Am 9. Juli 2010 demonstrierten in der Innenstadt von Hannover 250 bis 300 Menschen wegen eines Selbstmordes in Abschiebehaft.

Wir dokumentieren eine Stellungnahme des Kaleidoskop zu einer polizeilichen Durchsuchung am 06.07.2010.

theforeigner

8 July 2010 - Police have arrested 23 people on suspicion of arson after last night’s fire that destroyed Lier asylum centre in Buskerud

The fire started in three separate buildings that were far apart almost simultaneously, and preliminary investigations show traces of inflammable liquids.

Inmates already knew what was going to happen, as several refugees had packed their belongings, according to VG.

Jan Erik Skretteberg, regional director of SOS Rasisme, says he can understand why the fire was started, claiming there are many frustrated people who don’t get enough food or vitamins. There isn’t enough hot water in the showers, and a complete lack of mental health services.

“Several residents have warned previously it was only a matter of time before someone either harms of kills himself because of conditions at the institution. Not only do they live under severe mental pressure, but living conditions at the centres are also not fit for human beings,” he says.
Trouble at both the Lier, as well as Fagerli asylum centre in Nannestad in Akerhus municipality started early yesterday morning. Rioters destroyed fixtures and fittings, broke windows, and started smaller fires. Both facilities are now uninhabitable.

The centres house refugees who are awaiting deportation, after their asylum applications have been a final rejection. Some have been living there for four years.

http://sysiphus-angrynewsfromaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/

From Denver Anarchist Black Cross

Each month DABC members join with others from the community in a vigil outside the Aurora ICE Detention Center. This month’s vigil took place after several murders committed by the Border Patrol in recent months, including that of 15-year-old Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereca. Authorities originally claimed that the agent shot and killed Sergio only after being “assaulted” by rocks, but video evidence later surfaced that Sergio was not throwing rocks and actually ran away. (Sidenote: there are some kids throwing rocks in the video and the people looking on are heard to say “How stupid! They’re throwing rocks.” Even if they were throwing rocks, shooting someone in the head is a disproportionate response). Earlier in the month several Border Patrol agents beat and tasered a handcuffed Anastacio Hernandez Rojas to death in what the San Diego coroner ruled a homicide. Mr. Rojas was picked up by Border Patrol agents as he was trying to re-enter the US and rejoin his wife and 5 children.

Sergio’s death is just one of the 17 people who have died at the hands of the Border Patrol in the past few 6 months, twice as many people as in the last 2 years combined. This is a direct result of the increased repression waged upon migrants since Obama has taken office. In his first year as president, 387,790 immigrants were deported, an increase of more than 60% from Bush’s last year in office.

So, this vigil was an especially powerful one. We gathered in a circle for an opening prayer by United Methodist Pastor Peg Newell and then heard from El Frente de Lucha member Alonzo Barron who described the horrifying events that lead to Sergio’s murder. K followed with a passionate speech on ending detention and standing together to seek out justice.

Coffins were placed in the center of the circle representing those who have died on the border. People then placed flowers on the caskets. For each flower they received a piece of paper with a person’s name and cause of death. The white paper represented the 111 deaths in immigrant detention from 2003 to May 2010. The colored pieces of paper represented the 153 deaths on the Arizona-Mexico border alone from October 2009 to the present.

After remembering those killed on the border, we walked up to the detention center itself for a loud and festive denunciation of the detention system. We chanted, we shouted and we even sang the classic Ranchera song Cielito Lindo!

These monthly vigils are an imporant part of the broader resistance that needs to be taken to the detention system. It provides a visible opposition to the center which is seen by the general public, detention center officials and the detained themselves. It’s also a great way to meet like-minded people who share the same vision of a world where no one is illegal. People are always coming in from Denver, so if you need a ride you can always email us denverabc@rocketmail.com or contact Jennifer Piper of the American Friends Service Committee at jpiper@afsc.org.

from Chaparral respects no borders

Here's my prediction about SB1070. It may or may not go into effect on July 29th, but I think it will be stopped in some way, probably by the federal government. Then the federal government will come up with some Comprehensive Immigration Reform that is as bad or worse than SB1070, but not as blatantly horrible. It will provide a few crumbs for certain folks- perhaps to buy off the some of ones with the most capacity to build resistance, but it will involve more border security and attrition through enforcement (with a new gentler formula). We are also possibly going to see a guest worker program and perhaps some sort of id that involves biometrics.

