London NoBorders has launched a campaign against hotel company Arora International which, in form of their subsidiary Arora Management Services Ltd., has started a second attempt to make money from the Home Office's deportation business. The company plans to use the site of a residential school for children with behavioural and learning difficulties in Pease Pottage, Crawley, Sussex, owned by the Arora Group subsidiary The Crossroads Childrens (sic) Education Services Ltd., to open an immigration detention facility. It is the second attempt by Arora Hotels to extend their business into detention following the company's failure to gain planning permission to turn one of their hotels in Crawley into a holding facility for migrants in 2010. Crawley Forest School has been told to vacate the property by 1 April 2011.
First Contact
On 25th January planning consultant CGMS sent out a letter informing local residents about the Arora Hotel plans, which they and the Home Office intend to push through the planning process within weeks, having the detention facility ready by mid-May. The letter also makes no secret that the facility is planned to replace the use of Yarl's Wood and nearby Tinsley House detention facilities for the explicit use of holding families and children, and that this necessitates the proposed urgency. Not only is the UKBA extending their detention capacity, but the government is also breaking their pledge to end the detention of children.
Arora try to legitimise their rush by starting some kind of "community process", but silently hoping that the process would go through unnoticed. In this they have failed.
CGMS ends their letter saying that they "would welcome any comments you may have on the proposal and [they] would be happy to answer any queries."
So they want your feedback, and we think they should get it.
What to do?
We are asking people to do exactly what they ask for: contact CGMS and Arora Hotels and let them know your opinion about the planned detention centre for families. To make it easier for them to deal with incoming queries and to bundle the feedback nicely, we propose that you contact them between Monday 7 February 10am and Tuesday 8 February 5pm.
Stay polite, stay firm!
Spread the word!
Arora/CGMS wanted to push this through without being noticed. Help us to spread the word, ask your friends to join #Operation_FirstContact.
Who to contact?
Conveniently, we have collected a list of public contacts of both Arora Hotels and CGMS here:
CGMS
London:
Tel: 020 7583 6767
london@cgms.co.uk
Birmingham:
Tel: 0121 616 4850
birmingham@cgms.co.uk
More contacts at:
http://www.cgms.co.uk/page/Contact_9/1.html
Arora
Head Office:
Marketing
Marketing@arorahotels.com
Press and Media
PublicRelations@arorahotels.com
Head Office enquiries
HeadOffice@arorahotels.com
Public Inquieries:
+44 (0)20 8757 7770
PublicRelations@arorahotels.com
+44 (0)1293 530 000
Gatwick@arorahotels.com
+44 (0)20 8759 7777
Heathrow@arorahotels.com
+44 (0)161 236 8999
Manchester@arorahotels.com
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Friday, 4 February 2011
Britons: More Racist/Xenophobic/Bigoted/Paranoid/Ignorant* Than Anyone Else?
* delete as applicable
The latest Transatlantic Trends on Immigration report shows that Britons are easily the most fearful and ignorant of migration trends than any other country surveyed. Where the country comes out top of the survey: 65% see immigration as more of a problem than an opportunity; 59% said there were "too many immigrants" [the European average for this figure is 12%]; had the most negative views on migrants in the job market (taking jobs away from 'natives' and bringing down wages of citizens); access to health care, state schooling and social housing should be for citizens only; and 48% thought that immigration negatively affects 'British culture'. The UK also has the lowest approval for a country's government's handling of immigration matters.
The only positive thing that we could find in all the data was that at least we weren't as obviously xenophobic as the Italians, Germans, Dutch and French in ascribing increases in crime to immigrants.
In an odd footnote to the media coverage of this was the BBC's on-line content where it claims, after discussing attitudes to access to health and schools and migrants taking jobs from natives, was this: "However, nearly three quarters thought the government should allow more foreign doctors and nurses into the UK and just over half wanted more foreign care workers for the elderly." We can find this nowhere in the report, nor were there any listings of questions involving the migration of health care workers in the Methodology.
