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Press release from the MIB Mouvement Immigrante de Banlieues

MIB | 13.11.2005 18:30

A translation of a press release from the MIB 11/11/05
original article from Indymedia Grenoble

Starve in peace my brothers, but starve in silence, but now we perceive a distant echo of your sufferings ,

Those that do not understand the causes of the riots are either amnesiacs, blind or both . Its has actually been 30 years that the Banlieues have been demanding justice. 25 years of revolts and riots , demonstrations , public meetings, crisis meetings and precise demands which were formulated.

15 years ago that the ‘Ministry of towns’ was created to respond to the exclusion and the social misery of the quartiers described as ‘defavorised.’ The ministers came with their various promises. A ‘Marshall plan’ , Free Zones ‘ (Zones Franches’) ,DSQ , ZEP, ZUP,’Youth employment’,’Social Cohesion’ etc…. The Banlieue allowed them to clear their consciences ; Ministers, elected officials and media with a few murderous little phrases on the zones of “no law”, “irresponsible parenting” “mafiaisation” and other “by products” of Islam
The inhabitants of these quarters notably the young are stigmatised and designated as reponsible for all these by products of our society . It doesn’t cost much to give lessons in civic responsibility and to point the finger at “the scum” or “the savages” and throw them out for the vindication of public morality . That can have its rewards ; the Banlieues are becoming a problem apart to which trust is given to the Police and the justice system . Today we are presented with the “youth of the Banlieues” , a subtext for blacks and arabs who burn and have come to mess up France .

Since the riots at Pourtant des Minguettes (1981) at Vaulx-en-Velin (1990), at Mantes-la-Jolie (1991)at Sartrouville (1991), at Dammarie-les-Lys (1997) in Toulouse (1998), Lille (2000) and Clichy, the message has been clear :

Enough of unpunished police crimes , enough faschistic stop and searches, enough dustbin schools, enough planned unemployment, enough dangerous, disgusting accomadation , enough prisons , enough harassment and humiliation and enough parallel justice which protects corrupt political men and systematically condemns the weakest

The crises here has been ignored and suffocated
As always they smother , the silent suffering of thousands of families , men and women who submit everyday to the social violence much more devastating than a burning car . Through the curfews, the government is responding by collective punishment and another law of exception which gives all the power to the Police. They have put a lid on the pot and it will be marked for a long time in the memories of our quartiers

There will never be peace in our quartiers, while we have no justice and real equality
No pacification and no curfew will stop us from continuing to fight for that even when the cameras look away

No Justice No Peace !!

le MIB 09/11/2005

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