Demonstration at immigration detention centre in Oxfordshire

Last Saturday 27th November, between 50 and 100 people gathered outside Campsfield Removal Centre to demonstrate about the unjust imprisonment of migrants which has now been happening at Campsfield for eleven years.

A group of about 12 people cycled to the prison, located just ouside Kidlington, from the centre of Oxford, with colourful signs on their bikes, which felt like a good way of getting a message to more people.

The demo started with some speakers including an Afghan student who may be deported soon. Demonstrators managed some communication with inmates by waving, shouting and banging drums, but unfortunately they were kept inside for the duration of the demo. The police presence was less intensive than it has been on some recent protests there, but evidence gatherers were photographing some people.

Campsfield is run privately by Global Solutions (GSL), which used to be part of the notorious corporation Group 4 Falck. GSL also has the contract to run a new 'accommodation centre' for migrants in Bicester, also in Oxfordshire, due to be built next year.

The next demonstration at Campsfield will be on Christmas Day, the one after will be on Saturday January 29th. Lets make it another big one.

Terri Dactal
Homepage: http://www.closecampsfield.org

Comments

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Campaign for the Afghan brothers

30.11.2004 21:03

The student who spoke so eloquently at the Campsfield demo was Azim Ansari, a first year undergraduate at St John's College, Oxford. He and his brother Wali are currently threatened with deportation to Afghanistan. In his speech at Campsfield, Azim mentioned the new legislation which criminalizes arriving in this country with no travel documents with up to two years in prison. He pointed out that when he fled from Afghanistan there was no government, and obtaining any sort of document of that kind was absolutely impossible, so he could have been arrested for this if the legislation had been active at the time.

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