After Prop 187 in California passed it was found to be unconstitutional. Yet it was important historically because it set things in motion. In particular, the federal government passed welfare reform that instituted restrictions on welfare to immigrants that mirrored some of prop 187.

The excerpts at the end of this post, from Border lines blog discuss the reasons the federal approach to immigration is not likely to be much different from AZ's.

This is why I say This is bigger than SB1070. We have people coming to Arizona from out of town, doing this Arizona Freedom Summer (beware the RCP) and thirty actions in thirty days sorts of things, but need to be clear that SB 1070 is not the main issue here. People keep voting for Sheriff Joe and racist legislation- there need to be some efforts to change minds and/or undermine the strength of racism here. As I've mentioned before, if we don't look beyond the pieces of legislation and the bad sheriffs and the raids, the economic situation that so many face is overlooked. We also have a criminal "justice" system that seeks to criminalize people they see as a problem- particularly people of color, whether immigrants or not. In seeking to move immigration reform along, some folks think it's okay to further militarize the border even when it already harms the communities such as the O'odham down at the border.

For more reading on these topics (especially if you're new to these issues in AZ), see This is Bigger than SB 1070. Whether or not my prediction comes true, this is still bigger than the latest law. It was too big before.


From Border Lines blog:
It’s likely that SB 1070 will be judged, in whole or in part, as unconstitutional and will never be fully implemented. Even so the Arizona law marks another step forward in the consolidation of the attrition through enforcement strategy, just as its Legal Workers Act of 2008, which the courts have upheld, signaled the deepening dimensions of immigration law enforcement...
The Arizona law highlights a deepening conundrum for the federal government. By no means is DHS opposed on principle to having local law enforcement join in immigration enforcement. But it does insist that such cooperation be on the terms it sets. Having opened the door to federal-local cooperation, DHS is finding it hard to control the eagerness of localities to join in the immigrant crackdown...
With its Support Local Law Enforcement Act, Arizona not only adopted the “attrition through enforcement’ framework of the restrictionist institutes. It also adapted parts of the federal playbook for immigration enforcement: identifying new ways to increase what DHS calls “law enforcement partnerships” and extending the federal government’s own focus on the expanding category of “criminal aliens.”

Rather than waiting for DHS to reach out and expand its own federal-local collaborative programs, Arizona politicians have asserted the state’s right to enforce existing federal immigration laws. In the view of the supporters of the new law, the main problem they are attempting to address is not some inadequacy in federal immigration law. Rather it’s the failure of the federal agencies to adequately enforce the law...
The federal government has not explicitly endorsed ["attrition through enforcement"], but its actions are closely attuned with this restrictionist agenda.

Even as the White House and DHS continued to insist that only a CIR strategy will fix the broken immigration system, it has systematically moved to make it increasingly difficult for unauthorized immigrants (illegal border crossers and those overstaying their visas) and for legal immigrants who have violated criminal laws (mostly drug use) to live and work in the country. At the same time, DHS has steadily strengthened border control through increased checkpoints, increased agents, and increased border-control infrastructure...
The Obama administration has also proved an ardent advocate of increased federal-local cooperation in immigration enforcement. Among other things, it has strongly supported collaborative programs initiated by the Bush administration such as Operation Community Shield, Criminal Alien Program, Fugitive Operation Teams, Operation Stonegarden, Border Enforcement Security Taskforces (BEST), and the 287(g) program – all of which involve local police and sheriff deputies in the enforcement of immigration law.

In addition, the Obama administration has consolidated and promoted the Secure Communities program, which was developed under DHS Secretary Chertoff as a pilot project to encourage and facilitate the checking of the immigration status of all those arrested by local law enforcement. Secure Communities is advancing rapidly under Secretary Napolitano, who has prioritized the detention and removal of all those DHS and the Justice Department identity as “criminal aliens.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the DHS agency responsible for immigration investigations and interior enforcement, has a special program to promote what its calls “law enforcement partnerships.” ICE Access (Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security) “provides local law enforcement agencies an opportunity to team up with ICE to combat specific challenges in their communities.”

