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At 5:30am this morning, Tuesday 29 May, a group of dozen protesters from Unity and the No Borders Network blockaded and closed the gates at the UKBA reporting centre in Brand Street Glasgow, in protest against the continuing detention of children and the practice of early morning raids, following the harrowing dawn raids and subsequent detention of two African families in the city over the last month.

Protesters attached themselves through lock-on tubes across the entrance of the main gates, blocking the exit for dawn raid vans, and closing all vehicle exits to the building where the heavy handed UK enforcement teams are based.

The team of protesters were chained together through tubing on which were the slogans “STOP DAWN RAIDS” & “END DEPORTATIONS”. Banners in support of refugee rights were hung across the gates.

As protesters blocked the road this morning, members of the UKBA Enforcement Teams, which carry out the dawn raids arrived, protesters believe, in preparation to carry out a dawn raid on another family. It’s believed that the protest action managed to successfully stop the UKBA detaining a family today!

Photos and updates at http://www.indymediascotland.org/node/27467

New report on G4S private security profiteers, and the ongoing resistance to them available now at http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=4343  

We note the recent spat between Labour and Plaid councillors over claims of reporting Asian business’s to the UK Border Agency and over claims of racism by the UK Border Agency. The polices of Border Agency,  the UK Government and European Governments, mean that the UKBA focuses on business’s where they think they will find [...]

Many Gypsies, Roma and Travellers face harrasment and repression and suffer forced evictions for who they are, and for leading the lifestyle they have lived for centuries The Traveller Solidarity Network, is touring the country throughout the month of March to build links between local settled people and Traveller sites. A short film of interviews [...]

Update – Regional Demonstration: Thursday 1st March. Assemble: 12.30 at Sheffield Town Hall . March to UK Borders Agency Regional HQ at Vulcan House, Millsands S3 8NS

Follow the link to the South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group website http://www.SYMAAG.org.uk for a report on a demonstration on February 15th 2012 against G4S bid to house asylum seekers in the Yorkshire and Humberside region.
Article link: http://www.symaag.org.uk/2012/02/15/demonstration-success/
G4S currently run detention centres and engage in removal of asylum seekers.

The Institute of Race Relations today reproduced a letter signed by academics in the Yorkshire region expressing concerns over the awarding of a housing contract to a private company. Read the full letter here More information is also online in this campaign briefing by South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group.  

Filed under: Comment

Notorious G4S to get housing contract in north east Late last year, G4S were announced as the preferred bidders for the contract for housing in the north east for people seeking sanctuary. The formal contract is due to be awarded in February. Background: People arriving in the UK in search of sanctuary were once able [...]

2011 involved a variety of actions, talks and events for No Borders North East… Actions included some of the group travelling to Dale Farm, a site home to travellers who were threatened with eviction.  Residents and visitors worked hard to resist eviction together, including building barricades, securing people’s homes and mounting challenges in the law [...]

The National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns is a UK organisation which supports community-led campaigns for justice in the asylum and immigration system, with a focus on supporting people facing forced removal. Their news service gives up to date information on immigration and asylum issues. See their review of stories from 2011 here, including on the [...]

“Speak Out” a newsletter produced by detainees can be downloaded here . . . .

Speak Out – Detainee Newsletter – Oct 2011

(Update: Sorry, there seems to be a problem with the file upload – while we try and fix it, please just email below to get the newsletter).

This newsletter is an idea of a detainee in UK Border Agency’s detention since 2008 and contains experiences of his own and others ill treatment by UKBA and its private contractors.

For more information or to submit articles for the next issue contact:
Email: Ruhul Anam ruhul_99 [at] live.co.uk
or Email: newsletter [at] gdwg.org.uk

More info on charter flights http://stopdeportations.wordpress.com/about-charter-flights/ No Borders! No Nations! Stop Deportations!  

Last week saw protests against a UK charter flight to Sri Lanka, in which  activists struck at the heart of the Government’s “unjust deportation machine”, and blocked the road outside Colnbrook and Harmondsworth immigration prisons with ‘lock-on’ devices and a tripod. Today, Monday 19 Dec, the UK Border Agency are carrying out a mass deportation [...]

This week supporters of Unity and friends held a day long protest at the UK Border Agency reporting centre at Brand Street in Glasgow.

