A-Infos (en) Britain, Aanarchist journal Direct Action #41- Letters

If you have any comments about the content, or any other issues, please e-mail 
or write to us. ---- Al Bangura, Watford FC and the Asylum System ---- Dear 
Direct Action, ---- As you know, Al Bangura, Watford FC's midfielder, has been 
refused asylum and faces deportation back to Sierra Leone. It was really 
heartening to see Watford fans show their support with banners and placards, and 
I'm glad for Bangura [now granted a work permit – eds.] that he has the full 
support of his team and manager, Adrian Boothroyd, who are trying to do 
everything they can to overturn the deportation decision. ---- However 
Boothroyd's quote: ---- This country seems to allow anybody in to send benefits 
wherever they fancy and we have one young man here who pays his taxes, has a 
fiancée and a newborn son and somebody somewhere thinks it's a good decision to 
send him back to Sierra Leone. It's ridiculous.

shows he is racist towards asylum seekers and immigrants but makes an exception 
for his player.


According to the Home Office, there are currently under 60,000 asylum seekers in 
Britain (www. homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html). Britain has a population 
around 60 million so asylum seekers make up 1% of the total – hardly a number to 
'swamp' the country. Asylum seeker benefits are only 70% of British benefits, 
meaning most asylum seeker families live well below the poverty line. Most 
benefits are in the form of supermarket vouchers (including Starbucks vouchers 
but any family surviving on £35 a week won’t be redeeming half their benefits on 
a few super-moccachinos when they have children to feed and clothe!). So much 
for sending benefits home!

Additionally, any single asylum seekers whose cases are failed get their housing 
revoked and their benefits stopped and become destitute (there are an estimated 
300 destitute asylum seekers in Newcastle alone!) .

Many asylum seekers are pregnant or have young babies and children but this 
doesn't stop Labour's immigration police kicking doors in and dragging families 
out of their houses in dawn raids under the cover of darkness, neither does it 
stop families being deported to 'safe countries' such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Currently, there are 1635 asylum seekers locked up in privately run detention 
centres infested with scabies, sickness and diarrhoea bugs and where minimal 
medical or psychiatric care is available. A report by 'Save the Children' in 
2005 estimates that 2,000 children are detained in these centres each year. In 
fact, many asylum seekers give birth in detention centres. And what's their 
crime? – fleeing for their lives with their children to escape Britain's wars 
and economic looting abroad. As for paying taxes, Bangura is lucky to be able to 
pay taxes legally; the right to work was taken away for asylum seekers in 2001 
(a fact not mentioned by the Sun and the Daily Mail as they whip up racism 
against asylum seekers!). In fact, many asylum seekers who are forced to work 
illegally and pay taxes (illegally) end up being locked up in prison where they 
work in prison labour!

Whilst Boothroyd has our solidarity in supporting Bangura against his 
deportation, his view of asylum seekers and knowledge of the asylum system must 
be challenged. Whether Bangura is deported or not, the situation for the rest of 
the asylum seekers will remain the same and looks likely to worsen under 
Labour's New Asylum Model. Individual cases do little for the thousands of 
asylum seekers who are not lucky enough to have rich white friends and 
supporters to organise a high profile campaign for them. The only way to change 
the system is for asylum seekers, British workers and immigrant workers to join 
together, overcome the divisive, manufactured state and media racism that keeps 
them from struggling together for the benefit of all, and fight together against 
this disgusting state of affairs.

In solidarity, Sam (Tyneside Community Action for Refugees)

-----------------------------------


Mujeres Libres

Dear Direct Action,

Great read!

I was thinking about the question posed by anarchists in the book, Free Women of 
Spain, [about the anarchist women’s organisation, Mujeres Libres, and its 
activities in the Spanish revolution] – that other disadvantaged groups within 
communities like elderly people, people unable to work because of disability or 
illness, children etc. be supported by the broader worker collectives which were 
forming at the time in Spain. I think this is an important point even though the 
book only refers to women.

Regards, Michael
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://ainfos.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en