A new paper circulating in London, The New Londoners, produced by refugees and asylum seekers, provides a strong, alternative voice for these marginalised and often vilified communities. The tabloid-size 24-page newspaper, produced by the Refugee Media Action Group at the Migrants Resource Centre for Refugee Week, is slickly produced with quality pictures and interesting articles
Geography: London
Human rights advocacy graduates speak out
Two days before Human Rights Day, sixteen asylum seekers and refugees graduated from an intensive human rights advocacy course. On Friday 8 December, Amnesty International hosted a graduation ceremony in London, which was attended by family, friends, activists and sympathetic MPs. After hearing speeches by Cameron Bowles of Education Action and Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty,
Sergey Baranyuk forgotten at Harmondsworth
A recent inquest into the death of Ukrainian asylum seeker Sergey Baranyuk provided a glimpse of how asylum seekers are treated behind the closed doors of removal centres in the UK – detained, forgotten and slowly driven to despair. Sergey Baranyuk travelled from the Ukraine to the UK and claimed asylum. He died awaiting voluntary
Roll call of deaths of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants, 1989-2010
IRR has, since 1989, been recording the deaths of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants – two of the most vulnerable sections of our society – as a result of attempting to enter the UK, self-harm, denial of medical treatment, destitution, hazardous working conditions or racist attacks. Forced by circumstances beyond their control to seek a
Chronicler of Black history dies
Peter Fryer, the author of ‘Staying Power: the history of black people in Britain’ died on 31 October. His funeral is on Wednesday 8 November at 2pm at Islington Crematorium, High Road, East Finchley, London N2 9AG. Peter Fryer, born in 1927, was from an early age associated with left movements in the UK. As
Remembering Naser Al Shdaida
Last week in Burgess Park, south London, the Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers (SDCAS), held a memorial service and tree planting ceremony for Syrian asylum seeker, Naser Al Shdaida, who took his life earlier this year after his asylum claim was refused. Naser was a regular user of the SDCAS which provides a ‘warm
Conference finds common cause
Over 250 individuals representing more than eighty organisations (listed below) attended the Institute of Race Relations’ one-day conference, Racism, Liberty and the ‘War on Terror’ on Saturday 16 September. Its aim was to unite activists from a broad range of campaigns in an understanding of how racism, imperialism and globalisation interact today. As keynote speaker
Iraqi Kurdish asylum seekers recount enforced removal
Two of the thirty-two Iraqi Kurds who were deported to northern Iraq on a military plane this week have given eye-witness accounts of their enforced removal. The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR) has spoken to two of the deportees, who have said they are ‘angry, tired and stressed’ after being handed over to militia
Family and friends demonstrate outside Plumstead police station
On Saturday 1 April, over 200 people gathered for a demonstration outside Plumstead police station in south-east London, to protest against the death of Nuur Saeed, a young Somali who died during a police raid. On 24 January 2006, 22-year-old Nuur Saeed died in hospital from head injuries. He had been found on the ground
Free healthcare clinics for vulnerable groups in London
A free, confidential drop-in health clinic aimed at vulnerable migrants, women and homeless people has opened in London. Project:London consists of two weekly clinics in east London where patients do not need to bring any proof of identity or status to receive treatment. Each clinic is staffed by a doctor and nurse who can provide