Showing posts with label events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label events. Show all posts

Continued opposition to Arora Hotels planning application
Monday, January 4, 2010


We recently posted here news of a planning application by Arora International Hotels for the conversion of the Mercure Hotel, Crawley into an Immigration Removal Centre.

We now heard that the planning meeting has been put back till 25 January. Ahead of this, an to send a message of condemnation, No Borders activists paid another short visit to the Arora branch in Manchester city centre.

We were awaited by a security guard and the hotel manager who somehow seemed to expect our return. There is still time to oppose the planning application by contacting Crawly Council or Arora Hotels. Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 1:01 PM  

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Playwright Lydia Besong arrested at Dallas Court
Thursday, December 10, 2009

This article has been taken from The Mule website.

Supporters of Lydia Besong are demanding her immediate release after she was detained this morning by immigration officials. Lydia, a playwright and human rights activist seeking asylum in the UK, was snatched this morning while signing in at the Home Office Reporting Centre Dallas Court in Salford.

There will be a vigil his Saturday (12 December), 3pm at Friends Meeting House behind the Central Library.

Campaigners are asking people to contact the Home Office urging Lydia’s immediate release and quoting HO Ref: B1236372

FAX: Home Office on 0208-760-3132

Email:

CITTO@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk; UKBApublicenquiries@UKBA.gsi.gov.uk;

Privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

and cc admin@rapar.org.uk

For further information contact:

* Richard Goulding at RAPAR 0161 834 8221
* 07776 264646
* RAPAR’s Press Officer Kath on 0161-225-2260 or kath.northernstories@googlemail.com
* or admin@rapar.org.uk

She is now being held in a detention centre in the south of England from which the Home Office plan to deport her on 21 December to Cameroon, where she is wanted by the authorities who previously tortured her for her political views.

Lydia and her husband, Bernard Batey, were told at the end of October that they must leave the UK. The couple fled Cameroon in December 2006, having been jailed and tortured for being members of the Southern Cameroon National Council, a party declared illegal by the government. As well as being tortured during her time in prison, Lydia was raped by one of the guards. When she escaped she and Bernard sought asylum in the UK, where they have lived ever since.

Lydia is a writer, whose debut play “How I Became an Asylum Seeker” was staged by Community Arts Northwest (CAN) on 3 December to a full house at the Zion Theatre in Hulme. She wrote the play partly to find a way of coping with her horrific experiences, and to raise awareness about asylum. She is also on the Management Committee of Woman Asylum Seekers Together (WAST).

More recently Lydia has been working alongside RAPAR and Commonword collecting stories about those living in destitution in Manchester. Commonword’s Artistic Director, Pete Kalu, said, “Lydia has been a tremendous resource in helping us to find new pathways to new writers in communities.”

Lead Artistic Manager for CAN Jasmine Ali said, “Lydia has been an inspiration for the artistic team with her dedication and commitment to the project. Without her contribution WAST would not have had the confidence to devise and perform their play to a wider audience.”

On the morning of 19 November Lydia signed in at Dallas Court to be told that she and her husband were now required to report every week to the centre on Thursday mornings. Lydia was detained this morning, on the third Thursday of the new conditions. Campaigners working on Lydia and Bernard’s behalf feared officials would arrest them at the Reporting Centre, as this tactic is often employed by the Home Office to stop any intervention by supporters and friends.

The campaign to stop the couple’s deportation has gained much support, under the umbrella of the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns. Both current and former MPs, Paul Rowen and Sir Cyril Smith, are backing their constituents along with Reverend Graham Lindley, Parish Priest at St Anne’s Church in Rochdale. Paul Rowen has been contacted by her supporters and is working with lawyers to secure her release.

Robert Sharp, of English PEN, the charity which campaigns for writers and playwrights internationally, is also calling for Lydia’s immediate release.

“This is a blow for freedom of speech. With this detention, Lydia’s fledgling literary career will be cut short. It is astonishing that the UK plans to deport someone who has been seeking refuge from a government that attacked her just for exercising her right to freedom of expression,” he said

Richard Goulding from RAPAR told MULE, “Lydia has now been transferred away from Manchester, presumably in the south of England. We guess Yarl’s Wood but we don’t know for certain.

“The reason it’s happened this week is because she had her play with a full house at the Zion Centre last week, and we don’t think they’d dare do it then. Now they’ve tried to do it with as little fuss as possible.”

