A peaceful gathering to demand the release of refugee women and to shine a light on Yarl’s Wood and indefinite detention in the UK. Thursday 13 February 2014, 6pm Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF Bring torches, candles and bike lights. Speakers include: Meltem Avcil (ex-detainee and campaigner) Kate Smurthwaite (comedian and activist)
Theme: Health
Snail’s pace in deaths in custody investigations
As the file on the death of Habib Ullah in police custody in 2008 finally reaches the CPS, the intolerable delays in investigating deaths in custody are once more in the spotlight. This week, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) referred the case of Habib Ullah to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The IPCC’s initial
Politicians, racism and the media
A public meeting to demand an end to politicians creating a climate of racism and xenophobia. Tuesday 18 February 2014, 7-9pm The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield S1 2BX Speakers: Emma Briant – University of Sheffield Jon Burnett – Institute of Race Relations John Grayson – SYMAAG Related links South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action
Re-evaluating Enoch Powell
A new book on Enoch Powell reappraises without rehabilitating. In December 2012, Vince Cable compared his own government’s rhetoric on immigration to Powell’s 1968 ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech. In January of this year, UKIP leader Nigel Farage said of the same speech ‘the basic principle is right’. On both and many other occasions, columnists rushed
The criminalisation of Gypsies and Travellers
There is much to commend in No Place to Call Home, a potted history of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in the UK and Ireland, but its reliance on police sources is worrying. There is much to praise in Katharine Quarmby’s No Place to Call Home. She capably describes the structured state and institutional racism that Gypsies
Investigated or ignored?
Today, the Institute of Race Relations publishes a report that shows serious deficiencies in the criminal justice system’s response to race-related killings. Since the publication of the Macpherson report in 1999, into the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, at least ninety-three people have lost their lives as a result of racially motivated attacks (or attacks
Stand up to racism and fascism: day of action
We reproduce here a statement initiated by Unite Against Fascism, as well as information about a pan-European day of action coinciding with UN Anti-Racism Day. Already in most European countries parties of the Right, centre and even the traditional Left are allowing the terrain of these elections to be dominated by racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and
Statement of solidarity from Relatives for Justice
Below, we reproduce a statement from Relatives for Justice, a support group for those bereaved and injured in the conflict in the North of Ireland, in solidarity with Mark Duggan’s family and their fight for justice after the recent inquest verdict. As the verdict from the inquest into the killing of Mark Duggan began to
Liberating media
Filmmaker Ken Fero, of Migrant Media, examines the role of the media in documenting political struggle. ‘If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.’ Malcom X The power of film to document stories, inspire action and agitate for change has run hand in hand with revolutionary cells, social struggles and mass movements.
Mapping the war on the poor
A graphic portrayal of the causes, the mechanics and the deadly effects of European migration policies makes the 2013 Atlas of Migration in Europe[1] an indispensable resource. A picture is worth a thousand words. The truth of the aphorism, as applied to maps, is dramatically borne out by the Atlas, which is structured around four