Tagged: fascists
L’expulsion des émigres à Calais / The eviction of emigrants in Calais.
Pour vous dire, c’est horrible en ce moment, la situation que vivent les émigres. D’une part la police, d’autre part les Calaisiens qui ne sont pas accueillants, qui sont fascistes, raciste envers nous, disant n’importe quoi sur nous.
Après tout ça, vient la forêt qu’ils nous donnent, à 10 km du centre-ville. On ne peut pas faire chaque jour autant de kilomètres pour venir à nos rendez-vous avec Secours Catholique, etc. La forêt est non seulement non débroussée, mais avec une usine à cote qui dégage du toxique. On a peur d’attraper des maladies comme le cancer du poumon, en respirant ce toxique. Et puis ce terrain est habité par des animaux sauvages, comme des sangliers, des serpents, des scorpions, des animaux dangereux. Ensuite, c’est un terrain où on pratique la chasse. Vous trouvez beaucoup de cartouches utilisées par des chasseurs, donc on a peur qu’on reçoive des balles perdues. C’est un terrain contrôlé par des mafias, à 18 heures, on a peur de se retrouver coincé avec des malfaiteurs.
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To say the truth, the situation that the emigrants are going through at the moment is horrible. On one hand the police, on the other hand the locals in Calais who are not welcoming, who are fascist, racist towards us, who say whatever they want to us. After all that, comes the forest that they have given us, 10 kilometres from the centre of town. We cannot do so many kilometres each day to come to our meetings with the Secours Catholique association, etc. the forest is not only not maintain, but there is a factory next to it which pumps out toxins. We are scared of catching illnesses like lung cancer by breathing in these toxins. And more, this land is home to wild animals, like wild boar, snakes, scorpions, dangerous animals. After all that, this is hunting territory. You can find cartridges used by the hunters, so we are scared to get hit by lost bullets. It is an area controlled by mafia, and from 6 o’clock onwards we are scared of finding ourselves corned by wrongdoers.
What a mess…
Today has seen an eviction decision concerning Fort Galloo by the court, and the return of fascist scumbags in town.
After a long juridicial procedure the judge has made a final decision on the squat cannot remain. As of yet there is no date for eviction set by the prefecture (lazy shitheads). Meanwhile no alternative provision for the migrants has been offered, the women’s shelter is already over capacity, and promise of a daycenter is nothing but an empty gesture.
As if this wasn’t enough we had to suffer Marine le Pig coming with her fascist cronies to show their faces in order to spread their politics of hate and to benefit from the frustrations in Calais. Whilst about 100 fash turned out to see the Queen of the Right, about 30 anti-fascists came out to disrupt Marine’s airtime on the TV/radio. As usual, the police protected the fascists which resulted in 1 anti-fa being punched in the stomach by a high ranking police officer and another had their finger broken by a cop.
At this time of humanitarian crisis which calls for political innovation we see nothing but the same tired reactionary, racist politics being facilitated by the police. In the end the only “solutions” that have materialised are 100 extra cops and a NATO security fence all in the name of securing the border for the UK. With over 2,000 migrants in Calais and winter on its way, perhaps now is the time to try opening the borders…?
A September in Calais
The Demonstrations
On September 5 a few hundred migrants demonstrated joyously in the streets of Calais to demand that they be able to cross to England and that police violence stop. They were also demonstrating against racism, for liberty and for respect for human rights.
On September 7, over 200 people, sympathisers of ‘sauvons calais’, held a demonstration with the mayor’s blessings on the square before the town hall. Speeches were given by various members of the ultra extreme right, there were fascists banners and fascist salutes in the assembly. An investigation will be opened. A counter demonstration was organized by the antifa in the region to protest against the fascist gathering. On the same day, the citizens wanted to organize a festive footbal match in the old city, the field in the old city where the migrants have played for 2 years already was declared forbidden by the town hall on that occasion. The tournament took place anyway on an appropriated field and it finished beautifully with a rap battle. Continuing on the same path since then, the town hall continues to forbid migrants from playing football on ‘it’s’ field, and sends officers accompanied by guard dogs to prevent people from occupying the field every Sunday. They have even shown an interest in filing a complaint against ‘illicit occupation’.