In light of Lydia’s detention a vigil has been organised for this Saturday (12 December), 3pm at Friends Meeting House behind the Central Library. In a message encouraging people to attend, campaigner Tom Lavin said, “The Home Office’s deportation strategy is very pragmatic and public pressure makes a big influence on their decisions.”

This has recently been proven by the release of the Mansour family following a judicial review just hours before their scheduled flight back to Cairo.

Talking to MULE, Lydia’s husband Bernard was clearly distraught, “We’re fighting but the system is too much, we can’t go home but the government is trying to force us.

“I’m really confused. I don’t know what she’s going through now. She has to fight, we are going to fight you know. My wife is just my life and we have to fight for our lives.

“But at the moment we don’t know where Lydia is. I’m still waiting for the solicitors call.”

Goulding added, “It’s kind of a waiting game now, but we urge people to come along at 3pm on Saturday to show solidarity and to send emails of support.” Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 1:43 PM  

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No Borders Fundraiser
Sunday, November 22, 2009

No Borders invites you to a fundraiser night at the Corner in Fallowfield, this Wednesday, 25 November.

Come at 7 to hear updates from what's happening in Calais, and we're showing the latest No Borders films until about 9.

After this, it's a night of Dub, Dance Hall, Reggae and Ska from the Cool Runnings DJs - until 1am.

FREE entry/donations towards No Borders

The venue: The Corner, it's right next to Trof in Fallowfield, where Landcross Road meets Wilmslow Road. Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 3:43 PM  

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Target Brimar
Thursday, October 15, 2009

Manchester has got a new anti-militarist campaign. It is being launched on Saturday with a national demonstration in Chadderton, at the head office and main production facility of Brimar Ltd.

Brimar manufactures specialist screens and viewing equipment, mostly for military purposes. They are used by the British army in Afghanistan, the US army in Iraq and the Israeli army in Palestine.

No Borders activists will support the demonstration on Saturday at 12noon. You can find out how to get there and more information on the campaign website .

See you there!. Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 3:10 AM  

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Stop the EDL marching in Manchester
Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Manchester No Borders joins the call out to prevent the English Defence League (EDL) from taking over central Manchester next Saturday.

The EDL are a newly formed group who claim to be protesting against ‘Islamic extremism’. Their recent demonstrations in Luton, Harrow and Birmingham all involved racial violence, racist chants and fascist salutes, and included many known members of the BNP and National Front.

Supporters have called for the protest in Manchester to be ‘the day of reckoning’ when ‘English lions will rise up’, with some going so far as to call for ‘all out war against Islam’. They will arrive from 10am and be kept at bay by police, in theory, until their ‘static rally’ at 5pm in Picadilly Gardens. However, online forums show members discussing possible routes for ‘the march’ and vowing to ignore rules that keep them in one place.

There will be an anti-fascist presence in Manchester City Centre all day. No Borders activists will join the non-aligned/anarchist action which is being organised this week.

See you there! Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 8:41 AM  

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Tories and Chief Police Officers coming to Manchester
Thursday, October 1, 2009

From the miners to the G20... Still not loving Tories! Still not loving police! - Anti police repression demo
Sunday 4th October, 17.00, Manchester Town Hall.

As a fringe event to the Conservative party conference, the Tories and the police are getting together to discuss the question 'How do we build public confidence in policing?' See below.

Manchester No Borders invites you to join us outside the event, as they arrive, to remind them why we will never have confidence in either the Tories or the police.

Bring banners, placards, etc.
.
17.30 Association of Police Authorities & Association of Chief Police Officers & Police Superintendents’ Association

Manchester Town Hall : Conference Hall

The Thin Blue Line: How do we build Public Confidence in Policing?

Speakers : Chris Grayling MP, Shadow Home Secretary; Rob Garnham, Conservative Lead - Association of Police Authorities; Sir Hugh Orde, Incoming President - Association of Chief Police Officers; Ian Johnston, President - Police Superintendents’ Association; Conservative Local Government Association Representative

 Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 5:22 AM  

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Feedback and open discussion on Calais
Friday, July 3, 2009

On Wednesday 8th July, we will be hosting a public feedback and discussion event on the recent No Borders camp in Calais. People who went to the camp will tell their stories and share their experiences and we will reflect on the successes/limitations of the camp.

