Alldred - No Borders, No Nations, No Deportations
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Transcript of Alldred - No Borders, No Nations, No Deportations
No Borders, No Nations, No DeportationsAuthor(s): Pam AlldredSource: Feminist Review, No. 73, Exile and Asylum: Women Seeking Refuge in 'FortressEurope' (2003), pp. 152-157Published by: Palgrave Macmillan JournalsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1396006 .Accessed: 18/10/2011 08:45
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references references
Athena (2001) 'Dossier on women's studies in the Balkans' in R. Braidotti and I. Lazaroms (2001) editors, The Making of European Women's Studies, Vol. I!1, Esther Vonk, Utrecht: Athena, pp.15-85.
ECRE (1999) Kosovo-Refugees. Protection, reception, conditions and return policies in some
European Countries, 13 August 1999, http:\\www.proasyl.de/texte/europe/ecre/kosovaug.htm.
European Roma Rights Center (2000) /I paese dei campi. La segregazione dei Rom in Italia, Supplement of 'Carta', No. 12.
Dal Logo, A. (1999) Non-persone. L'esclusione dei migranti in una societd globale, Milan: Feltrinelli.
Delle Donne, M. (1995) La strada dell'oblio. Richiedenti asilo e rifugiati in Italia, Rome: Sensibili alle foglie.
doi: 10.1057/palgrave.fr. 9400088
'no borders, no nations, no deportations'
Pam Alidred
Activism from internationalist, anti-state perspectives looks to radical change
beyond reform of the law or asylum for particular individuals or families. In this, it
is distinct from campaigns against immigration legislation or legal battles over
particular deportations. One might well be active in particular anti-deportation
campaigns while questioning the legal framework as a whole and the cultural
relations it shores up. 'No Borders' is one such movement that joins an anti-racist
agenda with an anti-capitalist one, and operates as a European network, as well
as loose-knit local groups, such as the London one. July 2002 saw the latest in a
series of international border camps, this time in Strasbourg, close to France's
border with Germany. What follows is a few of my personal reflections on the camp
and our difficulties in dealing with differences among us that perhaps illustrate a
particular 'moment' in our struggle(s) towards a pan-European network of
migrants, support groups and activists. Firstly, a little of my understanding of the
politics of No Borders.
While opposing the policies of detention, dispersal, deportation and (supposed)
deterrence that characterize the UK Government's treatment of asylum seekers and
refugees, No Borders calls for direct action against immigration controls in the
name of free movement for all. It has drawn inspiration from and joined with the
campaign to close down the Campsfield Detention Centre in Oxfordshire, England;
picketed supermarkets to raise public awareness of the hated (and now
abandoned) voucher scheme that saw supermarkets keep the change from asylum
seekers' food bills; dropped multi-lingual 'welcome' banners at points of entry to
the UK and initiated actions and publications that highlight corporate profiteering
from asylum policy (eg by Lufhansa airline, Sodexo caterers). At the time of the
Prague 2000 IMF/WB meeting, a London-based group of No Borders activists were
highlighting the state's use of corporate staff to exercise control over the
Athena (2001) 'Dossier on women's studies in the Balkans' in R. Braidotti and I. Lazaroms (2001) editors, The Making of European Women's Studies, Vol. I!1, Esther Vonk, Utrecht: Athena, pp.15-85.
ECRE (1999) Kosovo-Refugees. Protection, reception, conditions and return policies in some
European Countries, 13 August 1999, http:\\www.proasyl.de/texte/europe/ecre/kosovaug.htm.
European Roma Rights Center (2000) /I paese dei campi. La segregazione dei Rom in Italia, Supplement of 'Carta', No. 12.
Dal Logo, A. (1999) Non-persone. L'esclusione dei migranti in una societd globale, Milan: Feltrinelli.
Delle Donne, M. (1995) La strada dell'oblio. Richiedenti asilo e rifugiati in Italia, Rome: Sensibili alle foglie.
doi: 10.1057/palgrave.fr. 9400088
'no borders, no nations, no deportations'
Pam Alidred
Activism from internationalist, anti-state perspectives looks to radical change
beyond reform of the law or asylum for particular individuals or families. In this, it
is distinct from campaigns against immigration legislation or legal battles over
particular deportations. One might well be active in particular anti-deportation
campaigns while questioning the legal framework as a whole and the cultural
relations it shores up. 'No Borders' is one such movement that joins an anti-racist
agenda with an anti-capitalist one, and operates as a European network, as well
as loose-knit local groups, such as the London one. July 2002 saw the latest in a
series of international border camps, this time in Strasbourg, close to France's
border with Germany. What follows is a few of my personal reflections on the camp
and our difficulties in dealing with differences among us that perhaps illustrate a
particular 'moment' in our struggle(s) towards a pan-European network of
migrants, support groups and activists. Firstly, a little of my understanding of the
politics of No Borders.
