Autonomous activists invade GEO offices

Autonomous Activists from Oxford and London | 17.02.2007 18:19 | Migration | London | Oxford

Activists involved in struggles against detention centres arrived in Reading yesterday to say hello to our friends at ‘Global Expertise in Outsourcing’ (The GEO Group), who last year were awarded the contract to run Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre in Kidlington.

We found that in order to gain access to their UK Head Office, we had to ring the doorbell. So two smartly dressed activists attempted to blag their way in by asking about the possibility of doing ‘work experience’ there. After one of them ducked under the employee’s arm, the others barged their way through Ya Basta! stylee (but without the padding).

We delivered leaflets and ‘verbally communicated’ our disdain at this immoral corporation. We discovered that there were actually only three employees in the office (it was lunchtime) who seemed startled at our exhibition.

As we attempted to leave, we discovered that we had been locked in, and had to find an alternative exit.
We’d encourage others to pay them a friendly visit, or call them on 01189359460.

Site -
www.thegeogroupinc.co.uk

Due to technical difficulties, the video of the action will be uploaded within the next few days.

Autonomous Activists from Oxford and London

Additions

Leaflets

17.02.2007 19:56

- application/msword 46K

Here is the leaflet that was used, which other activists may wish to make use of -

more info on GEO / Wackenhut

18.02.2007 09:13

The GEO Group, formerly known as Wackenhut, has also shared in the private prison boom.

This US based company has been at the centre of all manner of inmate-abuse scandals. There are routine reports of extreme mistreatment of inmates, and there is a disproportionately high level of deaths in their facilities.

After a CBS news report exposed the repeated rape of a 14-year-old girl at a Wackenhut juvenile jail and two guards were found guilty, its CEO said, "It's a tough business. The people in prison are not Sunday-school children."

Wackenhut's most public response to all this was to change its name to the GEO Group. It continues to win lucrative government contracts.

Prison never 'works' - down with the walls right now

anarchist

surveillance and incarceration industry

18.02.2007 10:50

GEO is one of a handful of multinationals operating in the (predominantly) Anglophone world; the empire of capitalist markets inherited by the US from the UK. GEO run private prisons, immigration prisons and mental health institutions, the latter being an alarming aspect considering the new mental health act which this government wants to push through. Mental health incarceration will be yet another means of imprisoning us.

GEO operate in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In South Africa they run the first private prison. There is much media attention paid to the high crime rate in South Afrca but little attention to the vested interests of big businesses involved in a plethora of 'security services' in maintaining high crime figures that are a result of an ever widening wealth gap.

Security cannot be bought, only nurtured through the sharing of the world's resources which are not owned by big business.

mouse