Manchester - City of Destitution, Detention and Deportation

On Saturday April 15th around 300 people marched through Manchester as part of international protests against immigration detention [ call out and more details] People came from Leeds, Newcastle and elsewhere to join the protest and included many asylum seekers and refugees.

The March started outside Strangeways Prison where asylum seekers are being detained for working illegally. The demo went along Deansgate, past British Airways who deport asylum seekers, and then stopped outside the registry office where people from Brides Without Borders spoke about their campaigns and experiences. The March continued on to China Town where the cockle picker s who died at Morcambe Bay were remembered and it ended in a rally at the Peace Gardens.

Reports: 1 | 2 | 3
Audio : chants | more chants | Suzanne Foreman from Brides Without Borders talks about setting up Brides Without Borders and how the Campaign is growing | Lisa Gordon from Brides Without Borders talks about living with her husband being under constant threat of deportation | Farhat Khan from Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST) talks about facing deportation with your children and how people should have the right to choose who to marry | Sheka Tarawalie an NUJ member talks about his anti-deportation campaign.

This demo follows a demonstartion at Colnbrook and Heathrow Detention centres last weekend and over 100 detainees on hunger strike.

Links: National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns | Noone is Illegal