Crossing Borders - Movements and Struggles of Migration

Transnational Newsletter, 11th Issue, March 2013

Once more we use the reference to a World Social Forum (WSF), which will take place end of March in Tunis, to publish a new number of Crossing Borders. To be a "Harraga" – a term used in North-Africa and translated as "burning the border" - is a daily issue in Tunisia, and the fate of the boatpeople, their disappearance and death, affects an innumerable number of families.

Last year, in summer 2012, Boats4People was launched as a transnational symbolic campaign with protests and memorials in Italian and Tunisian cities to denounce the left-to-die policy of the EU-borderregime with thousands of victims. Against this background migration will become a main topic during the WSF in Tunis. Thus we start this issue of Crossing Border - as a kind of introductional text - with excerpts of a "diary between migration and precarity" - written after a tour through some tunesian cities in December 2012.

It is dedicated to a bus-caravan for freedom of movement, which is projected for September 2013. Migration and precarity are also keywords for a multilingual website, which we present on page 2. "Precarious (di∫)connections" - so the name - aims on a global exchange of struggles in and against the capitalist crisis, against exploitation, patriarchy and social exclusion. The migrationrelated networking process is developing: a "transborder map" was published end of 2012 on noborder.org and on page 3 you find a text to explain more about the background and its potential follow up. Berlin, Vienna, Amsterdam, Budapest, Bologna, Choucha... - finally on page 4 – we document the series of manifould and partly simultanous struggles of refugees and migrants all over Europe and beyond...

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The 11th issue of 'Crossing Borders' is now available in english and french. To get the newsletter, download the .pdf file from the link below and print it. the newsletter contains 4 A4 pages:

- english version [pdf 943kb]
- french version [pdf 872kb]
- arabic version [pdf 1.3mb]
- german version [pdf 644kb]
- italian version [pdf 949kb]

 

Transnational Newsletter, 10th Issue, August 2012

It is almost impossible to answer the question: what happened to those young people who rised the British riots one year ago? A generation with a history of migration took the centre of the scenes, transforming a condition defined as 'marginal' by social assistants and politicians into a central one. Many paid the price of their revolt. Most of all seems to be hidden into the folds of the British society, doing what young migrant and sons of migrants do every day in Europe. The so called 'second generations', however, refuse to remain hidden in the small spaces imposed to them. From the UK (p. 2) to Patras (p. 3), crossing Italy (p. 4), Germany (p. 4) or France (pp. 2-3), thousands young are forcing the borders of citizenships and the States, the borders of their social exploitation. They are living crossing the borders...

Support our newsletter, help to spread in both its electronic and printed version!

The tenth issue of 'Crossing Borders' is now available in english (other languages will follow soon). To get the newsletter, download the .pdf file from the link below and print it. the newsletter contains 4 A4 pages:

- english version [pdf 437kb]
- italian version [pdf 531kb]
- french version [pdf 531kb]
- greek version [pdf 503kb]
- german version [pdf 553kb]

 
 
 
 

Transnational Newsletter, 9th Issue, January 2011

Again we take the opportunity of a World Social Forum (WSF) in Africa to publish a new issue of Crossing Borders. We are even more convinced to do so as an ambitious project will take place in the weeks before. Demanding "freedom of movement and fair development" a bus caravan with about 200 activists from Africa and Europe start a common protest tour in Bamako in Mali, arriving in Dakar in Senegal for the beginning of the WSF (see page 2). Its not by coincident that you find a longer quotation of our 2nd issue in the opening text on migration and development – "on exit and voice“ - below. Exactly three years ago and with reference to the World Social Forum in Nairobi in January 2007 we published an open letter "to our sisters and brothers in Africa" on our frontpage. We still keep it as an important and valid document, signed by (not only) African migrants in Europe in order to to communicate their transnational approach and experiences to bridge and interconnect the struggles. Migrant struggles and solidarity campaigns are the main topics on the other pages too: the chain of actions 2010, mainly directed against Frontex (page 3); the europeanwide campaign against Dublin II, the project of a transeuropean webguide and the ongoing resistance in Italy (page 4).

Support our newsletter, help to spread in both its electronic and printed version!

The ninth issue of 'Crossing Borders' is now available in english, italian & french. To get the newsletter, download the .pdf files from the links below and print it. the newsletter contains 6 A4 pages:

- english version [pdf 330kb]
- italian version [pdf 330kb]
- french version [pdf 330kb]
 
 

Transnational Newsletter, 8th Issue, June 2009

"No border lasts forever!" Thats the ambiguous title of a call recently published by the Network Welcome to Europe. The new call tries to interconnect the upcoming series of transnational mobilisations with a main common reference: the struggle against Frontex! Highlighting some main aspects of Frontex function and role in the borderregime the new multilingual issue of crossing borders intends to contribute and to inspire these next months mobilisations and struggles.

Support our newsletter, help to spread in both its electronic and printed version!

