...The Bad And The Good News
Under the new Con Dem Lib / Lib Con Dem / Lib Dem Con agreement (or whatever it is called - we prefer the old school Tory-Whig conflation, sort of 'back to the future') we find item 5:
We have agreed that there should be an annual limit on the number of non-EU economic migrants admitted into the UK to live and work. We will consider jointly the mechanism for implementing the limit.
We will end the detention of children for immigration purposes.
The latter is clearly the best we could of hoped for from any Tory-containing administration and, as for the former, the best we can say for that is that it will involve a great deal of 'horse trading' between the 2 new 'best of friends'. And that should slow it down a deal and maybe help to throw more light on how it will in the end prove to be largely unworkable.
Also in with the 'Good' goes the ending of ID cards and, less likely to happen, biometric passports (given EU and International agreements - we're sure the other half of the 'special relationship' will not be too happy about it).
And in charge of all this, one of less than a handful of woman currently appointed to the cabinet, the less that liberal Theresa May (not the 'glamour' model and star of The Prodigy's Smack My Bitch Up video, different spelling). All one can really say of her appointment is that at least it wasn't Damien Green (although he could still come in as a junior minister).
Thursday, 13 May 2010
9 Years In Immigration Detention!
In what must be getting on for a worldwide record (it certainly already is in Australia), a woman remains in immigration detention in Australia pending the resolution of her case. Ms X has been in detention for more than nine years, unable to be returned to China even if they give the Australian government the assurances about her future treatment that the government think will be sufficient to resolve her immigration status.
In October 2009, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) found her extended period of detention, without any substantive judicial review, was arbitrary and therefore breached the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UNHCR also stated that Australia would further breach its international obligations if it returned Ms X without sufficient assurance from China as to her treatment.
However, it appears unlikely that the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship will get such assurances as has been the case in the past and, even if they did, China has proved less than reliable in similar situations. Therefore, it looks as if Ms X will not be returned to China in the near future or that she will be released from detention either on bail or granted the visa that will entitle her to permanently stay in the country.
In October 2009, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) found her extended period of detention, without any substantive judicial review, was arbitrary and therefore breached the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UNHCR also stated that Australia would further breach its international obligations if it returned Ms X without sufficient assurance from China as to her treatment.
However, it appears unlikely that the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship will get such assurances as has been the case in the past and, even if they did, China has proved less than reliable in similar situations. Therefore, it looks as if Ms X will not be returned to China in the near future or that she will be released from detention either on bail or granted the visa that will entitle her to permanently stay in the country.
Japanese Immigration Centre Hunger Strike
Around 60 detainees at the East Japan Immigration Control Centre in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, have been on hunger strike since Monday according to Bond, a Tokyo-based group supporting foreign workers in Japan. The detainees are demanding the detention period be cut to a maximum of six months, that bail be cut from ¥800,000 (£5860) to no more than ¥200,000 (£1460) and that nobody under 18 be detained.
Amongst those taking part in the protests are Kurdish refugees, Sri Lankans, Ugandans, Chinese, Pakistanis and Brazilians. More than half of the 380 or so detainees in the Ushiku detention centre have been there for more than 6 months in what are described by the Bond spokesperson as awful living conditions with limited medical care. Last year 2 refugees held in the centre committed suicide.
Amongst those taking part in the protests are Kurdish refugees, Sri Lankans, Ugandans, Chinese, Pakistanis and Brazilians. More than half of the 380 or so detainees in the Ushiku detention centre have been there for more than 6 months in what are described by the Bond spokesperson as awful living conditions with limited medical care. Last year 2 refugees held in the centre committed suicide.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Events Reminder
This Saturday 15 May @ the Cowley Club:
An Info Day & Fundraiser on the Deportation Machine
2-6pm Workshops: the Deportation Machine, the companies that profit from it and how to campaign against them / Frontex - the European Union borders managing agency.
Film on Frontex and short introduction to the Brussels No Border Camp
6-8pm Fundraiser Vegan meal. £4
9pm-2am Benefit gig - live reggae & gypsy bands. £3 suggested donation (members and guests only)
And Sunday 16 May @ the Cowley Club:
Out Of Africa - No Way!