Early in the morning on Monday 21 November,  a group of people used a tripod to block the vehicle entrance and three demonstrators locked to gates, shutting the vehicle entrance and preventing any ‘dawn raids’ that would have happened that morning. The action was carried out in response to a return to the bad old days of dawn raids on the streets of Glasgow – following several dawn raids on the homes of asylum seeker families in the past few months – and to the continued practice of detaining children.

In a dig at the UKBA’s attempt to justify their inhumane practices, one of those involved in the blockade said, “We have given them every chance to end this abhorrent treatment of families voluntarily. Unfortunately, they refused to take these opportunities, and our last resort is direct action “.

At 10am, a lively demonstration arrived at Brand Street, with participants from the No Borders Network, Peace & Justice Scotland, Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees, NCADC and the Govan & Craigton Integration Network as well as individuals registering their objection to dawn raids.

The demonstration continued all day, with police unable to remove the tripod, and ended at 5pm when the reporting centre closed for the night. A magnificent 11-hour blockade!

http://www.indymediascotland.org/node/25926

On Monday 19th September, after a stressful day of waiting for the 1st attempt by baliffs to enter Dale Farm travellers site  -  which certainly would have been repelled – residents and their supporters could relax for a couple of days thanks to a rare positive intervention on the part of the travellers from a [...]

http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/09/484838.html?c=on#c273232

Listen to the BBC Today programme interview with Professor Yves Cabannes, chair of the UN Advisory Group on Forced Evictions, where he outlines his concerns about the Dale Farm evictions and the double standards in its treatment of travellers in the UK.

The Homes and Communities Agency offer of land and funding for alternative sites had been rejected by Basildon. 

In letters from the Homes and Communities Agency, made public today, it is revealed that Basildon District Council withdrew from the official group tasked to find a housing solution for the Dale Farm community. This left no plan for the Travellers’ welfare following any eviction.

 The ‘Alternative Sites Working Group’ met from November 2009 to August 2010 and included Basildon District Council, Essex County Council, the Government Office for the East of England, plus the former leader of Reigate and Banstead Council and chairman of the Local Government Association Task Force on Gypsies and Travellers (As confirmed in a letter from Homes and Communities Agency to local MEP Richard Howitt, 31 August 2011). They met in secret at the request of Basildon Council. Basildon District Council withdrew in October 2010 and refused to deal with group, over “an alleged breach of confidentiality on details of sites being discussed by the Working Group” (As stated in an email from Homes and Communities Agency to Dale Farm Support Group, 12 Sept 2011).  This stopped its work in finding alternative Traveller sites.

 Dale Farm resident Kathleen McCarthy said, “This is shocking, Basildon Council have put their prejudice above finding a solution to the needs of the Dale Farm community.”

 The Homes and Communities Agency, noted that, “[w]e are willing to place any of our land in Basildon at the Council’s designation as a Gypsy and Traveller site(s). We are willing to identify and invest capital to establish the pitches on such land.”

 However, one planning application on HCA land near the current Dale Farm site has already been rejected by Basildon Council on the stated grounds of road safety.

 Dale Farm resident Kathleen McCarthy continued, “The behaviour of Tony Ball, leader of the Council, makes life for us impossible. He pulled out of the official process to find a new fully legal site, and when we try ourselves, he blocks our proposals for new sites, even when we have full HCA backing. Next weeks’ eviction is about prejudice, pure and simple.”

 The revelations coincide with open letter to the government and Basildon Council that the Council must suspend the eviction and find an alternative culturally acceptable solution to making Dale Farm residents homeless. It was signed by  the Chief Executive of the Children’s Society, Director of Liberty, and MPs Andy Slaughter and Andrew George plus 59 others. (Guardian, 13 September 2011, P33)

Questions have been raised about the motivations for pushing for the eviction as plans are revealed for 900 homes on greenbelt land in the neighbouring district to Basildon. Plans for homes on Jotmans Lane Benfleet have the support of Tory councillors, and face a final vote on the 27th September, after a report by a government inspector highlighted the need for more homes.(Basildon Echo, 13 September 2011, P7)

[Repost]

International support for Dale Farm residents as hundreds march in protest at their threatened eviction, planned to begin from the 19th September

Hundreds, including a Member of the European Parliament, political and human rights groups and supporters from the local area, all over the UK and beyond marched from Wickford Station to Dale Farm on Saturday in solidarity with the beleaguered residents of the former scrapyard, how home to 100 families under threat of eviction by Basildon Council.