Established in 2007, ICE Access underscores the increasing outreach of DHS to local law enforcement officials in immigration and other homeland security matters. The program supports “a multi-agency/multi/authority approach that encompasses federal, state, and local resources, skills, and expertise.”

On July 8th, former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for shooting and killing Oscar Grant on January 1st, 2009 in Oakland, California. Mehserle was led away from the courtroom in handcuffs and is now in custody. His sentencing was expected on Friday, August 6th, but has now been delayed at the defense's request. Involuntary manslaughter can carry 2 to 6 years, with up to 10 added for a gun enhancement. Sentencing and other motions are now on the court calendar for Friday, November 5th at 8:30 a.m. In Oakland, thousands of people took over the intersection of Broadway and 14th for a protest which started shortly after the 4PM verdict and lasted until late in the evening. Over fifty protesters were arrested. Protests also took place in Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, Palo Alto, Fresno, Portland, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Bloomington Indiana and elsewhere.

Iraq Veterans Against the War, SF, write: The flag is a symbol of our unity and the blood sweat tears of those that came before us. The flag also has a purpose, some times it is a beacon or a message a warning that something is wrong. Jacob Crawford and Josh Wolf write: While millions across the United States of America celebrate freedom (for some), a flag [was burned] to send the statement that many are still waiting to reclaim true freedom.

Since July 4th, a couple dozen people have been protesting the Santa Cruz Sleeping Ban by camping each night from 8pm - 8am at the County Courthouse. Organizer Ed Frey says that the demonstration aims to "convince local and national government to stop breaching the peace, especially that of peaceful sleepers, and to instead use resources to discourage violence and warfare in all its forms."

On 7th of July 2010, an aylum camp for rejected asylum seekers was burned down to protest bad living conditions. Fortunally, noone was seriously hurt in the fire.

Am 29. Juni 2010 widersetzten sich eritreische Gefangene in Libyen der Durchführung von Maßnahmen zur Abwicklung ihrer Zwangsrückführung nach Eritrea. Die Revolte wurde gewaltsam unterdrückt. In der Nacht zum 30. Juni transferierten libysche Militärs überfallartig die in der Mehrzahl schlafenden Eritreer_innen in Containern in den Süden Libyens. Jeglicher Kontakt brach ab.

Samos - press release because of transport for deportation of 50 refugees to Aspropyrgos, 40 July 2010.

On Sunday, June 27, Yonatan Shapira, an Israeli military refusenik, and Eaw Jasiewicz, a Polish activist sprayed "Liberate All Ghettos" in Hebrew, followed by "Free Gaza and Palestine" in English on a wall of an original block in the Warsaw Ghetto. In an interview with an Indybay reporter, Shapira states, "In our act we tried to separate between the actions of the Israeli Government and Jews.... the lesson that should be learned from the holocaust are resistance to any form of racism and ethnic cleansing."

On Thursday, July 8th at 7pm in Watsonville, the Brown Berets are hosting a workshop by acclaimed Bay Area artist and activist Favianna Rodriguez. Favianna will discuss the process of developing art in collaboration with community-based organizations. She will also discuss steps for designing visually engaging posters for social justice campaigns.

On June 26th, the Santa Cruz Indian Council Inter-tribal Gathering took place in Louden Nelson Park. There were many performances by native dancers. Elders spoke about the rich history and plight of Native Americans. There were also many vendors and informational tables.

x carolina

––When did you find out you were getting out of prison, don Ignacio?

––We’ve always known we’d get out, from the very first moment.

––Was that due to your trust in the people to free you?

––It had more to do with our rage. A rage we’ve stored up inside us. Maybe at first we felt fear. Anguish, along with troubles, uncertainty, rage, impotence. All that transcends pain. It overcomes suffering. We were never sorry, never repentant. This kind of anger knows no human limits. It builds up inside you and, in a way, helps you avoid physical pain… The rage I’m talking about is recent and has also been with us during years, during centuries, of latent suffering… On the question of whether or not we were going to get out, we knew we would because the struggle was not going to let up. It may have fallen back a little bit out of fear, anxiety. But even though we were separated, with people on the run or in jail, we all thought the same way. We had one thing in mind to begin with. Not to give up. Because our pain was overcome by our rage, our unrest, and the confirmation of what we, as people from the bottom of the heap, have always known.”

