International noborder-camp 2002 in Strasbourg
the camp is over! after 10 days of protests, discussions, actions, workshops, parties and lots of networking we are having a break. reports about the camp as well as the latest news are availble below. Informations about the ongoing attempt to criminalize participants of the camp and our efforts to counter them are available here]. Some first refelections/analyses of the camp can be found here.
a note on languages: the primary language of this website is English, but we are trying to translate as many texts as possible into French and some other languages. To display a translation click on the contry code in brackets next to the link.
.: newswire
Strasbourg: a Testing Ground?
19.May.03 - Of course you've heard of the No Border Camp in Strasbourg! Maybe you
were even there. But are you aware of what happened afterward? Are you
aware, for example, of the legal follow-up work that was necessary?
This text was written by some people who helped with the il-legalteam, and
by some people who stand in solidarity, who were not a little astonished at and
tired of finding themselves at a loss to manage the follow-up work for a
camp that gathered almost 3,000 people in all.
[read more] [de] [fr]
Account from the week of action
01.Mar.03 - Four actions to our knowledge (two in Paris, one against Air France from
the collective against deportations, and one from "people who don't pay their
tickets, among others" against the National Rail Company's
anti-ticket-fraud campaign; one in Strasbourg against the Elsau prison,
and one in Philadelphia against the Immigration and Naturalization
Services building, where legal immigrants are being forced to register and
submit to interrogation -- this was made part of several weeks of feature
news on immigration for Radio Volta). Some people also came to Strasbourg
and Colmar for the trials. The German defendants charged in the flag case
proposed to mobilize with the anti-fascist networks in case of an appeal.
Signs were also put up throughout France. It may not be much, but none of
these initiatives stayed within the defensive framework of anti-repression
activism; all sought to address the themes of the camp by various angles
(the deportation of migrants, the criminalization of those who don't pay
for public transport, and prison).
[read more]
Judicial finagling: will the prosecutor wipe his feet on the flag?
25.Feb.03 - Today two trials took place linked to the
repression of the No Border Camp and its follow-up. The camp took place
in Strasbourg from July 19-28 2003, and focussed on the themes of freedom
of movement and freedom of residence -- right to come, right to go, right
to stay -- the reusal of social control, and of the Schengen Informaiton
System, which is based in Strasbourg.
This time, the court was not subject to a police siege, in contrast with
former "No Border" trials; the riot police didn't block the door, the
public was not prevented from entering, neither were members of the
audience searched nor did they have their ID confiscated. Those
exceptional conditions had been the subject of a report by the League for
Human Rights after the trial of the "17" (who were judged for an
occupation of the Strasbourg branch office of the Ministry of Justice).
[read more] [fr]
Report from this years noborder camp in Slovenia
03.Dec.02 - a report from the 2nd noborder camp in slovenia that took place late this summer. intresting read, as it sseems that these guys managed to combine actions and discussions in a good mix during their camp plus they also had a 'working press group who was in charge for public relations and journalists'. impressive!
This years' summer ended with the second No Border camp in Slovenia. It lasted from 28.8 till 1.9.2002 in a small village called Sredsice in North East of Slovenia. Camp structure was set on the art center grounds, that is 200 meters from the Hungarian border. it was not far from the 'triple border' and close to two deportation centers in the village Prosenjakovci and Vidonci. Therefore the location was well put, the only problem was the distance from the surrounding towns and villages. ...
[read more]
Ahmed trail update
10.Oct.02 - Ahmed's appeal was held on October 8 in the appeals court in Colmar. Despite
the inconsistencies of the accusation and the supporting testimonies, his
sentence was confirmed, making it impossible for him to contest the
false verdict of guilt. Ahmed wlil be relesed from prison Tuesday
morning, October 15. Despite the fact that his sentence was converted to
time served (with his time in pretrial preventative detention included)
Ahmed has paid heavily for the State's repressive policy.
[read more]
Legal Consequences of the No Border Camp, Strasbourg
06.Sep.02 - It was always obvious to the organizers of the Strasbourg camp that our initiative would have to comprise a willingness to react, collectively if at all possible, in the event of repressive episodes during camp's existence and face up to any subsequent legal action as efficiently as possible. This is why a Legal Team was established before and during the camp. [...] We shall also need to be especially efficient if we are to avoid the trap of spending all our time responding to repressive measures. We must learn to make solidarity measures with those charged an opportunity for political and practical advancement in the direction of our principal goals...
