Benefit gig on 16th October

July 22, 2010 in Benefit Gigs | Tags: , , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

On Saturday 16th October we’ll be having a benefit gig at Six Feet Under nightclub in Newport, tickets will soon be available on their website and in local record shops.

The Oppressed are the world’s foremost anti-fascist skinhead band; formed in Cardiff in 1981 they have been speaking out against racism in a scene where too many have kept quiet. Responsible for bringing “SkinHeads Against Racial Prejudice” (SHARP) to Europe over twenty years ago and still active in anti-fascist organising with Cardiff Independent Antifa. Though the band now regularly play events across Europe, local gigs are few and far between, this will probably be your only chance to see The Oppressed anywhere near South Wales this year. Not to be missed.

Support comes from other outspoken Cardiff punk and skinhead bands. No Choice are one of the best UK punk bands formed in the early 80s that are still recording and along with anarcho-folk-punx KilAboy have been regulars at No Borders benefit gigs for years. Tighten Up are a 60s skinhead review group and The D Teez are “just another punk band” both featuring members of the Oppressed.

There is an event page on Facebook, please invite your friends. Tickets are £5, all money raised will be used for local anti-deportation campaigns and Calais Migrant Solidarity. Entry will be from 7pm Read the rest of this entry »

Banner drops against Deportations

June 3, 2010 in Anti-Deportation Campaigns | Tags: , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

 

"Deportation is a death sentence" banner in the city centre.

 

As part of the European Week of Action against the Deportation Machine; No Borders South Wales  dropped some banners in the city of Cardiff. The UKBA in Cardiff has recently been at the heart of an investigation into racism in the Border Agency as a whole. We remind them that deportations and detention are racist and discriminatory and lead to suffering, misery and death.

 

"Migration is not a Crime - End Detention Now" banner opposite Cardiff Prison

 

As Europe tightens and co-ordinates its border controls using increasingly intrusive surveillance, violence at the hands of Frontex and deportations, detention and discrimination, activists step up at a local and international level to challenge this system of abuse.

 

"Stop Deportation" & "Stop Deporting Gay Refugees" banners opposite UK Border Agency offices

 

No Borders South Wales  has suffered its own members being deported in the past and continues to fight for freedom of movement for all.

Cry Out – against Detention!

June 2, 2010 in Close All Detention Centres | Tags: , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 2 comments

Along with other groups who have been calling for the end of detention for children through two campaigns “Outcry! – End Child Detention” and “End Child Detention Now” No Borders South Wales also feels it is long overdue to put an end to such a practice.

The damaging effects on physical and mental health were clearly outlined and backed by evidence from studies as detailed in the joint statement “Significant Harm” by the British Paediatric Mental Health Group (2009).

But although children are particularly vulnerable when detained, it must not be overlooked that all people detained are experiencing the same horrific conditions whatever their age.

The UK is unique in Europe for Read the rest of this entry »

Private Security Companies abuse Asylum Seekers

April 28, 2010 in Comment | Tags: , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 2 comments

A House of Lords report demonstrates frequent abuse of Asylum Seekers by Private Security Companies such as G4S employed by UK Border Agency. The report found serious injuries suffered by detainees who had been handcuffed or physically restrained and follows an investigation into allegations of abuse involving private firms employed by the Government to forcibly remove failed asylum-seekers from the UK.

Amongst the victims of these companies was Suren Khachatryan, who lives in Cardiff.  After a removal was abandoned Mr Khachatryan was attacked by staff employed by GSL UK Ltd (part of the G4S group).  He was thrown into a security van where he was handcuffed, verbally abused, stamped on and kicked several times and then left in an immigration holding bay without medical support for hours. He suffered a punctured lung.

Complaints about this serious assault were Read the rest of this entry »

Wales – Built By Migrants

March 22, 2010 in History | Tags: , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 6 comments

The following article written by one of our group first appeared on Waleshome.org last week, where it has already the 2nd highest number of comments. We reproduce it here in it’s unedited original form.

Welsh history has often failed to integrate an international perspective, and as such the role of Welsh people in the British Empire is too often ignored. People like Henry Bruce (1st Baron Aberdare) whose statue overlooks Cardiff University. He was the first governor of the Royal Niger Company which institutionalised the systematic plundering of wealth from the region that was to become Nigeria. Many of the current problems faced by people in Nigeria are a direct result of domination by Britain. Despite having abundant natural resources and being a major oil producer, poverty is a fact of life for the majority of people in the most populous country in Africa.