Odd! Maybe they just made it up? If it is true however, it just goes to show that the old Empire spirit is still alive: foreigners - make good servants but you wouldn't want one moving in next door to you or marrying your daughter; and maybe this is the reason the Brits are so more racist/xenophobic/bigoted/paranoid/ignorant* than everyone else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This news comes on the day that another report, 'Coping with Destitution: Survival and livelihood strategies of refused asylum seekers living in the UK', part-funded by Oxfam and conducted by the Centre for Migration Policy Research, is published in the UK detailing the appalling conditions of destitution that refused asylum seekers have to in this country. Many face a hand-to-mouth existence, sleeping rough or stuck in an endless rut of sofa-surfing or sleeping on friends' floors. Many suffer from ill-health because of the lack of accommodation, because of a poor diet and a lack of access to healthcare. Most are in constant fear of forced return or, due to their vulnerability, of being attacked on the street or being exploited and abused. Many are emotionally and psychologically scarred already and their situations are making them much worse.
The latest Transatlantic Trends on Immigration report shows that Britons are easily the most fearful and ignorant of migration trends than any other country surveyed. Where the country comes out top of the survey: 65% see immigration as more of a problem than an opportunity; 59% said there were "too many immigrants" [the European average for this figure is 12%]; had the most negative views on migrants in the job market (taking jobs away from 'natives' and bringing down wages of citizens); access to health care, state schooling and social housing should be for citizens only; and 48% thought that immigration negatively affects 'British culture'. The UK also has the lowest approval for a country's government's handling of immigration matters.
The only positive thing that we could find in all the data was that at least we weren't as obviously xenophobic as the Italians, Germans, Dutch and French in ascribing increases in crime to immigrants.
In an odd footnote to the media coverage of this was the BBC's on-line content where it claims, after discussing attitudes to access to health and schools and migrants taking jobs from natives, was this: "However, nearly three quarters thought the government should allow more foreign doctors and nurses into the UK and just over half wanted more foreign care workers for the elderly." We can find this nowhere in the report, nor were there any listings of questions involving the migration of health care workers in the Methodology.
Odd! Maybe they just made it up? If it is true however, it just goes to show that the old Empire spirit is still alive: foreigners - make good servants but you wouldn't want one moving in next door to you or marrying your daughter; and maybe this is the reason the Brits are so more racist/xenophobic/bigoted/paranoid/ignorant* than everyone else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This news comes on the day that another report, 'Coping with Destitution: Survival and livelihood strategies of refused asylum seekers living in the UK', part-funded by Oxfam and conducted by the Centre for Migration Policy Research, is published in the UK detailing the appalling conditions of destitution that refused asylum seekers have to in this country. Many face a hand-to-mouth existence, sleeping rough or stuck in an endless rut of sofa-surfing or sleeping on friends' floors. Many suffer from ill-health because of the lack of accommodation, because of a poor diet and a lack of access to healthcare. Most are in constant fear of forced return or, due to their vulnerability, of being attacked on the street or being exploited and abused. Many are emotionally and psychologically scarred already and their situations are making them much worse.
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Dodgy Dealing Over Pease Pottage?
Pease pottage hot, pease pottage cold,
Pease pottage in the pot, nine days old;
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, nine days old.
[Old English nursery rhyme and children's singing game.]
It is beginning to look more and more as if our initial opinion about the Crawley Forest School plan, namely that the agreement between detention business wannabes Arora Hotels Ltd. and the Home Office to convert the school into a Pre-Departure Accommodation facility' i.e. a 'fluffy' detention centre to appease woolly Lib Dem members of the Condemnation, is in fact a dodgy behind-closed-doors stitch-up between the two organisations.
At a regular UK Border Agency 'stakeholder' meeting last week, when the plans were revealed to those attending [1], it became clear that there would be no open public procurement tendering process for the facility as is required under EU and UK legislation. In response to a question from one of those attending as to why the Agency was ignoring the law the response was "because there is not time"!
This of course signals a potential spanner that might just fall into the Arora/UKBA works, leaving them open to a legal challenge on the issue and it certainly warrants a parliamentary question being asked by some interested MP about the Home Office's apparently mendacious behaviour.
[1] Though interestingly not in the latest [January 2011] issue of the Border Agency News.
Pease pottage in the pot, nine days old;
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, nine days old.
[Old English nursery rhyme and children's singing game.]
It is beginning to look more and more as if our initial opinion about the Crawley Forest School plan, namely that the agreement between detention business wannabes Arora Hotels Ltd. and the Home Office to convert the school into a Pre-Departure Accommodation facility' i.e. a 'fluffy' detention centre to appease woolly Lib Dem members of the Condemnation, is in fact a dodgy behind-closed-doors stitch-up between the two organisations.
