From jo at xs4all.nl  Thu Jul  5 09:00:29 2012
From: jo at xs4all.nl (Jo van der Spek M2M)
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2012 09:00:29 +0200
Subject: <m2m-eng> We Are Here: July 7th  In Amsterdam
Message-ID: <31612D1DCE9D4CD2A79F2A25A4771BA9@jom2m>

M2M invites you to our new initiative with the Refugees on the Street of 
Holland

WE ARE HERE

Images from the refugee camp in Ter Apel

Two presentations on Saturday 7 juli 2012 in Amsterdam in:
     Kaffa, de Ethiopion coffeehouse in the Czaar Peterstraat 130 from11 
a.m.: Photo exposed
     NIMK (Nederlands Instituut voor Mediakunst) , Keizersgracht 264 18 uur: 
Website Launch WijZijnHier.org

WE ARE HERE

is an exhibition of people on the move with photo's, films and sounds of the 
protest camps that take place at the immigration and deportation Complex at 
Ter Apel in the north of The Netherlands since November 2011.
The last camp lasted from May 8th until May 23rd, when the authorities 
evicted the camp. Hundreds of refugees-on-the-street from eight different 
countries, but mainly from Iraq and Somalia, were protesting in a 
self-managed tent camp against their forced deportation or alternatively 
out-lawed existence on the street. They have nowhere to go. They are 
supported by indigenous activsists and people living around. The protest 
camp generated massive media exposure including  a televised debate in 
parliament. In The Netherlands some 20.000 underdocumented migrant have to 
live on the streets, or in detention.
The fate of the campers is at this moment still insecure. Most are now in 
AZC's (reception centres for asylum seekers). Some are again in hiding.
We Are Here is a continuation of  the camp with other means: We are 
everywhere.

For more information please contact :
M2M, Jo van der Spek 06- 51 06 93 18
m2m at streamtime.org
http://m2m.streamtime.org
http://wijzijnhier.org (under construction)

Facebook: We are here
Twitter: @wearehere

This is a non-profit project of M2M. We welcome your contributions.
Bank: 39.02.71.918 St. M2M, Amsterdam (WAH)

supported by Hollandse Hoogte, Harry Cock, Fotolab Kiekie, Vluchtelingwerk, 
Puscii, Kaffa, Occupy Rotterdam, Int. Fed. of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR), 
Amsterdam Hacker Space, e.v.a.




From jo at xs4all.nl  Sat Jul 14 21:36:45 2012
From: jo at xs4all.nl (Jo van der Spek M2M)
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2012 21:36:45 +0200
Subject: <m2m-eng> Abas: 1 survivor  of 56 migrants rescused near Zarzis
Message-ID: <BA7F9ED884BF4C7D8580BD0B798D360D@jom2m>

Boats 4 People. Press release n?5
Link to full video: http://vimeo.com/45617472

Abbas, an Eritrean national is the only survivor of this incident, was
found on Tuesday at 14:30 by a Tunisian fisherman 35 miles off the coasts
of Zarzis. He was hanging onto the remains of the rubber dinghy with which
he had left Tripoli around 14 days earlier with 56 people on board (20
Somalians, 2 Sudanese and 34 Eritreans), among which his older brother and
two sisters. After approximately 26 hours of navigation, the boat, which
was in very bad conditions, capsized and only Abbas managed to hold onto
the boat, whose engine was nevertheless damaged after falling into the
water. He drifted alone for fourteen days in the open sea, occasionally
sighting in the distance other vessels. After finally being rescued by a
Tunisian fisherman yesterday, a patrol boat of the Tunisian "Garde
National Maritime" was sent out and took him on board at 15:30 at the
following coordinates: 33 50.577 N, 11 32.442 E (see map). Nevertheless,
this location refers only to the point were the rescue operation took
place, and does not indicate the furthermost point reached by the boat,
which might have been several tens of miles North of this point. Abbas was
later brought to the hospital in Zarzis, where he received treatment for
dehydration and extreme exhaustion.
WatchTheMed: https://watchthemed.crowdmap.com/reports/view/23

Boats 4 People. Press release n?5
Zarzis, 11th July 2012:

Boats 4 People: A delegation meets sole survivor of tragic incident that
cost the lives of 55

A year and a few months after the "left-to-die boat" case lead to
international indignation, another dramatically similar incident reveals
how, despite the changed geopolitical situation, migrants keep dying in
the Mediterranean sea in appalling conditions.