The situation in Calais continues to be pressing, with plans by the authorities to bulldoze more 'jungle' areas that are home to hundreds of people who are stuck at the British border, and a joint Franco-British project to build a Guantanamo-style detention centre in the port. We will thus also talk about how we can support the campaign in the future.

The meeting will be in the back room of the Jabez Clegg pub (Dover St. by the university), starting at 7.30pm on Wednesday 8th July. All welcome! Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 8:44 AM  

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News from Calais
Wednesday, June 17, 2009


After our info events in Manchester and Hebden Bridge, about 20 people from the Manchester area will travel to the No Borders Camp in Calais next week. A minibus will leave early on Monday 22 June (there are still seats available) and others will make their own way there.

The camp site has now been announced, situated in a public park to the east of Calais. We are intending to have some kind of ‘North West of England’ camping barrio to feed into the logistical and decision-making structures of the camp.

Local newspapers have already given a lot of coverage to the arrival of the No Borders camp, while here the Daily Mail has run one of its usual propaganda stories about violent anarchists invading Calais. It is possible that this could lead to some shops and supermarkets in the area to be shut during our presence there.

The Mayor of Calais and local authorities seem set on making the situation next week tense. Local civil society organisations have been pressured not to support the camp and migrants taking part in protests could be threatened with deportation. And there are indications that the nearby immigration detention centre ‘Coquelles’ could be evacuated for the duration of the camp.

Anti-riot police from all over Northern France are already being stationed in the Calais area. This comes after the recent arrival of organisations such as the IOM, the UNHCR and Medicins du Monde in the town. With all eyes on Calais, we now have a chance to make a real impact.

On Saturday 27 June, the camp participants will be holding a large demonstration for freedom of movement. The call for the demonstration has now also been signed by a wide range of anarchist, anti-fascist and anti-racist groups from the UK, France, Belgium and Germany.

We are hoping for this to be a truly transnational event, which could open spaces for significant political shifts in the public debate on migration to the UK.

More info here:
http://calaisnoborder.eu.org/
 Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 1:55 PM  

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The UK No Borders tour: Manchester to Calais (via Hebden Bridge)
Monday, May 11, 2009


The UK No Borders Tour 2009 is visiting the North West of England from 23 May to 5 June and invites you to a series of events that aim to encourage discussion and build awareness of the injustices of the UK and EU Border Regime, as well as to call for action against them. The Tour will terminate in the French border town of Calais on 23-29th of June, an outpost of the UK border system, where it will meet activists and organizations from France and Europe to create a No Borders Camp that aims to highlight the brutal situation for migrants stuck at the UK-French Border. Confirmed events so far include a photo exhibition and workshops and films in Manchester and Hebden Bridge.

EVENTS IN MANCHESTER & HEBDEN

Longsight

NO LANDS MEN: THE STRUGGLE FOR CALAIS (Saturday 23rd to Thursday 28th May)
An exhibition of striking photographs from Calais by French photographer Julie Rebouillat, St. Lukes Art Project, Longsight

LAUNCH NIGHT (Tuesday 26th May, 6pm), with documentaries, tea and cake. To see Julie’s pictures from Calais online check out: contre-faits.org! , St. Lukes, Longsight

Northern Quarter

NO LANDS MEN: THE STRUGGLE FOR CALAIS (Monday 1st to Friday 5th June)
An exhibition of striking photographs from Calais by French photographer Julie Rebouillat, Nexus Art Cafe

WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO BORDERS?! (Monday 1st June, 7pm) workshop and open discussion, Nexus Art Cafe

Hebden Bridge

WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO BORDERS?! (Tuesday 2nd June, 6.30pm) digital exhibition, workshop and open discussion, The Trades Club, food served at 6.30


For opening times, and more info click on the flyer images. Look out for more events announced soon and do get in touch with us if you want to host the UK No Borders Tour in a place near you! Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 9:08 AM  

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Mayday calling...
Friday, April 24, 2009

The G20 protests in the City of London were, in many ways, a massively mediatized spectacle. The real challenge is to show our opposition to the status quo at the local level of our everyday lives. This is why we are inviting you to join us on the Manchester Mayday demonstration, on Bank Holiday Monday 4th May.

With the Manchester Anarchist Federation, we will march together against redundancies and repossessions, against police brutality and cover-ups, and for a free and equal society beyond the logic of capital!



