Statement from MIB about riots in France
xfs | 12.11.2005 19:45 | Social Struggles
This is the Englsih Translation of a statement by MIB ("Mouvement de l’immigration et des banlieues"), a network of migrants living in the suburbs of french cities. The MIB is involved in anti racist action for years, e.h. they took part in the international border camp in Strasbourg in 2002.
i think its a good example why the so called "riots" in france are much more political than media will make us believe. and its a hint for all political groups around europe to start thinking how to react to the "riots" and how the riots from paris could lead to an european wide struggle for justice.
Communique from the “Mouvement de l’immigration et des banlieues”:
“Die in peace my brothers, but die in silence, that we perceive but the distant echo of your suffering” Wednesday, November 9, 2005.
“Those who do not understand today the causes of the riots are amnesiacs, blind or both. It has in fact been 30 years that the suburbs have struggled for justice. 25 years that the revolts, the riots, the demonstrations, the marches the public meetings, the cries of anger with precise demands have been formulated.
15 years since the Minister of Cities was created to respond to the exclusion and the social misery of the so-called disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The ministers come and go with their promises: Marshall Plan, Zones Franches, DSQ, ZEP, ZUP, emploi-jeunes, Cohesion Sociale, etc… The suburbs serve as a escapist release for the ministers, the elect and the media, fevered with little murderous phrases on the “no-go zones”, “the parental irresonsability”, gangsterism, and other “Islamist derivaties”.
The inhabitants of these neighbourhoods, and notably the young, are stigmatized and designated as responsable for all the problems of society. It is all too easy to give a lesson in civics and to point the finger at the ‘scum’ or the ‘savages’, thus throwing them to populist vindictiveness. And this strategy is all too profitable. The suburbs become an isolated problem, which we leave to the police and the courts to solve. Today, we are presented these ‘suburban youth’ (signifying black and arab) who are seen as having come to destroy like foreigners laying siege to France.
Nevertheless, from Minguettes (1981) to Vaulx-en-Velin (1990), from Mantes-la-Jolie (1991) to Sartrouville (1991), from Dammarie-les-Lys (1997) to Toulouse (1998), from Lille (2000) to Clichy, the message is clear:
Enough of these unpunished crimes of the police, enough of the suffering silence of millions of families, of men and women, who suffer daily from the social violence, so much more devastating than a burning car.
With the curfew, the government responds by collective punishment and a law of exception that gives full powers to the police. Just sealing the lid on the cooking-pot will mark the memories of our neighbourhoods for a long time.
There will never be peace in our neighbourhoods as long as there is not justice and real equality.
No pacification nor any curfew will keep us from continuing our fight for this, even when the cameras will have ceased rolling.
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!
MIB, 11/09/2005
Communique from the “Mouvement de l’immigration et des banlieues”:
“Die in peace my brothers, but die in silence, that we perceive but the distant echo of your suffering” Wednesday, November 9, 2005.
“Those who do not understand today the causes of the riots are amnesiacs, blind or both. It has in fact been 30 years that the suburbs have struggled for justice. 25 years that the revolts, the riots, the demonstrations, the marches the public meetings, the cries of anger with precise demands have been formulated.
15 years since the Minister of Cities was created to respond to the exclusion and the social misery of the so-called disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The ministers come and go with their promises: Marshall Plan, Zones Franches, DSQ, ZEP, ZUP, emploi-jeunes, Cohesion Sociale, etc… The suburbs serve as a escapist release for the ministers, the elect and the media, fevered with little murderous phrases on the “no-go zones”, “the parental irresonsability”, gangsterism, and other “Islamist derivaties”.
The inhabitants of these neighbourhoods, and notably the young, are stigmatized and designated as responsable for all the problems of society. It is all too easy to give a lesson in civics and to point the finger at the ‘scum’ or the ‘savages’, thus throwing them to populist vindictiveness. And this strategy is all too profitable. The suburbs become an isolated problem, which we leave to the police and the courts to solve. Today, we are presented these ‘suburban youth’ (signifying black and arab) who are seen as having come to destroy like foreigners laying siege to France.
Nevertheless, from Minguettes (1981) to Vaulx-en-Velin (1990), from Mantes-la-Jolie (1991) to Sartrouville (1991), from Dammarie-les-Lys (1997) to Toulouse (1998), from Lille (2000) to Clichy, the message is clear:
Enough of these unpunished crimes of the police, enough of the suffering silence of millions of families, of men and women, who suffer daily from the social violence, so much more devastating than a burning car.
With the curfew, the government responds by collective punishment and a law of exception that gives full powers to the police. Just sealing the lid on the cooking-pot will mark the memories of our neighbourhoods for a long time.
There will never be peace in our neighbourhoods as long as there is not justice and real equality.
No pacification nor any curfew will keep us from continuing our fight for this, even when the cameras will have ceased rolling.
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!
MIB, 11/09/2005
xfs
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
Say no Eurocentrism!!!
12.11.2005 22:03
What is all this Eurocentric stuff about politicl groups "across Europe" and the "european wide" struggle for justice?
How can their be any justice in Europe while its economy continues to exist on the basis of exploiting the rest of the world.
No Justice - No Peace
Link up with Africa, Asia, the Antilles, Australia, America
Eurocentrism is part of the very racism we need to overcome.
Leutha Blissett
Leutha Blissett
@blissett
13.11.2005 07:35
sorry, but i feel ridiculous using the term "world wide" in every
sentence i write. however, i totally agree with you, okay, and YES lets link
with africa, asia wherever.
xfs
Holy ignorancy!
13.11.2005 13:29
Don't you think it would be wise to learn a little bit about the world today in general and about things like international trade in particular, before concluding that european economy to a large degree exists thanks to our alleged exploitation of poorer countries.
It's true that we import things from poorer parts of the world, especially from China.
At the same time countries like China and India (together housing a very large portion of the poor inhabitants of the world) are in a catching up process, displaying far higher growth rates than the West. It's the same development earlier achieved by countries like Japan, Singapore or Hong Kong. Nations that today are wealthier than the average european country.
We need not, in the long run, worry of the chinese population nor the population of India. Wether you like it or not, capitalism is creating substancial development and improvement in these countries.
This is something you can discover through books and other media sources, as well as through travelling around in a country like India and ask people there what their life was like say 10 or 20 years ago (which I've done myself, as well as reading about the situation).
Africa is a great problem though. Many african countries, that used to export minerals and agricultural products to the West, have been bereft of these opportunities due to civil wars and increased protectionistic measures by the EU and other rich countries.
Apparently, we are doing well WITHOUT "exploiting" them, although large parts of Europe suffer from poor economical growth.
The notion that Europe is robbing poorer nations of their natural resources is a completely misleading one. In some cases we and other rich countries import natural resources from poorer countries, but a lot of trade in natural resources is also taking place BETWEEN rich countries themselves.
A poor country can transform itself through using her natural resources wisely. A good example of this is Malaysia that is the single richest country in the world when it comes to value of natural resources per capita.
Malaysia was once a very poor country, but today Malaysia is an affluent one.
Who can deny this aspect of reality?
Your deranged hatred of the part of the world you live in is nothing but sensed guilt over the dark history of british colonialism mixed with empathy for starving children you've seen on the telly. These two latter emotions I suggest you try and transform into a devotion for studies of things like macro economy and international relations. Your blind opposition towards Europe is doing no one any good.
European