Two undocumented Egyptians were killed around 1am on Thursday 17th November on the A16 near Dunkerque when a Dutch HGV drove into the back of the car they were traveling in. The driver and the front seat passenger of the car, assumed to people traffickers, fled the scene, while the three other passengers, also undocumented Egyptians, were picked up on the roadside by the authorities. Breath tests on the HGV driver were negative.
Hunger strike at Steenokkerzeel detention centre near Brussels
Today, Monday 7th November, the 43 detainees of 127bis detenion centre at Steenokkerzeel near Brusseleas have begun a hunger strike. They state that they do not accept their imprisonment and their treatment as criminals. They demand their liberty and their dignity.
Maison des roms in Paris firebombed, 24/10/11
Yesterday evening the Maison des Roms in the 20th arrondissement of Paris – a warehouse owned by the Mairie de Paris which has been squatted for almost a year by around 100 Roma including children and elderly people – was burned down after a firebomb attack. Fortunately there were no fatalities; one passer-by was taken to hospital.
The attack came two days after a demonstration in the neighbourhood where some demonstrators proclaimed “we are going to burn everything!”. Le Collectif contre la xénophobie has denounced the attack and demanded that the authorities make every effort to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
Resistance to deportations of Afghans in northern France
On Monday 5th October around 30 people demonstrated outside the office of the Paf (border police) in Cherbourg to protest against the deportation of an Afghan man to Slovenia. The following day there were a demo outside the préfecture de Caen aganst the deportation of another Afghan male to Hungary. Sadly both deportations went ahead.
New suicide attempt at the CRA de Nimes
La Cimade report that yesterday a detainee attempted to hang himself at the CRA (detention centre) of Nimes. The charity says that they have witnessed an increase in acts of desperation and despair by the detainees, following the introduction of the new Besson law which has increased the maximum permitted stay in detention to 45 days.
“Open Doors Day” at 127 bis detention centre, Brussels, 16/10/11
On Sunday 16th October there will be a demo outside 127 bis detention centre at Steenokkerzeel near Brussels demanding the closure of all detention centres and freedom of movement for all. The demo aims to give people the chance to see what happens in these places of “non-rights”. You can download a flyer for the demo (in English) here.
Dozens of unaccompanied minors homeless in Seine-Saint-Denis
A month after the decision of the conseil general of Seine-Saint-Denis (north-east of Paris) to stop housing unaccompanied minors, citing lack of funds, dozens of teenagers are sleeping rough, reports 20minutes.fr. The president of the tribunal pour enfants de Bobigny has made an appeal to the department’s residents to house the youngsters; meanwhile employers of the tribunal have been collecting funds to pay for breakfast for them.
Six North African migrants die after fire in Parisian squat, 28/09/11
This morning, Wednesday 28th September, six “Arab spring” migrants,four Tunisians and two Egyptians, died in a fire at the squat in the Parisian suburb of Pantin where they had lived for several months.
French Interior Minister Claude Gueant, who visited the scene of the fire, blamed the deaths on “networks of illegal immigration”. SOS SOUTIEN Ô SANS PAPIERS said that Gueant and Christian Lambeth, préfet of Seine-Saint-Denis, had “blood on their hands”.
Escapes and disorder at Vincennes CRAs
On Monday 19th September 8 detainees escaped from bâtiment 3 of Vincennes detention centre (CRA) near Paris. On Thursday 23rd September detainees from the adjacent detention centre, CRA 2, refused to return to their cells, moved their mattresses outside and begun a hunger strike. Several of the detainees had recently been transferred from Bobigny CRA where disorder had taken place following several suicide attempts by fellow detainees.
No One Is Illegal! Demo in Bern 01/10/11
On Saturday 1st October No One Is Illegal is calling for a demo in Bern demanding the regularisation of sans-papiers in Switzerland (estimated at more than 100,000). The demo will take place at 2.30pm at the Schützenmatt.