Friday, 12 November 2010
Correction
Apologies to Glasgow City Council but we screwed up yesterday's post 'Don't Break Our Communities Apart!'. It was the Borders Agency which cancelled the contract and NOT the City Council.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Don't Break Our Communities Apart!
The latest council, following the like of Birmingham and Wolverhampton, to opportunistically cancel its contract with the Border Agency to house asylum seeker families is Glasgow City Council. In Glasgow's case there are about 1000 asylum seekers who will soon be getting a letter through their doors telling them that they have as little as 3 days notice to leave their homes and be moved to an as yet unknown destination! They will also be told that they are "allowed to take two pieces of luggage per person. In addition, children’s toys, baby care items, medical equipment, buggies and disability aids are also allowed.”
This is all a thinly-disguised form of racist pandering will have a minuscule effect on housing waiting lists but will have a significant impact on refugee families across Britain. We should all oppose it.
Correction: It was the UKBA that cancelled the contract and NOT Glasgow City Council.
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Keep the Contract with Glasgow City Council!
Join the Protest:
Monday 15 November
10.30am
Outside Glasgow City Chambers,
George Square
Today at a meeting in Cranhill it was confirmed that the first asylum seeker families are to be moved out of Glasgow City Council accommodation starting as early as Monday next week.
One family has been told they will be moving on Monday. At least two other families have been told they'll also be leaving accommodation provided by the council next week.
On Saturday last week, the 900 plus asylum seeker families who are currently accommodated in housing organised by Glasgow City Council received letters stating that the housing contract from the UK Border Agency to house them had been terminated.
Staff at the Glasgow Asylum Seeker Support Project were told at 3pm on Friday afternoon after their acting head had received the news in an email. The move has taken everyone involved in supporting asylum seekers in Glasgow completely by surprise and came as a shock to many.
It is still not known where families are going to be moved to and the confusion is spreading anxiety and alarm through the asylum seeker community in Glasgow. Earlier today the UKBA press office was suggesting that, in the short term at least, the other current accommodation providers in Glasgow, the YMCA charity and the notorious Angel Group, would take on the contract.
The letters sent out to the tenants however suggest that they could be relocated to anywhere in Scotland.
Now facing significant disruption to their housing - and potentially facing being moved away from established friends and supporters as well as from services such as GPs and social workers - asylum seekers in Glasgow are extremely alarmed and concerned about this sudden news.
Many are concerned about how their children could be affected if they are moved out of established schools.
Many are also worried that they may have to move away from friends and supportive neighbours and community groups, breaking the strong ties that have developed over months and years in communities across the city.
Other concerns have also been raised about the ability of the YMCA and the Angel Group to provide adequate accommodation at such short notice.
Since taking over part of the housing contract in 2006, both the Angel Group and the YMCA, have received criticism over how they have provided accommodation to asylum seekers. The Angel Group, in particular, have had many accusations of providing inadequate housing and its staff giving poor service, made against it.
UNITY is calling for a protest outside of Glasgow City Chambers of everyone concerned about the sudden ending of the housing contract and against the disruption to our communities and its impact on the lives of our friends and neighbours.
Come to Glasgow City Chambers at 10.30 Monday 15th November to show your opposition to these developments and to call on the UKBA and Glasgow City Council to resolve any difficulties.
This is all a thinly-disguised form of racist pandering will have a minuscule effect on housing waiting lists but will have a significant impact on refugee families across Britain. We should all oppose it.
Correction: It was the UKBA that cancelled the contract and NOT Glasgow City Council.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keep the Contract with Glasgow City Council!
Join the Protest:
Monday 15 November
10.30am
Outside Glasgow City Chambers,
George Square
Today at a meeting in Cranhill it was confirmed that the first asylum seeker families are to be moved out of Glasgow City Council accommodation starting as early as Monday next week.
One family has been told they will be moving on Monday. At least two other families have been told they'll also be leaving accommodation provided by the council next week.
