Reflecting on Calais No Border Camp 2009

June 29, 2009 in No Border Camp | Tags: , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

marchThis year’s No Border Camp in Calais has now finished. It was a powerful and unique event. Bringing together activists from across Europe to share a camp alongside undocumented migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia as well as significant numbers of local residents was no easy feat. Especially under the watchful eye of over 2,000 police, nearly all armed and with full riot gear (though often no uniforms and no noticeable identification). Full credit to everyone who took part in any way.

Camp signThough the Freedom of Movement demonstration on Saturday 27th was the central event that got media coverage, it was the week long camp that was the real story. As part of the war of words about the camp we have been using our Twitter feed to keep a constant stream of updates on what was taking place, as well as Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome in Calais?

June 20, 2009 in No Border Camp | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 1 comment

3596871035_aa996cb582You may notice on the top of our left column we have a new feature, our twitter feed!  To go along with our Facebook and Myspace accounts, we’ve signed up to the latest social networking craze and will be sending out ‘tweets’ for the duration of the No Border Camp, and hopefully beyond! This will mean we’re able to keep people unable to attend the camp up to the minute about what’s happening, follow us today!

election_euro_nobor_568453aSome people have been asking what kind of welcome the No Border Camp will have in Calais. Naturally the authorities are being typically bullish and threatening, (and in Dunkirk have taken it one stage further) however local people have Read the rest of this entry »

No Border Camp next week

June 17, 2009 in No Border Camp | Tags: , , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

calais-orange2With the Calais No Border Camp less than a week away, to go along with the activist mobilisation, the mainstream media disinformation is in full swing. Whilst most of the scare stories have appeared in the French press, never one to miss a spot of sensationalism the Daily Mail has run a story about the camp. Amoung other things Mail hack Peter Allen claims that we “heartily support” the views of Natacha Bouchart, the mayor of Calais, who has called on residents of Calais to leave en-masse for the duration of the camp and has cancelled several local events for no good reason. Unsurprisingly our views and that of Ms Bouchart are drastically different and the idea we intend to incite migrants to er… migrate is laughable.

No Border Camp site

Further details of the camp have been released, the programme for the week has been published, and the location has been announced as Read the rest of this entry »

Last day of the Calais exhibition in Chapter

June 13, 2009 in No Border Camp | Tags: , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

Today will be the last day of the “No Land’s Men: The Struggle for Calais” photo exhibition at the Oriel Canfas gallery of the Chapter Arts Centre. The exhibition features some truly moving and touching artistic works by Julie Rebouillat, and gives a rare glimpse into the world of undocumented migrants trapped on the doorstep of Britain.

On the opening night on Thursday we held a talk and film showing in La Salon, where we tried to expand on the reality of the situation in Calais, and the way in which UK border policy has created this Read the rest of this entry »

Protests continue as No Border Camp beckons

June 7, 2009 in Picket Cardiff UKBA | Tags: , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

On Wednesday 27th May a group of No Borders activists braved the lousy weather to picket the Border Agency offices on 31-33 Newport Road. We distributed leaflets to those passing by and entering the building, which were well received. Despite the weather, the police deemed a presence necessary at this peaceful protest, as those who arrived were suprised to be awaited by two CSPO’s standing in the rain!
demo27thThe next picket of the UKBA at 31-33 Newport Road will be held on 17th June 2009, 12 noon. We will be Read the rest of this entry »

Picket the UK Border Agency this Wednesday!

May 25, 2009 in Picket Cardiff UKBA | Tags: , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

jan1At midday this Wednesday 27th May, we will be holding a picket outside the UK Borders Agency at 31-33 Newport Road, Cardiff (map) to protest against the systematic de-humanisation of migrants in the UK via enforced destitution, detention and deportation. The picket will also be in solidarity with the repressed migrants in Calais, looking toward the Calais No Border Camp in a month’s time. The demonstration will be from 12noon until 1pm, so come and join us, we will have a selection of banners and placards, but feel free to bring your own too!

The situation for migrants in Calais is nothing short of a major humanitarian crisis, which has been created by Read the rest of this entry »

Calais photo exhibition at Chapter Arts centre

May 19, 2009 in No Border Camp | Tags: , , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

The photo exhibition “No Land’s Men: The Struggle for Calais” comes to Cardiff on Thursday 11th to Saturday 13th June.

This exhibition by Julie Rebouillat has been travelling around the UK over the last few months and will conclude in Calais for the No Border Camp on Tuesday 23rd June. It features Read the rest of this entry »

To shew light at Calais

May 18, 2009 in No Border Camp | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 1 comment

The public meeting last thursday night saw the start of our mobilisation for the No Border Camp in Calais. As part Read the rest of this entry »

Issue 27 of Gagged! out now

May 17, 2009 in Media | Tags: , , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

The new issue of Gagged! is a Cardiff Anarchist Bookfair special. As well as featuring the full programme of the bookfair, including our workshop at 1pm, there is an article on the upcoming No Border Camp in Calais, reports from our demos against deportations to Iraq and against the ethnic charter flight to Nigeria, as well as Mayday in Cardiff. Along with plugs for the Calais info night on 4th June and our benefit gig on 9th June. All this plus a selection of other articles by South Wales Anarchists, Westside Climate Action, Cardiff Anarchist Black Cross and FITwatch.  

Download the .pdf

If you’d like Read the rest of this entry »

Tension increases at the migration bottleneck

May 10, 2009 in No Border Camp | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 1 comment

calais info nightThe situation for migrants in Calais has become a major news story in recent months, with the humanitarian crisis now an unavoidable reality. UK Immigration minister Phil Woolas boasts that migrants “have been locked out by one of the toughest border crossings in the world” whilst his French counterpart Éric Besson vows to make Calais a no migrant zone by the end of the year and has increased police actions in the area.

At Thursday ’s public meeting in Cardiff we will be explaining why this criminalisation of migrants is nothing more than brutality in response to suffering by politicians who are encouraging us to blame the victims of Western imperialism and economic domination. The presence of Read the rest of this entry »

Calais No Border Camp: Music and Infotainment

May 9, 2009 in No Border Camp | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | 2 comments

4th juneAs well as the No Border Camp info night on this Thursday we will once again be moving across town to O’Neils on Trinity Street on Thursday 4th June  at 7pm for a night to raise awareness about the No Border Camp. This time, rather than our usual organising meeting, we will have music and entertainment from Tracey Curtis and Cosmo in-between some Read the rest of this entry »

Cardiff Anarchist Bookfair

May 6, 2009 in Meetings | Tags: , , , , , , , , | by No Borders South Wales | Leave a comment

On Saturday 23rd May South Wales Anarchists will be hosting the first Anarchist Bookfair in Cardiff. We will be attendance with our stall in the main hall giving away free leaflets, newsletters and stickers as well as selling a small selection of books and badges.

We will also be hosting a talk and discussion at 1pm in room 1. Everyone is welcome, though we’ll be tailoring our talk to what we assume will be an anarchist audience. Like everything we’re doing over the next few months we’ll be using the opportunity to encourage people to join us in attending the Calais No Border Camp. Here’s a summery of Read the rest of this entry »

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