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UKBA raid disrupted by Anti Raids Network

No Borderer | 05.02.2013 18:38 | Migration | Repression | London

February 2nd: UKBA raid West African Restaurant, Old Kent Road, near Elephant and Castle.



On Saturday night, approximately 6-7 UKBA officers and around 4 police officers rushed into a West African restaurant at 8.55pm. The raiding party arrived in one white van and one silver van, licence plate BP55DCU. But this time the operation wasn’t going to take place in silence.

About 20 people from the Anti Raids network entered the restaurant hot on their heels and informed everyone present of their rights in the face of immigration checks: you do not have to answer any questions, and you are free to leave at any time. Many people immediately got up and left – presumably not wanting to spend their night out being interrogated by UKBA thugs.

Unfortunately, UKBA had managed to surround three people before supporters could get to them. One group of immigration officers questioned the three women, while others physically blocked supporters from getting near them to inform them of their legal rights. Some police officers assisting the operation refused to show their badge numbers and tried to intimidate supporters into turning off their cameras. UKBA officers held their victims in the restaurant for approximately half an hour before leaving, supported by extra police back-up.

Sadly, they managed to arrest one Nigerian woman and took her with them to their base at Beckett House, near London Bridge (60-68 St Thomas Street London SE1 3QU). Arrested people are often imprisoned at the “short term holding facility” at Beckett House before being moved on to detention centres. Still, they had probably expected a much bigger catch. People from Anti Raids were there to show solidarity with the restaurant workers, customers, and the many people who are regularly subject to these racist immigration controls in London. While the UKBA were still in the restaurant, they also went to visit other restaurants and businesses on the street to inform everyone of what was happening.

Footage/images to follow...


*This raid was not in isolation


Racist migration raids take place every day in London, but are rarely reported on. At 2am on the same night, UKBA also attacked a house in the Peckham/Dulwich area, arresting 4 people from Bolivia and 2 from Pakistan. They were held in Beckett House for the night and have now been moved to detention centres in Dover and Bedford. Raids were also reported in the Elephant and Castle area every day last week. In one operation UKBA blocked off the entrances and exits to the main shopping centre, catching people as they left. Several people were detained and one person has already been deported.


*Building the resistance


Following the wave of UKBA activity over the past couple of weeks, members of the Latin American Workers Association (LAWAS), Precarious Workers Brigade, No Borders London, and other individuals working together under the banner of the Anti Raids network have been active in the Elephant and Castle area. On Saturday afternoon, a few hours before the raid, about 40 people held a demonstration on Old Kent Road to show solidarity with communities being attacked and harassed on a daily basis. We spoke to local shop keepers and passers-by about our rights in the face of a raid or a stop, and distributed hundreds of ‘Know your rights’ cards in Spanish, Arabic, English and other languages.

By creating networks of resistance and mutual aid, we can fight racist controls and checks. Solidarity with all migrant communities. No one is illegal.

If you are interested in getting involved in Anti Raids, send us an email at antiraids [at/] riseup.net (replace the [at/] with @).

No Borderer
- e-mail: antiraids [at/] riseup.net
- Homepage: https://network23.org/antiraids/

Comments

Hide the following 18 comments

Fishes network.

05.02.2013 18:49

good title for the anti-raids group.

COD fish
- Homepage: www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/


now this is what i like...

06.02.2013 04:03

propper community relations!

anarcho dave


question

06.02.2013 12:04

Just wondering why do you people support illegal immigration even though Britain has high unemployment. I mean illegal immigration doesn't exactly help create new Jobs it just makes it harder for people already here who are looking for jobs.

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@....

06.02.2013 12:43

everyone's planet, just rocks seperated by water. Our world. Freedom of movement for all beings. If idiots on rocks want to wave flags and claim it as theirs how fucking backward is that?

intolerant of the state


no borders couldn't work

06.02.2013 17:18

Yeah ok lets just yet everyone in. Never mind that we have high unemployment, I guess it doesn't matter if our own people can't get jobs. You people who believe in no borders make me laugh. If we removed our borders and let everyone in how are we supposed to deal with the influx, we don't have the jobs, space or housing for them. As long as there are third world countries, no borders can't
work, simply too many people would come.

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@.......

06.02.2013 17:44

"our own people" is everyone on planet. Love knows no boundaries or borders. One family. See beyond the illusion you've been sold peddled by those that you let control you.

intolerant of the state


no borders couldn't work

06.02.2013 20:42

Can you not respond to any of my points? How would we able to deal with the millions upon millions of people who would come over here if we had no borders? We would have to get rid of lots of countryside to build houses for them and our public resources are strained enough in some parts as it is and we don't have enough jobs. Not nearly enough!

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genuine?

06.02.2013 21:25

"Our" economy is built on the underpaid labour of illegal migrants, used to provide a cheap labour supply, easily manageable and easily dispensable by calling the UKBA when no longer needed.