This will be a chance for those who experienced the police riot on 1st April to meet again, and for those who could not come to the G20 protests to voice their dissent closer to home. The violence that occurred at the G20 was not the result of a few individual “bad apples” within the Metropolitan Police but the systemic outcome of increasing systems of control. The repression we faced in London is a part of the same logic as that which attempts to impose ID cards, deport irregular migrants and enforce cut backs to our access to social welfare.

It will also be a chance to show solidarity with the Ford-Visteon workers who, faced with redundancy, occupied their factories in Belfast , Enfield and Basildon, or with the parents in Glasgow who seized control of the schools that were threatened with closure by the local council. Let’s continue to build a movement against capitalism and its crises.

We won’t pay for your crisis!
Fight social control!

Monday 4th May 09
Assemble 12noon @ All Saints Park to march to Castlefields.
 Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 9:49 AM  

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*CALAIS NO BORDER CAMP 23-29 JUNE*
Thursday, April 23, 2009

The Calais No Border camp is a joint venture between French and Belgian
activists and migrant support groups and the UK No Borders Network. It aims
to highlight the realities of the situation in Calais and Northern France;
to build links with the migrant communities; to help build links between
migrants support groups; and lastly, but not least, to challenge the
authorities on the ground, to protest against increased repression of
migrants and local activists alike.

This camp calls for the freedom of movement for all, an end to borders and
to all migration controls. We call for a radical movement against the
systems of control, dividing us into citizens and non-citizens, into the
documented and the undocumented.


Why Calais?

We have chosen Calais for two main reasons; it is an important location in
the history, development and practice of European migration controls and
has long been a major bottleneck for those seeking to get to Britain. But
more importantly, it is also a focus of the struggle between those who
would see an end to all migration into the EU, and those trying to break
down the barriers between peoples, the borders that prevent the freedom of
movement for all, not just the privileged few.

Since the mid-nineties tens of thousands have lived in destitution,
sleeping rough in Calais, waiting for their chance to cross the channel to
England. Between 1999 and 2002 the Red Cross ran a centre at neighbouring
Sangatte but this was forced to close after political pressure from France
and Britain. Since then, the massive police presence and repression in
Calais has forced thousands of men woman and children to wander the Calais
region and all along the North coast of France, Belgium and Holland. They
are routinely brutalised by the police; tear-gassed, beaten, arrested and
repeatedly interned at the nearby Coquelles detention centre. The police
regularly burn their shelters and the few meagre possessions that they
contain. The local groups that support the migrants by providing food and
other humanitarian aid are coming under increasing attack from the police
and a number of activists have been arrested in recent months. Meanwhile
British Immigration Minister Phil Woolas has been calling for the
construction of a permanent holding/detention centre for migrants in
Calais docks.

The Bigger Picture

Calais however remains only one small part of the overall picture of
European migration controls, a major internal border within the hi-tech EU
borders regime. Since the beginning of the decade, the EU been attempting
to build 'Fortress Europe'; externalising EU borders into Africa and Asia
with EU border guards patrolling the Mediterranean, in Libya and off the
West Coast of Africa courtesy of the Frontex borders agency; and via the
European Neighbourhood Policy, where countries from the Ukraine all the
way round the Mediterranean to Morocco are now paid by the EU to do its
migration prevention work for it.

Migrants’ Rights Are Workers’ Rights

Through this system of border controls, authorities create two kinds of
migrants: a small number of ‘skilled’ migrants, who are designated as
‘useful’ to the state; and a massive number of undocumented workers who
have no rights and are therefore exploitable as cheap labour. Thus is our
fight for freedom of movement also a fight for the rights of all workers.


Transnational solidarity works!

Building links and working together allows us to share information between
us on a transnational level. It also allows us to exploit the fault-lines
and cracks in Fortress Europe. Last November, transnational solidarity
helped to prevent the planned deportation of Afghans from Calais to Kabul.


Campaigning Against Borders

This camp will continue the tradition of the No Border camps across the
world since the late 1990s and, like the camp taking place this year in
Lesvos in August, it will be a space to share information, skills,
knowledge and experiences; a place to plan and take action together
against the system of borders which divides us all. For centuries European
imperial powers have exploited the land, resources and people of the
majority world to become wealthy and powerful, leaving war, environmental
destruction and massive inequality in their wake. Those who attempt the
journey to the UK or elsewhere in Europe are challenging this injustice by
their movement. The situation in Calais is a result of the compromise and
conflict of interest between French and UK immigration policy and we call
on groups, networks and individuals here to take action across Europe and
to become part of a global movement of solidarity that defends their right
to choose where they move .

