Background
Hundreds of asylum seekers in Scotland and across the UK are being evicted from their homes and denied any form of housing or support. In Glasgow, the City Council has started a programme of evictions of people refused asylum, even though the Home Office acknowledges that at least 50% cannot be returned to their home countries. This group of people, who have fled some of the most oppressive regimes in the world, are left in limbo, unable to leave Britain, barred from working and denied any kind of welfare support or housing.

At the same time, the Home Office has announced that it will send officers to Glasgow in January to start evicting asylum seekers supported under interim “Section 55” arrangements. It is expected that more than half of the 200 people currently supported will be thrown into homelessness and destitution because the Home Office will rule that they did not claim asylum “as soon as reasonably practicable” on entering the UK. People can still claim asylum, but must pursue their claim whilst homeless and destitute. This rule has been widely condemned by human rights groups, and has already led to thousands of legal challenges in England. Now Blunkett is bringing his destitution roadshow to Scotland.

As if all this wasn’t enough, the New Labour government has announced plans to withdraw legal aid for asylum applications, curtail appeal rights within a notoriously inefficient and unjust system, and, with almost unbelievable cruelty, to take asylum seeker’s children into care if they do not return to war-torn countries like Afghanistan and occupied Iraq.

A campaign of resistance
A campaign is building to resist the evictions, support refugees in Scotland end detention at Dungavel and stop deportations. At a recent public meeting organised by the Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees, over 500 people heard the hard facts of the latest legislative attacks on refugees. New Labour is locking up refugees and their children in Dungavel prison, or turfing them out onto the cold winter streets. There were calls for council workers to take industrial action and refuse to carry out the inhumane policies of Blair and Blunkett, for phone trees to be set up to organise resistance to evictions, and for protests and direct action against detention. Now is the time to get organised and co-ordinate resistance.

Find out more, and how you can get involved, at this workshop.

Called by Glasgow Autonomous Project, and part of the Glasgow Anarchist Dayschool 2003.
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/11/281931.html

For more information, email  autonomista2003@yahoo.co.uk


DIRECTIONS:
The Annexe Healthy Eating Centre is on Stewartville St, just off Dumbarton Rd in Partick, half way between Kelvin Hall and Partick Underground stations. Partick U is also a train station and can be got to from both Queen St and Central Stations.

Buses:
9, 9A, 16, 42, 62, 62B, 62D, 64, 64A, 89, 90