Reminder about Zimbabwe event (Fri 28th March) and demo (Sat 29th)

Come to ‘A NIGHT FOR ZIMBABWE’ at Nottingham’s Sumac Centre on Friday 28th March! The evening will start at 6.30pm with speakers against deportations of asylum seekers back to Zimbabwe, followed by (optional, for £3 donation) meal from the popular ‘Small World Kitchen’ at 7.30pm and NGOMA Zimbabwean roots ‘n’ reggae from 8.30pm (recommended £3 donation). You’ll also have a chance to talk to members of No Borders Nottingham and find out more us.

Next day, No Borders Nottingham and our friends in the Zimbabwean community will be DEMOSTRATING in favour of asylum rights and against the Mugabe regime on Saturday 29th March, the day of the Zimbabwean election. We will meet at Speaker’s Corner in the Market Square, Nottingham, at 2.00pm to show our solidarity and to talk to the people of Nottingham about the situation for Zimbabwean asylum seekers. Please join us!
Continue reading Reminder about Zimbabwe event (Fri 28th March) and demo (Sat 29th)

Hundreds of asylum seekers give testimony about UK’s inhumane system

As part of the publication of a report by the Independent Asylum Commission http://www.independentasylumcommission.org.uk/ about the UK asylum system (mentioned on BBC Radio yesterday morning but then dropped), the experiences of hundreds of asylum seekers going through our hellish immigration system were recorded.

Hearings from across the UK were videoed. These can be watched on Human Rights TV http://www.humanrightstv.com/channel/7 and some are presented in the BBC news article Asylum seekers tell their stories http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7314708.stm.

The IAC report warned that a “culture of disbelief” was leading to “perverse and unjust decisions”, and concluded overall that the treatment of asylum seekers fell “seriously below the standards to be expected of a humane and civilised society”. Proving that this culture of disbelief is alive and well, the Border and Immigration Agency rejected the report, claiming it operates a “firm but humane” system. Download IAC ‘interim findings’ report: [attachment=13]
Continue reading Hundreds of asylum seekers give testimony about UK’s inhumane system

Human Rights Film “In This World” @ Broadway Cinema, Nottingham, 26th March

The Human Rights Law Centre at the University of Nottingham presents the last in their series:
Film: “In This World”. Screening: Wed 26th March, Broadway Cinema @ 5.30pm
Winner of the Golden Bear, the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and the Peace Film Prize at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival, Michael Winterbottom’s ‘In This World’ tells the story of two Afghan cousins who embark on a refugee’s clandestine odyssey from Pakistan to London during the American bombings in Afghanistan. Armed with a script informed by the actual experiences of refugees and shot on location in 6 countries with digital video and a non-professional cast, ‘In This World’ harnesses the immediacy of non-fiction techniques to create an urgent, intimate account of human beings driven by the fundamental urge to create a better life. The film will be introduced by human rights lawyer and practitioner Deirdre Sheahan (Paragon Law) who works almost exclusively on migrations issues.
Continue reading Human Rights Film “In This World” @ Broadway Cinema, Nottingham, 26th March

Call for ‘picket’ in Birmingham over threat to deny primary healthcare to unwanted asylum seekers

Since 2004, most failed asylum seekers and other undocumented migrants have been unable to access free NHS secondary care (like non-emergency hospital treatments). Now the government is considering doing the same with primary care (preventing them seeing an NHS doctor, for example). How low can you go? This barbaric decision would put the health some of the most vulnerable people in UK at great risk. Many asylum seekers suffer from physical or mental illness resulting from the persecution they were fleeing from in the first place. The uncertainty of going through the asylum process in UK is very stressful. Losing their case, along with housing support and money for food, contributes greatly to illness. West Midlands Anti Racist Campaign, ARC, has called for a protest at the surgery of Liam Byrne MP, Minister for Immigration at the Home Office, on Saturday 5th April 2008. For details, please see Birmingham Indymedia article.
* See also: Asylum seekers in Coventry are already being turned away by some GPs.
Continue reading Call for ‘picket’ in Birmingham over threat to deny primary healthcare to unwanted asylum seekers