Equal rights for all !!

*No One Is Illegal. Freedom Of Movement And The Right To Stay For All*

http://calaisnoborder.eu.org/

http://london.noborders.org.uk/calais2009
 Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 10:09 AM  

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Break the Siege! No Borders national day of action for Gaza
Friday, April 17, 2009

On the 5th February, Israel and Egypt shut all borders with Gaza. Egypt has said it will close the Rafah border indefinitely as Gaza is an 'occupied territory'. No Borders UK calls for an immediate opening of Israeli and Egyptian borders with Gaza.

No Borders calls for a day of action on 27th April. Target those profiting from the siege (BAE, G4S, Caterpillar, EDO, Raytheon etc.).

No Borders is a network of groups struggling for the freedom of movement for all and an end to all migration controls. We demand the end of the border regime for everyone to enable us to live another way, without fear, racism and nationalism. We support groups in resistance on both sides of the border, from Anarchists Against the Wall in Israel, to the Free Gaza movement.

Solidarity with the victims of war does not mean solidarity with capitalist factions in a war from which they seek to benefit, nor does it mean supporting a cross-class, abstract national collective and its ethnic “rights” to lands. No Borders calls for a day of collective action against those responsible for the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. However, No Borders also rejects abandoning coherence to support a victory for a dangerous interpretation of “anti-imperialism”.

No Borders is reiterating the existing call from Palestinian community based organisations and the over 130 grassroots NGOs in the Palestinian NGO Network for an immediate opening of all border crossings currently controlled by Israel and Egypt. Refugees have been held at the border and denied medical care. The war is apparently over, yet hundreds are dying everyday because of this most brutal of border controls. Egypt blames Hamas, whilst Hamas claims that the injured refugees restrained themselves out of contempt for Egypt.

No Borders acts in solidarity with all those who are fighting to break the siege and stop the border control in Gaza. We call for collective action and practical solidarity with the people of Gaza. No Borders rejects all forms of nationalism and state based 'solutions'. Ethnicity does not grant “rights” to lands, which require the state to enforce them. People, however, have a right to having their human needs met, and should be able to live where they choose, freely.

In solidarity with Anarchists Against the Wall, the "Sarvanim" Refuseniks of Israel, the Sderot residents, Free Gaza, and the International Solidarity Movement, we call for a day of action targeting the profiteers and implementers of this siege. We call for groups to take action calling for an end to the brutal siege through civil resistance and direct action. No Borders calls for action in solidarity with those who reject all forms of nationalism, including the 'anti-Imperialist' nationalism endorsed during the war by some left-wing groups. We call for freedom of movement for all and an acknowledgment of those who are fighting on both sides of the borders to bring an end to the siege. Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 5:33 AM  

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Fundraiser: Surveillance – The CCTV Cabaret
Monday, April 6, 2009


The people from the Loiterers Resistance Movement are kindly offering the proceeds from their next 'surveillance'-themed fundraiser to us. Looks like a fun night!

Tuesday April 14th 7pm at The Britons Protection (show starts 7.30)

A night of ace music, short films, comedy ranting and miscellaneous shenanigans about public space, civil liberties, the database state and more. Prepare to laugh, cry, sigh and get angry...

The superb Quiet Loner will be playing a special themed set, and other musical delights will be provided by The Shrieking Violets (gorgeous lofi pop thrills) and You and Boo (yummy wonky folky loveliness)

PLUS
O a fine selection of short films from around the world for your entertainment
O visuals from urban explorers - hidden secrets they dare to uncover
O info from No Borders, No2ID, MAA, the LRM and more (bring stuff to share if you have it) about what is going on in Manchester
O biometric data raffle, free DIY camouflage kits, nice cake and other surprises

Entry Free / donations – all proceeds to Manchester No Borders
And post here the rest of it. Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 6:59 AM  

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No Borders mobilises against G20 summit
Tuesday, March 24, 2009


A general strike in France; riots in Greece and Lithuania; in Iceland the government is forced to resign; mass protests against poverty and food riots in the countries of the ‘global south’. Worldwide, a new wave of social struggles has begun.

On the days from 28 March to 2 April, these struggles will become visible on the streets of London. As the leaders of the 20 richest countries try to fix an inherently corrupt system, tens of thousands will demonstrate against the effects of the capitalist crisis and for real alternatives [watch this video call].

