October 7, 2006: Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls

One year after the escalations in Ceuta and Melilla, a broad network of migration-related initiatives call for freedom of movement in a transnational day of action. In dozens of cities in Europe and also in Africa, manifestations and demonstrations are in preparation for 7th of October.

To organize such a day of migration-related actions was decided at the European Social Forum in May 2006, when about 15,000 people from different social movements met in Athens.

Since last year the militarisation of EU-migration policy has got another instrument: Frontex! Thats the name of the new European Border Agency, which is located in Warsaw. Frontex organised already EU-wide charterdeportations and coordinates an operation now at the coast of West Africa: to intensify controls by ships and airplanes to prevent more so called African boatpeople from reaching Europe. At the moment (September 06) still without meeting any success: every day new boats are landing at the Canary Islands, with more people than ever before, and some starting at about a 1200 km distance from Mauretania or even Senegal. During the last months hundreds of people drowned or died of hunger or of thirst when they risked this new route. And the same is still happening in the Sicilian Channel.

European governments put increasing pressure to African countries to become henchmen for their inhuman migration-policy. Beginning in July 06 a so-called "African European summit on migration and development" took place in Rabat, again mainly in order to push African governments to adopt more systems of migration-control: to implement more visa-restrictions, to establish detention-camps, to accept "repatriation"-programms. Mainly North and West African countries are targets of this externalisation-process at the moment, and they are supposed to block migrants on their way to Europe and help to deport them to the desert or subsaharan countries.

The European governments are responsible for thousands of deaths of African people in the last years; it is a kind of war against migrants and refugees. The above mentioned Frontex-operation is another step in this war, aiming again on the destruction of the (new) flight-routes.

With this backdrop the following call for actions on 7th of October is an important step of common resistance against this inhuman policy. Eastern European activists will protest in front of the aforementioned Frontex-office in Warsaw, while in a press-conference in Nouakchott the illegalisation of migration will be strictly critisized.

From London to Athens, from Hamburg to Barcelona, simultanous demonstrations and actions are exspected in dozens of cities all over Europe. And most important: not only in Mauretania, but also in Marocco, Tunesia and Benin activities have been announced as well.

As you can see in the long list of signatures many more organisations from various African countries have signed the call. They as well as many initiatives in Europe support the 3rd Day of Action on the 7th of October, which will be directed against the denial of rights, against the criminalisation of migrants and against all immigration controls, articulating clear demands within the framework of freedom of movement and the right to stay:

- For Europe-wide unconditional legalisation and equal rights for all migrants
- For the closure of all detention centers in Europe and everywhere
- For an end to all deportations and the externalisation process
- For the uncoupling of the residence permit from the labour contract and against 'precarity'.

Until now (20th of September 06) actions and demonstrations for 7th of October are announced in:

- Austria
Vienna: Decentralised actions and collective demonstration against detention-camps; Further information: http://no-racism.net/thema/106

- Benin Cotounou: Activities at 6th, 7th and 9th of October

- France: Paris

- Germany Berlin: Manifestation and demonstration against a deportation-camp; contact: konsumfuerfreiesfluten@yahoo.com and fluchtlingsbrandenburgini@yahoo.fr More Information:
http://www.chipkartenini.squat.net/Archiv/aktionen/
... berichte/aktionstag_7_10_06/aktionstag_7_10_06.html
Hamburg: Nothern-germany-wide demonstration against externalisation, more information:
http://www.fluechtlingsrat-hamburg.de/ and
http://www.nadir.org/nadir/kampagnen/euromayday-hh/de/2006/09/494.shtml
Cologne: Demonstration for right to stay
Frankfurt: Concert for right to stay on 6th, Action at the entrance to the international bookfair against externalisation and for the right to stay at 7th,
more information: http://aktivgegenabschiebung.de/
Thuringia: Manifestation in front of the refugee-camp in Freienbessingen -
more information: www.bergsteigen.net.tc
Nuernberg: Demonstration?
Augsburg: Demonstration for the right to stay
Suedbaden/Freiburg: various actions in the city.
more info: www.aktionbleiberecht.de
contact: Info@aktionbleiberecht.de

