On Saturday 17 March, on the Greek island of Lesvos, 300 people gathered in Mytilene’s main Sappho Square to mark the second anniversary of the EU-Turkey deal (described as a ‘statement’ to avoid the scrunity of the European parliament). The deal is credited with leaving thousands of refugees either stranded in Turkey or attempting to
Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID), a charity that assists those in immigration detention in the UK, is taking legal action against the British government in an attempt to pressure it into designating security company G4S as a ‘High Risk’ strategic supplier in the wake of ‘catastrophic failings’. The launch of the campaign comes after the
Dear IRR News subscriber, Is there anyone out there who still believes that there is no such thing as Islamophobia? If so they haven’t been reading IRR News. For over a decade, far-right groups have been terrorising communities across West Yorkshire and now, this Saturday, multicultural Birmingham faces incursion from the Football Lads Alliance (FLA)
On Saturday 17 March, in a cold and snowy Catford, a vigil took place for Kevin Clarke who died on 9 March after being restrained by up to nine Lewisham police officers. The small vigil on a quiet residential Lewisham street was attended mainly by the grieving family and friends of 35-year-old Kevin Clarke. Candles
A fortnightly resource for anti-racist and social justice campaigns, highlighting key events in the UK and Europe. Asylum and migration 6 March: Jess Phillips MP reveals that a constituent was detained in Yarl’s Wood after reporting her violent husband who had threatened to kill her to the police. The woman was later released and given
We reproduce below the speech of Riz Hussain, director of Jawaab, a movement of grassroots voices, at the launch on 7 March of Jawaab’s report Voices of Young Muslims: Building a society free from Islamophobia. ‘Since we began our work in 2011, we have seen so much change. And with this has come our focus
At the 7 March launch of Jawaab’s report Voices of Young Muslims, Nadia Hasan gave a speech celebrating the political activism of Khadija Saye, who died in the Grenfell Tower fire, and questions the media’s decontextualised response to her death. ‘Sometimes, despite the slurs, despite the micro-agressions, despite the collective blame, we appear to lose
Dear IRR News subscriber, You can now book for ‘The heart is where the battle is – a celebration of the life of A. Sivanandan’, an event organised by IRR to be held from 1 30pm on 23 June 2018 at Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London. Tickets are available from Eventbrite. Writings by Sivanandan,
On Wednesday 14 March, fifteen anti-deportation activists go on trial at Chelmsford Crown Court for endangering airport security at Stansted airport. IRR News interviewed author and academic Luke de Noronha (LdN), spokesperson for the End Deportations campaign, about the case. IRR News: Who are the Stansted 15, and what was the purpose of their action?
A fortnightly resource for anti-racist and social justice campaigns, highlighting key events in the UK and Europe. Asylum and migration 21 February: Around 120 women detained at Yarl’s Wood removal centre, Bedfordshire, begin a hunger strike in protest against their indefinite detention and the inhumane conditions they suffer. (Sky News, 25 February 2018) 21 February:
