@BristolNoBorder Jack Sheppard

Undettered by last month’s brutal clearance, many
families are returning to Dale Farm for Christmas.

In response Tory council leader Tony Ball is threatening
to have them committed to prison for contempt of court
if they breach an injunction preventing re-occupation.

“They have nowhere to go,” says Patrick Egan, owner
of Dale Farm House, who is presently giving refuge
to l5 caravans on his property. “If forced off here
they’ll have to move onto car parks. We’re not leaving
Basildon.”

Next week, however, Travellers are meeting head on
Ball’s challenge to seek planning permission before
occupying another location. A public inquiry opens on
Tuesday (22 Nov) into Dale Farm Housing Association’s
bid to open a mobile-home park on nearby land for all
those made homeless

The land at Church Road, Laindon, was originally
offered by the HCA, a government quango, to Basildon
council to help it meet its duty to provide 62 new
plots for homeless Travellers in ther district. It refused
the offer.

Under the new plan, Basildon could be required
to facilitate the release of funds by the HCA for the
development. This envisages 12 permanent and 60
temporary plots, which would be made ready as soon
as possible for those left without homes at Dale Farm
since the eviction.

Meanwhile, costs arising out of the direct action
operation continue to multipy. Residents are mounting
numerous claims for injuries and damage to property,
which may add further millions to the original £18m
bill for the police-led assault and clearance, which
now appears to have been entirely futile.

Residents are urging supporters
to attend the Inquiry which opens
at 10 am on Tuesday (22 Nov) at
the Basildon Centre, St Martins Square,
Basildon SS14 1DL.

Last week, London Overground cleaning contractor John Laing contacted several of its migrant workers and told them to report to a particular place to do overtime. When they arrived, they found there was no overtime – instead, there was a squad of immigration officers who took them into detention.

This is an all too familar story, and you can’t help wonder if this is in any way connected to the fact that the RMT forced John Laing Contractors last August into recognising the union, after they refused to do so voluntarily.

Of course, detention and deportation of unionised cleaners is nothing new. Staff working for  Amey, Bristol-Based Mitie have all had the Border Agency brought in to attempt to quell there increasing radicalism and challenge to the poor conditions and pay that come with one of the most physically demanding proffesions.

http://www.rmt.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=149599

No Border Lasts Forever* II

Second Review and Prospects Conference of the Antiracist Movement

18 to 20 November 2011, Frankfurt / Main

Who would have imagined, at the time of the first conference in December 2010, that shortly afterwards the Arab spring would start and that a few months later the EU-funded “watchdog regime” in North Africa would be shaken with the despots’ fall? The insurgency in the Maghreb has since inspired the economic crisis protests in Southern Europe. The struggles against the austerity programmes come into view as a transnational turning point. However the unavoidable return of those who were caught in the crossfire of the war in Libya marks the situation south of the Sahara. And at the same time, the deaths of over 2,000 boat people in the Mediterranean make the year 2011 one of the cruellest in the EU border regime’s history. Pogroms against migrants are close in time and space to the mass protests against the government and Troika* in Athens. Faced with the persistent resistance of refugees and migrants and following the domino effect of Europe-wide court decisions, the German Ministry of the Interior had to suspend the Dublin deportations to Greece in January 2011, too. But otherwise the deportation machine keeps running, stepped up by Frontex-assisted deportation charter flights, against Roma towards Kosovo, and Africans to Nigeria. Moreover there have been the electoral successes of right-wing populist parties across Europe – with the Breivik massacre in Norway as their tragic culmination.

These short spotlights – here focussed on migration – may be enough to show how contradictory an assessment of last months’ events turns out. Unexpected new beginnings and calculated disasters simultaneously shape the global situation which to reflect will be an essential part during the second antiracist conference in Frankfurt.