A ‘No Borders’ perspective on this crisis and resistance stresses the importance of its international dimension. The global movements against the crisis fight for a break from capitalism and for a new society based on solidarity not protectionism.


Therefore, No Borders activists from Manchester and elsewhere will be present at the protests against the G20 to counter any nationalist impulse that could threaten to paralyse an emerging mass movement in the UK. The movement of people across borders is not the cause of the capitalist crisis; though migrants are the first to be blamed by all nationalist sections of society. As this crisis is global, so must be our response.

We hope to see you:

On the “Militant Workers: Direct Action” bloc on the large trade union and NGO demonstration in central London on Saturday 28 March.

On the “Black Horse” procession leaving Cannon Street rail station at 11am on 1 April. This procession has been called against ‘land enclosures and borders in honour of the 360th full circle anniversary of the Diggers’ and will lead to a street party at the Bank of England. Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 4:30 AM  

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Final call for Saturday's demonstration "Abolish Immigration Prisons"
Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Thousands of asylum-seekers are currently being kept in prisons throughout
the UK. They haven’t committed a crime, but they can be imprisoned
indefinitely. On Saturday 21st March, we are calling for a demonstration
of all those who want to see an end to all immigration detention.


Abolish Pennine House

2,500 people are currently locked up in 13 British immigration prisons.
Phil Woolas, the minister for immigration and borders, is seeking the
expansion of the detention estate to 4,000 spaces. 30,000 people pass
through one of those prisons every year, including 2,000 children. All are
held for indefinite periods without trial or sentence.

Some of these people are imprisoned in Pennine House, the immigration
prison located airside at Manchester Airport in Terminal 2. Pennine House
can now hold up to 32 detainees, double its previous capacity. As a
so-called residential short-term holding facility, it can hold people for
up to seven days until they are released, deported or transferred to other
‘long-term’ detention centres.

Pie more government ministers

Meanwhile, Phil Woolas’ office in Oldham is only a few miles away. And
while hundreds of innocent people are kept in prison with no knowledge of
when they will be released, he continues to make xenophobic and
nationalist statements at every opportunity.

Phil Woolas may be trying to undermine the BNP, by demonstrating that New
Labour are equally capable of using racist and xenophobic rhetoric.
However, in using many of the same arguments as the BNP does, Woolas is
actually lending them credibility. The only way to fight the BNP is by
completely rejecting the nationalism and xenophobia promoted by the
government.

Once it becomes acceptable to imprison someone arbitrarily and
indefinitely, we are all at risk of suffering the same fate. We can
already see this with Woolas’ determination to bring in ID cards for
everyone and to monitor and retain all our cross-border movements in a
secret database in Wythenshawe.

This is why activists from Manchester No Borders attempted to check Phil
Woolas’ passport at a public debate last October, and when he refused this
landed him a custard pie in the face.

The story so far…

Pennine House closed for expansion in spring last year. From when we could
expose Carillion plc as the construction company to expand the prison, No
Borders put pressure on this detention profiteer, forcing them to step up
security at their Manchester office. Unfortunately, Woolas could re-open
the prison last December.

Earlier this month, we took the issue directly to Manchester City Council
leader Richard Leese, who is also the Chair of the Committee for the
Shareholders of Manchester Airport. When 100 jumpers were dumped in front
of him and information leaflets handed out to the audience, he was visibly
embarrassed to continue his presentation of Manchester as a cosmopolitan
and inclusive city.

And last Friday, in the most high-profile action against Pennine House so
far, 20 activists were able to enter the office of Phil Woolas and to
'detain' him symbolically for 30 minutes until police officers could
'free' him.

On Saturday 21st March, we will reiterate our demand of the immediate
closure of Pennine House and all immigration prisons, and that everyone be
free to come and go as they please, regardless of the country of their
birth.

-----------------

Join us for a rally at noon in Albert Square outside Manchester Town Hall
with speakers from No Borders, the Anarchist Federation Manchester, No One
Is Illegal, the Manchester Committee to Defend Asylum Seekers, and other
groups.

Mass Bike Ride from Albert Square to Manchester Airport (should take about
90minutes); or join others on the train (funds for train fares will be
available for refugees and asylum seekers).