At a regular UK Border Agency 'stakeholder' meeting last week, when the plans were revealed to those attending [1], it became clear that there would be no open public procurement tendering process for the facility as is required under EU and UK legislation. In response to a question from one of those attending as to why the Agency was ignoring the law the response was "because there is not time"!
This of course signals a potential spanner that might just fall into the Arora/UKBA works, leaving them open to a legal challenge on the issue and it certainly warrants a parliamentary question being asked by some interested MP about the Home Office's apparently mendacious behaviour.
[1] Though interestingly not in the latest [January 2011] issue of the Border Agency News.
Monday, 31 January 2011
New Crawley Immigration Detention Facility
It looks like those nice people at Arora Hotels, not having learnt their lesson from the Mercure Hotel farce, still have the hots for getting in to the business of locking children up. Yes, they are in the process of submitting plans to turn Crawley Forest School, a residential school for children with behavioural & learning difficulties, into one of the new so-called 'Pre-Departure Accommodation facilities' that have been cobbled together as a sop to their Lib Dem Coalition partners as part of the lie of ending "child detention for immigration purposes".
Having put forward a speculative planning application in 2009 to turn what was a less than profitable Crawley hotel (the Mercure) into a much more lucrative secure detention centre (i.e. prison, or even more accurately, internment camp) to hold refugee children and families, despite the Home Office and UK Borders Agency not being in the loop, it seems that their efforts have put them on the map for future Home Office plans. So, as the Home Office rushes to find premises for these detention centre-lite facilities and save face on Nick Clegg's behalf, Arora appear to have seen yet another opportunity to join the big table of Prison Industrial Complex companies by fobbing off another of their failed enterprises, namely the Crawley Forest School [1], onto the Borders Agency and finally make a killing in the detention centre game.
At least Arora are claiming that the Crawley Forest School is a failed enterprise as there are currently only 8 residential pupils despite the school being opened to house 35 residential pupils (and 35 day pupils) [see the circular]. The school itself apparently disputes this assertion, claiming that it was only ever equipped to accommodate 12-18 pupils. Clearly someone is being more than economic with the truth. The school (which, up until being contacted by local objectors, was total unaware of the plans for the detention facility) has also been given a rather precipitous deadline of 1 April this year to pack its bags and leave, in order to all time to convert the buildings into this 'Pre-Departure Accommodation facility' by the Coalition's self-imposed deadline of 11 May. [2]
Another 'less than correct statement' apparently contained in the circular is that "[t]he children will be relocated to alternative school accommodation for the start of the Summer term". According to the school again the residential pupils are in fact merely being returned to the care of their local councils and families rather than being found alternative accommodation by The Crossroads Childrens Education Services Ltd., as the circular clearly implies. It seems that you can't trust anyone when a quick buck is to be made from imprisoning children, especially where the Arora Group and its minions are concerned.
No Borders Brighton says: No To 'Pre-Departure Accommodation' facilities and No To Child Detention in any form. Not in Pease Pottage or in Anyone's Back Yard!
[1] Run by The Crossroads Group [registered company name: The Crossroads Childrens Education Services Ltd. and not to be confused with the US hedge fund!], a wholly owned subsidiary of the Arora Group, it occupies the old BAA training centre in Pease Pottage at the southern end of the M23.
[2] The date they promised to end the detention of children by - yet how this can be equated with the ending of the detention of children completely escapes the author. Admittedly some children will be "permitted to leave the facility for short period such as to visit the shops or cinema, subject to a risk assessment and suitable adult supervision to ensure their safe-guarding and welfare are protected", but their parent's will still be held 'hostage' as guarantee against their safe return.
Having put forward a speculative planning application in 2009 to turn what was a less than profitable Crawley hotel (the Mercure) into a much more lucrative secure detention centre (i.e. prison, or even more accurately, internment camp) to hold refugee children and families, despite the Home Office and UK Borders Agency not being in the loop, it seems that their efforts have put them on the map for future Home Office plans. So, as the Home Office rushes to find premises for these detention centre-lite facilities and save face on Nick Clegg's behalf, Arora appear to have seen yet another opportunity to join the big table of Prison Industrial Complex companies by fobbing off another of their failed enterprises, namely the Crawley Forest School [1], onto the Borders Agency and finally make a killing in the detention centre game.