On Saturday last week, the 900 plus asylum seeker families who are currently accommodated in housing organised by Glasgow City Council received letters stating that the housing contract from the UK Border Agency to house them had been terminated.
Staff at the Glasgow Asylum Seeker Support Project were told at 3pm on Friday afternoon after their acting head had received the news in an email. The move has taken everyone involved in supporting asylum seekers in Glasgow completely by surprise and came as a shock to many.
It is still not known where families are going to be moved to and the confusion is spreading anxiety and alarm through the asylum seeker community in Glasgow. Earlier today the UKBA press office was suggesting that, in the short term at least, the other current accommodation providers in Glasgow, the YMCA charity and the notorious Angel Group, would take on the contract.
The letters sent out to the tenants however suggest that they could be relocated to anywhere in Scotland.
Now facing significant disruption to their housing - and potentially facing being moved away from established friends and supporters as well as from services such as GPs and social workers - asylum seekers in Glasgow are extremely alarmed and concerned about this sudden news.
Many are concerned about how their children could be affected if they are moved out of established schools.
Many are also worried that they may have to move away from friends and supportive neighbours and community groups, breaking the strong ties that have developed over months and years in communities across the city.
Other concerns have also been raised about the ability of the YMCA and the Angel Group to provide adequate accommodation at such short notice.
Since taking over part of the housing contract in 2006, both the Angel Group and the YMCA, have received criticism over how they have provided accommodation to asylum seekers. The Angel Group, in particular, have had many accusations of providing inadequate housing and its staff giving poor service, made against it.
UNITY is calling for a protest outside of Glasgow City Chambers of everyone concerned about the sudden ending of the housing contract and against the disruption to our communities and its impact on the lives of our friends and neighbours.
Come to Glasgow City Chambers at 10.30 Monday 15th November to show your opposition to these developments and to call on the UKBA and Glasgow City Council to resolve any difficulties.
Demonstration For Jimmy Mubenga Tomorrow
*PRESS RELEASE*
This Friday, 12 November 2010, exactly one month after Jimmy Mubenga's death, the Mubenga family will march from the Angolan Embassy to the Home Office in central London. They will be joined by members of the Angolan community and a range of campaigners, as well as many other people who simply want to express their solidarity.
The family will hand in a letter to the Home Secretary calling for an inquiry in to the use of force in the deportation process. A letter will also be given to the Angolan Embassy calling on the Angolan authorities to lend their support to help ensure that we learn the full truth about how Jimmy died.
On arriving at the Home Office there will be several speeches, including:
* Mubenga family member
* Adalberto Miranda (Union of Angolans in the UK)
* Deborah Coles (Inquest)
* Emma Ginn (Medical Justice)
* Jeremy Corbyn MP
*Notes to editors*
1. Jimmy Mubenga, an Angolan man, died during an attempted deportation after being restrained by guards from the private security firm G4S on 12 October 2010 at Heathrow airport.
2. The family of Jimmy Mubenga will be attending the march but *will not* be giving any interviews.
3. Copies of the letter to the Home Office will be available on the day.
4. The demonstration is expected to arrive at the Home Office by 12.15-12.30.
5. A flyer is attached and a map of the route can be seen at: http://tinyurl.com/376mwep
6. For further information please call 07570 218 736 or 07972 850 143.
This Friday, 12 November 2010, exactly one month after Jimmy Mubenga's death, the Mubenga family will march from the Angolan Embassy to the Home Office in central London. They will be joined by members of the Angolan community and a range of campaigners, as well as many other people who simply want to express their solidarity.
The family will hand in a letter to the Home Secretary calling for an inquiry in to the use of force in the deportation process. A letter will also be given to the Angolan Embassy calling on the Angolan authorities to lend their support to help ensure that we learn the full truth about how Jimmy died.