Last year, in March 2011, 63 people who had left Tripoli in the attempt to
reach the Southern shores of Italy, died after drifting for 14 days at
sea. This incident occurred during the international military intervention
in Libya and as such in meticulously surveilled waters. Several damning
reports were released on the failures of a series of actors and a legal
case was filed in France for non-assistance. Now, despite the fall of the
Qaddafi regime and the end of the international intervention in Libya,
Boats4People has learned during an interview conducted this morning in
Zarzis, Southern Tunisia, about another tragic case that shows once again
the dramatic effects of the European migration regime.

Abbas, an Eritrean national who is the only survivor of this incident, was
found on Tuesday at 14:30 by a Tunisian fisherman 35 miles off the coasts
of Zarzis. He was hanging onto the remains of the rubber dinghy with which
he had left Tripoli around 14 days earlier with 56 people on board (20
Somalians, 2 Sudanese and 34 Eritreans), among which his older brother and
two sisters. After approximately 26 hours of navigation, the boat, which
was in very bad conditions, capsized and only Abbas managed to hold onto
the boat, whose engine was nevertheless damaged after falling into the
water. He drifted alone for fourteen days in the open sea, occasionally
sighting in the distance other vessels. After finally rescued by a
Tunisian fisherman yesterday, a patrol boat of the Tunisian "Garde
National Maritime" was sent out and took him onboard at 15:30. He was
brought to the hospital in Zarzis, where he received treatment for
dehydration and extreme exhaustion.

Boats4People denounces once again the policy of border closure that oblige
migrants to resort to dangerous means to cross the Mediterranean as well
as the criminalization of assistance to migrants in distress at sea, which
have de facto transformed the Mediterranean in a cemetery.

In collaboration with researchers of the Forensic Oceanography project at
Goldsmiths College, Boats4People will keep inquiring to determine if any
measure could have been taken to avert the tragic fate of the passengers
of this boat.

info at allincluded.nl
http://www.allincluded.nl
Plantage Doklaan 12
1018 CM Amsterdam
tel 020-3795236


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From jo at xs4all.nl  Sun Jul 15 18:02:09 2012
From: jo at xs4all.nl (jo van der spek)
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2012 18:02:09 +0200
Subject: <m2m-eng> Press release Boats4people on Choucha camp,
	Tunisia/Libya border]
Message-ID: <84b0181b67e02a5e8ccc9cb5a7f1171e.squirrel@webmail.xs4all.nl>


Aan de pers,

Onderstaand  (en als bijlage) is een persbericht over het  bezoek van
Boats4people/B4P aan het choucha-vluchtelingenkamp. Aan deze delegatie
hebben ook twee deelnemers uit Nederland deelgenomen: vincent de jong en
Emmanuel Mbolela (beiden van All Included Amsterdam).

Wij wijzen tevens op andere persberichten (oa getuigenis gezonken boot
afgelopen dinsdag in Tunesie en monitoring middels onze B4P-boot de
Oloferne) tijdens onze reis:
http://www.boats4people.org/index.php/fr/actualite/communiques (volledige
lijst hier in het frans)
Nederlandstqlige info en blog over B4P:
http://www.allincluded.nl/index.php/actie/boats4people-12

Wij zijn vandaag te bereiken op
Emmanuel Mbolela tel 0021629001591
Vincent de Jong tel 0021629001592
Wij keren morgen terug naar NL en zijl dan te bereiken via
Vincent de Jong 06-59087174
Emmanuel Mbolela 06-43158930

