EYFA newsletter is a tool to spread information on campaigns, actions,
meetings and convergence happening around Europe and beyond. Info is
forwarded to our network e-list and to network partners and contacts.
Please send us info
NOTE: We have started after the summer with thematic newsletters and
archiving these on our website. You can find this newsletter (with loads
more 'hyperlinks') at http://eyfa.org/newsletter/on
here our September Newsletter on GMO's). Or you can check out the
version below (without all these 'hyperlinks'):
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. on Borders
While putting this newsletter together tents are still being set up on
both sides of the US/Mexico border. It's the third NoBorder Camp this
year after Camps in the Ukraine in August and UK in September. And for
today November 10 - on the 18th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin
Wall – actions will be mounted against border regimes in Mexico,
Guatemala, the United States, Canada, Israel and Palestine.
See Campamento Contra Las Fronteras http://noborderscamp.org/
**Contents
1. NoBorder Camps - intro
2. NoBorder Camp Ukraine – last August
3. NoBorder Camp UK – last September
4. European Police Congress 29th-30th, Berlin
5. Youth Crossing Borders – last August
6. Be a refugee
7. MigMap
8. Fortress Europe's death toll
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1. NoBorder Camps - intro
NoBorder Camps came up by the end of the 90s organized by a network of
groups struggling for the freedom ofmovement for all and an end to all
migration controls; calling fora radical movement against the system of
control, dividing us into citizens and non-citizens; demanding the end
of the border regime for everyone, including ourselves, to enable us to
live another way, without fear, racism and nationalism.
A space was created to gather and meet, discuss, make actions and create
connections. At first in countries that found themselves on the edges of
Fortress Europe – Poland, Romania, Spain and Italy – but in 2002
Strassbourg had a camp with a couple of thousand participants. This camp
turned out to be of great importance for the G8 protest camp Vaaag that
followed the year after in Evian, France: How to set up an infra-
structure that accommodates thousands of people, that is run non-
hierarchically, and that is a base for direct actions. After a break of
a couple of years the NoBorder Camps are back with camps this year in
Ukraine, UK and US/Mexico.
See overview early NoBorder Camps on http://www.noborder.org/
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2. NoBorder Camp Ukraine – August 11-20 2007
Organizing a NoBorder Camp is a challenge that not only deals with set-
ting up a large camp but also with the context of the nearby physical
border and the migrantphobic surroundings. The NoBorder Camp in Ukraine
was located at the eastern border region Transcarpathia. With the
enlargement of the EU, and shifting of borders, Transcarpathia became
one of the main routes for international migration. This region is known
for its unique blend of cultures and traditions and has a history build
on migration. But under EU pressure National migration policies changed
and the border regime harshened. State and popular media's use of
xenophobic rhetorics has created tension among the ancestors of migrants
and new-comers. One of the main aims of the Camp was therefore to do
outreach and spread counter-information.
The NoBorder Camp was attended by 300 activists from approximately 20
countries and also hosted a regional Food Not Bombs Gathering. A lot of
activists from the region, at first unfamiliar with NoBorder activism,
later joined the actions against the nearby detention center and
immigration offices. Besides the actions also a No Border festival was
organized in the nearby city Uzhgorod which attracted a lot of local
people with concerts, films and seminars. Borders, however, also came up
within the settings of the camp with an invisible border apparent
between the Russian and English speaking participants.
callout:
http://www.thatsaninterestingp
EU pressure:
http://www.plotki.net/cms
action report: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en
(See also an extensive report in Abolishing The Borders From Below-
magazine issue #30, Oct.'07)
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3. NoBorder Camp UK – September 19-24 2007
It took some time to find a nice field to put the camp up. Police were
harassing local farmers not to host the camp on their lands. Eventually
one farmer did not give in and the camp was still located near one ofits
targets - the new detention center Brook House that is being build at
the Gatwick Airport. The UK had a summer of several protest camps - e.g.
Climatecamp . Still some 200 activists gathered at the NoBorder Camp to
discuss the situation in the UK and Europe, to exchange information and
tactics and to do actions. The participants were predominantly from the
UK and the Camp was of great importance for the growing UK NoBorder net-
work.
Two years of No Borders UK
It was before the G8 2005 in Scotland that initiatives started to
network around the issues of Freedom Of Movement in the UK again. A Make
Borders History demo took place in Glasgow during the 2005 G8 summit in
Scotland, calling at several institutions and companies involved in the
Border Regime. During the following year, No Borders groups were set up
all over the country, in London, Brighton, Cardiff, Nottingham, Leeds
and other cities. Regular demonstrations targeted immigration reporting
centers and as well as detention centers.
The year 2006 saw the first UK-wide No Borders Gathering in London and
exactly one year later, another gathering was held in Glasgow. The
initiatives naturally had different focal points, from fighting against
dawn raids, anti-deportation actions (e.g. in Leeds ), campaigning
against the point-based system, to solidarity with migrant workers (e.g.
justice for cleaners) and, of course, demonstrations at immigration
prisons. In Glasgow, people started Unity, a union of by and for asylum
seekers. In London, Harmondsworth became another focus of protests as
well as building up practical support for detainees. The October 7th
Network organized a demonstration in London as part of the Transnational
Day Of Action for migrants' rights. However, when the Home Office
disclosed plans to build a new immigration prison at Gatwick, the new
Brook House became a focus for the whole network.
check out http://noborders.org.uk/
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4. European Police Congress- January 29-30 2008, Berlin
The “European Police Congress” is a forum where politicians, police
authorities, intelligence services, the military and the security
industry meet to discuss the implementation of new measures for
prosecution. Big topic on their agenda is the policing of borders. Not
only is there the ambition to strengthen the walls of the fortress but
also to increase the control of people inside the walls. A Campaign was
initiated, demonstrations are being planned and actions in the making.
Against a “Global Security Architecture”, for more security-critical
behaviour!
check out http://info.gipfelsoli.org
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5. Youth Crossing Borders - August 4-19 2007, Aljezur, Portugal
EYFA organized a 14 days exchange in Aljezur that brought together
young activists from old and new EU member states to disscuss, compare
and enrich their different perspectives on migration issues. The topics
ranged from 'Environmental refugees' to 'Detention in the Netherlands.'
The participants came from countries and groups like Albania(Mjaft),
Romania(Kommunitas), Serbia(Stanipani), Montenegro(PlagusM), Croatia
(YPGD), Italy(la libellula), Portugal(Edsime) and The Netherlands(EYFA).
See http://eyfa.org/meetings
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6. Be a Refugee
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) produced a
video game that 'let's you experience what it's like to be a refugee.'
Games are the way to communicate to a generation stuck with their heads
in the box, they must have thought. The game is called 'Against all
odds' and is odd indeed. http://www.playagainstallodds
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7. MigMap – governing migration
MigMap is a 'Virtual Cartography of European Migration Policies' – it's
a map! Trying to get a grip on the European policy field of migration is
a horror. This map leads you along the different actors, institutions,
the discourses, the places and the practices.
http://www.transitmigration
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8. Fortress Europe's death toll
Fortress Europe is tracking the numbers of people dying along the
borders of Europe. Their October 2007 Report report mentions that at
least 296 migrants and refugees have died trying to reach European Union
that month. More than 200 people were reported to be missing off Canary
Islands, in Spain, 51 migrants died in the Strait of Sicily and Calabria
(south of Italy) and 33 others were drowned in the Aegean sea, between
Turkey and Greece. At least 1,343 migrants have already died since the
beginning of the year. http://fortresseurope.blogspot
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see for more links
http://eyfa.org/newsletter/on
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Published electronically by EYFA.
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