On arriving at the Home Office there will be several speeches, including:
* Mubenga family member
* Adalberto Miranda (Union of Angolans in the UK)
* Deborah Coles (Inquest)
* Emma Ginn (Medical Justice)
* Jeremy Corbyn MP
*Notes to editors*
1. Jimmy Mubenga, an Angolan man, died during an attempted deportation after being restrained by guards from the private security firm G4S on 12 October 2010 at Heathrow airport.
2. The family of Jimmy Mubenga will be attending the march but *will not* be giving any interviews.
3. Copies of the letter to the Home Office will be available on the day.
4. The demonstration is expected to arrive at the Home Office by 12.15-12.30.
5. A flyer is attached and a map of the route can be seen at: http://tinyurl.com/376mwep
6. For further information please call 07570 218 736 or 07972 850 143.
Friday, 5 November 2010
Phil Woolas...
[A Quick Gloat]
...found guilt of being a lying mendacious racially-motivated scumbag*, stripped of his Oldham East and Saddleworth parliamentary seat, barred from the Commons for three years and suspended from the Labour Party to boot for his election campaign antics. Don't say we didn't warn you.
And to think that Miliband reappointed him as shadow immigration minister!
* Well, not quiet, but you know what we mean.
...found guilt of being a lying mendacious racially-motivated scumbag*, stripped of his Oldham East and Saddleworth parliamentary seat, barred from the Commons for three years and suspended from the Labour Party to boot for his election campaign antics. Don't say we didn't warn you.
And to think that Miliband reappointed him as shadow immigration minister!
* Well, not quiet, but you know what we mean.
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Surprise, Surprise...
... the Coalition's immigration cap will, as anyone with even a passing knowledge of immigration politics knows, will do absolutely nothing to return the rate of in migration to the UK to the halcyon days of Thatcher, or at least that's what the Home Affairs committee is currently saying. Yes, even their modest desire to return to 1990 levels, whilst seeking in most other areas to take the country back to Victorian era values and standards, is doomed to fail.
It always was a 'pie in the sky' idea* and as the committee point out the only way it would be achievable would be for Britain to withdrawn from the EC, close down most of the universities in the country (it is only the revenue from foreign students that keeps most of them afloat), risk social unrest by ending the right of those already granted leave to remain in the UK to bring members of their family (spouses and children) to the country. Better think again about the defence review and start stationing those gunboats of the Channel coast Dave™.
* Still it quietened the frontline party troops during the election campaign.
It always was a 'pie in the sky' idea* and as the committee point out the only way it would be achievable would be for Britain to withdrawn from the EC, close down most of the universities in the country (it is only the revenue from foreign students that keeps most of them afloat), risk social unrest by ending the right of those already granted leave to remain in the UK to bring members of their family (spouses and children) to the country. Better think again about the defence review and start stationing those gunboats of the Channel coast Dave™.
* Still it quietened the frontline party troops during the election campaign.
Thursday, 28 October 2010
MigrationBotch - Can't Keep A Bad Statistician Down
(More's the pity.)
Five Chinese Crackers has a highly recommended new post about the idiot(s) at MigrationBotch - 'MigrationWatch - a bit crap aren't they? But are they getting worse?'
A bit crap? Kind of pulling your punches there aren't you?
Five Chinese Crackers has a highly recommended new post about the idiot(s) at MigrationBotch - 'MigrationWatch - a bit crap aren't they? But are they getting worse?'
A bit crap? Kind of pulling your punches there aren't you?
Demonstration In Memory Of Jimmy Mubenga RIP
Who died while in the hands of G4S private security guards.
Friday 12 November 2010
Assemble 10:30am @ the Angolan Embassy in London (22 Dorset Street, London, W1U 6QY). Nearest tube stations: Baker Street/ Marylebone.
March to the Home Office (2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF)
On 12 October 2010, Jimmy Mubenga an Angolan man died during a forced deportation from the UK. The Guardian reported that Jimmy was handcuffed and restrained by three private security guards on a British Airways flight from Heathrow. Shortly before he died, Jimmy was heard by other passengers crying out for help.