- Greece

- Italy: Local activities in several cities

- Marocco

- Mauretania Nouakchott and Nouadhibou: Press-Conferences and days of sensibisation

- Netherlands Amsterdam: Action in the shopping centre of Zaandam (near Amsterdam) to inform and mobilize the public on the two newly build detention boats in the Zaandam harbour. Contact: info@allincluded.nl

- Poland Warsaw: Demonstration with refugees from chechnia and manifestation in front of Frontext-office

- Spain Actions or demonstrations in Madrid, Barcelona, Almería, Valencia, Málaga

- Tunesia

- United Kingdom London: March in South London on 7th, 'movement-building' conference in East London on Sunday 8th October;
London: 6th of October - Immigration Reporting Center - Close it down" Contact: sarac@crossroadswomen.net
Glasgow: Unity protest/manifestation, Contact: theunitycentre@btconnect.com

General contact: frassainfo@kein.org
More informations: www.noborder.org

The call:

3rd day of Migration-Related Actions: 7 oct 2006 all over Europe and beyond ...

19.Jun.06 - [this call is also available in french, spanish, german, italian and greek, see www.noborder.org]

"In the name of fighting clandestine immigration, governments are adopting repressive policies and are expanding the frontiers of wealthy nations through centers of detention, ejections, expulsions and selection of the labour force." (from the migration-related Appeal of Bamako/Mali at the Polycentric World Social Forum in January 2006)

The European migration regime makes migrants 'illegal'. One of the main measures of the European Union authorities against the movements and struggles of migration is currently the establishment of camps and other instruments of migration control outside Europe, in African and east European countries (their 'externalisation').

When thousands of migrants and refugees collectively stormed the border fences of the Spanish enclaves in Ceuta and Melilla in October last year, the crucial demands for freedom of movement and for equal rights were clearly brought to public attention, at least for the moment. The inhuman, barbaric reactions, the fatal shootings and mass deportations to the desert, mirrored the escalating level of conflict and the crisis of the European migration regime.

But there is an ongoing process undermining this migration regime, not only from 'outside' the borders, but also from the inside. All over Europe, almost every day, there are social and political struggles, protests and campaigns against camps and deportations, for asylum rights for women and men, for legalisation, for European citizenship rights based on residence rather than nationality and against the exploitation of migrant labour. These struggles go far beyond any narrow understanding of European identity.

Our new joint call for a Day of Action follows the mobilisations on 31 January 2004 and on 2 April 2005, when we held the first and second days of action on migration in more than 50 cities across Europe. At the European Social Forum in Athens in May 2006, the issue of migration for the first time had its own thematic 'axis'. A growing network of migration-related initiatives decided in the final assembly to take another step and coordinate actions around 7 October.

Taking into account specific regional and national conditions and the circumstances of various struggles, our Day of Action aims for resistance at European and even transcontinental levels. Our mobilisation will make the first moves towards Europe-wide central activities in order to develop the idea of a common demonstration in 2007, either in Brussels or at another place of public interest. Our aim is to address Europe as a whole and not only national governments.

In addition the chosen date in October is a reminder of the events in Ceuta and Melilla in 2005. We will make a particular effort to build cooperation with initiatives in Africa. A simultaneous day of actions in European and African cities in October would help to promote an axis on migration in the next World Social Forum, which will take place in Nairobi (Kenya) in January 2007. This corresponds with the Bamako Call which we have already quoted from: 'In the period from the Bamako Forum to the one in Nairobi, we propose a year long international mobilisation in defense of the right of all people to circulate freely around the world and to determine their own destiny... Finally we call for an international day of mobilisation that could take place in the sites/symbols of the frontiers (airports, detention centers, embassies, etc.)'.

Above all, we are determined to stress the global dimension of migrant struggles today. Thus, we intend to connect our Day of Action with the initiatives and ongoing mass mobilisations of the American migrants movement in the next future.

The 3rd Day of Action will be directed against the denial of rights, against the criminalisation of migrants and against all immigration controls, articulating clear demands within the framework of freedom of movement and the right to stay:

- For a European unconditional legalisation and equal rights for all migrants
- For the closure of all detention centers in Europe and everywhere
- For an end to all deportations and of the externalisation process
- For the uncoupling of the residence permit from the labour contract and against 'precarity'.

