No Borders activists protested non-violently against EU border restrictions and the poor treatment of migrants at a recent camp near the Bulgarian borders with Turkey and Greece.

Demonstrators from around the globe marched on both borders, through the town of Svilengrad and at Liubimetz detention centre during the 5-day camp from 25-29 August 2011.

Many workshops were held as well as some very animated plenums where all learnt about communication skills and the art of compromise at a sun-drenched field in Siva Reka who all begged us to stay a little longer.

Kris, one of the many Germans at the camp, said it had been a good experience: "We learnt a lot about the No Border scene in Bulgaria, the terrible treatment of the migrants by Frontex, and the incredible spirit of the migrants who gave all they had to thank our solidarity."

If the march around the centre protected by dozens of riot police with a four-metre tall water cannon was the most emotive moment, the frontier die-ins turned out to be the most confrontational. Bulgarian police units in full body armour found the civil disobedience hard to deal with and struggled to contain the non'violent crowd at times. The die-ins across the border crossing were meant to force frontier-users to think how much we take for granted the concept of freedom of movement contrasting with how many migrants die in the river separating Turkey with Bulgaria every week. Afterwards, activists carried out autonomous actions trying to cross the frontier themselves but were illegally blocked by the customs officers from crossing into the 1km no-man's land with Greece.

Greece is in the process of building a barrier with Turkey which some rightwing politicians want to be extended along the perimeter of Bulgaria.

Bulgaria's imminent entry into the Frontex regime means that migrants and refugees will face an even greater struggle to enter the EU. Many of them emanate from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, where wars have been originated, waged or backed by Western imperial interests.

The No Borders group set about destroying the myth about migrants being the source of their problems and trying to attract more empathy from local residents about their cause.

"In Europe we have all migrated from one place to another throughout history," said one German with a migrant background. "But now they are punishing us all for a situation caused by their own errors of judgement. The West's imperialist ransacking of resources from our native lands in return for poisoned IMF loans means that the only ones who suffer are the most poor and those who stand against this repression."

Migrant populations across Europe were welcomed in the boom of the 1960s and 70s as cheap labour. Now the property bubble has finally burst they are being imprisoned in detention centres and deported across the EU.

There are many activities organised by No Borders in the UK but one of the most fulfilling has to be the No Borders project in Calais, France. Here the migrants are abused and mishandled by the French CRS and PAF police who make their life a nightmare with regular beatings and arrests. 

The No Borders team who work there are a committed bunch of anarchistic activists who work to warn migrants of police raids and create working ties with the local population to help the visitors on their way to England. It is a rewarding and challenging experience to have face-to-face contact with the migrants who suffer so much running from persecution and war in their own countries. Their harrowing stories of swimming from sinking boats in the Mediterranean or scampering across the Sahara tell so much about the human spirit in the quest of their dreams, which we may have forgotten about two hours up the road in London. For more information on either the Bulgarian camp or the ongoing Calais project check the two links below.