At least Arora are claiming that the Crawley Forest School is a failed enterprise as there are currently only 8 residential pupils despite the school being opened to house 35 residential pupils (and 35 day pupils) [see the circular]. The school itself apparently disputes this assertion, claiming that it was only ever equipped to accommodate 12-18 pupils. Clearly someone is being more than economic with the truth. The school (which, up until being contacted by local objectors, was total unaware of the plans for the detention facility) has also been given a rather precipitous deadline of 1 April this year to pack its bags and leave, in order to all time to convert the buildings into this 'Pre-Departure Accommodation facility' by the Coalition's self-imposed deadline of 11 May. [2]
Another 'less than correct statement' apparently contained in the circular is that "[t]he children will be relocated to alternative school accommodation for the start of the Summer term". According to the school again the residential pupils are in fact merely being returned to the care of their local councils and families rather than being found alternative accommodation by The Crossroads Childrens Education Services Ltd., as the circular clearly implies. It seems that you can't trust anyone when a quick buck is to be made from imprisoning children, especially where the Arora Group and its minions are concerned.
No Borders Brighton says: No To 'Pre-Departure Accommodation' facilities and No To Child Detention in any form. Not in Pease Pottage or in Anyone's Back Yard!
[1] Run by The Crossroads Group [registered company name: The Crossroads Childrens Education Services Ltd. and not to be confused with the US hedge fund!], a wholly owned subsidiary of the Arora Group, it occupies the old BAA training centre in Pease Pottage at the southern end of the M23.
[2] The date they promised to end the detention of children by - yet how this can be equated with the ending of the detention of children completely escapes the author. Admittedly some children will be "permitted to leave the facility for short period such as to visit the shops or cinema, subject to a risk assessment and suitable adult supervision to ensure their safe-guarding and welfare are protected", but their parent's will still be held 'hostage' as guarantee against their safe return.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Denise McNeil Freed On Bail
Denise McNeil was released from Holloway prison on Tuesday evening. She said, "After 28 months, 1 week and 5 days I am finally reunited with my family and supporters. We're going to keep campaigning for Sheree and Aminata and all the people in Yarl's Wood until it's closed."
In February 2010, refugees and migrants held at the Yarl's Wood immigration prison organised a hunger strike, demanding an end to indefinite imprisonment and abuse. Their courageous protest lasted five weeks, despite violent attacks by Serco's private security guards, who manage the detention centre. Their action was "for everyone in detention."
Over 70 women of colour participated in the hunger strike which forced the authorities to release many of them. In retribution, several people involved in the hunger strike were singled out and moved to prisons. The effect of this is also to intimidate other detainees from speaking out about their experience of the immigration system. After Denise was released two women targeted in this way are still behind bars: Sheree Wilson and Aminata Camara. They are being held without charge and a court order. They have been away from their families, friends and communities for far too long. Supporters say that the campaign to free them would continue.
'We are delighted that Denise has been released from prison today' one of her supporters said. "We will continue to fight for Sheree and Aminata to be granted bail and for Denise to stay in Britain with her children. When they try to silence people by putting them in prison we will fight back."
Supporters packed the court today to show solidarity with Denise. A letter from Denise's youngest son was also given to the Judge. Denise said 'Tre's letter touched the heart of the Judge'. Several groups were represented including No One is Illegal, No Borders, Crossroads Women's Centre, Communities of Resistance, Stop Deportation Network and members of the RMT.
Sheree Wilson will have a bail hearing on Tuesday 1st February.Your support is very welcome. If you would like to come to the court to show support for her or to get involved in the campaign contact: freedenisenow@gmail.com.
More information on Free Denise McNeil: http://www.ncadc.org.uk/campaigns/DeniseMcNeil.html
Read the recent article in the Observer: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/16/denise-mcneil-yarls-wood
Stay in touch with the campaign: freedenisenow@gmail.com
Join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Denise-Now/174533002581566
In February 2010, refugees and migrants held at the Yarl's Wood immigration prison organised a hunger strike, demanding an end to indefinite imprisonment and abuse. Their courageous protest lasted five weeks, despite violent attacks by Serco's private security guards, who manage the detention centre. Their action was "for everyone in detention."
Over 70 women of colour participated in the hunger strike which forced the authorities to release many of them. In retribution, several people involved in the hunger strike were singled out and moved to prisons. The effect of this is also to intimidate other detainees from speaking out about their experience of the immigration system. After Denise was released two women targeted in this way are still behind bars: Sheree Wilson and Aminata Camara. They are being held without charge and a court order. They have been away from their families, friends and communities for far too long. Supporters say that the campaign to free them would continue.