MIGRATION is one of the most contentious issues of modern times. Add the “im-” prefix and it’s practically a swear word in some circles. If public debate around the issue is ever given any lip service, it generally has a whiff of racism, or more increasingly the stench of fascism about it. The right-wing gutter press have managed to file ‘bogus asylum seekers’ and ‘illegal immigrants’ into the same category as child killers and sex offenders. There is so much that can be said to counter tabloid lies on immigration, it would be easy to fill a whole article with facts refuting them. But these can be easily found elsewhere, here I will sketch a rarely-articulated history of Wales which undercuts the dominant right-wing discourse on migration.

Opponents of immigration often fix upon the notion of an indigenous culture that requires defending from outside influence, a ‘way of life’ that is under attack from foreigners. The ‘shared identity’ of the nation-state is appealed to, promoting the idea that the interests of all indigenous people are separate to those of ‘foreigners’. This imagined community of a country is a construct, even in a small nation like Wales most people never know, meet, or even hear of most of their fellow countrymen. Any concept of national identity is not innate and unchanging, but fragile, contested, and constructed over time. The hegemonic concept of national identity serves as Read the rest of this entry »

Yarl’s Wood Hunger Strike reaches fifth week. Demonstration in Swansea this Saturday

March 10, 2010 in Close All Detention Centres | Tags: , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 8 comments

The hunger strike at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre has reached a fifth week. Solidarity demonstrations have taken place, outside the IRC itself, at Holloway Prison and around the country, now a legal challenge is being mounted. The hunger strike tactic has also spread to Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre.

There will be a protest in support of the hunger strikers this Saturday 13th March in Castle Square in Swansea City Centre from 12noon until 5pm. As well as higlighting the stuggle of Read the rest of this entry »

Freedom from detention for Mashal Jabari

March 5, 2010 in Mashal Jabari | Tags: , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

Mashal Jabari (right) with his older brother who has already gained refugee status

Mashal Jabari has been released, the emergency campaign spearheaded by the Welsh Refugee Council has managed to release a 14-year-old Afghan orphan from detention.

Staff at the Cardiff office of the UK Border Agency had insisted that he was 18 and held him in adult detention ahead of deportation next week. He was released from Campsfield House IRC early yesterday evening following a Judicial Review where the Judge ruled that at present - until another full age assessment is completed – Mashal is to be considered 14 years of age and placed with Read the rest of this entry »

Stop the deportation of Mashal Jabari

March 4, 2010 in Mashal Jabari | Tags: , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 5 comments

The Welsh Refugee Council is calling on the UK Border Agency to release Mashal Jabari, 14 years of age, from Campsfield detention prison, and to suspend removal directions until a full assessment of his age can be made. It is very unusual for the Welsh Refugee Council to comment on individual cases, which adds extra urgency to the compelling compassionate grounds for why this boy should be allowed to remain.

Zaki Jabar, aged 15, arrived in the UK alone and extremely traumatised in November 2008. He came from Afghanistan and when he left his father was missing presumed dead and his mother was sick. His family had been attacked after his father had given assistance to the American forces, and Zaki had seen his sister killed. He was placed in foster care in Leicester by Rutland Social Services and given Refugee Status. He is currently sitting his GCSEs. He was anxious to trace his younger brother Mashal.

Mashal Jabari arrived in the UK in October last year, and claimed asylum on arrival. By then he knew that both his parents were dead. He was assessed as being over 18 even though he said he was 14. He was sent to Cardiff where he was Read the rest of this entry »

Film premier on Thursday as pressure builds on UKBA

March 4, 2010 in Comment | Tags: , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 1 comment

On Thursday we’ll be showing the premiere of a documentary film about the situation for migrants in Calais made by one of our group: Passengers is the personal account of a few people stuck in a place they don’t want to be, a collection of interviews with people seeking sanctuary. It’s No Borders South Wales meets Calais Migrant Solidarity. It’s on from 7.30pm in room 0.53 of the Bute Building, Cardiff University (map). It’s free entry and we’ll also be showing some other films about the situation in Calais and have a report back from some of the group who have just returned.