So begins the interview with Ignacio del Valle by some of us from the free and independent media on Sunday, July 4, in San Salvador Atenco, during the celebration of the liberation of 12 prisoners that the Mexican State planned to torture to death in its extermination camps, with infamous sentences of 112 years, 67 years, 32 years. There’s music, lots of music. Dancing, lots of dancing. Food, lots of food. Pulque, lots of pulque. Smiles, lots of smiles. Hugs, lots of hugs. Thanks, lots of thanks to everybody who played a part in the victory ––to the women of Atenco who’ve offered us coffee, breakfast, lunch, and supper at every march, rally and event held during the last four years; to Atenco’s old guard, especially to don Francisco Alarcón, who speaks nahuatl and blasts off the old cannon at all the parties and rallies; to the Committee for Freedom and Justice for Atenco; to the social and human rights organizations; to international solidarity.

––Don Ignacio, we’ve had very few triumphs in our movements, but two of these have taken place right here in Atenco. How was this possible?

––People understood perfectly, and this was very clear in everyone’s mind this second time around, that we would not give up or give in. We had been through the same kind of repression before, nine years ago. It was clear that if we stood our ground, we would win. It’s true, of course, that a lot of people fell back, protecting their families, but even so, they were steadfast and participated in many ways.

“América del Valle, we want you in the streets!” This chant rings out over and over during the celebration. It’s a top priority now. América del Valle, whose request for political asylum in Venezuela put the international spotlight on all the injustices in the Atenco case at a critical moment, is still pursued by the State.

Trinidad Ramírez expresses thanks to everyone with her characteristic grace and generosity: “The triumph is yours.” She reads a statement prepared by the Peoples’ Front in Defense of the Lands (FPDT), which affirms that the struggle continues with autonomous projects for defending the land and with actions in solidarity with other groups in struggle, including the electrical workers of SME, miners, political prisoners, Zapatista indigenous peoples in Chiapas, the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala, and all the organizations fighting against the plunder of their lands. The statement says: “…To the cry of ‘The land is not for sale; we love it, we’ll defend it!”, our struggle in these lands began in 2001 when Vicente Fox wanted to build his airport. It wasn’t a simple matter to defeat the project because first we had to overcome the idea that there was no use struggling against the government because nobody can win; even so, we did it. We won. We in the FPDT know that history is not fatalistic; it’s something we build. And if we won once, we might be able to do it again… There’ s somebody who’s still not here. América del Valle. We’re going to bring her home. We’ll keep right on struggling until she’s back here with us…”

In the interview, Ignacio del Valle stated: “We’re sure she’ll be able to come back, and not because we think someone will let her do it out of goodwill. No. We’re not asking for an act of goodwill. We´re saying: Do what you’re supposed to do NOW. Why? Because the people demand it. And, in one way or another, the struggle continues. And America herself is resisting and will keep on resisting. But it’s not a passive resistance. It’s an active resistance. Because wherever she is, maybe she’s saying, in her silence, that the struggle must continue. It goes without saying that we don’t have to ask the government for any favors. Freedom is not the consequence of a favor or of an act of goodwill. It’s an obligation, and it’s imperative that the system set her free”.

Another pursued person is back in town and is present at the victory party. Adán Espinoza still faces a minor charge, but is joining in the struggle once more. He insists on the importance of getting organized and of everyone coming together in unity in order to move forward.

Several of the prisoners just released from Molino de Flores are also present at the celebration, including Inés Rodolfo Cuellar, who tells us that, when some of the regular prisoners found out about the release order, they said: “The ‘Atencos’ are leaving. Who’s going to stand up for us now?” And when they walked out the gate, the regular prisoners were there shouting, “ Zapata lives! The struggle continues!” With the release of these prisoners, the Other Encampment outside the Molino de Flores prison was finally lifted, putting an end to a four-year-long act of solidarity by successive groups of comrades from the Other Campaign.