[read more] [fr]
Report from the trail against Ahmed
22.Aug.02 - Ahmed has been sentenced to 8 months prison, with 5 suspended.
During these last months and within the context of "zero tolerance" we have
noticed that sentences for similar acts (outrages and violence towards a
police agent) have been much heavier.
Therefore we can say that this sentence is not a recognition of his guilt,
but constitues an attempt to intimidate the mouvement.
The verdict stands as a condamnation of the actions accomplished during the
no-border camp.
[read more] [de] [fr]
Actions across europe in support of ahmed [multilingual]
21.Aug.02 - Today actions in support of Ahmed took place in diffrent cities across Europe. In spite of the different actions Ahmed who was arrested during a demonstration in the context of the noborder camp in strasbourg, was sentenced by a court in strasbourg to sentenced to 8 months with 5 months of parole. He was also fined about 1000 euros. Ahmed had asked for creative actions. Here some the reports...
[read more]
Call for solidarity with Ahmed [imprisoned since 24/07]
12.Aug.02 - The support collective for Ahmed (and for the other activists that have been criminalized after the noborder demonstrations) from Strasbourg has decided to invite all organizations and associations to act in solidarity against the criminalization of activists, to express their support for Ahmed on the 21st of Augustus during his trail, and to demand the end of his isolation in prison and support his demand to be freed.
[read more]
No deportation of Roma from the European Union!
10.Aug.02 - At the no border camp in Strasbourg an international supportgroup for the Roma has been formed. People from different countries who arein contact with Roma, met a few times during the camp and now want to make a short summery of the workshop:
The situation of Roma people is difficult through out Europe.They arecontinuosly discriminated and confronted with unsure or no right to stay.
[read more] [de]
publix theatre caravan moves on to the dokumenta 11 in kassel
01.Aug.02 - Following the successfull participation in the no border camp in strasbourg the caravan followed the invitation to the dokumenta 11 in kassel. on monday july 29 at noon the caravan arrived at the friederich platz in kassel, occupied the square and set up the no border ZONE in front of the friederichanum. the artivists aired live radio, distributed information, made interviews with visitors of the dokumenta 11 and did theatrical interventions all of which received positive feed back from the public present.....
[read more] [de] [fr] [it]
Neither good nor bad, neither guilty nor victims...
31.Jul.02 - Freedom of movement frightens many. It is accorded or, more often, refused, according
to discriminatory criteria: country of origin; sex; level of education; familial, social,
political, or economic status... the climate created by the security forces is accentuated by
laws connected to the September 11th attacks and new tools of repression, such as the
Schengen Information System. It was to construct a place of rupture with the processes
that control our lives that the international No Border network organized a camp at
Strasbourg, from July 19 to 28.
[read more] [de] [fr] [es]
Towards the convergence of refugies, migrants and sans papiers´ struggles in Europe
29.Jul.02 - Fullfilling their freedom of movement, undocumented refugees and migrants (Sans Papiers) and members of support groups from France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, the UK, Finland, the USA met together at the Noborder camp in Strasbourg in July 2002 to support the struggles of migrants.
The desperate situations faced by refugees and the brutal immigration regimes faced by detained asylum seekers serve to extend their oppression rather than offer asylum from the situations they fled. Most importantly, we recognize that migrants who seek legalisation in Europe are often fleeing situations that Western industrialised countries helped to create through economic exploitation, political and military intervention.
[read more] [fr] [es]
the camp is over - we have left the parc du rhin
28.Jul.02 - today the last participants left the parc du rhin. after deconstructiong the collective structures and cleaning up the park, the remaining 400 or so participants gathered to leave in together in a colorful farewell parade through strasbourg. on its way out of strsbourg the participants of this parade stopped on the 'pont du europe' effectively blocking all traffic across that bridge and refused to move on before the two persons that were arrested during Saturdays actions in the city center were freed.
[read more]
First impressions from the travelling suburbs caravan [with pictures]
27.Jul.02 - The "Justice in the suburbs" caravan is an initiative of
the Permanent Festival against Racist Laws and of the Suburbs and
Immigration Movement (MIB) within the context of the No Border Camp as a
decentralised action that would be visible in the popular neighborhoods of
Strasbourg from July 21-26 2002.
