Europe-wide day of action for freedom of movement and universal rights

April 2nd - European day of Action

From Global Project Bologna a summary of broadcastings and correspondencies, updated at 15:30 pm
  [ audio ] eng

Goteborg (Sweden) - In Goteborg there has been a manifestation focused on the issues of migration and the right to stay. In Sweden there are several detention centres, with more and more people in them, and the living conditions are getting worse. That’s why they’re building new detention camps. The Swedish government has recognized the campaign carried on by activists about the human rights of the migrants, soon the system is going to change and the situation is going to improve for 10-15000 migrants.
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Helsinki (Finland) - In Helsinki there has been a demonstration during which an air company participating in migrants deportation has been blocked for several hours. In Helsinki there is a large detention centre for migrants, most of which come from former USSR, in what used to be a prison, which was declared unsuitable for being a prison according to the European standards. After the protests of the activists this centre is closing down and another one is opening, with less brutal detention conditions, but a prison anyway.
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  Demo & an action against deportation-business

Rotterdam (Netherlands) – Activists went to the Rotterdam harbour, where two boats are used as prisons for migrants, with about 760 people confined inside in very hard living conditions. This is a new type of detention recently invented by the government to lock up migrants in a cheaper way compared to building prisons for this purpose. Activists tried to make themselves seen and heard by the people inside the boats, to manifest their solidarity. Migrants responded from the inside throwing pieces of paper with messages on them from the windows. In Holland a maximum period of detention is not scheduled, and the detention can be renewed month by month for an indeterminate period, so people con be prisoned even fo ten or eleven months.
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  Pictures

Brandeburg (Germany) - An initiative in front of the center for refugees and asylum seekers. The center is absolutely isolated in the outskirts of the city. It is possible to enter and exit, but the immigrants are required to live there. During the demonstration some activists chained themselves to the gates of the center. The protest is moving towards the government headquarters to criticize these politics of social seperation in Germany. Yesterday in Francoforte the air company Eurofly was grassroots sanctioned because they provide services for the expulsion of immigrants. The corrispondence from Hagen of the No Border netwrok.
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Read the article

Frankfurt (Germany) - Demonstration inside Frankfurt Airport-Terminal.
Around 50 people participated in a "spontanous demonstration" for freedom of movement inside the terminal of frankfurt airport on 2nd of april. Police and securities have been surprised and could not stop a noisy protest-march with speeches and banners through the airport-building. A few more background-informations:
Frankfurt-airport is the most important deportation airport in Germany. More than 10.000 deportations yearly (more than 30 every day!) are organised by border police on this airport. And on the area is (since 1993) a closed internment-camp (Internierungslager) for refugees and migrants, who arrived here in Frankfurt without valid papers and who are suspected to have no "founded" asylum reasons. The arrested people should be deported back after a quick asylum-procedure, never having the chance to leave this airport-area.
A few weeks ago activists could succeed to stop the deportation of an iranian woman in the last minute. The pilot refused to transport the woman after a lot of protests, from outside but also from inside the airport. 150 people joined the spontanous protest in the airport, but 60 persons have been arrested later on by police for a whole night because of "a not allowed protest in a private space".

Barcellona (Spain) – Activists are in front of the detention center "de La Verneda" in the historic part of the city. While a group is blocking the gates, others have climbed onto the walls. This afternoon there will also be a march.
  [ audio ] ita | Pictures

  Spagna/Almeria - This is the third demonstration for the freedom of circulation taking place in Almeria since the beginning of year 2005. Almeria is one of the strongest knot for migrants’ struggles in Spain. Miguel belongs to SOC, the work union of rural workers, he explains to Global Radio the struggle process in Almeria and the will to carry it on if PSOE doesn’t change the way to apply this extraordinary regularization process.
audio ita - audio esp

  Spagna/Malaga – The demonstration starts at 6 p.m with more thab 800 people, most of them migrants from Sub Sahara Africa. They demand an easier access to Zapatero’s Government’regularisation whose requirements are difficult for moste of foreingners .The regularization process has started on 1st of febbruary and ends on the 7th of may .
audio ita -audio esp