An evening of information, film, food & music based around the prevention of migration from Africa into Fortress Europe. We will be showing short films or slideshows and talks about the plight of migrants trying to enter the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the northern coast of Algerian, their fate if they are successful in making it over the three 6m high parallel fences, decorated with motion sensors, cameras and watchtowers, protecting these outposts of the 'promised land' of Europe. We will also be talking and showing a short film about the situation in Libya nad the Libyan involvement in Italy's 'push back' program, where refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy are forced back to the African coast, in contravention of numerous International treaties and agreements against the 'refoulement' of refugees and into a detention system condemned across the world.
All that and delicious African food and sounds. Entrance by donation (Cowley club members and guests only).
An Info Day & Fundraiser on the Deportation Machine
2-6pm Workshops: the Deportation Machine, the companies that profit from it and how to campaign against them / Frontex - the European Union borders managing agency.
Film on Frontex and short introduction to the Brussels No Border Camp
6-8pm Fundraiser Vegan meal. £4
9pm-2am Benefit gig - live reggae & gypsy bands. £3 suggested donation (members and guests only)
And Sunday 16 May @ the Cowley Club:
Out Of Africa - No Way!
An evening of information, film, food & music based around the prevention of migration from Africa into Fortress Europe. We will be showing short films or slideshows and talks about the plight of migrants trying to enter the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the northern coast of Algerian, their fate if they are successful in making it over the three 6m high parallel fences, decorated with motion sensors, cameras and watchtowers, protecting these outposts of the 'promised land' of Europe. We will also be talking and showing a short film about the situation in Libya nad the Libyan involvement in Italy's 'push back' program, where refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean to Italy are forced back to the African coast, in contravention of numerous International treaties and agreements against the 'refoulement' of refugees and into a detention system condemned across the world.
All that and delicious African food and sounds. Entrance by donation (Cowley club members and guests only).
European Week Of Action Against The Deportation Machine
Stop Deportation, along with other groups in Europe, are proposing a European Week of Action Against the Deportation Machine, with a focus on joint European mass deportation flights and Frontex. The proposed date is the first week of June 2010, 1st-6th.
The idea is that groups and campaigns throughout Europe organise their own direct actions, demos and marches against forcible deportations from European countries, which are increasingly carried out through joint coordinated 'operations' involving private contractors and shadowy agencies like Frontex and the IOM. Protests will inevitably take a variety of shapes but a series of coordinated, decentralised actions and protests would make the message clearer and louder. A week, rather than a day, of action would allow groups more flexibility to do what they want to do.
By trying to widen the scope and diversity of the groups involved, we also want to draw attention to the fact that anti-deportation is not a 'single issue campaign'. People choose or are forced to migrate for a variety or reasons, from wars and armed conflicts fuelled by the arms trade and western interests, through poverty, exploitation, discrimination, gender oppression, domestic and state violence, to climate change.
If your group/campaign would like to get involved, whether through helping coordinate or publicise the week of action or by organising your own action or protest in your local area, please get in touch (needless to say, if you're planning an unaccountable/arrestable action, you probably wouldn't want to get in touch!). The machine is growing and getting stronger, and so must the resistance against it!
Callout [Deutsch | Ελληνικά | Español | Français | Italiano | Polski | Русский | Türkçe | عربي] || Resources
The idea is that groups and campaigns throughout Europe organise their own direct actions, demos and marches against forcible deportations from European countries, which are increasingly carried out through joint coordinated 'operations' involving private contractors and shadowy agencies like Frontex and the IOM. Protests will inevitably take a variety of shapes but a series of coordinated, decentralised actions and protests would make the message clearer and louder. A week, rather than a day, of action would allow groups more flexibility to do what they want to do.
By trying to widen the scope and diversity of the groups involved, we also want to draw attention to the fact that anti-deportation is not a 'single issue campaign'. People choose or are forced to migrate for a variety or reasons, from wars and armed conflicts fuelled by the arms trade and western interests, through poverty, exploitation, discrimination, gender oppression, domestic and state violence, to climate change.
If your group/campaign would like to get involved, whether through helping coordinate or publicise the week of action or by organising your own action or protest in your local area, please get in touch (needless to say, if you're planning an unaccountable/arrestable action, you probably wouldn't want to get in touch!). The machine is growing and getting stronger, and so must the resistance against it!
Callout [Deutsch | Ελληνικά | Español | Français | Italiano | Polski | Русский | Türkçe | عربي] || Resources
Monday, 10 May 2010
Australian 'Boat People' Drown
The Australian authorities are in trouble yet again for their apparent disregard for the safety of another boatload of asylum seekers off the northern Australian coast. Australia has a long history of monitoring boats far off in the Indian Ocean as they try to make the crossing from Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia to the Australian mainland. Satellite data, spotter aircraft, naval and coast guard ships are all involved via the Border Protection Command (BPC), which has kept watch on more than 50 boats so far this year.