Vriendelijke groet,
vincent en emmanuel

Press release Boats4people on Choucha camp, Tunisia/Libya border

On the 11th of July 2012, a delegation of eleven activists from nine
African and European countries went to the refugee camp of Choucha at  the
Tunisian/Libyan border. We wanted to invite eight representatives of
different communities to Monastir, where a Forum is going on to prepare
the World Social Forum, which will take place in Tunisia in 2013.
Our delegation was prevented by the military to enter the camp and we  got
to know that the UNHCR had called the Tunisian Ministry of Defense  to do
so. It was announced in the media, that visits to the camp are  only
possible with an official permission of this ministry. We explained  to
the soldiers that we wanted to talk to refugees officially invited  some
weeks ago by the Forum to come to Monastir and to arrange their
transport. We were asked to give them the names of these refugees, but  we
refused and called them on our own. We could meet the refugees under  the
trees in front of the camp, but some of those who were invited,  could not
go to Monastir because of appointments with the UNHCR or dared  not to go
because of fear to be punished, others could not be reached by  phone.
After some discussions, eight people decided to go and represent  the
refugees of Choucha in Monastir: two women and one man from Ethopia,  men
from Chad, Sudan, Darfur, Somalia and Bangladesh, almost all of them
rejected asylum seekers. Together with some of them, we wrote a press
release about the actual situtation in Choucha, the struggles and the
demands of the refugees (see attachment). On the way and during the
Forum, the refugees told us their stories and about the unbearable
conditions in the camp. They asked us urgently to support them in order
to find a human solution for all of them, because they cannot stand it  in
this camp any more.
Together with the refugees, who had to return to Choucha today, we call
on all of you to think about ways to put pressure on the governments of
European states, to open their borders and, in cooperation with the  UNCHR
and the Tunisian government,  give protection, rights and human  living
conditions to all refugees and migrants. Camps like Choucha have  to be
closed down and freedom of movement must be a human right for  everybody!
Boats4People and participants of the workshop "Migrants' rights" on the
13th of July 2012 in Monastir

www.boats4people.org
www.voiceofchoucha.wordpress.com


14/07/2012
PRESS RELEASE ON CHOUCHA CAMP, Tunisia/Libya border
Around 3000 migrants and refugees who fled the war in Libya in 2011 are
still living under inhuman conditions in the refugee camp at Choucha
(Tunisia) near the Libyan border.  Most come from Sub-Saharan Africa but
there are also nationals of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Palestine and Iraq.

Some in the camp have been accepted as refugees and are awaiting
resettlement. Others are waiting for UNHCR?s decision on their case to be
accepted. Hundreds are denied any status at all because their cases were
not processed properly and they have not had access to lawyers or to good
interpreters.

For a large number of newcomers, among them many boat people pushed back
to sea, no processing will be started. Those not accepted as refugees are
threatened by UNHCR and the military with being sent back to Libya or to
their countries of origin, without considering their different kinds of
problems there. If they do not go, they can be arrested at any time and
put in prison.

Everyone in the camp, among them small children, must endure harsh living
conditions in a desert region where daytime temperatures can reach over 40
?C and sandstorms are frequent.  For example:

?	Insufficient drinking water (only one bottle per day)
?	No showers and only broken toilets without any privacy, especially for
women
?	There are snakes, scorpions, mosquitoes and rats in the camp and people
have no protection against them
?	Food is of very poor quality, without meat or vegetables, and quantities
are insufficient
?	People do not receive money and clothing
?	Medical treatment is very poor, with no provision for people who have
been traumatized by torture and war in Libya or in their countries of
origin

The camp is under military control and does not admit visitors without
official permission from the Ministry of Defence.  Migrants cannot even
move around inside Tunisia without risk of being arrested. Most camp
residents, among them small children, have been in Choucha camp for more
than 18 months. Some have tried to go back to Libya but were arrested and
tortured there. Others have become so desperate that they have tried to
reach Europe by boat but been pushed back or died at sea.

In recent months, the camp residents have started to organise protests in
the name of the ?Voice of Choucha?. Migrants? demands are:

-	A review of cases for those whose applications for refugee status have
been rejected
-	Faster processing and resettlement for more people
-	Humane treatment and living conditions, which is not possible in a camp
like Choucha
-	Freedom of movement inside and outside Tunisia
-	Equal rights for everyone without discrimination

Those who took part in the protests have been threatened by UNHCR and the
military, and they are frightened because some migrants were beaten and
killed by soldiers in May 2011. Boats4People and the workshop ?Migrants?
rights? at the Forum in Monastir support their struggle and demand that EU
governments open their borders to the migrants and refugees from Choucha
and elsewhere. They must immediately find a human solution for all in
cooperation with the UNHCR and the Tunisian government!
This is a very urgent case and we are calling for urgent action!
http://voiceofchoucha.wordpress.com
http://boats4people.org

info at allincluded.nl
http://www.allincluded.nl
Plantage Doklaan 12
1018 CM Amsterdam
tel 020-3795236


good work Vinz!