While opposing the policies of detention, dispersal, deportation and (supposed)
deterrence that characterize the UK Government's treatment of asylum seekers and
refugees, No Borders calls for direct action against immigration controls in the
name of free movement for all. It has drawn inspiration from and joined with the
campaign to close down the Campsfield Detention Centre in Oxfordshire, England;
picketed supermarkets to raise public awareness of the hated (and now
abandoned) voucher scheme that saw supermarkets keep the change from asylum
seekers' food bills; dropped multi-lingual 'welcome' banners at points of entry to
the UK and initiated actions and publications that highlight corporate profiteering
from asylum policy (eg by Lufhansa airline, Sodexo caterers). At the time of the
Prague 2000 IMF/WB meeting, a London-based group of No Borders activists were
highlighting the state's use of corporate staff to exercise control over the
152 feminist review 73 2003 dialogue 152 feminist review 73 2003 dialogue
movement of people across the same European borders that money and shares
cross unimpeded, as copies of the witty spoof, the Financial Crimes, were
distributed to city commuters. This local action, highlighting the links to inter/
national law and global processes, was in solidarity with the demonstrations in
Prague, but was, for most of us, an alternative to taking up our relatively
privileged access to travel and to gain entry on return.
An environmental and anti-imperialist analysis refuses to be silent on the role of
rich nations in creating the conflict from which people flee, and points out the
significance of (European and) British colonialism in creating contemporary
patterns of migration to places people identify as the mother country or speak the
language of. Economic conditions often result from the political decisions taken by
Western governments, the World Bank and the IMF. Anti-capitalist perspectives
refuse the distinction between economic and political refugees that allows the
tabloid newspapers their pious moral distinction between the deserving and
undeserving. The condemnation of refugees and migrants is seen as the
scapegoating of those who suffer the worst effects of the new capitalist world
order and individualization of the problem that serves to distract from the broader
economic relations at play. Migrant workers are often at the sharpest end of
exploitative work relations and deeming some of them illegal helps hide this
exploitation. Anti-state perspectives point to the limits of reliance on legal
remedies where utilitarian logic values people on the basis of their usefulness
as workers and states open and close national gates accordingly, and opt out
of European legislation 'in the national interest'. Berlusconi showed this by
suspending the Schengen Convention on free movement inside the EU to restrict
activists joining the European Social Forum in Florence in November 2002. Certain
groups get differential access, for example the white Zimbabwean farmers
(descendents of those who emigrated for economic reasons to exploit African
resources) were 'fast-tracked' past the backlog of UK asylum claims.
The international bordercamp was initiated to allow refugees, migrants and
undocumented migrants, such as the 'Sans Papiers' in France, and members of
support/campaign groups from across Europe to forge new alliances and
strengthen solidarities in a 'ten-day laboratory of creative resistance and civil
disobedience'. Since the first 'kein Mensch ist illegal' bordercamp in 1998, and the
EU migration summit in Tampere, Finland in 1999, where synchronized opposition to
the European project of exclusion took place in 8 EU countries, there have been
at least five camps in different parts of Europe, at external borders: 'physical
interventions in the brutal border regime of Fortress Europe'; and at internal or
virtual borders in airports and stations. The network aims 'not only to criticize, but
to create Europe-wide structures for practical and effective resistance' and uses
mailing lists, web-magazines and radio to spread the practical politics behind
slogans like No one Is Illegal and Freedom of Movement for All. As repression is
harmonized across European territory, it becomes more important to share tactics
dialogue feminist review 73 2003 153
of survival and resistance and make links between the points of resistance in both
the fight for the rights of migrants here and in supporting struggles for justice in
their countries of origin. The Strasbourg camp brought together activists from
France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, the UK, Finland and the USA, and was part
of a chain of bordercamps in Woomera (Australia), Mexico, Poland, Slovenia,
Germany and Finland.
