If you're from Birmingham, or the West Midlands, and are interested in the No Borders camp, why not come along to the meeting in Aston, Birmingham to find out more? We'll be discussing what we want to contribute to the camp, how to get there, and generally how best to co-operate in supporting and mobilising for the event.

From the call out:
 http://calaisnoborder.eu.org  http://london.noborders.org.uk/calais2009

"The Calais No Border camp is a joint venture between French and Belgian
activists, migrant support groups and the UK No Borders Network. It aims to
highlight the realities of the situation in Calais and Northern France; to build links
with the migrant communities; to help build links between migrants support
groups; and lastly, but not least, to challenge the authorities on the ground, to
protest against increased repression of migrants and local activists alike.

"Why Calais?: Since the mid-nineties tens of thousands have lived in destitution, sleeping rough in Calais, waiting for their chance to cross the channel to England. Between 1999 and 2002 the Red Cross ran a centre at neighbouring Sangatte but this was forced to close after political pressure. Since then, the massive police presence
and repression in Calais has forced thousands of men woman and children to wander
the region and all along the North coast of France, Belgium and Holland. They
are routinely brutalised by the police; tear-gassed, beaten, arrested and repeatedly
interned at the nearby Coquelles detention centre.

"The Bigger Picture: Calais however remains only one small part of the overall picture of European migration
controls, a major internal border within the hi-tech EU borders regime. Since the
beginning of the decade, the EU been attempting to build 'Fortress Europe'; externalizing
EU borders into Africa and Asia with EU border guards patrolling the Mediterranean, in
Libya and off the West Coast of Africa courtesy of the Frontex borders agency.

"Migrants’ Rights Are Workers’ Rights:
Through this system of border controls, authorities create two kinds of migrants: a small
number of ‘skilled’ migrants, who are designated as ‘useful’ to the state; and a massive
number of undocumented workers who have no rights and are therefore exploitable as
cheap labour.

"Transnational solidarity works!
Building links and working together allows us to share information between us on a
transnational level. Last November, transnational solidarity helped to prevent the planned deportation of Afghans from Calais to Kabul.

"Campaigning Against Borders: this camp will continue the tradition of the No Border camps across the world since the late 1990s; it will be a space to share information, skills, knowledge and experiences; a place to plan and take action together against the system of borders which divides us all."

ARC have so far had two meetings about the camp and decided on mobilising both people and infrastructure. To help with this effort, please come to the next organising meeting, Which is on Tuesday 19th May, 7.30 pm at
The Drum, 144 Potters Lane, Aston, Birmingham, B6 4UU
 http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Drum,+144+Potters+Lane,+B6+4UU&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=11.510541,26.235352&ie=UTF8&ll=52.499138,-1.892481&spn=0.011574,0.02562&z=15

For further information please e-mail ARC at  arcwestmidlands@googlemail.com