + 4 yrs control order) on the basis of secret evidence he and his lawyers cannot see, without charge or trial, has finally been allowed to apply for travel documents to let him leave the UK on 3 July

An example of how the Home Office treats the immigrants who TRY their best in order to be legal in the United Kigdom.

Stopped at Birmingham International airport

Well so much for all those blood curdling corporate media reports about the 'riot' in Calais. The Daily Mail retained their first prize for the most absurd prediction by saying that the protesters planned to smash through the border controls and lead the refugees through 26 miles of channel tunnel?!

Images from the Calais No Border march, which took place on Saturday 27th June.
Thousands of people from the No Border camp descended on Calais town, France, to get their point across about the situation facing increasing numbers of desperate asylum seekers stuck in the Calais area. Many asylum seekers face destitution in Calais as they struggle to complete their journey- for the most part away from war torn countries such as Afghanistan.

You have the Power to Stop Deportations

You will need Courage, Persistence and Faith

An Anti-Deportation Campaign involves organizing resistance to restrictive immigration legislation, and simply means making the government change their minds regarding an individual case.

Here there are a few pics of the Camp, followed by a personal account of it.

On Saturday 27th June, over 2000 people took part in the Transnational demonstration in the French port city of Calais, called by the Calais No Border Camp 2009. A group of around 500 people left the camp at around 9.30am to march together to the meeting point at the Calais Lighthouse. This group quickly encountered a police line blocking the road, and which effectively became a check point as riot police demanded the demonstrators to be searched as a condition for the march to move forward.

Some people decided to allow the cops to search them, so the march could pass trough the police line and arrive on time to meeting point where local groups and unions were waiting for the campers to arrive. Others refused to do so when it became clear that cops were confiscating scarfs and coats from people's bags. After half and hour or so of a standoff, finally police opened the line when it became obvious that searching everyone would be a logistical nightmare, specially taking into account that there was only one female police cop searching women through.

The march then proceeded to move through a surreal game of cat and mouse with the cops. At every intersection where the demo was trying to move into town towards the Lighthouse, lines of riot police were quickly formed preventing it from moving on. This forced the march to improvise a route in order to not get trapped. This meant that what should have been a half an hour stroll to the Lighthouse, became an almost 3 hours long journey through council estates, back roads, parks, industrial estates and so on.

The campers stood together for the whole time, so they managed to eventually get to the Lighthouse where around 1500 people had been gathering waiting for them to arrive. Then the planned march towards the ferry port finally started, but once again, lines of riot police kept blocking the demonstration at every junction towards the port. That forced the demonstration to take an alternative long route, which ended when it encountered a massive police block at the main road leading to the port. At this point it became clear that it would be impossible to overcome the hundreds of riot police lines with tear gas, water cannons and mobile fences, so the marchers decided to go back to the starting point at the Lighthouse, where a series of speeches by migrants took place explaining the conditions in which they are forced to 'live' in and around Calais.

Here there are some pics of the demo:

Notes from a workshop at the Calais Noborder Camp about Resistamce against Detention Centresin which activists talked about the situation in different countries.

Here you can find information on upcomig protests related to the of migration; against borders - for the freedom of movement.

Around 2000 people demonstrated yesterday in the French port of Calais calling for the freedom of movement for all and the abolition of migration controls.

Newspaper Nomade written, layoutted and distributed in Calais during the NoBorder Camp

A few years ago that nice Mr Sarkozy (then French home secretary) was desperate to impress that even nicer Mr Blair. So to capitulate to Mr Blair and his masters in the British tabloid media, he closed the Red Cross Sangatte refugee camp near Calais. Prior to its demolition Sangatte was a place where vulnerable refugees fleeing places like Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan could get food, healthcare and a bed for the night. By a staggering coincidence Great Britain has had rather a lot of influence in the fortunes of Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. So some people might suggest that we have a slight responsibility with regard to helping these people? Now (post Sangatte) they have to sleep under bridges and in dangerous camps where they are regularly attacked by the Police and local racists. Fortunately they are being fed each day by a number of unpaid volunteers from the Calais based 'Salam' charity who are doing an amazing job.

Road blockade to Calais port at the No Borders camp and police repression

My name is Ali. I'm from Afghanistan. Now we live in the "Jungle", how we call the woods around Calais, were we're forced to live. We request support from the English people. The border is very hard. No one pass to England. The English government should tell the government of France to open the border.

Behind all the scare stories and fiction of the tabloid scum press, we are making friends with people here who gradually tell us their stories. Obviously they are scared of what would happen if their stories were made public but have agreed to let us tell people the rough outlines. All names have been changed.