There have been fourteen deaths (twelve men and two women) since 1991 during forced deportations. The official cause of death in most cases was positional asphyxia or cardiac arrest. Of the fourteen that died, ten were Africans (of which six were Nigerians).
The full list of deaths:
* 2010 Jimmy Mubenga (Angolan - UK)
* 2010 Joseph Ndukadu Chiakwa (Nigerian - Switzerland)
* 2007 Osamuyi Aikpitanhi (Nigerian - Spain)
* 2003 Mariame Getu Hagos (Somali - France)
* 2002 Ricardo Barrientos (Argentinian - France
* 2001 Samson Chukwu (Nigerian - Switzerland)
* 2000 Christian Ecole Ebune (Cameroonian - Hungary)
* 1999 Aamir Mohamed Ageeb Sudanese - Germany)
* 1999 Marcus Omofuma (Nigerian - Austria)
* 1999 Khaled Abuzarifeh (Palestinian - Switzerland)
* 1998 Semira Adamu (Nigerian - Belgium
* 1994 Kola Bankole (Nigerian - Germany)
* 1993 Joy Gardner (Jamaican - UK)
* 1991 Arumugam Kanapathipillai (Tamil, Sri Lanka - France)
Manuel Bravo was a 35-year-old Angolan asylum seeker who took his own life in Yarl's Wood removal centre in Bedford the day he and his 13- year-old son were due to be deported to Angola in September 2005. Leaving a note saying: 'I kill myself because I don't have a life to live any more. I want my son Antonio to stay in the UK to continue his studies.'
Campaigning organisations:
No Borders
Corporate Watch
Inquest
Free Movement
London No Borders
Medical Justice
National Coalition of Anti Deportation Campaigns
Union of Angolans in UK (UAUK)
Friday 12 November 2010
Assemble 10:30am @ the Angolan Embassy in London (22 Dorset Street, London, W1U 6QY). Nearest tube stations: Baker Street/ Marylebone.
March to the Home Office (2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF)
On 12 October 2010, Jimmy Mubenga an Angolan man died during a forced deportation from the UK. The Guardian reported that Jimmy was handcuffed and restrained by three private security guards on a British Airways flight from Heathrow. Shortly before he died, Jimmy was heard by other passengers crying out for help.
There have been fourteen deaths (twelve men and two women) since 1991 during forced deportations. The official cause of death in most cases was positional asphyxia or cardiac arrest. Of the fourteen that died, ten were Africans (of which six were Nigerians).
The full list of deaths:
* 2010 Jimmy Mubenga (Angolan - UK)
* 2010 Joseph Ndukadu Chiakwa (Nigerian - Switzerland)
* 2007 Osamuyi Aikpitanhi (Nigerian - Spain)
* 2003 Mariame Getu Hagos (Somali - France)
* 2002 Ricardo Barrientos (Argentinian - France
* 2001 Samson Chukwu (Nigerian - Switzerland)
* 2000 Christian Ecole Ebune (Cameroonian - Hungary)
* 1999 Aamir Mohamed Ageeb Sudanese - Germany)
* 1999 Marcus Omofuma (Nigerian - Austria)
* 1999 Khaled Abuzarifeh (Palestinian - Switzerland)
* 1998 Semira Adamu (Nigerian - Belgium
* 1994 Kola Bankole (Nigerian - Germany)
* 1993 Joy Gardner (Jamaican - UK)
* 1991 Arumugam Kanapathipillai (Tamil, Sri Lanka - France)
Manuel Bravo was a 35-year-old Angolan asylum seeker who took his own life in Yarl's Wood removal centre in Bedford the day he and his 13- year-old son were due to be deported to Angola in September 2005. Leaving a note saying: 'I kill myself because I don't have a life to live any more. I want my son Antonio to stay in the UK to continue his studies.'
Campaigning organisations:
No Borders
Corporate Watch
Inquest
Free Movement
London No Borders
Medical Justice
National Coalition of Anti Deportation Campaigns
Union of Angolans in UK (UAUK)
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