Visions, networking, expansion was the threefold motto of the successful first conference at the end of last year, where up to 300 interested people and activists from various networks participated. A variety of initiatives presented their work, an exchange about common problems took place, plans for new campaigns were developed. For years, the antiracist movement has been characterized by considerable continuity, and this with regard to locally based and as well to transnational network projects at the same time. The potential lying in this diversity, in the composition, the contacts and interconnections became perceptible in Frankfurt.

We aim to build on this positive experience with the follow-up conference, again a mixture of plenary sessions, workshops and world cafés* is in preparation. And last but not least it is intended to try and enter, against a background of radical changes and developments, into a more in-depth debate on key issues and bring into the discussion more explicitly the question of how our demands will find a resonance in society. The (in comparison to the first conference) expanded preparatory group will arrange the programme around 7 focus areas.

If you plan to attend, please send an e-mail to the following address: conference@w2eu.net

Further information can be found at: http://conference.w2eu.net/

After the very popular 1st event in October, Bristol No Borders are back with their second Cafe/Cinema Night.

This one will focus on Dale Farm – the eviction, campaign building & resistance featuring short  films and plenty of contributions from people who were there.

Food: Vegan Hot Dogs, Popcorn & Mulled Cider/Apple Juice

Where: Kebele, 14 Robertson Road, Easton, Bristol. BS5 6JY

When: Thurs 3rd Nov 7pm

directions: http://www.kebelecoop.org/

Window of a resident's chalet. This same resident had received serious spinal injuries as a result of a police assault on Wednesday.

Diggers to move in tomorrow when 48 hour notices expire Basildon council have prevented media from accessing Dale Farm, as it emerged today that Bailiffs were breaking the law. Constant & Co. bailiffs have begun removing fences and walls in breach of a court order requiring them to give 48 hours notice before work can commence. Notices were given to residents on Friday morning and are scheduled to expire at 9am on Sunday.  Significantly increased activity by bulldozers is expected at this point.

One women, recovering on a legal plot after spinal injuries gained from police heavy-handedness, was intimidated out of her home as bailiffs began illegally demolishing her fences and walls. Bailiffs smashed a window in Nora’s chalet as they proceeded with the unlawful demolition  [[photo available upon request]].

Mary Sheridan, a resident, described the tactics as “disgraceful. We always knew the bailiffs would breach their court orders, they always do. But I can’t believe Basildon council could be so obviously trying to cover-up their demolition of our homes from the world.”

YESTERDAY Bailiffs attempted to move trailers from three families’ plots despite confirmation at the High Court by Justice Edwards-Stuart on 4 Oct that these plots could not be evicted and that families had a legal right to stay. Barrister Marc Willers was forced to intervene, reminding the Council that any action on these plots would place them in contempt of court.

The imposition of a media blackout today follows Basildon council’s ‘forcible  eviction’ of local MEP Richard Howitt from the press enclosure last Wednesday [1]. Howitt is an outspoken critic of the forced eviction. Supporter Ali Saunders said, “the council’s attempt at a cover-up is evidence of their embarrassment. This brutal eviction has left families with nowhere to go and will fall upon the conscience of all of the British
people”.

As the second day of the eviction of Dale Farm begins, police and bailiffs continue to occupy Dale Farm and restrict many residents’ access to their homes as part of the ongoing operation to evict the Dale Farm community. Dale Farm residents and supporters remain defiant in the face of police and bailiff presence, and residents have declared that most of them will remain at Dale Farm for as long as possible. Supporters have agreed to stay for as long as the community is resisting. There is a large police presence on half the site, focussed around the iconic tower, which remains standing. Police are removing the final supporters from lock-ons. The electricity to the site continues to be cut off, and helicopters have been circling over the site from early in the morning.

Mary Sheridan, a resident, said “This isn’t an eviction, it’s a massacre. We’re only still here because we have nowhere else to go, and now we are under siege by the police.”

Lily Hayes, a supporter, said:
“The ball is, as ever, in Basildon Council’s court- they can still work with the residents to approve an appropriate alternative site for the families to move to. I can’t believe they have chosen to go through with this brutal and wasteful eviction, choosing to make families homeless rather than accepting one of the many solutions.”