London, England - Widespread actions across England, from Nottingham to Caterbury. A Europe in movemnent.
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  April 2nd - European day of Action/First reports from UK

Canterbury, England -
Around 50 people turned out on a sunny Sunday to demand the freedom of movement and the right to stay for everyone. The protesters were largely old Christian ladies and members of local migrant organisations. They held a vigil in front of the Cathedral. Lots of people spoke through a megaphone, denouncing immigration laws and deportation practices. A few local school kids from Afghanistan were there as well, who are threatened with removal as soon as they turn 18. Protesters also included friends of those failed asylum seekers who have already been detained in the Dover Detention Centre. Banners and placards read: Defend Asylum Seekers, No Border/No Nation/Stop Deportation, and All Nations are Prison Camps! The turnout of 50 people is phenomenal for Canterbury.

Athens (Greece) – 5,000 to 6,000 citizens demostrated in Athens. The most of them were migrant citizens. “In Greek a new immigration law is under discussion and we are opposing it”, Olga explains. - [ audio ] eng More info

Slovenia - A demonstration in going on in front of a temporary detention centre. This centre in very far from inhabited zones. Anderj tells us about this demonstration and about the yesterday demonstration in Ljubljana.
  [ audio ] eng
Pictures from second day of action on:
http://www.dostje.org,
http://www.kiberpipa.org
Manifestation Not tolerance - rights for everyone!
http://www.dostje.org
Communicative action against Detention center in Veliki otok near Postojna »For Wireless Europe

Crotone (Italy) - A protest/demonstration in fornt of the detention center Sant’Anna. The activists and all of the associations present are demanding to enter to see the conditions. The detention center in Crotone is the bigest in Europe: there are over 1000 cells. Inside, the "first arrivals" center is also hosted. This is the detention center in which the immigrants who landed in Lampadusa were sent.
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Naples (Italy) - The demonstration has just left from piazza Garibaldi. Hundreds of people are participating. After yesterday’s invasion iniziative at the identification center of Borgo Mezzanone, today the anti-racist, precarious, student, immigrant, and unemployment networks have taken to the streets to fight against the absence of immigrant rights.
  [ audio_01 ] | [ audio_02 ] ita

Padova (Italy) - Francesca from the Ass. Racism Stop! tells us about this morning’s initiative at the City Hall of Padua: An occupation with banners and placards demanding the immediate closure of the detention centers and for the extension of citizenship rights to all immigrant residents.
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Bari (Italy)- An interview with Caterina from the NoBorder network who talks about the organization of the actions for the European day of mobilitization for the closure of immigrant detention centers.
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  See the report

  Ragusa - (Italy) - Demonsration against a detention centre for only women which has opened recently in this Sicilian town. Alessandra tells Global Radio that the demo is colourful and well participated from all big towns od Sicily. audio ita
Six activists from Sicilian Antiracist Network got in the CPT together with a Senator of DS Party.

  Spagna/Radio Chapa - Starting from 1 pm a Radio Chapa has broadcasted No border Radio, a special bradcast on 2nd of april initiatives.
audio esp/ita

Modena - T.P.O., Ya Basta Parma, Ya Basta Reggio Emilia, Laboratorio Aq 16 Reggio Emilia e Lab. Occ. PAZ Rimini denounce that yesterday in Modena "five activists have been arrested by police" They are charged of having taking part to an act of sanction against one of Misericordia’s officest. "This appears to be a revengeful response from Danile Giovanardi, chief director of Misericordia Office in Modena and brother of Minister Carlo Giovanardi. They want to cover up the shameful role Misericordias plays in running and manageing migrants’ detention centres." Global Radio has interviewed one of the activist arrested and one of the defense lawyer.
audio_01 ita - audio_02 ita
Report in italian - Lab AQ16 - Reggio-Emilia

