No Border network
Encyclopedia
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and beyond. They support freedom of movement
Freedom of movement
Freedom of movement, mobility rights or the right to travel is a human right concept that the constitutions of numerous states respect...
and resist human migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
control by coordinating international border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
camps, demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
, direct actions, and anti-deportation campaigns.
The Western European network opposes what they see as increasingly restrictive harmonisation of asylum and immigration policy in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, working to build alliances among migrant laborers and refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s. Common slogans within the Network include, "No Border, No Nation, Stop Deportations!" "Freedom of Movement, Freedom of Residence: Right to Come, Right to Go, Right to Stay!", "No one is illegal" and "Papers for All or No Papers at All!"
No Border Network has existed since 1999, and its website since 2000. The No Borders Network in the United Kingdom exists since 2006, with local groups in 11 cities.
No Border Camps
Groups from the No Border network have been involved in organising a number of protest camps (called "No Border Camps" or sometimes "Border Camps"), e.g. in StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(2002), in Frassanito, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(2003), Gatwick Airport (2007), United Kingdom, at Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
, Greece, in Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(2009),
Lesvos, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
(2009) and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
in September 2010.
Activities
In the month of April 2006, the network held several protests notably outside the Detention centres at HarmondsworthHarmondsworth
Harmondsworth is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon, close to London Heathrow Airport. The village is situated south of West Drayton.The nearest places are: Hayes, Harlington, Heathrow Airport, Longford, London, Sipson, West Drayton and Yiewsley....
and Colnbrook
Colnbrook
Colnbrook is a large village in the unitary authority of Slough, in Berkshire, England. It is situated southeast of central Slough, east of Windsor and west of central London....
.
On 7 October 2006, an internationally co-ordinated 'Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls' of which the No Border Network was the central part, saw protests across the world.
On 18 December 2007, to coincide with the UN International Migrants Day
International Migrants Day
International Migrants Day is an international day observed on December 18 as International Migrants Day appointed by the General Assembly of United Nations on December 4, 2000 taking into account the large and increasing number of migrants in the world...
, the network carried out a co-ordinated blockade of Border and Immigration Agency
Border and Immigration Agency
The Border and Immigration Agency was an executive agency of the British Home Office, created on 1 April 2007. The Agency assumed the responsibilities of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for managing immigration control in the UK...
(now UK Border Agency
UK Border Agency
The UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...
) offices in Bristol, Portsmouth, Newcastle and Glasgow to prevent dawn raid
Dawn raid
A police raid or dawn raid is a visit by the police, immigration officers or other officials in the early morning, hoping to use the element of surprise to arrest targets that they think may hide evidence, resist arrest, be politically sensitive, or simply be elsewhere during the day.-Germany:Dawn...
s by immigration officers
Immigration Officer
The role of Immigration officers are to ensure that immigration legislation is enforced. This can cover the rules of entry for Visa applicants, foreign nationals or those seeking asylum at the border, detecting and apprehending those that have breached the border and removing them, or pursuing...
from taking place. This form of action has been repeated across the UK by the network several times since.
On 24 October 2008, Phil Woolas
Phil Woolas
Philip James Woolas was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth from his election in 1997 to 2010. He was the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration in the Home Office, as well as being the Minister of State for the Treasury...
, UK Minister of State for Borders and Immigration
Minister of State for Borders and Immigration
The Minister of State for Immigration is a Minister of State in the Home Office of the Government of the United Kingdom. The current minister is Damian Green MP who was appointed to his new post following the formation of a coalition government under David Cameron at the 2010 general...
was subject to a pieing
Pieing
Pieing is the act of throwing a pie at a person or persons. This can be a political action when the target is an authority figure, politician, or celebrity and can be used as a means of protesting against the target's political beliefs, or against perceived arrogance or vanity. Perpetrators...
by No Borders activists following his controversial comments on population control.
The Network has also held demonstrations against ID cards, the International Organisation for Migration, and against arms companies, linking conflict and refugees.
In February 2010 No Borders groups from the UK and France opened a large centre for refugees sleeping rough in Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, France, under the name "Kronstadt Hangar".
See also
- Glasgow Girls (activists)Glasgow Girls (activists)The Glasgow Girls are a group of seven young women in Glasgow, Scotland, who have highlighted the poor treatment of failed asylum seekers. Named by two of its members Amal Azzudin and Roza Salih, the group was established by the group who were all members of Drumchapel High School in Glasgow in...
- UNITY (asylum seekers organisation)UNITY (asylum seekers organisation)UNITY is a union of by asylum seekers established in the Glasgow, Scotland, in 2005 to ensure that the human rights of asylum seekers and sans papiers in the UK are upheld...
- No person is illegalNo person is illegalNo one is illegal is a loosely connected international network of antiracist groups and religious asylum initiatives, that represents non-resident immigrants who have lost their immigration documents or are otherwise at risk of deportation...