Please forward to groups and supporters

After weeks of wrangling in the High Court over various rulings on the legality of the eviction operation, today the residents of Dale Farm were refused the right to a judicial review of the eviction. This means that Basildon Council is able to legally evict the community. There is no longer an injunction to stop the eviction, but Basildon Council have said in court that they will not evict until Monday at the earliest.

The residents plan to lodge an appeal on Friday, and will find out on that day whether their request for an appeal is granted. If the appeal is not granted, Basildon Council could begin the eviction. If the appeal is granted, then legal proceedings could continue for anything from a day to several. If the appeal is heard on Monday, but rejected, the eviction can begin at any point from then.

Of course we are hoping that the appeal will be heard and decided in the Dale Farm community’s favour- but experience shows that judges, the legal system and planning regulations are weighed against Travellers. This is why the Dale Farm community are asking you to come down to Dale Farm this weekend to be ready to resist an eviction on Monday. (If you can, come down before the weekend, as there is loads to be done on site, and the more people are here, the safer the residents feel.)

We know that this isn’t this first call out you have read from Dale Farm. We have had a lot of close calls, and the fact that the eviction hasn’t started yet is a testament to the power of protest. However, we are genuinely heading towards the end of the legal process, and it is really important that people are prepared to come down to resist the eviction and stand with the Dale Farm community at a time when they are at the receiving end of state violence and need our solidarity on a personal and political level.

If you can’t make it you can support in another way, we are in desperate need of funds. Please donate- http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/donate/!

Activists are supporting the Travellers in defending their homes and community. There’s many different ways of getting involved – we need medics, legal observers, site defenders, cooks, etc.. More people are needed on all fronts.
Please sign up for txt alerts (https://smsalerts.tachanka.org/dalefarm/) in case urgent information needs to get relayed or follow us on twitter (@letdalefarmlive) for updates. You can send information to the legal hotline 07928669515

**Getting to the site**

Dale Farm is about 30-40 minutes from London by train, you can find directions here. (http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/contact/) From Wickford Station (30 minutes journey from London), it’s a 15 minute cycle/45 minute walk from the station. To arrange a lift call the site phone: 07583621312
Please see map (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/26043573/DALE%20FARM%20MAP.png) for more info on access to the site. As of Thursday 13th October, there are no restrictions on entering Dale Farm.

**Be Prepared**

Things to bring:
-warm clothes
-food
-water bottle
-sleeping bag and roll mat
-notepads, pencils
-torches
-cameras for taking photo evidence
-clean phone
-D-locks

Things not to bring:
-offensive weapons
-Things you would not like the police to take off you

Food
A vegan kitchen is running. We will be asking for donations to cover our costs, but it may be an early target of the Bailiffs, so please bring extra food.

Sleeping arrangements
Sleeping space is available in caravans and residents’ homes but we encourage you to bring a tent, and you are welcome to sleep over anytime. Please bring a sleeping bag if you can, and a roll mat is highly recommended especially since most of the tent space is on hard ground.

Legal info
Write on your arm before you get here:
Dale Farm Legal Hotline: 07928 669 515
Birds Solicitors: 07966 234 994
Hodge Jones and Allen Solicitors: 07659 111 192

Other info
Camp Constant site phone: 07583621312
The welcome pack is available here http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/get-involved/. The welcome packs contain information on Dale Farm and the political context of the current eviction, Camp Constant and what to bring, Traveller history, and legal advice for activists.

People coming organised as affinity groups are very welcome.

Please promote our facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/groups/124229427082/) through social networking sites, and call up friends and groups to get a minibus down to Dale Farm.

See you here!

Camp Constant

Tuneful People’s Kitchen with vegan cake & mulled cider to raise cash money for Dale Farm in their fight against eviction. At the Factory, 2-8 Cave St, St Pauls. Tuesday 11th October from 7.30pm