The location and timing of the camp were significant. Strasbourg, having switched
five times between French and German rule in the last 400 years, illustrates the
historically constructed nature of the national border, and the monuments to
Resistance fighters killed there 60 years ago, reminded us of its bloody and
conflictual history. Today, it symbolizes the EU, since, like the capital of Europe,
it houses the European Court of Human Rights and the EU Parliament. However,
it marks the shift from physical, territorial borders to an omnipresent, perpetual
system of control by housing the Schengen Information System (SIS), the
pan-European database to control migrants, protesters and other perceived
threats to public order, a centre-piece of the EU border regime. Its timing was
notably not set by the summit schedule. Instead it was an autonomous event
seeking sustainable alternatives not just angry responses to the established order;
the organizers did not see themselves as rallying 'the good guys' against the 'bad
guys' or constructing objects of hate.
A reminder of the significance of the national border I was within came from my
hasty attempt to understand the policing and legal context. French activists had
provided a useful briefing on the website about the various types of French police
and their different powers and tactics, warning that the non-uniformed ones were
the most aggressive and dangerous, but I was shocked that the French police fired
tear-gas and charged the crowd without issuing a warning or even prior
instructions. The French lawyers on site were similarly appalled by the first use in
Europe of 'flash balls' - big rubber bullets that are supposed to be fired at the
ground only. One fired directly at a French protester broke his leg and could
apparently have given him very serious injuries indeed.
Trying to map the political culture proved equally ambiguous. When I arrived,
UK activists already there were struck by the low-key policing of a large
demonstration, and interpreted this as a reflection of the liberty to express oneself
enshrined in French culture, where graffiti was read (and written) politically and
passersby shared their opinions with protestors. They were inspired by the strong
sense of collectivity amongst the crowd, taking care of the most vulnerable, not
letting the police pick off individuals, surrounding someone who'd been hit or was
badly affected by tear-gas. However, the 3-day regional ban on demonstrating or
congregating in small groups in the town centre that Jacques Chirac imposed, had
never been used before and shocked the French; it also temporarily turned one of
the chants into 'No Borders, No Nations, No Demonstrations'.
154 feminist review 73 2003 dialogue
The camp was organized according to a barrio structure, where groups of 30-60
people formed camps, each with their own kitchen, at which they held daily
meetings, and organized maintaining their water supply and nearest compost loos.
The Black and Silver barrio was cleverly named, I thought, to stem the construction
of an opposition between 'Pink and Silver' (tactical frivolity or samba) and harder
'Black Block' tactics. It was less diverse than other barrios though, comprising
mostly London-based activists, of whom many of us already knew each other, and
operating in English almost the whole time. All the workshops and meetings were
conducted with translations into at least two languages, with which languages and who would translate being agreed at the start and microphones passed
accordingly. People were encouraged to speak in their first language and let the
highly proficient translators maintain their role, and although a few of the British
people I knew turned out to be fluent in another language or two, the multilingual
fluency of many of the French, German and Italian activists, as usual, put most
of us with English as our mother-tongue to shame. I was also impressed by the
discipline and patience shown for potentially unwieldy meeting sizes and structures
and came away appreciating how the time taken by multiple translations lead to
carefully considered, rather than impulsive, cathartic contributions.
Differences in tactics did emerge, however, and perhaps unsurprisingly, so did
different expectations of the camp. As the organizers pointed to the value of the
camp itself for networking, discussing and organizing, some felt they had not
travelled to the site of the institutions of the super-state to focus solely
internally, and in some quarters anxiety mounted about how symbolic or how
ambitious the planned action against the SIS would be. The police repression, their
incursions into the (agreed) site and the refusal of bail to one arrestee, a
Moroccan man, fed a growing counter-summit dynamic by providing a defined
enemy and raising the level of conflict. This hardened resolve to assemble for an
action or mass protest on the Saturday, the grand commercial 'market' day that the ban seemed designed to protect. Even though some of the plans were for
creative actions using street theatre or samba, the underlying dynamic seemed to be a defiant, ego-based urge to confirm our own identities and ability to act. One
commentary later criticized the patriarchal pattern this logic produced, devaluing the reproductive work of the camp (cooking, building and childcare) and valorizing the macho actions 'out there' that required the courage, muscles and testosterone
(El Desaparecido, 16th August 2002).