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April 1st

Paris, (France)
On Friday April 1st, 2005, around one hundred persons have occupied in the afternoon the IOM (International Organization for Migrations) offices in Paris.
Within the framework of the 2nd European day of mobilization, a dozen of associations, groups, collectives and individuals (9ème collectif de Sans-Papiers, AC!, Alternative Libertaire, CNT, Collectif de soutien aux exilés du 10ème, Coordination des Intermittents et Précaires d’Ile de France, Droits devant !!, GISTI) gathered to denounce the global policies of management of migrations based upon utilitarianism: Europe wants workers, not citizens. The head of OIM-Paris, Abye MAKONNEN, maintained that his NGO was in foreigners camps only to insure the "well being" of the migrants, and to provide them assistance, and that IOM is only a tool for states decisions to "restraint" borders crossing.
audio fra The whole discussion is available on
http://serontb.free.fr/OIM/.
Also a few pictures at:
http://paris.indymedia.org/article.php3?id_article=34682

  Francia/Calais - The Sans Papiers’collective has carried out a sensibilization initiative to Calais’ inhabitnts of the existence of detention centre for migrants. Just behind a shopping mall there is actually a huge detention centres for migrants. The French parliament standed for it closing down but at he same time the Parliament doesn’t want to let other migrants in France.
audio fra

  Venice, (Italy) - Action against Confraternita della Misericordia [ ita ] [ esp ]

  Cormons (Gorizia - Italy) - The occupation of Misericordia’s branch
Around 30 activists denounced the connivance of this institution with the management of detention centres in Italy. The occupation of Misericordia’s offices lasted about two hours, activists reclaim that Gorizia’s detention centre never opens and that Misericordia immediately drops its contracts.
[ See the news in Italian ].

  Rome - The occupation of Blue Panorama
In the morning activists from ESC laboratory, Astra and Action occupied Blue Panorama Airlines main offices. Blue Panorama Airlines, together with many others, place their planes at deportations’ disposal: they repatriate migrant citizens that hold no residence papers. The audio is in Italian. [ audio ]

  Milan - No border, No Nation, No Deportation
The occupation of Alitalia’s offices
  [ See the feature in English ]
  [ See the feature in Italian ]

  Borgo Mezzanone (Foggia) - Activists invade the identification centre
The identification centre is to become a detention centre from next April 5th. Antiracist activists of Campania region and of the No CPT network of Puglia region managed to enter inside the centre and to talk with the asylum seekers that are at the moment detained. The audio is in Italian. [ audio ]

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Munchen (Germany) - Hagen from the Noborder network makes an overview of the actions in Europe on the 1st and 2nd of April. He talks about the importance of a european common day of action on migrants struggles and the link between Euromayday and 2nd April, precarity and migrants labour. [ audio eng ]
Gisela outside the office of the “Regierung von Oberbayern” talks about a theather action with 50 refugees. The office is responsible of the managment of the refugee camp in Munchen. This action aims to show the very oppressive conditions of living of the refugees inside the camp.
[ audio eng ]

Copenhagen (Denmark) - An interview with Nikolaj, Global Roots.
[ audio eng ]

Around the days of the 2nd of april european networks struggling for migrants’ and precarious’ rights have produced a multiplicity of actions faceing migrants’ precariousness and against the Fortress Europe .

They have rebelled against a Europe which acts as a crucial pivot in controlling and managing the global labour force.

During the days of this second Europe-wide day of actions against borders demonstrations, direct actions, marches and parades have been put into action from UK to Greece, from SLovenia to Spain, from Scandinavia to Italy.

All that is an important step forward on the common process towards the Euromayday, considering migrants’claims part of precairs’ struggles for dignity, income and citizenship.

From 4 pm to 6 pm on the 1st of april and from 11 am to 6 pm on the second of april, Melting Pot Europa and Global Project has been connected to the towns and countries in action and has broadcast live correspondancies in English and Italian.
From 6 pm Global Radio has broadcast from Madrid, Radio Chapa.