"Our" first world economy is built on continuing exploitation and pillage of the natural resources and labour of places like West Africa.

"Our" great nation, its horded wealth, including the few crumbs that are allowed to trickle down to the luckier plebs as "welfare", is built on centuries of colonialism, bloodshed, and domination of places like West Africa.

"Our" economic wealth isn't ours at all, it belongs to wealthy elites who couldn't really give a shit what colour we are or what language we speak so long as we keep fighting each other and making their lives easy.

Me personally, I can identify with, work with, live with, and fight alongside someone wherever they happen to have been born, and I couldn't give a shit whether they travel "legally" or "illegally", what papers they carry, etc etc. My comrades and friends are those with whom I share the same enemies, the same dreams of living without exploitation and oppression, and the same basic decency and ethics not to fuck over other people. If you're a boss, cop, screw, fascist, or just a pathetic internet troll, what difference does it make to me if we were born in the same country?

@


no borders couldn't work

07.02.2013 09:48

You say our economy is built on work by illegal immigrants. Where is your evidence for that? Can you provide any? And you haven't answered how we would deal with the lack of jobs for them, the overcrowding, the strain on the NHS they would create etc..... You're not doing a very good job if defending no borders.

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The bigger picture

07.02.2013 10:56

@ is aware of the bigger picture. the troll can't get out of the box s/he has been put in.

NB


no borders couldn't work

07.02.2013 11:46

In a capitalist world we need borders to keep people scared, divided and ruled. Get rid of borders and you'd actually have to deal with gross global inequalities of wealth and the state and capitalists would lose one of their most important weapons of control. It'd be anarchy.

gruff


beyond no borders

07.02.2013 16:07

No borders is just part of a bigger picture - while there are big problems with the network, the good thing about the network is being able to assist in organised resistence to borders and empowering those who are being systematically targeted by genocidal neo liberalism - but beyond no borders is the self organisation of the working class - and the working class has no nation

no bomb no boss no border


Well done!

07.02.2013 16:40

Great action! Well done everyone involved, good luck for the future!

Unity!

UNITY


Intolerant of the state

07.02.2013 19:48

I see you can't answer any of my questions. Maybe you could get around to it cuz I really want to try to understand why you think no borders could work. Also I'm not a troll I'm just genuinely interested.

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@trollster

07.02.2013 20:51

you are a stuck record and an attention seeker. no-one is interested in 'debating' the 'argument' for no borders. most of the 20,000 years or so that modern humans have roamed the planet they have done so without being hindered by self serving governments dictating the boundaries of their empires. there is no argument or debate to be had you moron.

(A)


UKBATSKI

08.02.2013 12:23

Now see, this is exactly what I am talking about. That is the finest knockabout I've yet seen on IMC. Superbly done noborders, excellent well thought out responses to an internet troll that devoures his stupidity and promises the cause a bright future.

Am looking forward to the footage of the action that you promise. Do please post at your first convenience.

We are so looking forward to this.

anonymous


No borders bollocks

10.02.2013 08:45

The concept of no borders would be fine if people were equally interested in moving around the world in an evenly spread distribution of migration. However, this doesn't happen. People move to places they think they may be able to make a living. I object to immigration centres and UKBA raids and the like because these are disproportionate to the issue and oppressive. Nevertheless, illegal immigrants do not pay income tax or national insurance and are highly likely to be paid below the minimum wage. So do you suggest there should be no action taken against illegal immigration. Some people are very wealthy through people trafficking. Do you fail to recognise the exploitative nature of people trafficking?
Simply labelling someone who questions your 'no border' stance as a troll is pure ignorance and demonstrates an inability to justify your own arguments. You do not answer their question about the effect of immigration on public services and public expenditure. Personally I think immigration policy should be relaxed for people fleeing dangerous circumstances in their home country but should be tighter on economic migrants. It seems the latter cause a backlash against all migrants and that is unfortunate for people who need to move away from the home country for their personal safety or wellbeing.

Bob


@ bollocks?

10.02.2013 12:28

"People move to places they think they may be able to make a living."

Often, yes. So think about this: why are people better able to make a living in Britain than, say, Nigeria, or Afghanistan? Is this because of the hard work and general decency of true Brits?

Or might it have anything to do with things like: centuries of colonial exploitation by Britain and other countries; continuing neo-colonial exploitation by corporations, banks, investment funds, state-backed institutions, etc. run from Britain and other rich countries; a global capitalist system largely propped up by UK and other rich governments and corporations; wars directly or indirectly started by UK and other capitalist states.

Why do you think your British passport should give you a right to a share in the loot? Why should you have access to wealth built on resources and labour exploited from countries like Nigeria, but not someone who was born in Nigeria?

Unless you start to think about the bigger issues of exploitation and oppression behind states and borders, you're trying to think about this with massive blinkers on your brain. Start doing some reading and thinking beyond the narrow terms set by media barons and crook politicians.

@