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 @).
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Comments
Hide the following 18 comments
Fishes network.
05.02.2013 18:49
COD fish
Homepage:
www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/
now this is what i like...
06.02.2013 04:03
anarcho dave
question
06.02.2013 12:04
....
@....
06.02.2013 12:43
intolerant of the state
no borders couldn't work
06.02.2013 17:18
work, simply too many people would come.
......
@.......
06.02.2013 17:44
intolerant of the state
no borders couldn't work
06.02.2013 20:42
......
genuine?
06.02.2013 21:25
"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
........
The bigger picture
07.02.2013 10:56
NB
no borders couldn't work
07.02.2013 11:46
gruff
beyond no borders
07.02.2013 16:07
no bomb no boss no border
Well done!
07.02.2013 16:40
Unity!
UNITY
Intolerant of the state
07.02.2013 19:48
......
@trollster
07.02.2013 20:51
(A)
UKBATSKI
08.02.2013 12:23
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
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
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.
@