Rally at 2pm outside Pennine House Detention Centre - Meet outside Terminal 2

 Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 8:58 AM  

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Abolish Immigration Prisons. Freedom of Movement For All.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009


Demonstrate together against detention.

21st March. Assemble at Albert Square, Manchester City Centre. 12 noon.
Then, bike ride or train to Terminal 2, Detention Centre, Manchester Airport. 2pm.

Thousands of asylum-seekers are currently being kept in prisons throughout the UK. They haven’t committed a crime, but they can be imprisoned indefinitely.

Some of these people are imprisoned in Pennine House, the immigration prison located at Manchester Airport. Meanwhile, the immigration minister, Phil Woolas’ office is only a few miles away. And while hundreds of innocent people are kept in prison with no knowledge of when they will be released, he continues to make xenophobic and racist statements at every opportunity.

We demand the immediate closure of all immigration prisons, and that everyone be free to come and go as they please, regardless of the country of their birth.

With, NoBorders, No One Is Illegal, MCDAS, Anarchist Federation, NCADC, WAST and Permanent Revolution. Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 5:27 AM  

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OPEN PLANNING MEETING - Oldham and Pennine House protests
Wednesday, February 25, 2009


From Woolas to Pennine House: 20/21 March will be a weekend of protests moving from Oldham to Manchester's detention centre, highlighting and scandalising the UK's policy of detaining asylum seekers and their children.

Manchester No Borders are planning for two protests, one at the Immigration Minister's office in Oldham and one at 'Pennine House', the immigration detention centre at Manchester airport.

We welcome all those who would like to be involved in the planning stages of this weekend to an open planning meeting.
Wednesday 4th March. 7.00pm Friends Meeting House (nr Central Library) Manchester. Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 5:40 AM  

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Film showing: Escape from Doncatraz
Thursday, February 12, 2009


Once again we have teamed up with students at Manchester Uni, for a free and open-to-all documentary showing on Monday night. A Brand new documentary by Jay Baker of SilenceBreaker Media...who will be there on the night for a Q & A

"Escape from Doncatraz"
Man Uni Students Union
Mon 16th February - 7pm

Britain has the highest concentration of CCTV cameras in the world, the largest DNA database on the planet, and its people have fallen for blaming asylum seekers and refugees for all its problems, with tabloid newspaper headlines warning of "waves of illegal aliens."

However, as the film examines, it is not those arriving from war-torn countries or fleeing state-sponsored terrorism, but rather those in suits and ties who have destroyed our values and sense of decency...

http://silencebreaker.org/escapefromdoncatraz/menu.html Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 7:40 AM  

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20/21 March: Together against detention
Saturday, January 24, 2009


From Woolas to Pennine House: 20/21 March will be a weekend of protests moving from Oldham to Manchester's detention centre, highlighting and scandalising the UK's policy of detaining asylum seekers and their children. Get involved in the early planning stages for this protest now.

Manchester No Borders are planning for two protests, one at the Immigration Minister's office in Oldham and one at 'Pennine House', the immigration detention centre at Manchester airport.

We also want to draw a direct connection between the two, linking them with a cycle ride to the airport detention facility

So here is for your diaries (provisionally):

Wednesday 4th March evening - Public organising meeting about the protests

Friday 20th March afternoon/early evening - Protest/leafletting in Oldham

Saturday 21st March noon - Cycle/Train rige to the airport (meet Albert Sq.), the protest at Pennine House

We invite you now to get involved in the early planning stages for this event. There will also be an organising meeting in early March. Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 2:48 AM  

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International Mobilisations 2009 - Discussion and Information Event 29th Jan
Wednesday, January 21, 2009


2009 will be a busy year, and many are already thinking about travelling to one or several of the international protests against the summits of global leaders and politicians. No Borders have teamed up with other groups and individuals in Manchester to organise a discussion and information event:

Summit Mobilisations 2009
Thursday 29th January, 7pm
University of Manchester Students Union - Meeting Room 1

A session to discuss responses to the various summits of 2009 including:

NATO in Strasbourg – April09 propping up Western militarism
G8 in Italy
G20 in London – April 1st 2009 – Restructuring the
Global Financial Economy
No Borders Camp in France – summer09
Copenhagen – Dec09 – the UN Climate Change Talks (COP15)



The event will also discuss the various advantages and disadvantages of international summit mobilisations.

Facebook event.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=55685169993

All welcome, especially non-students. Read more!

Posted byManchester No Borders at 6:15 AM  

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