EYFA newsletter is a tool to spread information on campaigns, actions,
meetings and convergence happening around Europe and beyond. Info is
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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_borders (See also
here our September Newsletter on GMO's). Or you can check out the
version below (without all these 'hyperlinks'):
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.on Immigrants Initiatives
April 2008
As May approaches, the wishes and winds of change coming from immigrants
initiatives become more evident. Preparations for MayDay protests and
French May celebrations are becoming a favourable omen for migrant
movements. With this Newsletter, our purpose is to emphasize the active
role of immigrants in their own struggles. Immigrants and refugees are
not mere victims to be defended. S/he is a crucial political actor in the
social and economic life of every country. And, though their actions may
sometimes go unseen, they are courageously speaking out loud,
simultaneously resisting and confronting migration regimes from all over
the World.
If you want to suggest a topic or have news to share - write to us!
eyfa@eyfa.org
~Contents~
1. What immigrants achieve against all odds?
2. Migrant Domestic Workers
3. Protest and Repression in Harmondsworth – UK
4. San Papiers Workers Strikes – France
5. The Voice Refugee Forum – Germany
6. Workers’ Strike in Manolada – Greece
7. Euro Mayday
8. Links for related events
1. What immigrants achieve against all odds?
There is no doubt about the intensification and increasing sophistication
in immigration control measures. Accordingly, the poor immigrants'
position within European countries is deteriorating by the increasing
obstacles to participate legally on the national society and economy.
This lack of documents accentuates the precarity of their labour
conditions and inability to have access to any kind of governmental
assistance. Indeed, it is difficult to perceive immigrants' effective
political role and strategic articulation. Nonetheless, immigrants and
refugees initiatives to create a common front against discriminatory and
violent migratory policies do exist. These struggles come from different
flanks. First, the tenacity and persistence of immigrants to reach a
country and keep up with all the responsibilities of any other citizen
(mainly, working to keep up with daily living costs) challenges the often
arbitrary schemes of national population control. This kind of resistance
is not radically open against the system, but these practices are radical
when it is considered the constant creative thinking needed for an
everyday survivable coming from social and territorial segregation.
Second, the European migration regime, and its selective inclusion, has
simultaneously provoked the coalition of immigrants from different
backgrounds in one or multiple countries. Third, in positions of absolute
segregation, as it is in detention centres and refugee camps, immigrants
still fight and develop strategies to denounce human right's violations,
with the help of activists from outside.
More info check: http://thistuesday.org/node/130
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. Migrant Domestic Workers
Most of the poor immigrants in search for a better future in Europe find
instead marginalization. This way, many immigrants end up working in the
privacy of a home as domestic workers or au pairs, allowing the adult
members of the household be part of the so-called productive economy. As
many citizens go outside for an extra income for the household, the
non-citizens find a niche as domestic workers. Accordingly, the number of
undocumented immigrants in private households is increasing all over
Europe. And the work of international networks such as RESPECT Migrants
(http://thistuesday.org/node/24) has become crucial for denouncing the
systematic violation of human rights. This network, in particular, is
committed to migrant empowerment through self-organizations, and is also
composed by migrants' self-organizations. With this objective, Theater of
the Oppressed (TO) (http://www.toplab.org/whatis.htm) has proved to be
quite effective in empowering domestic workers, which provides them with
the capacity to represent themselves and to be the main actors in
campaigns for their rights.
One consequence of this struggle is the standard-setting “Decent work for
Domestic Workers” that was approved on March 18 this year by the
International Labour Organization (ILO) Governing Body, with the full
support of the workers' group, the employers group, the Latin American and
Caribbean Group, and 19 countries (including 5 European countries). This
standard setting in the ILO agenda will help to establish better working
conditions for thousands of migrant domestic workers - who are mainly
women and young immigrants.