Here’s some stills from the film:

The appearance of Louise Perrett in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday has led to Read the rest of this entry »

Whistle blower gives evidence to MPs

March 1, 2010 in Comment | Tags: , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 1 comment


(video will appear when uploaded)

As part of the oral session of the internal inquiry into the UK Border Agency, former UKBA employee Louise Perrett appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons today and gave evidence of her experience of working in the agency’s Cardiff office.

The committee questioned Perrett on the detail of her claims, with  Read the rest of this entry »

Mass protest outside UKBA: the first of many?

February 27, 2010 in Picket Cardiff UKBA | Tags: , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 1 comment

Friday’s protest outside the UK Border Agency in Cardiff was the largest one to date with over 200 people, mostly refugees. The demonstration lasted three hours and featured speeches, chanting, dancing and a lot of energy. The demonstration was organised by Refugee Voice Wales with prominent members of Zimbabwean, Congolese, Kurdish and other community groups taking a leading role.

In this media age there was unsurprisingly a number of people tweeting short reports, uploading photos and providing live audio direct from the demonstration. Further full reports have already appeared on local radical blogs Everyone’s Favourite Comrade, Cryptonomicon and Welsh Green Dragon, which includes Read the rest of this entry »

Support builds for Refugee Voice Wales Demonstration

February 24, 2010 in Picket Cardiff UKBA | Tags: , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 1 comment

The protest outside the UK Border agency in Cardiff this Friday called by Refugee Voice Wales has been gaining attention.

There has been support for the demonstration on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Indymedia, Everyone’s Favourite Comrade, Cryptonomicon, Cardiff Radical Socialist Forum, Urban75 and Permanent Revolution.

The BBC world service also recently aired an episode of Assignment: “Unlawful Detention” (Listen or Download) investigating claims that the government is routinely breaching its own guidelines and detaining vulnerable Read the rest of this entry »

Yarl’s Wood Hunger Strike reaches third week

February 23, 2010 in Close All Detention Centres | Tags: , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 1 comment

Over twenty women  have been on hunger strike at Yarls Wood Immigration Prison near Bedford since Friday 5th February, calling for their immediate release and are now reaching the “critical phase” of health risk. This is the latest chapter in the history of resistance in UK detention centres, there have been many solidarity protests with Read the rest of this entry »

Benefit gig on 5th March

February 19, 2010 in Benefit Gigs | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

On Friday 5th March we will be having a Benefit gig at The Promised Land, Windsor Place, Cardiff. For only £3 you’ll be able to see four great punk bands from South Wales and the West country.

Expect hard sounds and hard politics from these outspoken bands. There will be ska-punk from Spanner, crust-punk from Jesus Bruiser, anarcho-punk from Filthy Habits, and hardcore-punk from The Shortcuts. Doors will be open from half seven, first band on about 8pm.

All the money we take on the door (once the bands have had petrol money) will be spent on Calais Migrant Solidarity and Movement Newsletter; both worthy causes very much in need of your support. Any additional donations on the night will be gratefully received!

You can find an event page on facebook and myspace please Read the rest of this entry »

Protest outside UKBA on Friday 26th February

February 18, 2010 in Picket Cardiff UKBA | Tags: , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 5 comments

Reactions to the whistle-blowing of Louise Perrett have continued, the Cross Party Group on Human Rights at the Welsh Assembly recently had Louise give a talk on her experiences. This has led to Bethan Jenkins AM to call for an investigation into UKBA racism whilst demanding:

“a halt to any deportations planned as a consequence of the casework completed at the Cardiff office”.

Now Refugee Voice Wales has called a demonstration outside the UK Border Agency offices, 31-33 Newport Road, Cardiff on Friday 26th February between 1pm and 3pm.

In the call out they state:

“We are calling for an immediate stop to consistent racial abuse and harassment of asylum seekers by the UKBA staff. We demand:

  • that all cases dealt by unscrupulous officers be reviewed
  • immediate suspension of all removals / deportations
  • the suspension of all corrupt staff and their supervisors
  • an instant independent overhaul of the whole system at Cardiff UKBA
  • An independent inquiry into all UKBA offices to uphold the Refugee Convention

Tell everyone you know to come! Come play your part to create freedom. If you have BLACK GLOVES please wear them on the day for the freedom salute! Come let’s have a mass toyi-toyi (African War dance for freedom and equality). This is a mockery to the inclusion and integration policies so encouraged by the Welsh Assembly.”

Despite not agreeing with the implication that the problem is “unscrupulous officers” and “corrupt staff”, we fully support this call out. The role of Read the rest of this entry »

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