Refugee Week - Celebrating Sanctuary

Lots of events going on in London and elsewhere over the next seven days as part of Refugee Week, notably the Celebrating Sanctuary free festival tomorrow, Sunday 17 June, 2-7pm, at
Bernie Spain Gardens, Upper Ground, South Bank, London, SE1 (adjacent to Oxo Tower Wharf). The publicity states:

'In music there are no borders. When you have no borders, you have no refugees.’

Celebrating Sanctuary is an extraordinary event which gathers together established and emerging refugee musicians, dancers and artists to celebrate the positive cultural contribution of refugees to the UK.

Now in its 8th year, Celebrating Sanctuary demonstrates that such a vibrant panorama of sight, sound, aroma and taste would not exist had it not been for the UK’s hard won tradition of providing sanctuary to those fleeing persecution from many parts of the globe.

Highlights of this years festival include Somalia’s powerful and dynamic female vocalist Maryam Mursal, Palestinian Hip-Hop group Dam and also The Destroyers, a Balkan band with their take on traditional arrangements from Eastern Europe.

No Borders Camp Planning

A No Borders camp is being organised in the Gatwick area (where a new detention centre is planned), 19th-24th of September 2007. See here for details.

A weekend of planning meetings for the camp will take place in Rampart Social Centre in London from 30th of June to 1st of July, including:

- Saturday 30/June 1pm-6pm- Public meeting for individuals and groups to talk about practical stuff for the camp, exchanging ideas about what to do during camp.

- Sunday 1st July 10am-2pm - meeting for No Border groups and friends.

Right to Stay film night

A film evening in London on 16th June 2007, 7.00pm to 10.00 pm, with films including: Asylum (women asylum seekers in London), Harmondsworth/Colnbrook demo 2007, and the latest film about the tube cleaners.

Open discussion, food, music, DIY set (bring your favourite music, we'll put it on!). Come along and hear about detainee self- help and building support for people facing deportation, London anti-deportation campaigns, people against immigration detention, Gatwick new detention centre & No Borders camp.

Venue: LARC, 62 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES nearest tube: Whitechapel ( 5 minutes walk) free/ donation (money rised go to help people who are detained or threatened with deportation). Phone 07933 309853 for directions or other details .

G8 Migration Demonstrations

No Borders London activists have joined the demonstrations in Germany where the G8 meeting of world leaders is taking place. Today, the focus has been on demands for freedom of movement and equal rights for all. A demonstration with several thousand participants took place at the Immigration Office in Rostock, and another at the Sonnenblumen House in Lichtenhagen, where Nazis attacked refugees in 1992. These were followed by a big march and rally in Rostock, which finally started at 4pm after hours of negotiations with the police. The police did not allow the demonstration to go into the town centre. More reports here.

Underground Cleaners Film

The premier screening of a new film about the lives and struggles of London migrant tube cleaners takes place on 15th June 2007. 'Underground Londoners' is a film by Dagmar Diesner and Klara Jaya Brekke.

The event will also feature the launch of 'The Beginning of History. Value Struggles and Global Capital' (Pluto 2007), the new book by Massimo De Angelis.

It takes place at the Red Rose Comedy Club, 129 Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park N7 7QG,
FRIDAY 15 JUNE, 6:30. Nearest tube Finsbury Park.

Papers for All

On May 19th, a meeting was held at South Bank University to discuss developing the migrant solidarity movement, building on the October 7th coalition that organised last year's demonstration in London.

The meeting agreed to seek to build a coalition with the name 'Papers for All, for Freedom of Movement and the Right to Stay'. A number of work groups have been set up to plan the way forward, including networking and putting out a newspaper. Watch this space for further details.