RACIST IMMIGRATION SWEEP AND DEPORTATIONS OUTSIDE OF LONDON TUBE STATION:
NO ONE IS ILLEGAL
Yesterday at 3pm in central London, outside of Victoria tube station
something happened which I have not seen before. Almost 40 police officers
and immigration services officers standing in a massive line, with
sniffing dogs detaining, searching, and stopping people. At first I was
not sure about what I had seen, but as soon as I realized the only people
who were being stopped were people of colour, especially Arabs, and South
Asians it was either about stopping asylum seekers or "terrorists".
NO ONE IS ILLEGAL
Yesterday at 3pm in central London, outside of Victoria tube station
something happened which I have not seen before. Almost 40 police officers
and immigration services officers standing in a massive line, with
sniffing dogs detaining, searching, and stopping people. At first I was
not sure about what I had seen, but as soon as I realized the only people
who were being stopped were people of colour, especially Arabs, and South
Asians it was either about stopping asylum seekers or "terrorists".
RACIST IMMIGRATION SWEEP AND DEPORTATIONS OUTSIDE OF LONDON TUBE STATION:
NO ONE IS ILLEGAL
Yesterday at 3pm in central London, outside of Victoria tube station
something happened which I have not seen before. Almost 40 police officers
and immigration services officers standing in a massive line, with
sniffing dogs detaining, searching, and stopping people. At first I was
not sure about what I had seen, but as soon as I realized the only people
who were being stopped were people of colour, especially Arabs, and South
Asians it was either about stopping asylum seekers or "terrorists". The
police were just cherry picking anyone that day who was a person of colour
was being picked up and surrounded by officers, harassed, asked for their
visas, and essentially taking people away who did not have their papers.
This is the institutional racism that was always their and obvious, but
yesterday immigrants became afraid to even ride the tube. I was as well.
The police were completely ignoring peoples rights and demanding peoples
identification, oh yeah it wasn't scary if you were white, the cops
wouldn't even look at you. Unsure of what to do I had called liberty an
organization that supports asylum seekers, and media to alert them of
this. The police then took notice of myself. As I had tried to intervene
on peoples behalf and show solidarity with them by informing their rights
and intervening to make sure the police were not violating their rights.
The police then physically dragged me out of the tube station because I
was an obstruction to their procedures. I had said that this was racism to
the core, and the police officer said "this is perfectly legal and we are
doing this to keep London safe for Christmas". Keeping London safe for
Christmas? From what those damn Muslims, or south Asians, because their
terrorists. Could it be. They had been arresting so many people they had
taken them away in dark blue unmarked police vans in shifts to
deportation centres. The police said we need these asylum controls because
you can only have so many people in this country or (so many people of
colour). I had argued with them the problem isn't immigrants the problem
is what causes immigration, which is UK foreign policy which is causing
people to risk their lives and the lives of their families to make an
attempt to flee from destitute poverty and political persecution at the
hands of western policies and economic imperialism.
After an hour over 15 immigrants had been taken away for deportation I
had a one person "no one is illegal" demonstration because something to
this scale could not go unchallenged. People who were being questioned
needed that solidarity as it gave them the strength at least tell the
police they were completely racist. After another hour the reception had
be appreciated by onlookers, which was enough to aggravate the police to
the point where my placard was then confiscated by London transport
police. Saying this had been stolen property.
That day in total from what I had seen around 20 people had been arrested
and the police had left the tube station at 7pm. As the immigration cops
smiled and laughed it had been a good day for them. But for anyone who
was their for those who now face deportations with their mothers, wives,
children, and friends those people are now the disappeared, the
invisible. These immigrants are victims of the war the war at home which
is vital to the racism that justifies the war abroad, by blaming those
who fit the "other". As I had spoken to someone in Liberty who had said
this type of immigration sweep is only beginning to happen recently but
is becoming more frequent. These brutal and humiliating tactics which
violate the rights of everyone must become challenged. If you see an
immigration sweep, call liberty get as many people down their to cause
enough of a disruption until they can no longer continue their policies
of racism. Don't let the pigs get away with this again because their are
no concessions for those families who are now broken up. There are no
concessions for those who are dying in campsfield.