Felipe Álvarez climbed up on the stage and talked about what it takes to get through imprisonment: “Compañeros, I ask this of you. Day in and day out, do what you must to become more conscious, because it’s only with consciousness that we can go ahead, it’s only with consciousness that we can withstand repression, it’s only with consciousness that it’s possible to get through imprisonment. There are all kinds of bastards ––police and guards–– there inside who are always repressing you psychologically and physically. And if you don’t have consciousness, compañeros, you won’t be able to get through what goes on where we were. People that can’t stand it, hang themselves. A lot of Mexican people don’t know about this. They don’t know that in La Palma, in Altiplano, there are people who hang themselves. Sometimes the treatment is so bad when they come into the prison that when they’re taken to the holding cells, they die within just a few minutes. Then the damn cops run around saying, “You went too far this time, dude. That guy is done for.” And people don’t know about the deaths in La Palma because all that doesn’t exist. Human rights don’t exist in La Palma. What exists in La Palma is extermination. Day by day they try to finish you off psychologically and physically, compañeros. I’d like to mention a few specifics about the treatment you get in La Palma. They give you five minutes to eat, compañero. They give you five minutes to shower, compañero. Sometimes with boiling water. If you object and ask why, they say, “You’re an animal, you dumb ass. You’re a criminal. So you just have to take it like an animal and scald yourself with hot water.” I was bedridden, compañeros, two times for fifteen days each time, with serum and with one foot tied to the bedpost. They chained me with a padlock and chain. That’s the way I ate. That’s the way I slept. I’m not telling you this to scare you because then you won’t be back to participate. I’m telling you this so you’ll become more conscious and so we all know what we’re getting into.”

“No forgiving. No forgetting. The killers must be punished!” Impunity still reigns in the Atenco case and demands for justice are heard all day.

––Don Ignacio, what kinds of actions do you think we should take against the prisons. Demand better conditions? Tear the prisons down? Stop prison construction?

––Certainly. Prison construction, as a project, only deals with effects, not causes. The causes are elsewhere. It’s true there’s a crime wave, and most of the people jailed are young men and boys between 18 and 25 years old….But in the communities there are no opportunities for work, study, or job training. So how are they going to cover their most basic proletarian needs for food and a job? I would ask, what difference would it make if five schools were built for every prison? But we’re not concerned with quantity. We want quality education. These issues can’t be seen as separate from an equal distribution of the wealth. If there’s no equal distribution, or at least equitable or fair distribution in keeping with the real needs arising in each community, whether that be a region, a state, or a country, there will certainly be no justice. And the system is not going to resolve this situation. The people on the bottom have to resolve it by initiating a national project. From the bottom up. The people on top will only manipulate it. The problem is not that they’re building more prisons. The problem is that in comparison with education, there’s a huge abyss. And the solution is not building more schools either. It lies in a total change of the system. And to achieve this, we have to get organized. The form this will take will depend on the reality of each region, each season, each place. Right now in our region, Mexico, the dependence we’re experiencing is very similar to that of other regions. We’re facing a huge monster. It’s the international economy. We’re living in a country with a tremendous amount of poverty and, above all, widespread social decomposition, in which the wealth is in very few hands and the vast majority of people are poor. The problem is not to attack poverty. We have to attack wealth. We have to change everything.

––Don Ignacio, what can be said to the Mexican people in general who aren’t organized but who are feeling the effects of the blows dealt by the capitalist system?

–– I don’t think we have to give the first lesson. That lesson has already been given to us by the movements in resistance. We don’t have to repeat the course. We have to be taking the next steps forward, but beforehand, and I want to make this perfectly clear because it’s key, we shouldn’t confuse a small-scale organization with a people or confuse an organization representing the interests of a particular group with a community. Above and beyond being an organization, regardless of its colors, or whether it’s in the center or on the edge or in between, the aim of any organization, above and beyond that of a particular group, is to be a people. And when we understand this situation, we’ll be able to respect each group’s desire to participate in a particular way in times of peace, but in times of war, we have to unite as a people, because before being an organization, whatever its title may be, we’re a people. And that is the most beautiful banner we can take up.

––What is the role of indigenous and original peoples in this process?