'We are delighted that Denise has been released from prison today' one of her supporters said. "We will continue to fight for Sheree and Aminata to be granted bail and for Denise to stay in Britain with her children. When they try to silence people by putting them in prison we will fight back."
Supporters packed the court today to show solidarity with Denise. A letter from Denise's youngest son was also given to the Judge. Denise said 'Tre's letter touched the heart of the Judge'. Several groups were represented including No One is Illegal, No Borders, Crossroads Women's Centre, Communities of Resistance, Stop Deportation Network and members of the RMT.
Sheree Wilson will have a bail hearing on Tuesday 1st February.Your support is very welcome. If you would like to come to the court to show support for her or to get involved in the campaign contact: freedenisenow@gmail.com.
More information on Free Denise McNeil: http://www.ncadc.org.uk/campaigns/DeniseMcNeil.html
Read the recent article in the Observer: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/16/denise-mcneil-yarls-wood
Stay in touch with the campaign: freedenisenow@gmail.com
Join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Denise-Now/174533002581566
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Countrywide Hunger Strike In Greece
A hunger strike by 300 migrants across Greece begins today. It is the latest in a long line of hunger strikes by refugees denied asylum by a regime that currently only approves 0.6% of all applications it receives, that has been regularly criticised by the UN and the rest of the EU for the appalling conditions in its detention centres and its general abuse of foreigners and that now seeks to join the ever-growing list of states that think that building a wall to keep 'them' out is a reasonable solution to a 'problem' that steadfastly refuses to go away. The European Court of Human Rights has also recently criticised Greece (along side Belgium) for its mistreatment of Afghan asylum seekers and 6 EU countries (UK, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Finland and Denmark) have suspended Dublin II returns of refugees to the country until Greece can guarantee asylum seekers' their human rights and due process in asylum cases.
Hunger Strikers' Statement:
Jan. 25, 2011 Contra Info
We are immigrants and refugees from across Greece. We came here persecuted by poverty, unemployment, wars, and dictatorships. Western multinational companies and their political servants in our countries, left us with no choice but to risk our lives ten times to get to the door of Europe. The West which robs us of our home places to achieve far better standards of living, is our only hope to live like humans. We entered Greece (normally or in other ways) where we work to feed ourselves and our children. We remain at the indignity and the darkness of lawlessness, for the benefit of employers and the State’s agencies by the wild exploitation of our work. We live by our sweat and with the dream to have equal rights with our Greek colleagues, at some point.
Lately, things have become very difficult for us. Wages and pensions are reduced; everything becomes more and more expensive; so the immigrants are presented as if they were the culprits, as they are to blame for the misery and wild exploitation of the Greek workers and minor entrepreneurs. The propaganda of fascist and racist parties and organizations has become the State’s official talk about the immigration issue. Their phraseology is being reproduced unaltered by the mass media when they refer to us. Their ‘proposals’ are enshrined as governmental policies: wall at Evros, navigable army camps and European military forces in the Aegean Sea, crackdowns and assault squads in cities, mass deportations. They try to convince the Greek working-class people that we suddenly constitute a threat against them, that we are to blame for the unprecedented attack they endure by their own governments.
The lies and brutality must be answered immediately; we immigrants and refugees will give this answer. We move forward with our lives now to stop the injustice against us. We demand the legalization of all immigrants, equal political and social rights and obligations like the Greek employees. We ask our Greek fellow workers, everyone who suffers from the exploitation of their efforts, to stand beside us; to support our struggle, so that lies and injustice, fascism and totalitarianism of political and economic elites do not prevail in their home place as well. All these have prevailed in our own countries, and forced us to migrate to be able to live with dignity, we and our children.
We have no other way to make our voice heard, our rights to be spread. Three hundred (300) of us begin nationwide hunger strike in Athens and Thessaloniki on 25 January 2011. We put ourselves at risk, because this is no decent life. We prefer to die here, rather than our children to live what we suffered.
Assembly of immigrant hunger strikers in Greece
January 2011
Hunger Strikers' Statement:
Jan. 25, 2011 Contra Info
We are immigrants and refugees from across Greece. We came here persecuted by poverty, unemployment, wars, and dictatorships. Western multinational companies and their political servants in our countries, left us with no choice but to risk our lives ten times to get to the door of Europe. The West which robs us of our home places to achieve far better standards of living, is our only hope to live like humans. We entered Greece (normally or in other ways) where we work to feed ourselves and our children. We remain at the indignity and the darkness of lawlessness, for the benefit of employers and the State’s agencies by the wild exploitation of our work. We live by our sweat and with the dream to have equal rights with our Greek colleagues, at some point.