[read more] [fr]
Meeting with the lyon sans-papiers and support committee members
26.Jul.02 - We declare our total solidarity and support for the collective action started since August 2001 by the hundreds of foreigners (asylum seekers and sans-papiers) who have decided to act collectively to obtain the right to work in decent conditions: to obtain correct housing and the right to work during the time of processing of their asylum request or to obtain a residence permit for those who have seen their request turned down.
[read more] [fr]
Massive Repression in Strasbourg
26.Jul.02 - Strassbourg - On the eighth day of the international No Bordercamp, it has become clear that police repression is growing stronger every hour.
A report from the legal group on the situation so far. Since midnight 25th July no groups or 'members' of the No Border Collective are allowed to manifest in the streets of Strassbourg. This is decided by the prefect by means of an 'arret du prefect'.
[read more] [de] [fr]
CRS stops slave market at the center of Strasbourg [with photos]
26.Jul.02 - We the ‘schwabinggrad’ ballet performed our play two times at the center of Strasbourg today. We started at Pond Marche, an appropriate space for a slave market. Later we went right to the heart of the city, and performed on Place Kleber.
On Pond Marche, the police took away some of our props, the signs, that indicate the different acts of the play, and the song titles. Because this courageous intervention of the French police had been fotographed by a bystander, he was attacked, and forced to hand out his camera, making sure to put enough light on the film, so the police could not get hand on any evidence. However, police hit our comrade and teargased another bystander, who helped the photographer. But we can assure you, that the real film showing the police intervention, arrived safely in the noborder camp. We went on performing, and the police went away.
[read more]
Shutting down the SIS !
26.Jul.02 - On friday 26th a team of researchers from strasbourg NSV research
(Noborder Silicon Valley) came to Strasbourg Neuhof, where the
Schengen Information System (SIS) is located.
[read more] [fr]
No Border continues ! Answer to the french state...
25.Jul.02 - The State Police Departement has just prohibited any public
demonstration emerging from or carried out by the No Border Camp from
Thursday 0h to Saturday 24h.
[read more] [fr]
Freedom of press stamped out: Declaration of journalists at the edge of the noborder-camp in Strassbourg
25.Jul.02 - Two journalists from Cologne, Germany, who were filming a demonstration of the no border camp in Strasbourg, France on the 24th of July 2002 were treated as follows.
On the Boulevard de la Victoire the team documented brutal actions of policemen. Police were beating defenseless people without any reason and spraying teargas on them from a very short distance. Suddenly, 6 to 8 policemen were run towards the colleagues. Without any demand to stop the filming and although both introduced themselves as German journalists by presenting their press cards, police officers snatched their camera. One journalist was sprayed with teargas and beaten up while lying on the ground. At the same time, police officers opened the camera and stole the tape. Despite several requests, they did not return the footage.
[read more] [de] [fr]
...et maintenant SISbourg !
24.Jul.02 - Appel à la manifestation contre le centre de rétention de Gespolsheim
(Strasbourg) qui vient d'être agressé par la police à Strasbourg
(lacrymogènes charges à la matraque, et peut-être tirs de flashballs).
Au moins 9 arrestations.
[continuer]
Actions contre Accor
23.Jul.02 - Lundi soir, quatre hôtels du groupe Accor (Mecure, Ibis, Etape...) étaient visités par quelques militants: Ils sont entrés dans les foyers, provoquaient des dégats matériels importants en expliquant en même temps le but de leur action: on a protesté contre la collaboration du groupe Accor dans le secteur des expulsions, mais on a aussi exprimé sa solidarité avec les femmes de ménage en grêve ( Nettoyage rime encore avec esclavage chez cette société). Quelques paroles sont lisibles maintenant sur les murs (mais aussi à l'intérieur) des hôtels: "Accor collabo", "Accor expulseur" Tout le monde est bien rentré après l'action.
[continuer] [de]
International demonstration in solidarity with Refugees and Sans Papiers
22.Jul.02 - Monday morning 1171 participants of the international noborder camp in Strasbourg demonstrated in front of the European Court of Human Rights. The march went from the campsite in the Prac du Rhin to the court and further into the city center [Place Kleber]. Not respecting the summer vacation of the European Institutions, representatives of refugee and migrants organizations read out long accusations, criticizing the Immigration and asylum policies of the European Union.