The eigth issue of 'Crossing Borders' is now available. To get the newsletter, download the .pdf files from the links below and print it. the newsletter contains 6 A4 pages:

- english version [pdf 1.5mb]
- german version [pdf 1.5mb]
- italian version [pdf 1.0mb]
- turkish version [pdf 1.6mb]
- greek version [pdf 4.3mb]
- french version [pdf 1.5mb]
 
 

Transnational Newsletter, 7th Issue, July 2009

“What crisis?” was the reaction of an activist from Mali, as he was recently asked to comment the economical crash, “we live in a permanent crisis!”. And of course he is right, looking at the situation in many countries of the global south. Nevertheless, the last 9 months affected in a particular way the living conditions of millions of migrants, not only in the European space. Migration and labour in times of crisis is like a thread that we follow to describe the material effects of the recession in different sectors, but also experiences of resistance or refusal. The socio-political organization of migrant labour remains the crucial question from our point of view. Subsequently we - as Frassanito-network - intend to organize a series of connected discussions and events in various European cities in late autumn ‘09. Our aim is to create more exchange and transnational communication about practices of self-organization and union campaigns in the field of migrant labour. Who is interested in participating and/or in the preparation of these events, pls. contact us: frassanito@kein.org And please help to spread the new newsletter, in both its electronic and printed version.

The seventh issue of 'Crossing Borders' is now available in english, greek, spanish, german and italian. To get the newsletter, download the .pdf files from the links below and print it. the newsletter contains 6 A4 pages:

- english version [pdf 432kb]
- italian version [pdf 233kb]
- spanish version [pdf 387kb]
- german version [pdf 2.4mb]
- greek version [pdf 233kb]
 
 

Transnational Newsletter, 6th Issue, September 2008

We take the opportunities presented by two events, the European Social Forum in Malmö in September as well as the Euro-African Meeting on Migration in Paris in October, to publish another issue of the transnational newsletter Crossing Borders.

Crossing borders#6 includes 8 pages: The first part summarizes the transnational chain of migration-related actions, providing brief reports from the stations that have taken place so far. The second part discusses some key aspects of current migration in 4 key countries: 2 texts focus on the situation in Germany and Italy, a thrid text takes a closer look at the situation in Mali and in the last article we take another look at the USA following up on the 'sleepy giant', that woke up in the immigrant protests of 2006.

The sixth issue of 'Crossing Borders' is now available in english and german. To get the newsletter, download the .pdf files from the links below and print it. the newsletter contains 8 A4 pages:

- english version [pdf 2.35mb]
- german version [pdf 1.86mb]
 

Transnational Newsletter, 5th Issue, February 2008

Crossing Borders! is an initiative of frassanito network that aims to foster migration-related networking and practical struggles. Previous issues have covered conflicts in western and eastern Europe, Africa and the USA. Here we speak about womenʼs migration, and not for the first time: as we believe it is a crucial perspective to understand transnational movements and the organisation of labour (see issues 3 & 4). This issue of Crossing Borders! will be initially distributed at the opening initiative of the transnational chain of action – Fight the Mon- ster! Against Border Regime: Transnationalization now! (February- October 2008) – in Amsterdam, on February 2 (see page 4). support this newsletter project by contributing and distributing!

The fifth issue of 'Crossing Borders' is now available in 3 langauges. To get the newsletter, download the .pdf files from the links below and print it. the newsletter contains 4 A4 pages. [you can also copy these 4 pages on both sides of a single a3 sheet and fold it like a 'real' newspaper]:

- english version [pdf 0.26mb]
- italian version [pdf 0.23mb]
- german version [pdf 0.20mb]
- spanish version [pdf 0.20mb]
- greek version [pdf 0.27mb]
- dutch version [pdf 0.22mb]

Transnational Newsletter, 4th Issue, October 2007

One year ago Crossing Borders appeared for the first time as an attempt to foster transnational communication: in reference to the migration-related networking process in general, but connected to practical struggles and initiatives in particular. The first issue was published for the transnational action day on October 7th 2006, then we used the opportunity of the World Social Forum in Nairobi in January 2007 for a second, and this years mayday for the third issue. Our earlier reports mainly covered conflicts in western Europe, in Africa and the USA. This new issue includes impressions from the Ukraine, with a main focus on the noborder Camp in Transcarpatia that took place last August

The fourth issue of 'Crossing Borders' is now available in 7 langauges. To get the newsletter, download the .pdf files from the links below and print it. the newsletter contains 4 A4 pages. [you can also copy these 4 pages on both sides of a single a3 sheet and fold it like a 'real' newspaper]:

- english version [pdf 0.3mb]
- french version [pdf 0.63mb]
- italian version [pdf 0.63mb]
- turkish version [pdf 0.63mb]
- spanish version [pdf 0.63mb]
- greek version [pdf 0.63mb]
- german version [pdf 0.62mb]

Transnational Newsletter, 3rd Issue, May 2007

The 1st of May gives "Crossing Borders!" another opportunity for transnational political communication. The theme of migrant labour was already central to the first two issues of "Crossing borders!" (see below), and it has become an important connecting point for the whole Frassanito Network. Remembering the huge migrants' mobilisations of the last year in the United States, as well as the struggles of migrants in Europe demanding the de-linking of residence permits from labour contracts, we want to discuss European policies for the management of migrant labour (page 1).
Specifically, in this issue, we look at the conditions of migrant women as domestic workers and the key role they increasingly play in social reproduction (page 2). As usual, we report on some of the new experiences of struggle and communication emerging and consolidating everywhere (pages 3 and 4), signifying efforts in the autonomous organisation of migrant labour.