The Migrants
They continue to arrive in dozens to Calais and nearby… There are about 1500 in Calais. Some of them are staying at Tioxide, a squatted field, and in the surrounding dunes. The others are in squats or other fields around Calais. 300 are in ‘Fort Galloo’ , an enormous squat opened during the demonstration on July 10. Cohabitation is problematic due to stress, repression, regular menacing from the Calais fascists and exhaustion. The enforcement judge, the last judge to take a decision on the squat, after an initial decision to evict in August, authorized scientific experts to inquire and will reconvene on the 24 and 25 of September to give a final decision on October 17
Crossing and Repression
For several weeks the migrants have gathered en masse along the motorway at the entry to the port to try to clime onto lorries that are in traffic. They regularly try their luck entering the port en masse. A new CRS company has been called to try to stop them from crossing, and we’ve regularly heard stories of violence (gassing the inside of the trucks, beatings) and seen injuries among the migrants. There are countless instances of intimidation, police agression, injuries at the port, around the jungles and in the city.
The Extreme Right
Several activists have been subject to verbal and/or physical agression by individual fascists during the past weeks. Those noxious individuals are very present and don’t hesitate to provoke the humanitarians, the migrants or sympathizers with nazi salutes. At the beginning of the month a 15 year old girl was assaulted by fascists and given death threats. On 19/09 some individuals threw molotov cocktails at a squat which housed primarily Egyptians with children.Vigilance in the face of these provocations adds a new stress that we don’t really need.
The Game FR/UK
A new UK-Franco Joint Declaration has been made. They decided together to create a ‘common fund in the framework of an agreement on the struggle against clandestine immigration at the Calais port’ which ‘would allow to wind down the crisis that has plagued the migration question in Calais for several years’ : Translation : Re-inforce the borders, increase repression, coordinate with third countries to facilitate expulsions… plus a tiny bit of humanity so as not to lose face !
https://passeursdhospitalites.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/comme-en-2009-dans-le-desordre/
The situation is become equally difficult to manage in Calais for the activists, the militants, the humanitarians, the migrants and… the CRS !
Calais is the mirror of what happens at all the borders to Europe : Mellila, Lampedusa, Greece, Tunisia, Bulgaria…….
Thousands of people try to reach Europe, a place of peace and serenity for them. Even if the hospitality in Europe and the UK is problematic, they know that they won’t die of hunger there and they won’t be hit by bombs. And Europe doesn’t see where the problem is and they ban crossing while constructing a fortress, an army, walls, continuing to send arms to rebels or non rebels, crying danger about one or another ‘terrorist’ group and continuing to empty the African soil of all of its riches.
On the Programme in the Following Weeks :
Increased difficulties for migrants in crossing, growing tensions everywhere, evictions of places of living, deportations en masse to countries of transit or departure…… and new arrivals of migrants from Italy, Choucha, Spain, Greece….
Already on 23/09/2014 in Paris: a hundred people, mostly Sudanese and Eritrean, were stopped in a raid at pont de la Chapelle at 6 :30 and taken to the police station.
http://paris-luttes.info/raffle-d-une-centaine-de-migrants?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
The Work on Our Plates:
Today there are 4 of us on the ground in Calais, that doesn’t help us much to meet the high challenges that are presented to us. There is also a lot of work to do surrounding spreading information to different communities on the repressive decisions that have been taken, on constructive tools on the growing risks of deportation, for example : France successfully deported a Sudanese person to Sudan on September 17 and has been reserving flights to Khartoum since the start of the summer.
Mayor once again attempts to segregate public spaces – this time banning football
Sunday, like every Sunday for more than two years, people of many nationalities gathered in the citadel, a sports area in Calais to play football
However in recent weeks it seems the Town Hall has decided it no longer wants ‘migrants’ to play football in public areas.