Enough is Enough
No One Is Illegal!!
To be invlolved in disrupting such immigration sweeps please email me @
mostafah@riseup.net
To find out more on actions in solidarity with immigrants
Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers:
http://www.defend-asylum.org
National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns:
http://www.ncadc.org.uk
NO ONE IS ILLEGAL
Yesterday at 3pm in central London, outside of Victoria tube station
something happened which I have not seen before. Almost 40 police officers
and immigration services officers standing in a massive line, with
sniffing dogs detaining, searching, and stopping people. At first I was
not sure about what I had seen, but as soon as I realized the only people
who were being stopped were people of colour, especially Arabs, and South
Asians it was either about stopping asylum seekers or "terrorists". The
police were just cherry picking anyone that day who was a person of colour
was being picked up and surrounded by officers, harassed, asked for their
visas, and essentially taking people away who did not have their papers.
This is the institutional racism that was always their and obvious, but
yesterday immigrants became afraid to even ride the tube. I was as well.
The police were completely ignoring peoples rights and demanding peoples
identification, oh yeah it wasn't scary if you were white, the cops
wouldn't even look at you. Unsure of what to do I had called liberty an
organization that supports asylum seekers, and media to alert them of
this. The police then took notice of myself. As I had tried to intervene
on peoples behalf and show solidarity with them by informing their rights
and intervening to make sure the police were not violating their rights.
The police then physically dragged me out of the tube station because I
was an obstruction to their procedures. I had said that this was racism to
the core, and the police officer said "this is perfectly legal and we are
doing this to keep London safe for Christmas". Keeping London safe for
Christmas? From what those damn Muslims, or south Asians, because their
terrorists. Could it be. They had been arresting so many people they had
taken them away in dark blue unmarked police vans in shifts to
deportation centres. The police said we need these asylum controls because
you can only have so many people in this country or (so many people of
colour). I had argued with them the problem isn't immigrants the problem
is what causes immigration, which is UK foreign policy which is causing
people to risk their lives and the lives of their families to make an
attempt to flee from destitute poverty and political persecution at the
hands of western policies and economic imperialism.
After an hour over 15 immigrants had been taken away for deportation I
had a one person "no one is illegal" demonstration because something to
this scale could not go unchallenged. People who were being questioned
needed that solidarity as it gave them the strength at least tell the
police they were completely racist. After another hour the reception had
be appreciated by onlookers, which was enough to aggravate the police to
the point where my placard was then confiscated by London transport
police. Saying this had been stolen property.
That day in total from what I had seen around 20 people had been arrested
and the police had left the tube station at 7pm. As the immigration cops
smiled and laughed it had been a good day for them. But for anyone who
was their for those who now face deportations with their mothers, wives,
children, and friends those people are now the disappeared, the
invisible. These immigrants are victims of the war the war at home which
is vital to the racism that justifies the war abroad, by blaming those
who fit the "other". As I had spoken to someone in Liberty who had said
this type of immigration sweep is only beginning to happen recently but
is becoming more frequent. These brutal and humiliating tactics which
violate the rights of everyone must become challenged. If you see an
immigration sweep, call liberty get as many people down their to cause
enough of a disruption until they can no longer continue their policies
of racism. Don't let the pigs get away with this again because their are
no concessions for those families who are now broken up. There are no
concessions for those who are dying in campsfield.
Enough is Enough
No One Is Illegal!!
To be invlolved in disrupting such immigration sweeps please email me @
mostafah@riseup.net To find out more on actions in solidarity with immigrants
Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers:
http://www.defend-asylum.org National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns:
http://www.ncadc.org.uk 
e-mail:
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
Defending asylum seekers
07.12.2003 00:20
Megan
links for more resources + action
08.12.2003 16:02
National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns:
kurious
communist threat from foreign do gooders
24.07.2004 19:26
dave banks