Dawn raids stopped on UN International Migrants Day
IMCista | 18.12.2007 15:16 | Migration
On Tuesday 18/12/07, activists from the No Borders Network, marked UN International Migrant's Day, by blockading immigration reporting centres in Glasgow, Bristol, Newcastle and Portsmouth. Arriving at the centres in the early hours of the morning, the activists aimed to prevent Immigration Enforcement Officers from staging dawn raids, in which families are often rounded up in preparation for removal to countries from which they have been forced to flee.
In Bristol, activists arrived in time to lock onto vehicles, and a police officer wasoverheard confirming that a dawn raid had been planned. In Portsmouth, activists were locked onto the swing barrier and gates by 4.30am and believe that another dawn raid from that site was thwarted. Glasgow activists were in place by 5.30am when Immigration Enforcement Officers arrived and were unable to leave the car park with their vehicles due to a tripod, and people d-locked to the gates. Newcastle activists dressed in Santa outfits locked onto the gates and used arm tubes to prevent vehicles from leaving the car parks. 2 of the Glasgow activists were cut free from their D-locks and arrested, whilst a tripod continued to ensure that vehicles could not leave the car park. Activists at the other sites were able to leave without any arrests taking place.
In Manchester, the local Immigration Reporting Centre Dallas Court had its gates locked with a motorcycle chain, and a banner reading "Caution snatch squads – we are watching you” was hung. Later, at 10 am, the Home Office in Marsham Street SW1, London was disrupted after activists blocked the entrance and unfurled a large banner declaring "No Child is Illegal: Child Detention is a Crime".
Both of the gates to Brand St were blocked
The actions took place the day after a disturbance at Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre, when detainees responded to a particularly violent attempt to remove a man born in Benin, by destroying CCTV cameras, light fittings and plumbing fixtures. One detainee reported that the Blue Wing was "devastated".
Meanwhile, Nottingham activists spent Monday and Tuesday campaigning to stop the deportation of Jane Mary Mutetsi, a Rwandan national who fled to Britain via Uganda after her husband was murdered and she was subjected to a gang rape and severe beating by Rwandan soldiers in which she lost the sight in one eye, her left ovary and several teeth. Jane Mary faces deportation to Uganda, where it is rumoured that there is a warrant for her arrest.
Last week, the NCADC reported that several detainees had been succesful in resisting deportation attempts.These included Tarls Wood detainee Maud Lennard, a Zimbabwean national who has managed to resist 7 deportation attempts. Ms. Lennard fled Zimbabwe on a Malawian passport that she obtained through bribing officials, and the UK immigration services have decided that she can therefore be deported to Malawi.
Earlier in the year, a No Border Camp was held in Sussex to protest against the proposed building of a new Immigration Removal Centre at Gatwick Airport, which forms part of the plans for a massive expansion of Immigration Removal facilities. Time and time again the UK state has been seen to be failing in its duty to offer refuge to those who flee political oppression and persecution.
IMCista
Additions
oops
18.12.2007 16:55
south coast snow boarders
About today
18.12.2007 17:37
This was supposed to be a a beginning of a new campaign against immigration controls and dawn raids. We will be back, time and again, we will keep on trying to stop every single dawn raid, and invite others to do the same. We can make this policy unworkable. eventually we will stop all deportations and border controls.This was a brilliant day, even though we can´t say we stopped all of them, we certainly had an eventful day. but in order to make this reach beyond the pages of Indymedia, it must be a part of an intensifying campaign. We will stop these atrocities, and what´s more, history will be on our side this time, as next generations will learn to see past the hype, those that helped to enforce those controls will be left with nothing more than ¨this was our job¨as a justification, and those that did nothing with ¨we didn't know¨. but history showed time and again that these excuses do not entitle one for neither forgiveness, nor peace of mind.
Freedom, Rights, Equality. End Deportation Of Migrants!
Photo!
18.12.2007 18:40
katie
e-mail:
katie_hast@yahoo.co.uk
Homepage:
http://katie_hast@yahoo.co.uk
Glasgow blockaders in Court!
19.12.2007 12:25
This will be the Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Come down to support them if you are around.
katie
London action
19.12.2007 23:26
The link is:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/12/388101.html
F.R.E.E.D.O.M!
Jane Mary Mutetsi and Felicia Sakwe still here!
19.12.2007 23:42
Last minute legal intervention stayed the removal
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/newszine89/JaneMary.html Felicia Sakwe Fourth removal Attempt stayed
Last minute legal intervention stayed the removal
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/archives/filed%20newszines/Newszine86/Felicia.htm
ncadc/ repost
Homepage:
http://www.ncadc.org
SUPPORT THE HARMONDSWORTH 4!
20.12.2007 11:05
9am onwards
at Southwark Crown Court
1 English Grounds
(off Battlebridge Lane)
Southwark
London SE1 2HU
(nearest tube London Bridge)
The trial of four men who were in Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre the time of the protest there on 28 November 2006 will open on 7 January 2008 and a demonstration will take place at Southwark Crown Court.
The Support the Harmondsworth 4 campaign is supported by London No Borders, Barbed-Wire Britain, Campaign Against Racism and Fascism, Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism, Crossroads Women’s Centre and the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns.