Standard-Setting ILO:
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_090361.pdf
More links to TO initiatives:
http://www.theatreoftheoppressed.org/en/index.php
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. Protest and Repression in Harmondsworth, UK
On April 1st about 300 detainees began a peaceful demonstration in
Kalyx-run Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre against their
administrative detention and poor conditions in the centre. They also
wrote and signed a petition and sent it to the European Court of Human
Rights. The protest continued with over 100 detainees refusing food. The
detainees complaint is that they are being deported without having their
cases properly heard, due to time restrictions and bad legal
representation. Meanwhile, they are held in deplorable conditions, and
without any criminal charges. A detainee told No Borders London: "The food
is disgusting. The medical facilities are appalling...It is mental
torture, people are going mad". The detainees' peaceful protest started
with mass food refusal by almost all of the detainees, and later on 120 of
them went to the courtyard remained there all night.
This is only an example of incidents, disruptions and protests that happen
in Harmonswoth. According to one refugee, “Every day someone is pushed to
madness and suicide. People resist every day, every day someone is on
hunger strike.”
Detainees Petition: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/395575.html
Other Links:
http://noborderslondon.blogspot.com/
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/395251.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4. San Papiers Workers Strikes, France
While France is approaching the fortieth anniversary of May ’68, Paris’
streets are being flowed by hundreds of undocumented immigrants from
restaurants, department stores, cleaning companies and gardening demanding
working papers. Since the beginning of April, the undocumented workers
from the popular Restaurant Café La Jatte and the chain restaurant
‘Charlie Birdy’ are on strike, and are organizing other immigrant workers
to demand their rights and calling other immigrants to join their
protests. Now around 500 strikers are claiming their rights since under
French law after one year of contract they are entitled to receive their
papers.
Many undocumented migrants from Asia, Africa and Latin America have payed
for retirement, unemployment and national health care which they will
never receive due to their illegality in the country. For more than a
week, there have been strikes and occupations, supported by CGT Union,
Droits Devant, SYNHORCAT, Rights First, employers and others. Although
Sarkozy promised not to legalize massive numbers of immigrants, the
pressure on France’s economy will make him rethink his strong
anti-immigrant political stance.
French: http://lille.indymedia.org/
Spanish: ‘Sin Papeles’ en Francia
On May 68: http://libcom.org/history/articles/france-1968/,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUJZgkhSCq8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. The Voice Refugee Forum – Germany
Refugees from refugee isolation camps in Germany have been in contact with
human rights activists from The Voice Refugee Forum, and have described
the living conditions of such centres. "Anytime you ask the authorities
about something, they make the situation worse.” “Making a request from
the authorities confirms the heat of their pressures on you. It also means
giving them clues on where they can hit you more. They can be very
sympathetic with you but you have to know that their minds take an extra
ordinarily different position. Their intention is to ruin you but yet they
pretend not to be responsible for your pains. That is the ethics of their
Job.”
For the violent treatment received in these camps, the refugees have
designed a concrete strategy against their administrative confinement.
Among the demands from the refugees and The Voice are: “decentralization
of Refugees housing in standard accommodation in independent and private
housing; [the solidarity and strength of] migrants and refugee communities
to stand up to the challenge and to protest the state policies of forced
isolation of refugees in often remote camps and barracks; the exploitation
and maltreatment of refugees by imposing degrading and arbitrary systems
of psychological and financial "punishment"; the abolition of intimidating
controls and insist on the right to freedom of movement”, etc.
More info:
English: http://thevoiceforum.org/taxonomy/term/6
Deutsch: http://thevoiceforum.org/node/757
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. Strike in Strawberry fields, Greece
More than 400 migrant workers working under very precarious conditions
went to strike for the first time in Manolada, Greece. Strawberry pickers
from South Asia and the Balkans demand an increase in their €18 per day
salary, which is less than a minimum wage since they work 12 hours a day
and live in tents given by their own employers – and deducted from their
salaries. Their employers argued that they don’t have enough money to
award this salary raise. Furthermore, farmers and hired thugs attacked the
migrants, and three trade unionists have been hurt and received treatment
in hospitals. The police arrested one farmer and 60 of the strikers.