The third issue of 'Crossing Borders' is available in a growing number of languages. To get the newsletter, download the .pdf files from the links below and print them out. the newsletter contains 4 A4 pages. [you can also copy these 4 pages on both sides of a single a3 sheet and fold it like a 'real' newspaper]:

- english version [pdf 0.3mb]
- italian version [pdf 0.3mb]
- french version [pdf 0.3mb]
- german version [pdf 0.3mb]
- spanish version [pdf 0.3mb]
- greek version [pdf 0.3mb]
- chinese version [pdf - text only - 0.6mb]

Transnational Newsletter, 2nd Issue, January 2007

It is not by chance that the 2nd issue of Crossing Borders appears at the same time as the World Social Forum takes place during January 07 in Nairobi. As it was in the last European Social Forum in Athens, we believe that migration must be recognized as an own thematic axis. Nairobi is another opportunity to continue not only the european- african political communication (see page 2 of the newsletter), but also to shift the migration related networking process to a global level.

To foster transnational communication was and remains the aim of "Crossing borders". The first issue (available in 10 languages below) was published on the 7th of October, the transnational day of action (see page 3/4). It was distributed during the respective demonstrations, and the initial response on our newsletter was good.

To accompany transnational mobilisations will continue to be our aim. Further issues will come for an europeanwide legalisation-campaign (see page 2), for the next 1st of May and migrant-workers activities, or for the coming Anti-G8-campaign in Germany in June 07.

The second issue of 'Crossing Borders' is available in a growing number of languages. To get the newsletter, download the .pdf files from the links below and print them out. the newsletter contains 4 A4 pages. [you can also copy these 4 pages on both sides of a single a3 sheet and fold it like a 'real' newspaper]:

- english version [pdf 0.9mb]
- italian version [pdf 0.9mb]
- french version [pdf 0.9mb]
- spanish version [pdf 0.9mb]
- turkish version [pdf 0.9mb]
- german version [pdf 0.9mb]
- russian version [pdf 0.9mb]
- greek version [pdf 0.9mb]
- chinese version [pdf - text only - 0.6mb]

But why do we emphasize transnationality?

Movements and struggles of migration are of course never national but also inter-nationality cannot comprehend its importance. It is not a thing between states, rather a challenge to all concepts of borders and nation states, be it those of the governments but also for example those of the main unions. Migrants move for a better live and against the hierarchies of exploitation. Migrations undermine the border regimes and create networks and communities beyond all nation states, from countries of origin through transit- to the target-countries. To develop this transnational perspective of global social rights we need transnational communication. Crossing Borders want to offer a possible tool for it and we hope, that more and more people participate with contributins and distributions!

Transnational Newsletter, 1st Issue, October 2006

"Crossing Borders" is an attempt to foster transnational communication, our aim is to consolidate and to extend the migration related networking process in, around and beyond Europe. We do not ignore the differences in realities and struggles in various regions, countries or continents. But we are convinced in the necessity to bridge and communicate these differences - crossing these borders too!. We are committed to a process of "becoming common", not only by exchanging information and experiences, but much more by fighting against the same global apartheid- and migration regime! And by struggling for the common demands of freedom of movement and the right to stay!

The first issue of 'Crossing Borders' is available in 10 different languages. To get the newsletter, download the .pdf files from the links below and print them out. the newsletter contains 4 A4 pages . [you can also copy these 4 pages on both sides of a single a3 sheet and fold it like a 'real' newspaper]:

- english version [pdf 758kb]
- french version [pdf 757kb]
- italian version [pdf 762kb]
- turkish version [pdf 764kb]
- arabic version [pdf 1.08mb]
- serbian version [pdf 759kb]
- greek version [pdf 793kb]
- russian version [pdf 788kb]
- spanish version [pdf 759kb]
- german version [pdf 752kb]

This newsletter will focus to the movements and struggles of migration, taking into account their multiplicity. In each issue we will present manifold protests and campaigns, social and political struggles from different local situations. That’s one reason, why we ask all of you to contribute to this project and to provide - at least in a few sentences – your experiences. But wider participation is crucial for this newsletter on more levels. We follow a multilingual approach and so we need continuous help in translations! It is an Internet based project, but most important in our concept are decentralised printouts, copied and distributed in the various migrants-localities and communities. "Crossing Borders" is an initiative of Frassanito-network and we plan to produce regularly issues at least every three or four months. But it depends also to your feedback and participation! So all of you are invited to support this newsletter, by contributions and distributions.

Contact: frassainfo@kein.org

arabic version in bologna, italy

russian version in moskow, russia