On Sunday, September 7, the group Sauvons Calais, supported by radical far-right organizations, demonstrate before the town hall of Calais. A ‘Football Against Racism’ tournament is organised in parallel on the grounds of the citadel, where they play every Sunday. But they find the citidel doors closed because of a decision of the municipality to prevent the tournament. So people decided to move the tournament to a different field, people had a great day and it finished beautifully with a rap battle.
On Sunday, September 14, people come again to train at the citadel as usual. The caretaker of the citadel tells them they are not allowed to play. They ask for an official written decision, there is none – so they start playing. Three officials from the Town Hall; Agius, Garnet and Mignonet with their favourite police ushers, came down personally to tell people the Mayor does will not allow them to play football on this public land. They say the Mayor has decided only liscenced clubs or children under 10 years old are allowed to play football here (or more like white-looking European people). Players decided to ignore this clearly racist attempt to stop them coming to this popular sports area, and continued to play.
So the national police were instructed to come on to the pitch and ask the players to leave the field. But the players refused, and people continued to play football.
On Sunday 21st people come again to play football at the citedel. The city council has put a sign at the entrance to the site to reserve the use of the licensed clubs and students, following on from their attempt last Sunday to deny access. The Deputy Mayor Mignonet, comes again accompanied by his other favourite users, bailiffs, to claim people playing football will be charged with ‘occupation of the land’. The bailiff became very aggressive when we asked him why it is no problem for other young people of Calais who were playing on the same field.
When interviewed by the local paper, it seems the Town Hall is wanting to extend this to every public space in Calais. If you want to play football, says Emmanuel Agius, you must request permission from the town hall unless you are under 10 years. Agius says, “You can walk in public places, but for the rest, you have to ask permission from the mayor. We do not play ball in the park, at least not that way! If they ask permission, the mayor will decide. Me anyway, I do not give a favorable opinion to the No Border: These convicts are clearly my enemies.” [1]
And so the Town Hall shows its alliances once again ; neo-Nazis fascists are given permission to have a platform outside the Town Hall to openly incite racist hatred and violence, while at-the-same-time, ‘migrants’ are banned – with assistance of cops and baliffs – from playing football or ‘the rest’ in public places. There are elected officials who consider municipal property as their private property, and can choose to exclude those they dislike.
Fascist attacks
Since the fascist demo there has been an escalation of attacks by fascists. In the days after, people say a group of Sudanese were beaten up in broad day-light in the Lidl car park by fascists, with four people being hospitalised.
On September 17th fascists attack showers for exiles managed by Secours Catholique, see here : http://www.nordlittoral.fr/accueil/nouvel-incendie-sur-l-aire-de-douches-des-migrants-ia0b0n139599
On Friday 19th/ Saturday 20th fascists attack an eqyptian squat with molatovs cocktails.Four young Calaisiens 18 to 20 were arrested for throwing the molotovs on the squat in Calais Bleriot Avenue. The trial has been adjourned to October 13. An escalation of attacks has clearly followed from the neo-Nazis demo on September 7th, where hundreds of fascists openly rallied against ‘migrants’ in the city.
http://www.nordlittoral.fr/fait-divers-justice/cocktails-molotov-au-squat-bleriot-le-proces-renvoye-ia0b0n140611
Hundreds join Neo-Nazis in Fascist Demo
Outside the Town Hall on Sunday 7th September over three hundred fascists made a demonstration against the presence of ‘migrants’ in the city. The demo was organised by the racist neo-Nazis group, ‘Sauvons Calais’, and attended by local fascists and other ultra-right groups and individuals from other parts of France, Belgium and UK.
There can be no doubt about the violently racist and xenophobic ideology of this rally, from Nazis salutes, to swastika tattoos, SS division t-shirts and signs that say ‘Lets Get Them Out’ : the message was clear from just looking at the crowd.
‘High-profile’ neo-Nazis speakers (pictured above and below) were invited to incite hatred, racial violence and the values of white supremacy also, for example, praising the actions of Golden Dawn in Greece who are well known for organising openly as neo-Nazis and attacking and murdering ‘migrants’ and anti-fascists under the banner of a ‘pure nationalism’.
