The ‘Glasgow Girls’ describe themselves as “a group of seven young campaigners who fight against the insensitive treatment of ‘failed’ asylum seekers”. They got started when their friend “Agnesa and her family were taken away from their home in a dawn raid [..] kept in a stark prison-like place for 3 weeks before the Home Office realised they had actually made a mistake and released them. Agnesa and her brothers will never forget the trauma they went through; seeing their dad being handcuffed by men in bullet proof vests, watching their mother cry and being followed to the toilet for safety reasons.”
A serial of short TV documentaries can be watched online on their website http://glasgowgirls.bebo.com. It’s well worth a few minutes watching the videos. In part 8 of the serial, the latest video, we see how the authorities renaged on a ‘protocol’ developed after the group took their case to the Scottish Parliament. So dawn raids on behalf of the Immigration Service have continued (that’s goverments for you, devolved or otherwise) but it is very inspiring to see how the community managed to stop one of these by turning up and forcing the police to abandon the raid (which had also involved them grabbing children, without adults). The fight must continue!!
The case for Open Borders – A Refugee Week event speaker – Teresa Hayter
Tuesday June 19th at 7.00 pm – The Square Centre, Alfred Street North (which is just off top of Huntingdon Street), Nottingham. http://www.nottsrefugeeforum.org.uk
On Monday, June 4th, anti-G8 actions and protest focussed on the demands for freedom of movement and equal rights for all. Several decentralised actions took place: a demonstration with several thousand participants at the Immigration Centre in Rostock and another at the Sonnenblumen House in Lichtenhagen, where the Nazis attacked refugees in 1992. These were followed by a big march and rally in Rostock, which police restrictions and delays, but finally made it to the final rally at the city.
Advance notice from London: No Borders ? No Nations ? No Prisons
From 19th to 24th September 07 we will gather at Gatwick Airport for the first No Border Camp in the UK. This camp will be a chance to work together to try and stop the building of a new detention centre, and to gather ideas for how to build up the fight against the system of migration controls.
Meetings: A public meeting for those who want to get involved in the preparation, around the end of June, will be announced soon.
British Airways and Gulf Air are the airlines involved, and the next deportation is set for Wednesday 4th April: Mustafa. The last attempt to deport Mustafa was from Heathrow (Gulf Air). BA were going to take Alcir. Another update: 3 April 07 – Late last night, UK immigration authorities halted the removal of Darfuri African survivor Mohammed Abdulhadi Ali. Read more… Continue reading Update on attempts to deport people to Sudan→
Over the last week hundreds of Sudanese Asylum Seekers, including 8 from Nottingham, have been rounded up and moved to holding centres in the UK ready for deporatation. This MUST be resisted by anti-deportation activists. One of our friends, Mustapha, may have already been deported, although we are seeking firm information on this. He is a valued volunteer at the Nottingham & Notts Refugee Forum Food Group and his friends are desperately worried about him. Because of his unmasking of inhumane practices in Sudan, he faces certain torture and maybe worse if deported. Certainly others are in danger too. We’ll update you when we hear more and could anyone with news please tell us so that we can publish it).
Good news! Mustapha did not get on the plane, although it’s not over yet. We’ll keep you posted. Thanks for the messages of support seen on Indymedia UK!
Mohammed Abdulhadi Ali watched in terror as Janjaweed
militiamen on butchered his relatives and neighbours
and burned his village to the ground….. Continue reading No Deportations of Sudanese→
A DIRECT action group claimed to have occupied an immigration centre today in protest at dawn raids on asylum seekers. The group, which said it is affiliated to the Unity organisation, claimed it has taken control of the centre in Brand Street, Cessnock, Glasgow over the early-morning raids and the detention of children.
A Strathclyde Police spokesman confirmed the force was dealing with an”ongoing incident” at the scene.
A spokesman for the protesters said there were around 30 taking part in the demonstration and that they had chained the gates to prevent staffgetting access. He said a banner saying “Stop child detention – end deportation” hadbeen draped from the gates.
The ‘Country Guidance Tribunal? on the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Government will decide whether it is safe to send people back to DRC, has been moved to Thursday April 12th. Wednesday’s demo in the Square at 1.00 will still go ahead (see below) and we will be building for another demonsraion on April 12th. Watch this space…..
Please come and demonstrate outside the Bridewell, between the Magistrates Court and the Family Court by the Canal near the railway station tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. Saturday 24th March, for our detained Sudanese friends who were arrested when they signed at Loughborough reporting centre yesterday. At least 8 from this area have been detained – three are known to us.
Important addition:This local detention appears to be part of a national ’round-up’ by the government, with the collusion of the Sudanese authorities who have been present interviewing detainees in holding centres in spite of protests by solicitors. It’s essential that the names of all the detainees are discovered and solicitors found for those who don’t have them.
There is a case in the High Court against the removal of asylum seekers to the Sudan and so the Home Office is doing its utmost to remove as many as possible before this judgment is made!! It is particularly dangerous for asylum seekers from Darfur to be returned to Khartoum.
For freedom of movement, Against nationhood and prevention of migration by nation states, Welcoming asylum seekers and migrant workers, Against capitalist exploitation
