first annual international action weeks against immigration detention
03.Mar.06
Invitation to join in first annual international action against immigration detention, April 2006. To all organisations and individuals opposed to the detention of refugees and other migrants. You are invited to participate in a period of actions against immigration detention in countries around the world in April 2006 including the weekend of 15-16 April.
This invitation is from:
- Refugee Action Coalition (Sydney, Australia)
- Refugee Action Collective (Melbourne, Australia)
- Refugee Rights Action Network (Perth, Australia)
- Refugee Action Committee (Canberra, Australia)
- Refugee Action Collective (Brisbane, Australia)
- Rural Australians for Refugees
- Barbed Wire Britain Network to end refugee and migrant detention (UK)
- Campaign to Close Campsfield (UK)
- London Against Detention UK)
- London No Borders (UK)
Further organisations will be named on the websites below as they sign up.
The aim is:
- to spread opposition to detention
- create contacts between anti-detention groups in different countries,
- move towards a more prepared and larger second period of international anti detention actions in April 2007
Currently actions are planned:
- In Australia: a convergence at Villawood detention centre in Sydney - In the UK, demonstrations at: Harmondsworth and Colnbrook detention centre, Campsfield detention centre, Communications House reporting centre in central London - In Germany: various actions to be advised.
And others to be notified
Please send updates and details on events or actions to:
- info@barbedwirebritain.org.uk for the British web site www.barbedwirebritain.org.uk
- refugeeaction@hotmail.com for the Melbourne web site www.rac-vic.org
- info@racnsw.net for the Sydney web site www.racnsw.net
- rran@arachnet.net.au for the Perth web site www.rran-wa.org
- admin@ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org for Rural Australians for Refugees
Demonstrations, meetings and other public events can be organised at:
- immigration detention centres - in town and city centres - at reporting centres and similar places where migrants report to the authorities and from which they may be removed to a detention centre or deported - at government offices, e.g. interior ministry - at offices of private companies that manage detention centres
This call follows many years of campaigning around the world, including European days of action on 31 January 2004 and 2 April 2005, when there were some fifty anti-detention actions from Scandinavia to southern Italy and from Spain to Greece, the biggest being led by migrants and in the south of Europe.