[read more] [de]
First day of the carvan to the banlieus [Meinau]
22.Jul.02 - On Sunday afternoon activists of the noborder camp went to visit the Meinau neighborhood of strasbourg. On the 19th of may the four year old child Bilal was killed there when he fell down an elevator shaft. The long-unserviced elevator system had opened a upper floor dor, when the cabin was not behind it.
[read more] [de]
The camp radio is broadcasting
21.Jul.02 - since yesterday evening the camp radio is on air. it will feature a mixture of live broadcasts from different activities related to the camp, newscasts and music. on the campsite the radioprogram can be recieved with a fm-radio reciever. [tune to 106-8.0 fm]. the camp radio is also streamed via the net. check the radios website [www.noborder.org/strasbourg/radio] to find how to recieve the live streams.
[read more]
Enthusiastic take-off at the women-only-area [with pictures]
19.Jul.02 - The construction of the 'tea-room dome' was a great and inspiring experience: non-hierarchical, friendly, chaotic and even though there was a great variety of skills and languages present surprisingly quick. And - as a result - 'our' dome is of course the most beautiful around…
[read more] [de] [fr]
The camp is online [with pictures]
18.Jul.02 - since this morning the camp is online. the internet connection will be used to update this webpage during the camp. we will also install a public access spave were the participants of the camp can browse the web, publish reports and pictures via an open pulishing system , or just browse the web. we will also use the connection vor various [radio-] streams.
[read more]
First tents at 'Parc du Rhin' [with pictures]
14.Jul.02 - This Sunday we have set up our tents on the site of the noborder camp. About 50 of us are staying in the park on the banks of the river rhine in order to set up the infrastructure and to prepare the site for the arrival of an estimated 2000 particpants beginning this friday. To join us take the number 2 bus from the main train station in Strasbourg to the 'port du rhin' stop or turn left after the europe bridge in case you are coming from germany.
[read more]
Noborder Parade in through the city center [with pictures]
13.Jul.02 - Meanwhile in Strasbourg the local mobilsation continues. This Saturday about 50 activists held a parade through the city center. Armed with musical instruments and a mini schengenland surrounded by 'mobile border' that was protected by police ofiicers armed to their teeth. They also distrinuted flyers and painted slogans on the walls. During the parade the participants sucessfully obstructed the work of the local police when they could protect a mother with to kids from being randomly checked by the police
[read more] [fr]
Solidarity action in front of the Spanish consulate
07.Jul.02 - On Thursday the 4th of July about 30 persons involved in the preparation of the camp in Strasbourg expressed their solidarity with the migrant workers that have squatted the university of Seville in Spain with an improvised protest action in front of the Spanish consulate in Strasbourg. Answering a call for simultaneous protests in front of Spanish diplomatic presences all over Europe at 2000h, the activists distributed flyers to passers-by and made passing vehicles drive through a banner demanding the freedom of movement for everyone.
[read more] [fr]
Bordercamping2002: chain of bordercamps
11.May.02 - After the success of last years chain of noborder camps throughout Europe, this summer will see another chain of camps. So far camps are planned in Finland, France, Germany, Poland and Slovenia as well as Mexico. Earlier this Year a camp took place in Australia. Below you find the currently available information about these camps as well as links to more specific information sources.
[read more]
Call for the camp by some french groups
07.May.02 - This call for the camp has been released by activists from different french groups, it describes the current situation, explains the idea of bordercamps and calls for participation. Currently this call is only available in french and spanish
[read more] [fr] [es]
Call to the international noborder-actioncamp in Strasbourg [July 19th - 28th 2002]
02.Dec.01 - Freedom of movement and settlement are basic human needs. Migration is a
fact, its autonomy could and cannot be regulated, as states and
transnational organisations would want. Migration is a consequence of
economic exploitation, political repression and war but also of the
legitimate interest of people to find better or different living-conditions.
Free movement for everyone must become a reality which we have to fight for
by any means necessary.
Freedom of movement has been a central demand in the last few years, when
grassroot groups started to organise noborder-camps at different borders of
fortress Europe: against the militarised borders around Europe, with their
weapons, control technologies and the racist support of many people in the
European countries. This is the opposite of our dreams to create a world
without borders.
[read more] [de] [fr] [es] [it]
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