Around 2000 migrants living in squats and camps in Calais, France, are under threat of eviction and deportation as the French immigration minister has vowed to destroy their homes. Reports (including a statement by the French immigration minister) suggest large-scale clearances of camps could take place this week. Activists, locals and migrants are working to oppose police brutality, deportations and the destruction of the camps.
Calais is just one of many points across Europe where repression against migrants is at its most visible. Here, around 2000 people, unable to cross the border into Britain, are persecuted by French police; beaten, harassed, forced to sleep rough in nearby woods, & attacked during the night.
People are urgently needed in Calais to support the migrants in their fight for freedom of movement. Come and do something really meaningful and directly effective now!
Check out Calais Migrant Solidarity http://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/ for info on contacting people there, what to bring, where you can stay. (You can get a ferry crossing for £10!)
More background information on the situation in Calais at http://london.noborders.org.uk/calais2009
Solidarity call-out http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/09/438182.html