-- 
Like a Somali!    facebook.com/JoM2M

http://m2m.streamtime.org
______   _______   ________   _________   _____

Jo van der Spek
Stichting M2M. Migrant to Migrant
Amsterdam
+31.651069318
m2m at streamtime.org

http://m2m.streamtime.org

no borders between us
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From jo at xs4all.nl  Thu Jul 19 08:37:29 2012
From: jo at xs4all.nl (jo van der spek)
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 08:37:29 +0200
Subject: <m2m-eng> Boats4People continued
Message-ID: <1e51e50758567301838bc1aa5993e2ee.squirrel@webmail.xs4all.nl>

Hi,

Boats4People is coming to and end today. But there are good results and
reasons to continue. M2M congratules All Included.
We wiould like to buiold the connection with the movement of refugees on
the Street (Yes we camp!).
Many of them have travelled acrss the mediterraneas. They have been there.

Jo m2m

De campagne op de Middellandse zee tegen het laten verxrinken van migraten
nadert het slot. Maar er is genoeg resultaat geboekt om door te gaan.
Gefeliciteerd All Included!
Laten we nu ook de campagne verbinden met Vluctelingen op Straat. velen
van hen zijn ook over de Middellndse Zee hie naartoe gekomen. They have
been there!

Boats4People Press release n? 9 - The first action at sea is coming to an
end, the project goes on

Boats4People?s first action at sea is coming to an end. However, it is
important to stress that the project is called upon to continue, and not
only through its networking, legal analysis and litigation, observation
and data collection activities.

Awareness-raising actions have already taken place simultaneously with the
flottilla: Calais, Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Paris, Amsterdam,
Tilburg, etc. This type of action will continue to lend visibility to the
project everywhere in Europe, in the Mediterranean and worldwide.

As was the case with the voyage on board the Oloferne, the last phase has
a special symbolic value, since its stage is the island of Lampedusa,
gateway to Fortress Europe.

The Oloferne docked at the island this July 16, and since then teams of
journalists, lawyers and activists are  busy collecting  information from
the population, the authorities, the new mayor Giusi Nicolini and the
fishermen.

At their side, the Boats4People activists will celebrate that
Mediterranean solidarity which the project claims, which Lampedusa
embodies and which the promoters of the Lampedusa InFestival strive to
pass on thanks to the cultural productions presented.

Boats4People joins in the Festival and introduces itself to the people of
Lampedusa by showing two short videos, the Boats4People campaign teaser
and the Watch the Med trailer, on *19 July* between 12 and 1 pm at the old
Anagrafe office near Piazza Castello, via Roma.

On the same day at 4 pm, a *press conference* will be held on board the
Oloferne in the port of Lampedusa, beneath the offices of the coast guard.
The speakers will be *Carmen Cordaro* (a lawyer and member of ARCI),
*Albert Cha?bou *(an alternative journalist and a member of Alternative
Espaces Citoyen ? Niger), *Lorenzo Pezzani* (co-founder of the Watch the
Med platform), *Marco Tibiletti *(captain of the Oloferne and president of
La Nave di Carta) and *Gianluca Vitale *(director of Askavusa). We invite
you to attend.

*At 6 pm*, the Boats4People activists will go to the ?Gateway to Europe?
monument for various *actions commemorating those who died and were lost
at sea*: flowers will be cast into the sea from fishing boats, the play
?Invisibles? by and with Mohamed Ba will be staged and a concert by
Giacomo Sferlazzo and Alessio Greco will take place.

On that occasion, works of contemporary art created by the Ahle El Kahf
group of Tunisian artists will be presented to the Museum of Migrations of
Lampedusa as a symbol of Mediterranean solidarity.

Meer info over Boats4people
nederlandstalig:
http://www.allincluded.nl/index.php/actie/boats4people-12
facebook: boats4people NL
frans/engelstalig:
http://www.boats4people.org/index.php/fr/actualite/communiques


info at allincluded.nl
http://www.allincluded.nl
Plantage Doklaan 12
1018 CM Amsterdam
tel 020-3795236




-- 
Like a Somali!    facebook.com/JoM2M

http://m2m.streamtime.org
______   _______   ________   _________   _____

Jo van der Spek
Stichting M2M. Migrant to Migrant
Amsterdam
+31.651069318
m2m at streamtime.org

http://m2m.streamtime.org

no borders between us

-- 
Like a Somali!    facebook.com/JoM2M

http://m2m.streamtime.org
______   _______   ________   _________   _____

Jo van der Spek
Stichting M2M. Migrant to Migrant
Amsterdam
+31.651069318
m2m at streamtime.org

http://m2m.streamtime.org

no borders between us