Report back from Beyond Borders
Someone who was there | 24.08.2009 15:30 | Migration
Beyond Borders was a weekend of anti-borders politics and migrant solidarity that took place at Nottingham's J.B. Spray squat. I found it inspiring and hopeful to get together with other people who are fighting Fortress Europe and the UK's dehumanising border control regime.
The event started on Friday night as migrants and activists joined for food, Afghan music and to watch films about anti-borders actions in Europe and the human cost of dawn raids. Everyone was commenting on what a lovely space the Spray is (check it out here: 
http://squatlobster.org.uk/?page_id=15). Some of the walls were decorated by local artists from the Long Journey Home collective ( http://www.longjourneyhome.org.uk/).
On Friday morning the real business of workshops and discussions began. The first session was an exploration of No Borders politics led by Manchester No Borders, who also gave an introduction to what activities they've been involved in. I can't comment too much on the following workshops on anti-deportation campaigning (NCADC) or women and migration (Women Asylum Seekers Together) because I spent a lot of time helping out with running errands and helping to cook. I did get a chance to speak to S from WAST at other points over the weekend and learned quite a bit about this migrant-led group that does what sounds like lots of very valuable work for women who would otherwise be isolated and in despair as a result of the UK's immigration system.
There was another great evening meal to fuel the ongoing discussions and networking. More musicians arrived to play flutes, guitars and drums and Jupiter's Dance, a film about street musicians in Kinshasa, was shown. Someone from Nottingham's anarchist library, the Sparrow's Nest, arrived with copies of early 20th C newspaper stories filled with horror stories about 'anarchist immigrants' who would flood the country (USA) if they weren't kept out.
On Sunday we began with activists from the Barbed Wire Britain network and Close Campsfield campaign talking about resistance in and to immigration detention centres. Rioting and other disturbances regularly occur in the horrific confines of these prisons and the activists were hopeful that it is possible to close them down. Then people from the SOAS Detainee Support Group spoke about the brutal treatment of detainees and why visiting and supporting them in anyway we can is often extremely important in boosting their morale and their willingness to fight. Many of those in attendance who had been in detention spoke about their ill treatment, including one woman who had been beaten so badly by escorts she had to be put in a wheelchair. Racism and neglect by health staff were also pinpointed as serious problems. Various ideas for campaigning against the companies that run the centres were discussed.
After lunch, a representative of the Justice for the North-West 10 campaign spoke about the plight of these Pakistani students who are fighting to escape their deportation following a bungled 'anti-terror' operation. Despite there being no evidence whatsoever of their involvement in any illegal activity they are facing deportation because they are considered a threat to national security. He was followed by Hicham Yezza, the Nottingham University member of staff who was also falsely accused of terrorism and has since had to endure prison and a long legal battle to clear his name and remain in the country. We discussed the need to stand up to the racist attacks that the government routinely makes on Muslim communities and to demonstrate that they cannot isolate people and groups from the rest of society.
Finally, activists from the Stop Deportation network gave a workshop on the mass charter flights that the Home Office is now using as a tool to increase the numbers of people that it removes from the country and how they can be resisted. A lot of good ideas for ways of stopping these mass deportations and spreading awareness about them were discussed.
Unfortunately the very packed schedule meant that there wasn't time for some topics to be discussed but all in all I thought it was a useful weekend for thinking about how to strengthen our struggles against borders and deportations. It was great to have these discussions in a very diverse group of people from all kinds of campaigns and perspectives and to make new connections. Let's hope some of these ideas can be turned into successful action soon!
http://squatlobster.org.uk/?page_id=15). Some of the walls were decorated by local artists from the Long Journey Home collective ( http://www.longjourneyhome.org.uk/). On Friday morning the real business of workshops and discussions began. The first session was an exploration of No Borders politics led by Manchester No Borders, who also gave an introduction to what activities they've been involved in. I can't comment too much on the following workshops on anti-deportation campaigning (NCADC) or women and migration (Women Asylum Seekers Together) because I spent a lot of time helping out with running errands and helping to cook. I did get a chance to speak to S from WAST at other points over the weekend and learned quite a bit about this migrant-led group that does what sounds like lots of very valuable work for women who would otherwise be isolated and in despair as a result of the UK's immigration system.
There was another great evening meal to fuel the ongoing discussions and networking. More musicians arrived to play flutes, guitars and drums and Jupiter's Dance, a film about street musicians in Kinshasa, was shown. Someone from Nottingham's anarchist library, the Sparrow's Nest, arrived with copies of early 20th C newspaper stories filled with horror stories about 'anarchist immigrants' who would flood the country (USA) if they weren't kept out.
On Sunday we began with activists from the Barbed Wire Britain network and Close Campsfield campaign talking about resistance in and to immigration detention centres. Rioting and other disturbances regularly occur in the horrific confines of these prisons and the activists were hopeful that it is possible to close them down. Then people from the SOAS Detainee Support Group spoke about the brutal treatment of detainees and why visiting and supporting them in anyway we can is often extremely important in boosting their morale and their willingness to fight. Many of those in attendance who had been in detention spoke about their ill treatment, including one woman who had been beaten so badly by escorts she had to be put in a wheelchair. Racism and neglect by health staff were also pinpointed as serious problems. Various ideas for campaigning against the companies that run the centres were discussed.
After lunch, a representative of the Justice for the North-West 10 campaign spoke about the plight of these Pakistani students who are fighting to escape their deportation following a bungled 'anti-terror' operation. Despite there being no evidence whatsoever of their involvement in any illegal activity they are facing deportation because they are considered a threat to national security. He was followed by Hicham Yezza, the Nottingham University member of staff who was also falsely accused of terrorism and has since had to endure prison and a long legal battle to clear his name and remain in the country. We discussed the need to stand up to the racist attacks that the government routinely makes on Muslim communities and to demonstrate that they cannot isolate people and groups from the rest of society.
Finally, activists from the Stop Deportation network gave a workshop on the mass charter flights that the Home Office is now using as a tool to increase the numbers of people that it removes from the country and how they can be resisted. A lot of good ideas for ways of stopping these mass deportations and spreading awareness about them were discussed.
Unfortunately the very packed schedule meant that there wasn't time for some topics to be discussed but all in all I thought it was a useful weekend for thinking about how to strengthen our struggles against borders and deportations. It was great to have these discussions in a very diverse group of people from all kinds of campaigns and perspectives and to make new connections. Let's hope some of these ideas can be turned into successful action soon!
Someone who was there