No Borders South Wales

Freedom from detention for Mashal Jabari

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:33:16 +0000

Mashal Jabari has been released, the emergency campaign spearheaded by the Welsh Refugee Council has managed to release a 14-year-old Afghan orphan from detention. Staff at the Cardiff office of the UK Border Agency had insisted that he was 18 and held him in adult detention ahead of deportation next week. He was released from Campsfield House [...]

Stop the deportation of Mashal Jabari

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:48:56 +0000

The Welsh Refugee Council is calling on the UK Border Agency to release Mashal Jabari, 14 years of age, from Campsfield detention prison, and to suspend removal directions until a full assessment of his age can be made. It is very unusual for the Welsh Refugee Council to comment on individual cases, which adds extra [...]

Film premier on Thursday as pressure builds on UKBA

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:29:40 +0000

On Thursday we’ll be showing the premiere of a documentary film about the situation for migrants in Calais made by one of our group: Passengers is the personal account of a few people stuck in a place they don’t want to be, a collection of interviews with people seeking sanctuary. It’s No Borders South Wales [...]

Whistle blower gives evidence to MPs

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:38:18 +0000

(video will appear when uploaded) As part of the oral session of the internal inquiry into the UK Border Agency, former UKBA employee Louise Perrett appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons today and gave evidence of her experience of working in the agency’s Cardiff office. The committee questioned Perrett on the detail of [...]

Mass protest outside UKBA: the first of many?

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:49:34 +0000

Friday’s protest outside the UK Border Agency in Cardiff was the largest one to date with over 200 people, mostly refugees. The demonstration lasted three hours and featured speeches, chanting, dancing and a lot of energy. The demonstration was organised by Refugee Voice Wales with prominent members of Zimbabwean, Congolese, Kurdish and other community groups [...]

Support builds for Refugee Voice Wales Demonstration

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:19:30 +0000

The protest outside the UK Border agency in Cardiff this Friday called by Refugee Voice Wales has been gaining attention. There has been support for the demonstration on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Indymedia, Everyone’s Favourite Comrade, Cryptonomicon, Cardiff Radical Socialist Forum, Urban75 and Permanent Revolution. The BBC world service also recently aired an episode of Assignment: “Unlawful Detention” (Listen or Download) investigating claims that the [...]

Yarl’s Wood Hunger Strike reaches third week

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:31:13 +0000

Over twenty women have been on hunger strike at Yarls Wood Immigration Prison near Bedford since Friday 5th February, calling for their immediate release and are now reaching the “critical phase” of health risk. This is the latest chapter in the history of resistance in UK detention centres, there have been many solidarity protests with more planned. When we protest outside [...]

Benefit gig on 5th March

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:39:36 +0000

On Friday 5th March we will be having a Benefit gig at The Promised Land, Windsor Place, Cardiff. For only £3 you’ll be able to see four great punk bands from South Wales and the West country. Expect hard sounds and hard politics from these outspoken bands. There will be ska-punk from Spanner, crust-punk from Jesus Bruiser, anarcho-punk from Filthy [...]

Protest outside UKBA on Friday 26th February

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:46:25 +0000

Reactions to the whistle-blowing of Louise Perrett have continued, the Cross Party Group on Human Rights at the Welsh Assembly recently had Louise give a talk on her experiences. This has led to Bethan Jenkins AM to call for an investigation into UKBA racism whilst demanding: “a halt to any deportations planned as a consequence of the [...]

Movement #4

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:15:51 +0000

Here’s the slightly delayed latest issue of Movement, events over the last few weeks have meant this issue has changed a few times before publication. As is often a problem with print media our two cover stories may develop considerably within hours of publication. You can keep up to date with these stories and more [...]

A glimpse of the situation in Calais for migrants

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:06:41 +0000

Now on the revised date of Thursday 4th March from 7.30pm we will be hosting a film showing at the Birt Acres Lecture Theatre, Bute Building, Cardiff University (map). Featuring 3 short films about Calais that give a glimpse into the lives of migrants living there. One of these will be will be the premier [...]

Demonstration outside UK Border Agency

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:21:15 +0000

Over forty people braved the wind and rain outside the UK Border Agency on Newport Road on Wednesday to protest against the first Joint EU Charter deportation flight, which went to Nigeria. We gave out 150 copies of a leaflet by Stop Deportations to Nigeria, which were well received by everyone we spoke to. At the [...]

Whistle-blower reveals culture of abuse at UK Border Agency in Cardiff

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:57:22 +0000

An article in today’s Guardian, has added extra meaning to our protest outside the UKBA this afternoon. Louise Perrett worked as a case owner at the UK Border Agency office in Cardiff for three and a half months last summer. Due to her experiences of her time in the agency she has risked breaching the [...]

Stop Deportations To Nigeria Now!

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:22:47 +0000

Along with our protest in Cardiff on Wednesday, at the same time there will be a protest outside the Nigerian Embassy in London. The following statement has been published by No Deportations to Nigeria and is signed by ourselves: Yet another joint mass deportation flight to Nigeria is scheduled for 3rd February, 2010. If it went [...]

Protest Against Charter Flight Deportations

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:31:17 +0000

On Wednesday, 3rd February at 5.30pm, there will be a specially chartered deportation flight to Nigeria. At 4.30pm we will be holding a protest against this outside the UK Border Agency, General Buildings, 31-33 Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 0AB (map). There have been previous deportation flights to Nigeria from the UK, (we’ve protested against them before) but ‘Flight PVT-JEUC’ will be the first Joint [...]

The reality of asylum seeking

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:56:58 +0000

A new report: “Chance or choice? Understanding why asylum seekers come to the UK” has been published by the Refugee Council. The report is the result of research undertaken by Professor Heaven Crawley, Director of the Centre for Migration Policy Research at the University of Swansea. The findings say what anyone who has any knowledge of the experience [...]

A Party in Calais

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:40:35 +0000

New Year’s Eve is bound to be different everywhere, as a party, or a special occasion. But how would you be able to celebrate if you were homeless and vulnerable on the streets of Calais? In addition to Salam’s incredible food distribution, they ended the New Year’s Eve distribution with a party. Music was played [...]

Winter in Calais

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:09:36 +0000

A group of No Borders activists from South Wales recently returned to Northern France to take part in Calais Migrant Solidarity. A serene scene, sitting at night a migrant’s encampment, sipping tea and watching the dark sea from the sand dunes. Behind the gulls are wheeling against the orange sky. This peaceful snapshot hides the daily struggle, [...]

Movement #3

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:41:38 +0000

Here’s the first issue of 2010, as usual packed with the latest news and opinion from the movement for free migration. Articles this issue include: No Borders at the Cop15 in Copenhagen An update from Calais Attempted self-immolation by asylum seekers A No Border Camp in Brussels Paddington Bear condemns child detention End Child Detention? End immigration controls Solidarity with detainees accused to [...]

No Borders at the UN Climate Summit

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:15:03 +0000

The effect of climate change on migration, is one of the largest aspects of social fallout resulting from rampant capitalism’s destruction of the enviroment. On the 7th-18th December a sizeable group of No Borders activists from Wales and the south west joined thousands of others and travelled to Copenhagen to attend the mobilisations at the UN Climate Summit – [...]