Event

Migrant workers television (MWTV) from South Korea reported today about following latest alarming development: "In the midst of the increasing crackdown on migrant workers, MTU (Migrant Worker's Trade Union) President (Kajiman), Vice president (Raju) and General Secretary (Masum) were all arrested at 9:30 am this morning (November 27) in front of their homes/workplaces. They were arrested without any formal charges and are being held at detention center in Cheongju.."

Tactics Laboratories Against Borders And Control

There seem to be a revival of "no border" camps this year. 5 years
after the international noborder camp in strasbourg there are camps
announced in Ukraine and Mexico this year, now the first noborder camp
in UK is announced as well, at Gatwick International Airport, outside London and
not far from Dover and Folkstone.

The planned new detention centre at Gatwick goes along with the plans
to tighten inner control and surveillance in the UK by introducing
(biometric) ID cards, the SIRENE infosystem (the UK extension to the
Schengen Information System), extended laws and police action against
"Anti-Social Behaviour" such as flying police drones (now on test in
Merseyside, no joke).

FORUM: EUROPE2008: In Varietate Concordia

Since January 1st, 2007, the Union consists of 27 member states! Is further expansion desirable when the old 25 member states cannot successfully bring about an unequivocal policy? Does Europe need borders and if so, where do you draw the line? Croatia? Bosnia Herzegovina? Albania? Or Turkey? Georgia? Azerbeidzjan? And what about Russia? Or Canada? Israel?

Join the forum on Europe Day, the 9th of May on www.europeday.info

This detailled report on the immigrants rights march on May 1st in Chicago has appeared on the nettime mailing list: http://www.nettime.org

Today I went to the big immigrants' rights march/rally. I had enough to say about the day even before I received word, just after having returned home from the event, of an untimely loss for the Chicago art/activist world. Michael Piazza passed suddenly over the weekend. Michael was an artist and a local presence for many years, with a memory of radical Chicago that went back to the Seventies. I cannot speak about May Day in Chicago in 2006 without mentioning the concurrent passing of this colleague beloved by so many because Michael himself played an important role in keeping the observance of May Day vital in the city of its politicized birth, including having coordinated a number of projects that took place on the site of the Haymarket incident. I could say a lot more about Michael and the way he lived his life, but I'll keep it short here and simply offer the observation that much of what happens in this city in the area of cultural activism--the way our networks operate, the way people so generously support and collaborate with each other, the way productive exchanges between allies are made possible--bears the imprint of Michael's innovations and values. I think with time we will realize that Michael's work, in its own way, left as long a shadow in this city as did that of the late Carlos Cortez.

Los Angeles is preparing for another huge march for legalization and workers' rights on May 1st. In fact it looks like the "Gran Marcha" of March 25th revitalized the immigrant workers' movement in the whole United States and beyond. This blog entry will try to sum up some of the recent developments, point to news sources and local activist's websites and generally keep you in the loop as things unfold. Expect frequent updates during the next 4-5 days. (Last updated: 05/01 11:35pm PST)

On March 25, 2006, Los Angeles immigrants and their supporters came out in mass to protest the recent anti-immigrant legislation being discussed by the US Congress. An estimated 500,000 to 1 million people were out in the streets, in a peaceful protest. News reported 500,000 but organizers estimate over a 1 million came out on Saturday. They came out to protest HR 4437, a bill that is being discussed this month in the US Congress.

The Sensenbrenner Bill is a 247 page bill that is an outrageous law because it makes local law enforcement immigration officers, makes being undocumented a felony (now just a civil case and will be deported), makes anyone who assists undocumented workers a smuggler (also felony and can seize property that was used - office, car, home, etc.), and makes it harder for employers to hire undocumented workers.

Activists from Andalucia in the south of spain have released this call for a joint european action day on October 29th, 2005. It refers to the numerous deaths of migrants and refugees when trying to enter the spanish enclaves Ceuta and Melilla in north of Morocco over the past few weeks.

Pan African News Agency, October 13, 2005, By Paul Ejime: Dakar - The heart-rending pictures of African youths using ladders to jump over razor-wire fences in their bid to enter Europe demonstrated the desperation of the future generation of a continent to escape what it considers a hopeless situation at home.

But the unorthodox emigration method also highlights the magnitude of a grave African malaise against the backdrop of
the much-touted New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the global lip-service paid to the Millennium Development Goals, especially poverty reduction.

Until now, the immigrants had been dashing across north African borders into Europe, especially Spain because of its more liberal immigration laws, but in the past three weeks, the waves of desperate young Africans, who have lost every hope on their countries had been trying to force their way through.

This is the invitation to the workshop "Migration and labor market" organised by educational program of the german union DGB on October 12th in Erfurt (DE). The workshop aims to balance the experiences of EU-funded projects that are dealing with the "integration of refugees into the labor market" in six different european countries.

On the first day of the mobilization to protest the Bush Agenda at the Republican National Convention in New York City, 500 people attended the Speak Out! organized by the Immigrant Solidarity Network. The program was designed to lift the voices of grassroots Immigrant organizations and workers, raising awareness of the many varied issues and struggles being led from within immigrant communities themselves in the U.S.