Here is a closer look at what some of these ‘high-profile’ speakers look and sound like – the quotes below are taken from their speeches to the crowds or interviews with journalists during the demo:
Thomas Joly (secrétaire général du Parti de la France, formerly from the Front National) :
“Yes we want a camp, a camp for imprisonment and expulsion of aliens to their country of origin”, [1]
“The black-blanc-beur [a phrase relating to the coming together of black, whites and arabs] caused the destruction of this country”, “[we need] to conduct a war for the survival of our country and our people, to make France for the French”, [2]
“The future of the white world is challenged”. [3]
Yvan Benedetti, (conseiller municipal de Venissieux and former-member of the now banned organization L’Œuvre française) :
“We must finish with the migrants”, “We are against extreme left and foreign scum”. [2]
Richard Roudier (of Réseau dentités), a network which wants to create a “strong France”, “protect our civilisation”, and “stop the human and cultural immigration that tends to transform Europe into a multi-ethnic society” :
“It’s good that my anger has been made happy today, it is from Brest to Vladisvostok and from Calais to Lampedusa, that the people are rising up and saying no to the invasion of our continent. [3]
And of course, lest not forget, the self-appointed spokesperson of Sauvons Calais, Kevin Riche, the one with the swastika tattoo on his chest who invited all these fascists to Calais to fight the “invasion of migrants”, yet stills tries to convince journalists at the demo “we are neither racist nor Nazi”, whilst people at the demo hail-Hitler salute behind him.
“For me, the event went well overall, the Calais is mobilizing people. I did not see racism. I have not seen anything shocking”. [3]
…Kevin, who is also chummy with Marine Le Pen…
Also, in the crowd are ‘Blood and Honour’ supporters, symbolised by the code 28, referring to the second and eighth letters of the alphabet,”B” and “H”. Jackets worn at the demo have “Support 28 Hexagon” symbol (see below), which is the French branch of the organization…
Blood and Honour’ is an organisation openly calling for Nazism and was a motto of the Hitler Youth.
There was also plenty SS t-shits, including “Charlemagne 1944″ in reference to a French SS division…
The micro-totalitarian state that is Calais has not only given neo-Nazis a platform, but has laid the foundations. The fascists are an extension of what the state has created, and a continuation of what the state can not so easily, or publicly, get away with.
The government are the puppeteers behind over a decade of harassment and attacks aimed at physically removing a certain section of society, ‘migrants’, from Calais; beating and tiring people down whilst destroying their means of living – with local, border and riot cops all employed, day in and day out, in order to try to disappear ‘migrants’ from the city, as well as using ‘extra-ordinary’ measures to crack down on its supporters – from general harassment to futile arrests or banning ‘supportive’ events or festivals and closing down and fencing off public spaces..
And so it is no co-incidence that meanwhile, on the same day as the fascist demo is permitted to rally in the centre of town, the Mayor decides to close the citadelle (and sports area in Calais) by way of a “Municipal Decree” to prevent an event “Football of the World Against Racism” organised the same day involving eight teams, hundreds of refugees and some locals and associations.
Fascist attack 15 year old girl
Yesterday a 15 year old girl was assaulted by a 40 year old man associated with the fascist group ‘Savouns Calais’. The girl was outside her college when the man attacked her, hitting her until she fell to the ground and then kicked her again. He made death threats against her going to the counter-demonstration to a fascist rally organised this Sunday 7th. The girl was taken to the hospital.
This is latest in a long string of fascists attacks against people believed to be ‘migrants’ or supporters, including people from a local group Calais Ouerture Humanite’ who began as counter-movement against the racist Sauvons Calais and have since been physically attacked and faced death threats from people associated, or influenced by, Sauvons Calais.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Calais-Ouverture-et-Humanité/
http://passeursdhospitalites.wordpress.com/2014/09/06/a gression-dextreme-droite-contre-une-lyceenne/