Demonstrate with Zimbabweans in Nottingham 29th March

No Borders Nottingham and our friends in the Zimbabwean community will be demonstrating in favour of asylum rights and against the Mugabe regime on Saturday 29th March, the day of the Zimbabwean election. We will meet at Speaker’s Corner in the Market Square, Nottingham, at 2.00pm to show our solidarity and to talk to the people of Nottingham about the situation for Zimbabwean asylum seekers. Please join us! This protest follows ‘A NIGHT FOR ZIMBABWE’ taking place at Nottingham’s Sumac Centre on Friday 28th March.
Continue reading Demonstrate with Zimbabweans in Nottingham 29th March

Against deportations to Zimbabwe – an evening of talks, food & music at Nottingham’s Sumac Centre on 28th March

Come to ‘A NIGHT FOR ZIMBABWE’ at Nottingham’s Sumac Centre on Friday 28th March!
The evening will start at 6.30pm with speakers against deportations of asylum seekers back to Zimbabwe, followed by (optional, for £3 donation) meal from the popular ‘Small World Kitchen’ at 7.30pm and NGOMA Zimbabwean roots ‘n’ reggae from 8.30pm (recommended £3 donation). You’ll also have a chance to talk to members of No Borders Nottingham and find out more us.
Full venue details (map, disabled access etc.) can be found in the Veggies/Sumac events diary.
A leaflet for the event can be downloaded here: [attachment=12]

Continue reading Against deportations to Zimbabwe – an evening of talks, food & music at Nottingham’s Sumac Centre on 28th March

Campaign against Lufthansa as fears grow for deported Zimbabwean soldier

Human rights activists and Zimbabweans living abroad have started a campaign against Lufthansa airline after it was used by the German government to deport a former Zimbabwe soldier who was arrested upon setting foot at the Harare International Airport and is suspected to have been tortured for the past three days. Source: www.zimbabwejournalists.com
Continue reading Campaign against Lufthansa as fears grow for deported Zimbabwean soldier

Home office threatens Iraqi asylum seekers – return or face destitution

Many (but certainly not all) Iraqi asylum seekers were receiving some support while our warmongering state continues to try and disentangle itself from the hellhole it has created in Iraq. While the killing still continues, the Home Office thinks now is good time to pull support and force hundreds of people to make a life or death decision – go back or starve. We can’t let this happen.

From Guardian newspaper March 13th 2008: More than 1,400 rejected Iraqi asylum seekers are to be told they must go home or face destitution in Britain as the government considers Iraq safe enough to return them, according to leaked Home Office correspondence seen by the Guardian [newspaper]. The Iraqis involved are to be told that unless they sign up for a voluntary return programme to Iraq within three weeks, they face being made homeless and losing state support. They will also be asked to sign a waiver agreeing the government will take no responsibility for what happens to them or their families once they return to Iraqi territory. […] The decision by the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, to declare that it is safe to send asylum seekers back to Iraq comes after more than 78 people have been killed in incidents across Iraq since last Sunday. Donna Covey, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “It is a nasty policy, and a failed one, that doesn’t achieve its stated aim of encouraging return. Iraq is still patently unsafe and people from there are terrified of going back. Removing support in such cases only results in one thing: more hungry and homeless people living in constant fear.” She added that most Iraqis wanted to go home when it was safe but until then the government should be offering them the chance to live decently in the UK (extracts from Guardian story).
Continue reading Home office threatens Iraqi asylum seekers – return or face destitution

‘Crossing Borders’ transnational newsletter

Crossing Borders!, 5th Issue, February 2008 – available in English and many other languages, from: http://www.noborder.org/crossing_borders/

Crossing Borders! is an initiative of the frassanito network that aims to foster migration-related networking and practical struggles. Previous issues have covered conflicts in western and eastern Europe, Africa and the USA. This one speaks about womenʼs migration, a crucial perspective for understanding transnational movements and how labour is organised globally. It also introduces Fight the Monster! Against Border Regime: Transnationalization now!, a nine month initiative that started in February.
Continue reading ‘Crossing Borders’ transnational newsletter

Skip to content