Home Ofice In Glasgow Has Been Dawn Raided!

The Unity Centre | 29.05.2012 08:59 | Anti-racism | Migration | Repression

More than a douzen people are currently outside the UKBA offices in Glasgow supporting three people locked on to prevent dawn raids on local families.

The protest and lock-ons have survived 4 hours so far but cutting teams have just begun work.

The blockade as it started

The cops arrive

Tool team prepare to cut activists out

At 5:30am this morning a group of douzen protesters from Unity and the No Borders Network have blockaded and closed the gates at the UKBA reporting centre in Brand Street Glasgow, in protest against the continuing detention of children and the practice of early morning raids following the harrowing dawn raids and subsequent detention of two African families in the city over the last month.

Protesters have attached themselves through lock on tubes across the entrance of the main gates, blocking the exit for dawn raid vans, and closing all vehicle exits to the building where the heavy handed UK enforcement teams are based.

The team of protesters are chained together through tubing on which reads the
slogans “STOP DAWN RAIDS” & “END DEPORTATIONS”. Banners in support of refugee rights hang across the gates.

The peaceful protest has currently attracted the attention of 15 police officers.
As protesters blocked the road this morning, members of the UKBA Enforcement Teams which carry out the dawn raids arrived, protesters believe, in preperation to carry out a dawn raid on another family this morning. Protesters believe that we have managed to successfully stop the UKBA detaining a family today.

If you live in Glasgow, come down to join the protest before it's too late and show your support for the blockaders! NO DEPORTATIONS TODAY!

For enquiries (media or other) please call 07579008609

The Unity Centre
e-mail: info@unitycentreglasgow.org
Homepage: www.unitycentreglasgow.org

Comments

Hide the following 7 comments

Fucking superb

29.05.2012 10:24

As always Unity your an inspiration to us all.
Don't you guys ever get tired.
Well done keep up the good work.
Nuff respect from Bristol

@rchie

Succesful action!

29.05.2012 10:47

Brief update:

About half an hour after we set up the blocakde, which had been organised at pretty short notice, there was a stream of cars with UKBA officials trying to get into the reporting centre. Some of the cars contained members of the Enforcement Team based at Brand Street so we are confident that our action disrupted a dawn raid this morning.

It took the specialist cutting team from Strathclyde Police 2 hours and 45 minutes to cut the three protesters from their lock on tubes.

All three were arrested and have been taken to a local police station. Unlike the previous protest when all our banners were confiscated as 'evidence' we even kept our nice new vinyl banners!

Today's action was therefore an effective action that although not as spectacular as the last action where we closed the gates for 11 hours...

We're totally not embarassed and very happy with the outcome fo today's protest.

UNITY!

We'll keep you updated!

Unity

Nice one Unity

29.05.2012 10:53

Great action! Well done to all involved.

UNITY

29.05.2012 13:01

It's very simple

We suspected there might be a dawn raid on a family in Glasgow this morning
We took direct action to stop a dawn raid on a family in Glasgow this morning
We stopped them getting their vehicles out to do a dawn raid on a family in Glasgow this morning

Within that limited framework it was therefore a succesful action.- we are happy to have achieved our limited aims.

We weren't claiming that we would be stoppping deportations or that we were changing the world in this one straightforward action.

If only it were that simple!

Maybe lots of little actions like this morning will add up to the one big one of stopping deportations. With our limited resources that is all we can hope.

Thank you everyone for the support!

UNITY!

UNITY

Assesment

29.05.2012 15:40

I'm used to be surprised when people described actions of this sort as "Successful" but I now realise that any action which makes it to Indy accompanied by a few grainy pictures is automaticly regarded as "successful" simply because it took place.

Proof of how so many do not understand where power is located in this country and what really disrupts it.

You claim to have delayed a deportation, well lets assume that's true, for how long. 4 hours, 8 hours 24 hours, a week ? In the greater scheme of things these minor delays make no difference to the poor fuck being sent back to some hell hole do they ? The only real success would be for all deportations to stop, anything less than that is failure but of course there are no failures here on Indy.

This fight is not outside the gates of an immigration prison but at the doors of those who decide who goes into those prisons and it's a shame you don't understand that.

Surprised

Court support

29.05.2012 17:28

The three people arrested are being held over night and are due to appear in Glasgow Sheriff Court tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. Anyone willing to come and show support in the court is very welcome.

Unity!

Unity

@Surprised: looking forwards to reading about your actions...

29.05.2012 18:32

...where you raze the home of politicians, the rich, and the judiciary to the ground?

anon