––They’re basic. As long as we’re not proposing a change that comes from our roots ––in this case we are indigenous peoples, even though we’re wearing makeup and are penetrated by a foreign culture, but we’re the children and grandchildren of indigenous people; we can’t say that in the next generation we won’t be indigenous people anymore–– the system is the only beneficiary of this loss of identity…”

From the stage, with a sense of humor and reprimands aimed at common pretexts for doing nothing, don Nacho insists that everyone must participate and unite, but for real: “Compañeros, we must stand together. Our skin might get wrinkled, but not our consciousness. Brothers and sisters of my soul, thank you. Thank you for your solidarity…We have to unite. The only damn problem is these positions where we always think we’re right. It’s true, many people are right. They know how to tell if somebody’s doing something well, but if they don’t show up, what the fuck. Things stay the same…. Maybe other people don’t know how to do all this, but they do show up. They may be doing it all wrong, but they’re with you… We’re going to stand by our brothers and sisters at the mines. We’ll make statements, but we’ll also take action. We’re going to join with them, for real. Some say, “We were with you, Nacho. We were at your festival.” Thank you so much. And why in the fuck do I want you at my festival? I want you to be here when the shit comes down….No compas, let’s start joining together.”

Felipe Álvarez leaves us with these words:

“You don’t know how proud and happy it makes me feel to come out and find that you’re still here, to find that you weren’t afraid to end up where we did. That means that the consciousness I was talking about does exist. And that nourishes us, compañeros, and makes us stronger. And we’re going to Chiapas. We’re going anywhere we must, to stand up for our brothers and sisters and show our solidarity with them. Atenco will be there. Let the government take note. Let the damn system take note. Atenco will be there. We need many sons and daughters of Atenco, many sons and daughters of Chiapas, many sons and daughters of Guerrero. We must be everywhere, right? Together, we’re going to make the change that we want to make ––all of us who have been fucked over, all of us who have been repressed. We’re going to make the change. We’re going to run this damn system out of the halls of government. Not with votes, not playing at elections just to get a bone to suck on like those guys over there. We’re not going down that road. Our road is different, isn’t it? Even though there’s lots of mud and shit all around us, we’re not going to get dirty. Because when we’re conscious, we won’t be stained by all that dirt, compañeros. Even though we walk right over it, we won’t get dirty. So I want to thank you again and apologize because they’re waiting for me inside, but I’m back compañeros. I’m here with you again, ok? Thank you. I love you. I love you, brothers and sisters. You’re in my heart. Atenco lives! The struggle goes on! Zapata lives on! The struggle goes on and on! YES? NO? WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN, NO!”

Wieder einmal hat ein Flüchtling keinen Ausweg gesehen und sich in Abschiebungshaft das Leben genommen. Die Hintergründe und Umstände dieses erneuten Todesfalls eines Flüchtlings verdeutlichen den alltäglichen Skandal der Abschiebungshaft in Deutschland.

Abschiebehaft gehört abgeschafft! Nach dem Selbstmord von Slawik C. am 2. Juli 2010 in der JVA Langenhagen, ruft das Anti-Rassismus Plenum Hannover für Fr, 9. Juli 2010, 17:00 Uhr zu einer Demonstration auf. Auftakt: Georgstraße, 30159 Hannover.

Am 29. Juni 2010 widersetzten sich eritreische Gefangene in Libyen der Durchführung von Maßnahmen zur Abwicklung ihrer Zwangsrückführung nach Eritrea. Die Revolte wurde gewaltsam unterdrückt.

Nach dem tödlichen Polizeischuss auf Max Itoya am 23. Mai 2010 kommt es in Polen zu Repression gegen seine KollegInnen und deren Familien. Internationale Solidarität ist jetzt dringend nötig.

Am Freitag, 2. Juli 2010 erhängte sich der 58-jährige Slawik C. in der Justizvoll- zugsanstalt (JVA) Langenhagen bei Hannover. Dies ist in diesem Jahr der bereits dritte bekannt gewordene Selbstmord in Abschiebehaft allein in Deutschland. Für viele Menschen ist dies die letzte Möglichkeit des Widerstandes gegen ihre Deportation.