Harmondsworth is run by private company Kalyx, a subsidiary of Sodexho. The protest came the day after the publication of a damning inspection report by Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers into conditions and treatment of detainees at Harmondsworth, and was directly triggered by the attempts of members of staff to prevent a group of detainees from watching a news broadcast about the report. Prison riot squads) were drafted in to batter the protesters into submission. About 50 detainees were left in a courtyard all night and others were locked in their rooms even though parts of the detention centre were on fire.
N
e-mail:
harmondsworth4@riseup.net
The fate of those who have been returned...
20.12.2007 17:23
A woman who sought asylum in the UK but was refused, is currently being detained and is at risk of torture following her deportation to Eritrea -
http://www.amnesty.ie/amnesty/live/irish/action/article.asp?id=14864&page=12433 Great actions - would be good to have more days like these.
-
Ethnical purges in France
22.12.2007 18:03
There they do even expel adopted childeren.
Have a look at
http://friendsofleo.blogspot.com and sign the petition.
Luc
Homepage:
http://friendsofleo.blogspot.com
Comments
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newcastle photo
19.12.2007 11:42
newcastle
Please support anti racist march 19th January in Newcastle
30.12.2007 14:42
please spread the word about the demo online
Tyneside Community Action for Refugees (TCAR) would like to invite all local and national anti-racist groups and organisations to support our march against racism on 19th January (information below) .
TCAR is an alliance between refugees and British citizens which struggles for asylum rights. TCAR recognises that the Labour Government is using racism as a divide and rule tactic and that asylum seekers cannot win their struggle alone. Racism affects all of us, not just aslyum seekers but if we don't support each other then we cannot beat racism. TCAR needs support from our friends on the left, in the trade unions, in places of worship and in the voluntary sector to make this demonstration a success and to further the struggle against racism.
We'd be really grateful if you'd consider discussing our request in your group, workplace or union branch and write to us as soon as possible if you wish to support the march.
Ways of supporting us:
* Advertising our demonstration online and in local and national publications.
* Sending representatives to the demonstration and speaking at the rally.
* Printing off information about the march and distributing it.
* Supporting TCAR financially.
Please pass on this message to friends, comrades and colleagues.
Thanks and solidarity,
Annie, secretary of TCAR
CALLING ALL ANTI RACISTS.....
Tyneside Community Action for Refugees (TCAR) invites you to
ANTI RACIST MARCH in NEWCASTLE on 19th JANUARY
March from General Hospital to Newcastle's Monument
Meet outside the Old Fire Station on West Road at 12noon
Bring banners, music, your friends and energy! please spread the word
March Against Racism!
Stop Criminalising Immigrants!
Freedom to work! Freedom to stay!
The Government is gradually making immigration a crime. In the last 10 years the Labour Government has introduced five major pieces of legislation on immigration, creating new 'offences' that apply exclusively to immigrants. Here are just a few examples of how immigrants are being turned into criminals:
• the right to work for asylum seekers was taken away in 2001
• stop and search policies by the police target black people
• so-called anti-terror laws do nothing to address the causes of terrorism, but are another way to terrorise and criminalise whole communities.
• Asylum seekers have to sign weekly or monthly at an Immigration Reporting Centre. Electronic tagging and telephone voice-recognition systems are used to track asylum seekers.
• Forcing asylum seekers to live where they are told and not allowing them to invite friends to stay at their house. At the same time we are forced to see friends go homeless and hungry due to government policies.
The right to work for asylum seekers was taken away in 1999. But many people are forced to work to look after their families because for asylum seekers with benefits, benefits are so low (70% of British benefits). And for asylum seekers receiving 'vouchers' or nothing at all, the situation is even worse.
Working is a right not a crime! It is not only asylum seekers who are affected by these racist policies. Many immigrants have strict controls on the jobs they are allowed to do and they have less rights than British workers. For example, they often have no rights to benefits if they lose their job and they may have to leave the country or become destitute.
TCAR is in solidarity with all immigrants and we also demand the right to decent work for everybody, both immigrants and people born in Britain. We stand against divide and rule tactics used by a racist Government and media. This is why we invite you to join a march against all racism on 19th January.
DEMANDS OF THE MARCH!
• WE DEMAND DECENT LEGAL WORK FOR ALL
• WE DEMAND AN END TO THE CRIMINALISATION OF IMMIGRANTS:
o No detention centres
o No reporting centres
o No tracking systems
o No stop and search laws
o No racist anti terror laws
• NO DEPORTATION! NO NEW ASYLUM MODEL
• NO DESTITUTION! DECENT HOUSING FOR ALL
• GET RID OF NASS
• FREEDOM TO STAY. FREEDOM TO WORK
If you have any demands you would like us to consider, please email them into us and we will discuss them in TCAR.
DETAILS OF THE MARCH
Saturday 19th January
March from General Hospital to Newcastle's Monument
Meet outside the Old Fire Station on West Road at 12noon
Bring banners, music, your friends and energy!
We look forward to seeing our friends and comrades from Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. Together we are stronger! Together we will win!
Please spread the word about the demonstration. We'll keep you posted.
If anyone can distribute leaflets or put up posters or requires more information please get in touch.
Annie
e-mail:
tynesidecarn@yahoo.co.uk
Homepage:
http://www.frfinortheast.co.uk/frfine/fightracism/tcar.htm TCAR website coming soon!