Lately, things have become very difficult for us. Wages and pensions are reduced; everything becomes more and more expensive; so the immigrants are presented as if they were the culprits, as they are to blame for the misery and wild exploitation of the Greek workers and minor entrepreneurs. The propaganda of fascist and racist parties and organizations has become the State’s official talk about the immigration issue. Their phraseology is being reproduced unaltered by the mass media when they refer to us. Their ‘proposals’ are enshrined as governmental policies: wall at Evros, navigable army camps and European military forces in the Aegean Sea, crackdowns and assault squads in cities, mass deportations. They try to convince the Greek working-class people that we suddenly constitute a threat against them, that we are to blame for the unprecedented attack they endure by their own governments.
The lies and brutality must be answered immediately; we immigrants and refugees will give this answer. We move forward with our lives now to stop the injustice against us. We demand the legalization of all immigrants, equal political and social rights and obligations like the Greek employees. We ask our Greek fellow workers, everyone who suffers from the exploitation of their efforts, to stand beside us; to support our struggle, so that lies and injustice, fascism and totalitarianism of political and economic elites do not prevail in their home place as well. All these have prevailed in our own countries, and forced us to migrate to be able to live with dignity, we and our children.
We have no other way to make our voice heard, our rights to be spread. Three hundred (300) of us begin nationwide hunger strike in Athens and Thessaloniki on 25 January 2011. We put ourselves at risk, because this is no decent life. We prefer to die here, rather than our children to live what we suffered.
Assembly of immigrant hunger strikers in Greece
January 2011
Friday, 21 January 2011
Free The Yarl's Wood 3!
*Campaign planning meeting, 6pm-7.30pm, Friday 28 January*
Fin Future, 225-229 Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park, London, N4 2DA (2 minutes from Finsbury Park tube station - come out main entrance, go past Arsenal shop, turn right down Seven Sisters Rd, go under railway bridge and Fin Future is on your right with big windows and yellow/green window frames or come out Seven Sisters Rd exit, and it's just on your right)
In February 2010, women at Yarl's Wood immigration prison went on hunger strike to demand an end to indefinite and abusive imprisonment. The women experienced violent attacks and abusive treatment in an attempt to end their protest. Six women were accused of being ring-leaders and moved into isolation and prisons. Nearly a year later, three women remain in prison without charge: Aminata Camara, Denise McNeil and Sheree Wilson.
Come along to this meeting to plan how to take the campaign for their release forward. Hear messages from the women and plan how to respond to their requests for solidarity.
The venue is wheelchair accessible. Please let us know [freedenisenow@gmail.com] if you need childcare for the meeting, and we'll arrange a creche.
More information on Free Denise McNeil:
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/campaigns/DeniseMcNeil.html
Read the recent article in the Observer:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/16/denise-mcneil-yarls-wood
Stay in touch with the campaign: freedenisenow@gmail.com
Join the Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Denise-Now/174533002581566
Fin Future, 225-229 Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park, London, N4 2DA (2 minutes from Finsbury Park tube station - come out main entrance, go past Arsenal shop, turn right down Seven Sisters Rd, go under railway bridge and Fin Future is on your right with big windows and yellow/green window frames or come out Seven Sisters Rd exit, and it's just on your right)
In February 2010, women at Yarl's Wood immigration prison went on hunger strike to demand an end to indefinite and abusive imprisonment. The women experienced violent attacks and abusive treatment in an attempt to end their protest. Six women were accused of being ring-leaders and moved into isolation and prisons. Nearly a year later, three women remain in prison without charge: Aminata Camara, Denise McNeil and Sheree Wilson.
Come along to this meeting to plan how to take the campaign for their release forward. Hear messages from the women and plan how to respond to their requests for solidarity.
The venue is wheelchair accessible. Please let us know [freedenisenow@gmail.com] if you need childcare for the meeting, and we'll arrange a creche.
More information on Free Denise McNeil:
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/campaigns/DeniseMcNeil.html
Read the recent article in the Observer:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/16/denise-mcneil-yarls-wood
Stay in touch with the campaign: freedenisenow@gmail.com
Join the Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Denise-Now/174533002581566
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