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STOP DEPORTATIONS! Lobby of British Airways/ Anti-deportation action at Yarl's W

Campaign Against Deportations and Detention | 04.07.2005 16:45

A lobby of British Airways travel shops has been held today, 4th of July, in London and Manchester. British Airways is a favourite airline to deport people to Zimbabwe, together with Kenyan Airways.

In London we picketed the BA travel shop in Piccadilly, a very central and busy location. We held signs reading: 'BA CARRY PEOPLE TO THEIR DEATHS' and ' WHY 100 ON HUNGERSTRIKE PREFER TO DIE THAN TO GO BACK TO ZIMBABWE?'
We collected signatures for a letter to British Airways urging them not to co-operate with forced removals of Zimbabweans or others who may face torture and death on their return. The response from the public was very positive, the police attention quite amazing - a car and a van full of cops, all for a small handful of protesters! They also filmed us.
In the case of people on hungerstrike there are serious safety concerns if they are carried by airline, as their health has suffered and they are now very weak.

Notwisthanding, on the 2nd of July they tried to deport Patricia Mukandara to Zimbabwe - on a British Airways flight.
Patricia has been for over four weeks on hungerstrike - not 13 days like the newspapers say. She is very affected and can walk only with difficulty. 16 women detained with her intervened to help Patricia, physically preventing the escorts from entering her room. Although it was a thoroughly non-violent action, guards arrived in riot gear and all the women were later put in isolation as a punishment.
Patricia's solicitor won a high court order to cancel the removal - just an hour before it was scheduled. The women had already managed to delay Patricia's removal to the point it was no longer possible.

Today we demanded that British Airways stops co-operating with this sort of deportaions.

Campaign Against Deportations and Detention

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04.07.2005 18:56

Patricia and another Zimbabwean woman have now been moved from Yarl's Wood to Colnbrook's short term facility, causing them even more uncertanity and distress. It seems it has been a common policy, to isolate detainees on hungerstrike and move them to different wings or different detention centres in a vain attempt to break their resistance. More bad news are that some of the detainees are now very ill, some started the hungerstrike well over two weeks ago. Mquebheli Timbha has been on hungerstrike in Harmondsworth since the 2nd of June and his condition is very worrying. We went there yesterday, I saw Patricia, limping very badly because her legs can't carry her any more, a doctor saw Timbha. The wife of a detainee who is in intensive care was denyed to see her husband. What intensive care they can provide in detention is a complete guess: they do not provide any appropriate medical care to anyone, let alone deal with people on hungerstrike. Are they waiting for somebody to die?

Chiara


New Labour, new fascism

05.07.2005 08:40

The cold, calculated brutality of New Labour can never be underestimated.Maximum pressure from masses of ordinary people is vital.

mouse