Finally, their salaries were raised to €26 per day.
More info :
http://noborderscamp.org/en/aggregator/sources/3
http://athens.indymedia.org/?lang=en
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. Euro MayDay: Transnationalization Now!
Many activists and grassroots organizations are preparing themselves to
celebrate the International Workers' Day, and protest for the rights and
recognition of immigrant workers. Many immigrants are participating
actively in the organization of actions, protests and discussions. The
Transnational Chain of Migrationrelated Action (TCMA) has contributed a
lot to building up the atmosphere for the 1st of May by carrying out a
transnational campaign where migrant struggles could be heard for more
than only one day. This is a 9 months initiative, which began during a
Frassanito Network meeting, and the idea is to support and interconnect
migration-related activities already planned by various groups and
networks. The importance is to organize migrants struggles in an
international scale to find common grounds to fight against the migration
regime. More info on TCMA :
http://www.noborder.org/chain08/display.php?id=407
The dimension that this transnational initiative has acquired is clearly
seen in Italy. In Milan, for example, “a process of communication between
migrants' and precarious' movements opened the possibility of a MayDay
centered on the paradigmatic character of migrant labour in the whole
process of precarization.” Uniting behind the theme of 'precarity' is the
main cause of this positive response. Migrants' illegal status confounds
and divides workers, makes more difficult to see how migrants and
non-migrants workers are subdued to the same profit-oriented enterprises,
and ignores the migrants' double precarity. Accordingly, a mass
demonstration under the slogan “no-borders, no precarity” aims to demand
unconditional legalization and connect these claims with the ones in US
demonstrations. In this scenario, Euro MayDay has opened a political and
social space where everyone that experiences precarity in their working
conditions is protagonist of their struggles. These demonstrations’ main
objective is to radicalise the workers’ and immigrants’ movement, in doing
so they aim at the 'heart of the monster': freedom of movement, the right
to stay and equal benefits for workers- citizens or not.
1st of May: Milan, Porta Ticinese, h. 3 pm
Next stations of The Transnational Chain of Migrationrelated Action:
June 6th: in Warsaw/Poland (Deutsch: http://frontex.antira.info/& English:
http://no-racism.net/article/2520/)
August 17th to 24th: in Hamburg/Germany:
http://www.noborder.org/chain08/display.php?id=415
September 18th to 21st: in Malmoe/Sweden:
http://www.noborder.org/chain08/display.php?id=427
October 7th: near Ceuta in Marocco
**More May Day Links for other countries:
Around the World: http://www.xpdnc.com/links/mayday.html
Greece: http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=449
Czech Republic: http://www.csaf.cz/akcie.php?id=1100
Spain: http://www.lainvisible.net/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8. Other Migration-related events and links
@ Dikili, Turkey: Noborder camp from August 25 to September 2nd 2008:
http://no-racism.net/rubrik/35 . The camp aims to support people coming
from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan or from Africa, and who have decided to
take the hard and dangerous path of migrating overland or through sea,
confronting Greek and Turkish authorities.
english: http://no-racism.net/article/2510
deutsch: http://no-racism.net/article/2508
türkçe (pdf): http://no-racism.net/upload/732416843.pdf
@ European Social Forum, Malmo, from 17th to 21st of September
If you or your organization is interested to make a presentation, seminar
or workshop on the topic of migration, this is the link to the ESF
Migration Network open wiki workspace:
http://openesf.net/projects/migration-network/project-home
ESF extended info:
English: http://www.resist.org.uk/?q=node/824
Italian: http://www.meltingpot.org/articolo3789.html
French: http://www.expulsesmaliens.org/
Spanish: http://rebelion.org/dieterich/031115dieterich.htm
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