Signatories as of 7th of september 2006:

Belgium: Organisation des Exilés Politiques Ivoiriens (OEPI) | Coordination pour la Régularisation (CRER)

Benin: Association Interfricaine pour la Promotion et la Défense des Droits des Réfugiés et Demandeurs d'Asile (AIPDRDA) | Le Conseil Africain des Actions Concertées (CAFAC) | Le Réseau des Alternatives Dette et Développement (RECADD)

Cameroon: Association des Amis des Familles et Victimes des Migrations Clandestines (AFVMC), Doula;

Canada: Action Canada pour la Population et le Développement | Coalition d'Appui aux Travailleurs et Travailleuses Agricoles migrants

Congo (RD): Groupe des réflexions et d' appui pour la promotion rurale (GRAPR); Nouvelles alternatives pour le développement (NAD)

Cote D'Ivoire: Mouvement Ivorien des Droits de la Jeunesse (MIDJ) | Reseau Ouest Africain pour le Developpement(ROAD), Abidjan | Association de Soutien à l'Auto Promotion Sanitaire Urbaine(ASAPSU), Abidjan | Marche Mondiale des Femmes section Côte D'Ivoire(MMF-CI)

France: Avà Basta, Corse | Association des travailleurs maghrebins de France (ATMF) | Réseau IPAM | Parti Communiste Français et son réseau "Migrations et citoyenneté | Association des Marocains en France (AMF) | GISTI (groupe d'information et de soutien des immigrés) | Collectif de soutien aux sans papiers (MILLAU 12) | Droits Devant !! | MRAP (Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples) | Alternative Libertaire | Les Verts; teachers union SUD-Education; RESF (Réseau Education sans Frontières); Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire; ACORT (Assemblée Citoyenne des originaires de Turquie ); RACORT (Rassemblement des Associations Citoyennes des Originaires de Turquie); CSSP49 (Collectif de Soutien aux Sans-Papiers du Maine-et -Loire; Act Up-Paris; Femmes de la Terre; Association Khamsa; Reseaux NoVox; Réseau Féministe "Ruptures";

Greece: Network for Social Support to Immigrants and Refugees | Network for Political and Social Rights | Antiracist Initiative of Thessaloniki Turkish Minority Moovement for Human and Minority Rights | Greek Migrants Forum

Italy: Tavolo Migranti | ARCI | Associazione Todo Cambia, Milano | Coordinamento Immigrati Bergamo | SINCOBAS; Colletivo No Border, Napoli; COBAS; IWW-Invisible Workers of the World/Rete europea dei migranti e dei precari; Razzismo Stop - Veneto; Coordinamento migranti - Verona; Movimento antagonista toscano; Senza Confine - Roma; Federazione RdB-CUB; TPO - Bologna; AQ16 - Reggio Emilia; Laboratorio Paz - Rimini;

Mali: CAD | Association des Initiatives de Developpement (AIDE), Bamako; Indymedia Mali; Foram (Forum pour un autre Mali); Retour, travail et dignité;

Mauretania: Association Mauretanienne de Droits de l'Homme (AMDH)

Netherlands: "All included" | La plateForme Intercontinentale des MRE, Amsterdam

Niger: Le Réseau National Dette et Developpement (RNDD)

Poland: Free Caucasus committee

Senegal: Agence Internationale pour le Développement du Sénégal (AIDE)

Sweden: ingen människa är illegal(no one is illegal network)

Ukraine: noborder Kiev

European Organisation and Networks: Frassanito-Network | Europäisches BürgerInnenforum/Forum Civique Europeen; Next Genderation;

Individuals: France: Jérôme Dablain, Anaik Pian, zita.trancart, Pierre Cordelier, Huguette Cordelier, Hyacinthe ROBERT, Sylvain George, Jean Claude Mavungu, Zine-Eddine Mjati, Monique Crinon Cedetim, Baeza Laure, Maroc: Hamid Harbal, Mina Tafnout, Suisse: Francisco Merlo, UK: Nicholas Ndebele, Moses Makhula, Floyd F. Mutambiranwa, Godfrey Nyandoro.