The campaign to save Dale Farm, initially supported by local church groups and friends of the community and long given the vocal backing of figures such as Lord Avebury and Vanessa Redgrave, has been receiving messages of solidarity from Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia, with supporters travelling from mainland Europe to stay at Camp Constant, a resistance and solidarity camp on the site. Residents were visited last week by Bishop Thomas McMahon of Brentwood and Bishop Stephen Cottrell of the Diocese of Chelmsford, and residents have outspoken support from the Jewish community. Protests are planned at British Embassies in Berlin and Dublin to show support to the families facing eviction.

Kathleen McCarthy, a resident of Dale Farm, said, 'there are people here from all over the world, I just met a girl from America who supports us. It's great to know people are listening, and people are hearing our voices, even if our own Government isn't.'

Richard Howitt, Labour MEP for the East of England, joined the march and spoke afterwards as supporters enjoyed lunch and a cup of tea with residents:

'Their rights are not just for Traveller families to have a home, and for their children to have an education. But for their culture to be respected. To be able to live according to the Traveller lifestyle.... As a Member of the European Parliament I am deeply ashamed that action here in this community is bringing international opprobrium against our country. That Britain's international reputation for tolerance, fairness and justice is being damaged at what may happen next. And that the time to listen to the criticism is now not later.'

Kartik Raj, speaking on behalf of Amnesty International, which recently sent out an Urgent Action to its members on behalf of Dale Farm, said, 'hundreds of people are writing to Basildon Council from all over the world to express their horror at the evictions.'

The South East Region Trades Union Congress (SERTUC), No Borders, No One Is Illegal, No Sweat,  and Unite Against Fascism also sent representatives who spoke out against the eviction.

International pressure on the British Government is growing, with concern expressed by two different UN Special Rapporteurs, the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racism and Discrimination and the Council of Europe, and news of the planned UN visit later in September. Mr Howitt has repeatedly called for the British Government to release the Council of Europe report, to no avail. Next week the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights in Vienna will debate the evictions.

The UN has spoken out strongly against the evictions, with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination writing several times to the UK government expressing concern and calling for protection of the human rights of the families. A statement of the 2nd September called  on the UK Government to suspend the planned eviction, which would disproportionately affect the lives of the Gypsy and Traveller families, particularly women, children and older people.
Dale Farm is home to the largest Traveller community in the UK, a former scrapyard which was purchased by the community thirty years ago. The residents of Dale Farm have pledged to leave if alternate sites can be found, and two planning applications have been lodged which are due to be heard in October. 90% of Gypsy and Traveller planning applications are turned down, compared with 20% overall. Government inspectors have noted that Basildon has a “dire shortage” of Gypsy and Traveller sites, and have placed pressure on the Council to provide 62 pitches. Because no alternative sites have been approved, families will be forced to stay at Dale Farm or become homeless.

-Press pack available at http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/press/
-Interview, comment and photos available from savedalefarm@gmail.com, 07583 761462
-For directions to get to Dale Farm, see: http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/contact/
- The £18 million cost of the eviction includes £10 million for policing- £6 million of which was granted by the Home Office

At the request of residents, members of the press are asked to restrict their visits to the hours of 11am-12pm and 3pm-4pm, unless by prior appointment. To make an appointment, call 07583 761462.

PRESS RELEASE: SEPT 10th, 2011

In a move described as ‘totally undemocratic’ by local Councillor Geoff Williams, Basildon Council suddenly cancelled last night’s general council meeting, avoiding discussion of contentious plans for a major housing development – 500 houses – on environmentally sensitive green space, at Gloucester Park.

Citing inexplicable ‘public safety reasons’ and ‘exceptional circumstances…at Dale Farm’ for the last minute cancellation, it appears Basildon Council fears exposure of blatantly hypocritical planning decisions.

The council meeting was intended to focus on the controversial development of green space at Gloucester Park, a designated nature reserve, which was donated to the council on the condition that it would not be developed. A meeting planned to discuss selling off this green space for housing threatened to expose the inconsistent and discretionary nature of the Council’s planning decisions. The Council is attempting to justify making 90 families homeless to save a former scrap yard classed as ‘green belt’, while selling off valued green spaces for a major housing development project.