While renewed impetus behind communicating with the local community came later
from the desire to challenge some of the negative coverage of the camp in the French press and to improve our safety, given the fear of attack by the German neo-Nazis who shouted 'Judes', 'Communists' and 'Gypsies' from the other bank of the river, some activists wanted to go into the banlieues (the 'suburbs') and make links with the disaffected young people in the immigrant communities
concentrated there. Some of the Strasbourgers in the camp were long-time
dialogue feminist review 73 2003 155
activists and community workers in the banlieues, and cautioned against any
actions that might draw police attention to the banlieues. They highlighted the
long time it had taken those of them who were white and nonmigrants to gain the
trust of the very marginalized. The Mouvement de I'lmmigration et des Banlieues
(MIB) sees the relationship between the French state and the banlieues as one of
ongoing colonial relations, and while it welcomed the Strasbourg camp (and the
one immediately before it in Jena which succeeded in attracting equal numbers of
migrants and 'activists') as bringing migrants and 'activists' together, it was
disappointing to hear that one MIB felt that 'people with a foreign look were
directed to us. It was a bit odd to see that the MIB stall was considered a
consulate for migrants/Sans papiers within the camp'. The unquashable drive to
have a samba 'action' and the very specific nature of local politics and
relationships made me worry that a bunch of mostly white activists would stir up
the Strasbourg police and then leave town. I was unpopular for asking if we were
simply importing political tactics to a (geo-political) space we knew little about.
Samba rhythms have already crossed continents of geo-political space, of course,
but it was a relief that, in the end, the samba action that went ahead was in the
town-centre and was reportedly a good action, or at least a joyful and defiant
event.
Over a series of meetings, a joint statement of demands shared by the different
groups was produced. It was agreed in French and German, and I merely worked on
the final drafts of the English version. I knew that translation was not as straight-
forward as is sometimes implied, but the amount of political debate generated in
agreeing nuances of translation within a small multi-lingual subgroup was
insightful for me.
Many of the demands work at a pan-European level and within different national
contexts (e.g. for freedom of movement, defence of the right to asylum, an end to
all deportation and the closure of all detention centres and freedom of those
imprisoned). Others speak to more specific legal contexts, but have broad
resonance in terms of the tone of governmental responses they reveal: an end to
precarious and short-term legal permits; removal of conditions on permission to
stay (such as a contract for work); abolition of the double penalty (as in Belgium
and France); an end to the dispersal system and any restrictions on residency (as
in Germany); and the unconditional legalization of the Sans Papier (undocumented
people). Since Sans Papiers is a hugely significant, self-organized migrants'
movement in France and evidenced the camp's orientation to grass-roots
organizations, it was hard to translate in a way that spoke equally powerfully to an
English-speaking audience to whom being 'without papers' is not politicized but
specific legal persons, 'asylum seekers', are highly politicized, indeed vilified, and
so political responses seek to validate this term. The term 'asylum seeker' is far
more specific, and risks accepting the presumption of the moral distinction
between economic migrants and those seeking political asylum. While referring to
156 feminist review 73 2003 dialogue
'migrants' broadened the focus beyond that created by the UK legal system, and
using 'Sans Papiers' was advocated as a way of promoting and linking politicized
grass-roots resistance, these terms limit the statement's accessibility to UK
audiences and its engagement with the specific cultural politics of the debate in
the UK.
My final lesson on the difficulty of seeking pan-European political positions,
indeed global ones, was when, in a rousing final sentence of the statement, there
is an appeal to unite as 'citizens of the world'. Whilst at one level, the solidarities
this forges between movements as diverse as the Zapatistas, Singaporean
sweatshop workers and sacked Liverpool dockers worked for me and the other
British activists around, at another level, in our national context 'citizen' had been
co-opted by politically conservative and legalistic use. So I struggled to find a
form of expression that wrestled 'the citizen' out of the jaws of the Home
Secretary, David Blunkett, intent on making proficiency in English and knowledge
of British culture requirements of British citizenship. Instead of either tearing down
the SIS or networking with French activists, I was at a computer screen in the
mobile independent media unit broadening and narrowing the terms of my debate.
Quotations are from the EUROPE 1:1 Information Map, 'your Strasbourg Journey
Planner', published by 'Civilised Countries'.
El Desaparecido (16th August 2002) 'After Strasbourg, Before Leiden', A-INFOs
NEWS SERVICE.
European no border network: www.noborder.org
Schengen Information System: www.statewatch.org
Campaign against Campsfield Detention Centre: www.closecampsfield.org.uk
Barbed Wire Britain: www.barbedwirebritain.org.uk
Mouvement Immigration Banlieue (MIB): http://mibmib.free.fr/
Kein Mensch ist illegal: www.contrast.org/borders/kein/
author biography
Pam Alldred is a London-based academic and activist. She teaches Education and
Childhood Studies at the University of Greenwich, and is a memeber of the Feminist
Review Collective.
doi: 10.1057/palgrave.fr. 9400089
dialogue feminist review 73 2003 157