The BPC were apparently told that that a boat containing 64 people, including 15 children, and headed for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands had run out of fuel, food and water on 30 April. A passing ship provided assistance and reported that the boat remained seaworthy and everyone was in good health.
According to Australian Customs, when the boat failed to arrive at the Cocos last Wednesday (as Australian authorities expected), a search and rescue mission was launched. The boat was eventually located floundering 160 nautical miles off shore and rescued by the same Russian merchant vessel that had helped them the week before. It was then discovered that 5 men had donned life-jackets and tried to swim for help. They have not been found and are presumed to have drowned.
The BPC were apparently told that that a boat containing 64 people, including 15 children, and headed for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands had run out of fuel, food and water on 30 April. A passing ship provided assistance and reported that the boat remained seaworthy and everyone was in good health.
According to Australian Customs, when the boat failed to arrive at the Cocos last Wednesday (as Australian authorities expected), a search and rescue mission was launched. The boat was eventually located floundering 160 nautical miles off shore and rescued by the same Russian merchant vessel that had helped them the week before. It was then discovered that 5 men had donned life-jackets and tried to swim for help. They have not been found and are presumed to have drowned.
Last Minute Reprieve
What kind of country sentences someone to 84 days in prison for urinating in public, then rearrests them once they have served their sentence and goes on to hold them for three and a half more years on the basis of the same conviction, leaving them severely traumatised and in need of psychiatric care? Well, one that believes itself to be the epitome of enlightenment and human rights.
Yes, you've guessed it: the UK!
Pakistani born Asif Rashid came to the UK in 2001 and was granted temporary leave to remain whilst his asylum claim was being assessed. On 3 December 2001 his claim was rejected and he appealed. This was dismissed in June 2003, as were subsequent applications. In 2006 he was 'caught short' due to a medical complaint and caught urinating on a canal towpath. Convicted of urinating in public, he received an 84 day prison sentence. Excessive one might think, especially when one considers what happens on the average town and city centre street on weekend nights.
Then later that year after having served his sentence he was detained whilst reporting at local reporting centre and told he was being deported as a 'foreign national offender'. So far a fairly normal story, one involving the grossly unfair double punishment introduced by New Labour in order to bolster their anti-immigration credentials. However, insult was added to injury when Mr Rashid was then banged up (ironically) in a ‘fast track removal centre’ for the next 3 years as the bureaucratic wheels slowly ground towards his inevitable deportation.
All the time his mental health steadily deteriorated despite the authorities having ample opportunity to bail him pending his removal. Eventually the UKBA arranged his travel documents and he was scheduled to be deported to Pakistan today (10 May) on a PIA flight. Fortunately for him however, Refugee and Migrant Justice and the UK-based Association of Pakistani Lawyers got involved in his case, challenging Mr Rashid's continued detention and have now won an injunction preventing his deportation.
Yes, you've guessed it: the UK!
Pakistani born Asif Rashid came to the UK in 2001 and was granted temporary leave to remain whilst his asylum claim was being assessed. On 3 December 2001 his claim was rejected and he appealed. This was dismissed in June 2003, as were subsequent applications. In 2006 he was 'caught short' due to a medical complaint and caught urinating on a canal towpath. Convicted of urinating in public, he received an 84 day prison sentence. Excessive one might think, especially when one considers what happens on the average town and city centre street on weekend nights.
Then later that year after having served his sentence he was detained whilst reporting at local reporting centre and told he was being deported as a 'foreign national offender'. So far a fairly normal story, one involving the grossly unfair double punishment introduced by New Labour in order to bolster their anti-immigration credentials. However, insult was added to injury when Mr Rashid was then banged up (ironically) in a ‘fast track removal centre’ for the next 3 years as the bureaucratic wheels slowly ground towards his inevitable deportation.
All the time his mental health steadily deteriorated despite the authorities having ample opportunity to bail him pending his removal. Eventually the UKBA arranged his travel documents and he was scheduled to be deported to Pakistan today (10 May) on a PIA flight. Fortunately for him however, Refugee and Migrant Justice and the UK-based Association of Pakistani Lawyers got involved in his case, challenging Mr Rashid's continued detention and have now won an injunction preventing his deportation.
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