Councillor Williams said that as a result of the cancellation of this meeting “local people have been denied the right to protest, challenge, and scrutinise”. The Councillor added that this cancellation is on top of the complete closure of council offices from next week, with further meeting cancellations announced on 20th Sept, expressing concern that ‘so much will have to be caught up with…[and] some issues have time constraints’. However, the cancellation of the Gloucester Park meeting is being viewed particularly cynically.

Dale Farm resident and mother Mary said: "The council are prepared to agree to build on Gloucester Park, yet insists on evicting us from an old scrap yard. The council are prejudiced against us. It's one rule for settled people and another for travellers."

A supporter from Dale Farm, Jane Trevellion, added “the prejudicial nature of the council’s planning decisions are really obvious if you look at the history of the council’s planning decisions. There is no consistency: at Vange school, greenbelt was sold off under the direction of the government Planning Inspector, without much fuss from the council…before that there was a huge Homebase Development on the greenbelt. There are other developments proposed on highly valued green spaces at Kent View and Northlands. In the case of Dale Farm the ‘greenbelt’ was concreted and used for 30 years as a scrap yard and the council didn’t make any fuss. It is only since the Travellers arrived that the council has suddenly become protective of the greenbelt land at Dale Farm. The council’s claims of fairness under the law are entirely false. This is clearly about prejudice against the Traveller population and this kind of racial intolerance is totally wrong. The law is not applied equally and there is no fairness in that.”

According to the Commission for Racial Equality, more than 90% of Traveller planning applications are initially rejected. This compares to less than 20% of rejected applications for everybody else¹. Gypsies and Travellers in the UK are trapped in a web of overlapping, systemic failures to respect their customs and preferences.

Councillor Linda Williams for the Nethermayne ward added that the “Greenbelt is not sacrosanct, it was designated by people and people have the right to reconsider its boundaries.” Councillor Geoff Williams has also released a statement contesting the forced evictions at Dale Farm and saying that the green spaces and green belt of Basildon are far more threatened by the local authority and the planning inspectorate than by any incursions by Travellers. He described the use of public funds to forcibly evict families at Dale Farm as ‘mind-boggling’. He stated that “The council’s unremitting desire to protect the dubious qualities of the greenbelt at Dale Farm stands in stark contrast to its reluctance to pursue the designation of recognised wildlife sites as green belt, or to defend other existing pristine designations”

The Council is pursuing hugely costly forced evictions when suitable alternative plots have been identified by the Travellers at Church Road, Laindon which is owned by the Homes and Communities Agency and at Gardiners Lane South. A public enquiry is due on 22nd November to consider the Church Road site.

“In pursuing these forced evictions at this time Basildon council is taking unnecessarily brutal and overly hasty action, when a possible solution is just around the corner. Crucial meetings are due to take place which have a strong chance of finding alternative appropriate sites for the Travellers to move on to safely and without the associated costs of forced eviction” said Ann, a local resident and supporter of the Dale Farm community.

Helen, another supporter at Camp Constant added “this just shows the council doesn’t want a peaceful solution, they just want to hound the Travellers out of Basildon.”

The Equality and Human Rights Commission reported² recently on these issues, saying that ‘Few local authorities have a policy for identifying, and dealing with, objections to planning applications that are or may be racist. This means racist representations are reaching planning committees, in breach of guidance from the Royal Town Planning Institute.’

The Localism Bill puts more power in the hand of deeply flawed local planning processes, further threatening both valued green spaces and reducing the chances that adequate suitable land will be found for Gypsies and Travellers.

On Saturday, 10th September at 1pm supporters of the Dale Farm community are gathering at Wickford train station and marching to Dale Farm. MEP of the East of England Richard Howitt will attend the rally, as will members of the Public and Commercial Services Union. Notifications on the Dale Farm Solidarity website are asking supporters coming to the demo on 10th Sept to “bring a sleeping bag and a toothbrush and stay for as long as you can.” Adding: “Our ability to stop this ethnic cleansing is now almost entirely down to numbers- so come on down!”


Footnotes:

1. http://www.journeyfolki.org.uk/Community/HelpResources/CommissionForRacialEqualityCRE/tabid/832/language/en-US/Default.aspx

2. http://www.equineteurope.org/2384_gypsy_travs_summary.pdf