A Convergence Of Those Who Have Papers And Those Who Don't.
Whoever arrives at East Croydon train station will recognize Lunar House, a massive twenty-storey office block on the East side of Wellesley Road.
Lunar House is the headquarters of the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA), an executive agency of the Home Office in the United Kingdom. It is the place where hundreds of people every day go to make applications regarding their staying in the UK, including asylum applications.
The building's name has become synonymous with the Border and Immigration Agency, and is often perceived by the British public as the front line of Britain's immigration service.
Just over the street there is Electric House, a reporting centre. Electric House is the place where hundreds of asylum seekers visit everyday from miles away to fulfil their 'reporting obligations'. They are often arrested on the spot, there are holding facilities where asylum seekers are being kept until they get transferred to an immigration removal centre. Although there to fulfil their 'reporting obligations', they still get arrested without warning, in the clothes that they are wearing and with no time for them to inform friends or relatives or settle personal business. Such arbitrary arrests take place all the time. Many asylum seekers know that they run the risk of getting detained while fulfilling their reporting obligations, making it even more frustrating for them to abide with it.
On Friday 21st September from 10am to 2pm,
We will gather outside Lunar House and Electric House to raise awareness about these injustices, inform asylum seekers about their rights and show solidarity and support in their fight against an outright aggressive and punitive Immigration Law, that goes against the principles of the Human Rights Convention and destroys peoples lives.
You are warmly invited for for information-sharing, food, tea and coffee.
Come for a chat and join our protest.