Over the Easter weekend, people there will protest the imprisonment of refugees from all over the world at the detention centre, will insist on the freedom of movement and freedom from arbitrary imprisonment, will seek to "reveal the connections between dispossession and the enclosures; the dislocations that have occurred and are still occurring in the name of profits, warlords and empire; (…) to open a multitude of paths toward a different world." (from the Call to Action). Report, pictures,videos from the opening day (from Indymedia Germany).

Woomera is located 500 kms from the nearest city of Adelaide, in South Australia. It is best known as the location of Australia's largest onshore internment camp, and the scene of the most determined resistance to Australian Government policies of automatically and extrajudicially interning people who arrive in Australia by boat and without papers.

The conditions of imprisonment at Woomera 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 a report from January in the features archives.

The Saturday before the camp started, large demonstrations calling for the freedom and free movement of refugees took place in several Australian towns and cities. In Melbourne alone 15-20,000 people took to the streets. The Woomera 2002 campaign has called for a global day of action in solidarity with the Woomera border camp on March 30th.

More info:
Woomera 2002 Website | Indymedia Melbourne | Indymedia Adelaide